Help/Advice BF baby waking early....

[caygill132]

I haven't posted before but would appreciate some advice on a few things. My 4 month old is totally bf and has refused any bottle from about 12wks old. before that we were giving her 1 bottle every other day just so she would take it when i wanted to go out. then 1 night she just screamed when we gave her it and has done this ever since. so we have tried different teats/people feeding/spouted cups/doidy cup...doidy cup has the best results but leaves her drenched. i was ill last week and didn't eat/drink well for 2 days and then the next 2 days she started waking at 9.30pm for a feed...i usually feed her at 6.15pm and then dream feed at 10pm. i thought it was just because i was ill and low milk supply but she did it again last night..then she wakes at 2ish for another feed and will then sleep through til 6.30/7am. sunday night she slept through from 7pm..dream fed her at 10pm and woke at 6.20am. I think she is teething, she's always chewing her fingers and anything else that will fit in her mouth, she weighs 13lb, last week when we had her weighed. I think she is getting hungrier but i don't know how to get more milk in her if she will only feed from me. I don't want to give her solids so early, maybe at 5 months but she will only be 4 months on Thurs. Should I just keep going with the doidy cup and the mess or should i persist with a bottle. Yesterday when i tried her with the bottle she kept making choking noises when she was trying to suck. sorry so long, once i start....

caygill - what you are describing sounds normal for a 4 mth old. Looks as if she is going to go back to sleeping longer, though, as she went through on Sunday night only waking a little earlier than before.

Chewing fingers is a sign of being 4 mths, not of hunger

My suggestion would be to drop all bottles and cups for the moment, because they upset her, and then try again in a few weeks time when she has forgotten she doesn't like them

Doesn't sound to me that she needs anything more than the lovely breastmilk you are already giving her.

Thanks...it's my 1st baby so I don't really know what to expect..what is normal and what is not. well meaning grandma is always saying she is hungry since she's eating her hands..it's just so hard to trust yourself and not other people who've been there and done it!

Babies start to chew and suck on anything at about this time, and it goes on intensively for about a year - it's crazy to think it's a sign of hunger, otherwise all toddlers would be signalling hunger all the time they are awake

Give something, anything, to a baby from about this age onwards, and what do they do? They put it into their mouths - it's their way of learning about shape, texture and manipulation. It might also be a sign of teething.

This article explains it from a development point of view here - maybe show it to grandma

Your baby sounds fine, and you are doing great - the waking is not abnormal or even especially unusual

Hi caygill, just wanted to let you know that there's a postnatal thread for July mums if you want to chat. My DS is 4 months next week and chews and dribbles like anything, no sign of teeth, think he's just exploring. He also does not sleep through the night, usually wakes once for a feed. He has occasionally gone all the way through, but think this was fluke rather than anything I'd done. I know what it's like to feel that you can't go out in the evening, I have only been out a few times since he was born, and think that 10.30 was about the latest I stayed out. I do go out loads in the day though, and find it pretty convenient to be able to take my portable milk supply with me wherever I go .

All the best, hope things work out for you. Just remember, your baby won't be 4 months old forever (it just feels like it sometimes )

Thanks maewest I will have a look at the thread..I must say breastfeeding is so convenient if only she would take a feed from someone else some of the time...but hey I've lasted 4 months 2 more months and she can have it from someone else...hopefully!

Caygill, you could be describing my DD here !! It definitely seems to be perfectly normal at 4 months. My DD is 18 weeks and is doing all of the tings you've described, including the waking more frequently in the night. She used to sleep 11pm - 4am feed then 4.30am-9am but this last 2 weeks she's been waking at 1am, 3am, 4.30am, 6.30am and then I get her up at 9am..... Needless to say, I'm shattered ! Almost can't wait to go back to work for a rest !!!! I did say ALMOST ! Stick with it, I'm sure it will get better (convincing myself as well )