My 4 month old daughter... Expecting too much too soon already?

[Staciiemummyof2]

hello

I'm new on here but need some advice/opinions/thoughts

My little girl is nearly 4 months old, wakes once in the night around half 2ish for a feed (it seems to be around this time most nights)
But the last previous nights apart from last night, she has her feed then wide awake and wants to chat and play for 2 hours around about roughly!
This is obviously frustrating for me as I have also a 18 month old little boy who sleeps from 7/7:30ish every night till half 6/7ish so when my little girl finally settled herself (which she is pretty good in doing) my son is going get up in the next hour or so and I'm still awake as I feel I can't sleep knowing she is awake. (She sleeps in her own room and cot... has done from about 3 months roughly now I think!)

Her routine roughly looks like this:

Wakes : Between 7:00-7:30
Dometimes she Doesn't want to feed straight away or she will but only have a couple of oz's out of 5oz's that's she has per feed.
Plays for abit after that then..
Feeds: Between 8:15/8:30 (rest of the 3oz's or 5oz's depends)
Naps: 9.00
Wakes: Between 11:15/11:30
Feeds: 11:30 (5oz's)
Awake for abit till about 1ish then has a nap.
Nap: 1ish
Awake and feeds:Between 3:00-3:30 (5oz's)
Has another little play whether it's on her play mat, bouncer etc.
Nap: Between 5-5:30
Wakes and feeds: Between 7-7:30ish (5oz's)
(This her last feed before she will go to bed about 8ish and sleep 6 hours)
Wakes: 2:30ish for the night feed 5oz's)

Then starts all over again... This just a rough idea on how she is at the moment.
Tried dream feeding her between 10/11 but doesn't make no difference as she she still will wake @ half 2ish for that feed whether she has has had 6oz's then or not.

My 18month old when he was @ my daughters age was sleeping through already by now but he was drinking more (Think it's a boy thing as they say boys are more hungrier then girls)
Also I know all babies are all different individuals.

So my questions are these?
1:Is she going to bed too early for her age?
2: Is she having too much sleep in the day or maybe not enough?
3: She naps on the sofa in the day but in her bed at night so shall I try her in her bed every time she naps? That way she will no this is where she sleeps?!

Anything else you may think may help etc please let me know as really appreciate it.

Thanks
:)

Isn't that loads of naps in the day or am I way out of touch now with how much babies sleep?

There is asleep regression at 4 months as they shift to a more adult sleep pattern.

It's normal and can be horrible.

If she is happy back on her cot, just put her back to bed. Even if you are awake listening to her, you are in bed, and she may well drift off again

I'd say the last nap is too long. That should be a kind of 30 min power snooze at about 4.30 or 5 and then bed at 6.30 or 7pm

Oh and I think three naps a day is fine at that age. I think they drop to two a day at 6-7 months ish

Also sofa napping is not terribly safe so yes I would put her in her cot for naps

It sounds like a bit of a four month sleep regression, although I agree with Dame that it sounds like she is getting a lot of nap sleep. I'd be tempted to perhaps cut the two long naps down a bit and see if it helps. Otherwise it might just be something you have to ride out - the four month sleep regression is a developmental event where the baby's sleep changes from the newborn 'passive' sleep into a more active sleep, which the baby has to work a bit harder at. This often leads to disturbed nights.

Otherwise it sounds like she is doing great! One wake up and self settling at four months is pretty good, I think. Hope it settles down for you soon

I do put her back in her cot once feed @ half 2ish if she's awake or asleep and do listen out for her. But just wondered if there was anything else I can do to prevent her not staying awake when she does for 2 hours.

I'll try waking her then on her last nap and see...

Thanks

So how long do you think Sandsnake & Dame the naps in day should be roughly?

2.5-3h cumulative

Routine for 4.5 month old
Morning nap approx 1 - 1.5 hrs
Lunchtime nap 2-3 hour
Afternoon nap 30 mins
Night time sleep 11-12 hours with a dreamfeed (and potentially a very small feed between 2-4am but looking to drop this asap)

Thanks Sandsnake a few people I have spoke to have said the same and maybe I'm expecting too much too soon already!

