Talk

Flip

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Behaviour/development

First time mum needs reassurance please

7 replies

danant · 19/10/2012 11:23

Hello Everyone!
This is my first time writing my own thread so here goes.
My baby girl has always slept well. She went to sleep at 7, woke up at 2am and then awake at 6! Which was just fantastic! But over the last few weeks she has been so unsettled at night! Going to sleep at 7 waking up at 10, 1, 4 then 6. At first i thought it was her teeth as she gnawed, drooled put everything in mouth. I gave her all the necessary tools to soothe her teething which helped. Last week her front tooth showed it's face! I thought then she would settle back down but then growth spurt and she consumed so much milk over 48 hours! It still hasn't settled back down! She goes to sleep by herself as i was keen to get her to self soothe. I do the usual feed, bath then bed. She just keeps waking up, wont go back to sleep, i try soothing her in the cot but she screams and screams until i give her the bottle. She doesn't fall asleep on the bottle but settles right back down to sleep by herself. I was just wondering will she settle back down to 2am and 6am wake up or is this the norm now? She is very interested when we eat and has already doubled her birth weight! Please will one lovely mum tell me this is normal! I just feel like i'm the only one up at night! I start to doubt whether i'm doing the right thing! Thank you in advance for any advice.

OP posts:

Report

WitchesTit · 19/10/2012 11:36

Sounds normal. Babies aren't really interested in being predictable you see. But, on the upside, if she originally had a good sleep pattern (by that I mean one that suited her parent!) she'll likely settle into a similar pattern at some point when teething/growth spurting are done with. How old is she?

Report

flubba · 19/10/2012 11:38

Hi danant, it is quite normal for babies to change their sleep patterns when teething and growing. How old is your DD?

Well done for getting her to sleep by herself. Is she drinking a lot of milk when she takes the bottle or is she looking for suckling and comfort?

Report

danant · 19/10/2012 11:50

Thanks for you responses! I already feel better! She is 17 weeks old. She has a good 7 oz first feed then it varies between 3 or 4 oz. She has good feeds in the day so i know she's getting enough during then day. I do think she does it for comfort.

OP posts:

Report

beela · 19/10/2012 12:57

It sounds normal to me.

DS has phases with his sleep - it's generally 2 weeks of 'good' sleep followed by 2 weeks of 'bad' sleep. I like to think that the good sleep is the norm and the bad sleep is the blip but it could just as easily be the other way around.

My rule of thumb is that just as soon as you get used to anything it will change again. Oh, and watch out for the 4-month sleep regression.

Report

KayteeB12 · 21/10/2012 00:45

Yes hun completely normal!
As previous poster said alot of babies go through sleep phases and patterns and they soon become regular. There are sleep regressions which would be what this is which you just have to ride through or it could just be a dodgy few days.
Remember to ride it out and she will be back to normal in no time xx

Report

AnotherCerealNameChanger · 21/10/2012 07:56

I would disagree that it's for comfort, I'd say she is hungry for milk! If she is settling after she has had a bottle just go with it. Maybe increase what she has during the day, there is a normal and very long growth spurt at around 17weeks.

My dc is 2 ans never slept longer than 2-3 hours, no matter how much she feeds or eats!