Breastfed 16 Week old suddenly waking 3x a night, any ideas?

[Dalrymps]

Ds is ebf and will be 17 weeks old on sat. He feeds quite frequently and completely on demand.

He used to wake to feed once, maybe twice a night. When I say a night I mean after his last feed around 11pm when we put him down in his crib until around 7/8 am. In the evening he sleeps in the lounge either on one of us or in his flat bouncy chair thingy.

In the last 2 or 3 weeks he has started waking more and more, he seems to have farts but even once he has passed them he doesn't settle back to sleep and grizzles louder and louder till I get him and feed him. Sometimes he will be settled if we just place a hand on him or move him back into the middle of his crib so he doesn't bash the sides when he throws his arms about.

So in total between 11 and 8 he could wake 5 times 3 of which he would feed at.

It seems the sleep has become worse since we stopped swaddling him but he didn't want to be swaddled anymore and kept breaking free so I'm not going to force him.

He has dropped one and a half centiles since birth which I'm not massively worried about as ds1 did the same but am kinda wondering whether to just leave things as they are so he gets the extra calories or whether if I tried to get him to wake a bit less he would make up for it in the day?

Tbh I don't know how he could make up for it in the day as he already feeds quite often.

Am at a bit of a loss, any ideas?

He is more than likely having the wonderful 4 month growth spurt that often results in early weaning or adding formula to see if it makes them sleep. It will pass but you will need to feed himn as he needs it as it will also boost your supply to keep up with his needs.

Oh god the 4 month growth spurt. Just feed feed feed feed and your supply will catch up in a couple of days.

Well yes, I thought it might be that too but the hv said 'oh a growth spurt shouldn't last a few weeks' so now I'm not sure... Could it be a mixture of that and something else? It seems when he has trapped farts they really give him a pain. The lactation consultant here said bf babies don't need winded cause they just pass the wind out the other end but he seems to really dislike passing it out

We usually give him a quick pat on the back during the day after a feed but at night he gies to sleep by the time he's fed so we just put him back in his crib cause it seems a shame to wake him by winding him. Maybe that's not the issue though and it'll make no difference at all?

No, bf babies don't need to be winded - it sounds like it could be a combination of the growth spurt (ours did indeed seem to go on for about a month - yours might be making up for dropped-centile time!) and getting used to sleeping without being swaddled. We moved dd into grobags at about that age, which she far preferred (as did we!) to the sheets and blankets she'd had till then.

Dalrymps - it can last weeks, my DD1 woke 4 times a night for 4ish weeks and as quickly as she started waking she stopped and I just kept feeding her as and when she asked. As for wind, some babies are windier than others I never winded DD1 but DD2 (6weeks) needs winding after a feed and can still fart and put a grown man to shame but with the farting comes squealing and groaning like she has been poked in the tummy and as soon as it is over she is fine again. I put DD2 straight down after night feeds and don't wind her but I do wind during the day. My wonky logic is the wind from the night will come out in the day but if I can get the daytime wind out the top then she is less likely to squeal in the night. Doesn't always work but atleast I have tried and that make me feel better.

Ah I see! Yes we've moved him in to gro bags apart from the odd really hot night where he has a sheet but overall the grobag seems better as less chance if him waking cold. As usual the hv is talking rubbish then.

Guess I'll just carry on for now and see what happens, I'm coping ok as we do a joint afternoon nap. Not so good for the old social life but needs must.

As people have said, it'll be the 4 month sleep regression - a growth and developmental spurt combined. Ours lasted a few weeks; I just kept feeding DS every time he woke, and he eventually stopped waking up so often. Developmental spurts can mess up sleep for weeks beforehand (months if you're unfortunately with some of the later ones).

My bf baby needed winding till about 3 months.

Our HVs have all seemed remarkably ignorant of growth spurts / developmental spurts / sleep regressions.

More info on the 4 month regression here, here, here and here.

Keep going; it will pass!

Thanks for all the info and encouragement. Another 3 feed night last night although I managed to burp him a bit without waking him after he fed so he seemed less bothered by farts!

Will keep trudging on...