I'll just have to give it more time and just go with it and see how she goes... :)

Thanks LapinR0se

If she doesn't show interest in her morning bottle then she's having too much at night!
Try to reduce the night feed and up her day feeds if poss.
What the longest she can stay awake for? Cat napping is a bugger to change but I found when I changed that it made a huge difference to sleeping

I think at 4 months a lot of mums on here would give their right arm to only be up once. X

usersos she can stay awake for about a hour and a half to 2hours the max the most I would say by then she is tired and is moaning and I know she is tired so will put her down on her side and she finds her thumb and goes asleep herself.

Like this morning she had the rest of the 5oz morning bottle @ half 8 and went back down @ 9 in her cot which is the first for her for me to do today so going to see if that makes a difference too!

What did you do usersos about the car napping then?

Thanks 🙏🏻 I'm just trying to remember what I did with my son but again I can't remember but she is so different to him which she would be.

Sorry op I may have misread.
She has 2 hours nap in the am, then 2 hours in the pm plus a half hour at 5? X

usersos she's had a 2 hour nap today from 9-11 then I woke her then she will feed roughly around 11:30ish
She probably will sleep another 2/3 hours after lunch then I'm going to only let sleep 30 min cat nap like ppl said and suggested but normally she would sleep another 2 hours b4 bed!

Ok good luck.

I follow a sleep programme and they suggest a power nap for no more than 20 mins , at least 2 hours before bedtime.....

Your feeding rota could be a different if that doesn't work but try thing one at a time and you might just crack it!

Good luck x

usersos Did you wake your baby/babies for a feed when they were due one? Or let them sleep and wake themselves

At this age he was kind of in a sleep routine but I woke him after his 2 hour nap in the pm and woke him up from his power nap after 20 mins late pm......

That's what I do and have done... I think I'll just keep doing what I'm doing but change the late pm nap to only 30 min max!

Thanks everyone for your advice!

I would agree with others who say reduce the last nap to a quick 30 mins. I would also say she doesn't sound too hungry in the morning so she is getting too much at night. Does she drain her other 5Oz bottles? I would try upping them to 6Oz to see if she would take more and she maybe won't be as hungry over night.

With my son I he was feeding at roughly the same times as your daughter but I used to wake him at half 10 for a dream feed before I went to bed and that would see him through to the morning, would you try that maybe? He was on 5x7oz until 18 weeks then I upped his to 8Oz and he dropped the dream feed so was then on 4x8oz

emma2803 she only wakes @ half 2ish in the night which yes she has the whole 5oz's (Her last feed b4 this was @ half 7ish roughly which again she would have 5oz's)
She doesn't always have the whole amount like her fed I have her about an hour ago she left an oz but I think she is still tired from where I woke her @ 11 as she had her 2 hour nap.
I could try holding her out a little longer at her 7/7:30 (bottle b4 bed) to 6oz's then she would have that maybe? And I have tried dream feeding her too (5oz's) but she will still wake @ half 2ish for another feed. Unless I give her that 6oz bottle when I try dream feeding her tonight and keep the bottle b4 bed @ 5oz's!

Hmm. If you have already tried the dream feed she might still wake up again then? What about gradually reducing night time bottle in the hope she will take more during the day? So drop to four Oz. And see how you get on?
Is she still quite a small wee thing? My ds was a big boy, 8.11 at birth.
Also what size teat do you use?

Yes I think I shall reduce it to 4 oz's instead for 5!
Tried dream feeding her between 10-11 depends, she takes it or most of it and still wakes in the night.
She was only 7'2 @ birth bless her.... As like your little boy, my son was the same and on 7/8oz's at this stage he was 8'2 @ birth!
She is on the 2nd ones so med flow and use tommee tippee bottles

It's completely normal to wake through the night until on regular solids....but good idea to try reducing the amount at night as this may help with settling after a bit