12 week growth spurt - send help

[Nat888]

12 week growth spurt.. I think this is what it is anyway as its very much like the 6 week one.

Baby is cranky, hungry and refusing all forms of sleep. Had a melt down because I didn't get his milk in 0.5 seconds then 15 minutes later was happy to lie on his play mat for 3 hours talking to himself..

Hes just zonked out .. im hoping for enough time for me to have a water and a salad.. thats a lie its McDonald's and coffee.

My question.. last time this lasted about a week and I dealt with it badly (FTM and just cried mostly) any tips for the next few days? I guess I'm kinda looking for reassurance its ok for me not to cook and live on caffeine and disgusting food for a few days.. but also any real tips are welcome. My baby seems to handle these growth spurts by not sleeping and being a total crank.

My 11 week old is going through the same and it's awful! Won't sleep and then screams inconsolably because he's tired. I yelled at my poor 3 year old I was so frustrated 😞

So yeah permission granted to go into survival mode... I might just order myself a pizza, eat a tub of ice cream and have a cry.

I'm glad im not alone - its brutal isn't it!
Pizza ice cream and a cry sounds like just what I need - ill be joining you in that this evening 🤣😮‍💨

Could it be their 4 month sleep regression? My LO's hit around the 12 week mark and was horrendous for a couple of weeks.

Thats a good point. It could be.. today has been painful. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't last too long...

My DD basically went from napping absolutely fine to a demon at the 12 week mark. She was constantly crying and whinging on. Refusing naps until she was so overtired she was screaming. Resisting falling asleep at night. It was honestly horrendous. I did a week of just cuddling her to sleep but my soul was dying after a week of constant crying. I decided to try to sleep train her (controversial I know) to see if I could catch her coming out of the regression and get some good habits instilled.

I made her nursery black out dark. Had her sleepsack ready in the cot. Music on, and the ssshhh noise. I have the Huckleberry app so I used that plus her sleep cues to take her up to the cot, into the sleepsack and laid her down. I then sat on the bed in there and let her cry for five minutes then cuddled her and popped her back in. The longest she cried for was 8 minutes one day. After a week she was napping like a pro and sleeping amazing at night. I still stick to the exact same routine with her and as soon as she hits the cot she puts her thumb in and soothes herself to sleep. She naps in her pram once a day too on our morning walk.

My life is so much better now, I can actually go to the loo alone and when I need to go without her screaming, she's so much more alert during wake windows and her night sleep is amazing. I'm hoping it sticks!!

This 100%. It is HARD! Myself and DP were at our wits end. Naps were the worst, I had to cuddle him to my chest with a shawl over his head (this sounds awful but it was a knitted shawl with holes as big as his mouth), pat his bum while he screamed and scratched my face till he eventually passed out. It was hell. But it passed within about 2 weeks! There is light at the end of the tunnel.

I also started sleep training (fuss it out) at this age, just for nights though - I did a routine, put him down and set a timer for 15 mins. He never cried/fussed longer than 7 mins and I went in before then if he was really upset. Controversial, but it worked and life became so much easier once we had 7pm onwards to ourselves.

Coffee, takeaway pizza, chocolate, buttered toast, whatever keeps you alive for these challenging few weeks ahead. We are with you!

Thank you lovelies! ❤ it really is tough going. Bed time isn't TOO bad, still waking up a fair few times but getting him to sleep is a bit easier - purely because I think he is just so exhausted.

The naps are KILLING me though. Literally walking him around in my arms doing mundane 1 handed chores - whilst crying from over tiredness is the only thing getting him down. Even then it seemed to be cat naps right now

I have it luckier than some in that I'm on mat leave and don't have other children but it's still tough going.

I will start to look into sleep training. For now, I've stocked up on lucozade, takeaway menus, coffee and pot noodles!

@Nat888 @Cannaa89

We only suffered with naps and actually going to sleep for bed. Thank the absolute lord she never got worse at night sleeping. I was lying face down on the living room floor as she screamed in her swing at the end of the first week just hating my life!

We have also now reclaimed our evenings from about 7:30pm and it's been amazing. She's learned how to link her sleep cycles during napping and I now get 55-90 minutes four times a day to actually get things done.

Honestly you will get there. I would 100% recommend starting good sleep habits now in terms of routine and helping them to self soothe. Good luck!