My 4 month old has started waking 3 times through the night.

[Sg2025]

I'm a first time mum, I was told the chances of me getting pregnant is very unlikely due to emdo, PCOS and a tumour on my pituitary gland in my brain, however...
I have a 4 month old little girl. She's always been dead good through the nights, waking between 1-2 times. But the last week or so, she just wakes every 3-4 hours and has a full feed of 4-5oz. (Up to 3 feeds during the night)
A few people have mentioned about giving her a little water Incase it's hydration and not the fact she is hunger.
However, when I've tried Google to get some answers on if and how much cooled boiled water she can have it doesn't really give me an answer other than a small amount.
So my question is...
Has anyone else little one seemed to of gone backwards in there progression through the night.. i.e waking up more often for feeds again rather than waking up less for feeds.
Has anyone tried there little one with cooled boiled water before the recommended age of 6 months, if so how did you find it and how much did you give. Im so tired and trying to care for 2 disabled people in the family also I just need a good sleep through the night but feel like my little girl is going backwards with her sleep progression rather than forwards.

Apologies if this isn't the right platform for answers, I know this isn't nhs/midwife/health visitor platform. But I just need a little advice from other mums.

Hopefully someone has been through the same thing and found something that worked for them that I can try.

Katie.

Please don’t give her boiled water. This it can be very dangerous in a baby so young to start replacing feeds with water.

This sounds like a classic 4 month sleep regression avd she will probably just revert back to hiw she was before quite shortly.

In the meantime, you can offer feeds more often in the day to make sure she’s getting most of her calories in during the day. Offer a dream feed if you’re not already and try to get her outside at least onde a day as daylight has been proven to help nighttime sleep.

It’s really hard when you’re going through it but she will come through this little phase

I wouldnt do it to replace feeds but just in-between. Online of the NHS website (UK) has said I can give her a small amount. Looking for any advice with being a first time mum.

What's a dream feed?

I wouldn’t give her water as it’s not recommended at this age (also they get their hydration through milk).
As per the previous posters comments, it sounds like the 4 month regression. If you google the regression you’ll see that it’s very normal and majority of babies go through it, so you’re definitely not alone! It’s actually a good sign that her sleep is maturing, and soon she’ll be back to longer stretches of sleep again.
My first was like yours and had slept fine until around 4 months and then would wake every couple of hours through the night. The sleep regression also comes with developmental progression, which can also increase hunger.
The best things you can do are:

1. accept that it’s normal and will end soon, so try not to stress about it.
2. keep a consistent bedtime routine which will help her sleep stretches to lengthen soon.
3. continue to support her - so if she needs a little bit of milk to help her sleep then that’s fine. Sometimes they just like the comfort of having the milk rather than actually being really hungry. Sometimes they just have more of an appetite and need extra food.

I know it will come to an end, sometime I feel silly asked questions but you always feel alone till someone else says they have or are going through the same thing so it's nice to know I'm not on my own😂
Thankyou for the advice!

You’re definitely not alone. A huge number of babies go through sleep regressions, unfortunately there is another at 9 months.

When you’re up with her tonight, there will be lots of parents up and doing the exact same thing as you and she will get better at sleeping with a bit of time.

Until she does, just keep offering those feeds regularly during the day avd getting her outside if you can in the daylight.

Thankyou so much, it's nice to be reassured.

I didn't know there was a second one at 9 months though! X

Sorry about that! It doesn’t affect them all though