10wk old always wakes at 4am and then doesn't go back to sleep

[JenniferR]

Hi everyone

Desperate for any tips/advice!

My baby (Lottie) is fed on and off from 5pm-9pm ish (with bath at 6pmish). Lottie then 'usually' sleeps from about 9pmish-1am/2amish. Lottie then gets a feed at the early morning wake but this can take up to 1hr (she's exclusively breasfed). Then when she put down in her cot (cot is in our bedroom) she fusses a lot (despite being asleep when put down) but usually settles for about 1 hour.
She is then up between 4/4.30am and screams angrily and fusses. I try to feed her and she only feeds for a few minutes. If I keep her in bed with me then she does fall asleep until 5.30ish. She's then awake again screaming and I need to hold her until she snoozes again from about 6.15-6.45am.
During the day Lottie usually goes for a sleep 8.30am-10.30am- but has to be lying with me and won't sleep alone. This sleep also follows a feed.
For the rest of the day she will sleep in a babybjorn around 12pm-1.30pmish and then perhaps another snooze on me from about 4-4.45pm.
The main issues I have are:

Does it sound like I'm Lottie to sleep?
Why won't she sleep in her cot on her own for all sleeps?
Why does she always wake at 4am- despite not really wanting a feed?

I should also add that when the screaming starts it's really, really loud, hightpitched and angry sounding. When I hold her through it, it usually stops after about 10minutes. It isn't colic as this has been checked.

Any help at all would be sooooooooooo great.

Love from a very tired mummy.

Jx

You may not want her to have a dummy... but its worth a try , if you are going nuts with no sleep...it worth it!
Babies arnt small forever and therefore will eventually grow out of a dummy. I never wanted to give my children a dummy, but in the end it did and its was a "Godsend" . They are now 20 , 23 and 10 yrs and no dummies !! Got rid of them when they were about 3yrs old......
Perhaps more noise going on during the day , so that she really starts to differentiate between night and day, which she should be doing now anyway by 10 weeks. (worth a try)
Your sleep is so important in order for you to function as a mother.
I wish you well and just hope your little one very soon grows out of this tiresome stage.

Thanks for these tips crispyseaweed. Nice to also get some support for me too- everyone around sometimes seem to forget the affect this all has on me, much appreciated.
Jx

Hi JenniferR, just to let you know it is totally normal for them to not sleep in the cot during the day. Check on the "Clingy Babies" thread for starters! Many of my friends find it hard to get their babies into the cot during the day. I have now managed it twice for the second half of early afternoon nap only. Early morning nap I tend to try to have in bed as I can sometimes slide her off me (not this morning!) and sometimes I need more sleep too! In the afternoon she just sleeps in my arms or I go out with the pushchair or sling.

Afraid I can't offer any ideas re the 4am screaming. Mine generally seems to wake for an easy to work out reason or because she can't get back to sleep easily when it's light - though seems to find that much easier in my bed somehow...

Just to add about dummies, mine won't take one - tried to keep putting it back in when she spat it out, but in the end she was sick so I stopped. Keep hoping she'll start sucking her thumb... hope it works for you though!!

Thanks fififrog- Lottie won't take a dummy. Keeps spitting it out too, and like your little one she sleeps a lot better in my bed from 4am :)

At least we'll have stories to embarress them when they're teenages ;)