need sleep-help!!!

[somersetlass]

my 16 week old dd started to sleep through the night from her late evening feed at 11pm to 7am about 4 weeks ago. as you can imagine i was delightged and felt like a human being again. she did this for about 10 days and then lost the plot. things have gone from bad to worse and last night i was up in the night with her from 2.45am-4.15am. she just wouldnt settle.ive tried everything from nights of being strict and trying to let her resettle herself, giving her water, cuddles etc.. and also giving in and giving her milk.normally milk works but even that didnt last night. thing is, i really dont want to be giving her milk in the night anymore as she isnt needing it as all it does is effect her milk intake during the day and makes her very hard to feed-even if i get her to settle on just a couple of ounces. really am at a loss as to what to try.ds was sleeping through by her age and once he dropped the night feed, we never looked back. does anyone have any suggestions or is anyone able to cheer me up simply by letting me know theyve been through the same?

hi somersetlass, if you know she can sleep through and is unable to settle herself at the minute then I would say that something is waking her up - has she recently had her last set of injections, as DS2 is very unsettled for a week after his injections as they seem to bring on colic and trapped wind. We take him to a chiropractor who works wonders. Also, I think 4 months is classic time for a major growth spurt. HTH

thanks firststeps. ironically dd had jabs today, so that could make things even worse! i really think shes waking up now as a course of habit as shes barely had any milk today as a result of feeding in the night. i'm stuck in that tough cycle now of her going to genuinely need feeding in the night because shes not had enough in the day. a couple of people ive spoken to have said that i could try just letting her cry and get really tough un order to break the habit. just dont know what to do???

IIRC they have a huge growth spurt at 16 weeks and then with the jabs as well they can become very unsettled

give it a few days and things may well settle back down

most 16 week olds do need to feed in the night, so would offer milk as a matter of course. You don't need to leave her to cry either - won;t do either of you any good

SSL, my DD had night feeds until about 9 months, some babies do need it. 16 weeks is a classic growth spurt / developmental phase and it was horrendous sleep wise but you will get through it and things will settle in time. If you were lucky enough to have a sleeper with your first then this must be a shock to your system, my DD is 18 months and had her first sleep through at 13 months. Last week we had 5 nights sleep through but last night she was awake for two hours. This isn't out of the usual for her. Think what I'm trying to say is that you might not be so lucky second time around. Have you tried taking her into your bed? Are you bf'ing? I found co-sleeping a real help as I didn't need to get up and fully waken myself. I still get up and just get into bed with my DD when she wakes these days it's easier than fighting it.

hi again somersetlass, could you try gradually reducing the amounts in the night feeds say an oz every night or every couple of nights so she makes up for it in the day, probably a lot less stressful for both of you than going cold turkey. By the way our DS is 16 weeks tomorrow and still having a 6oz feed during the night usually between 2am and 4.30am.

great idea firststeps-will try that!reassuring to know you have baby same age who still feeds in the night. was beginning to get sick of people constantly asking if dd is 'going through the night yet?' makes you feel like youre the odd one out and going wrong somewhere!

Have you changed babies milk recently? My ds2 always had problems once I put him on the formula. He would cry in the day but nights were worse. He had difficulty doing a poo. Though he was never sick so the Dr and hv said he was fine but as soon as I changed his formula he is like a different baby!

hi tbg,shes been on formula for 10 weeks now, so no change there.am however v.v happy today as she slept from 11pm- 6.30am.a step back in the right direction and even if i have an awful night tonight,it'll help knowing she can still do it!

Was it clear that I changed from one formula to another? just read what I wrote and looked as clear as mud to me! Hope you have a great night again!

was clear-just me being thick due to sleep deprivation!