Three month old's sleep getting worse... Anyone else experienced this??

[RooTwo]

After almost three months of co- sleeping my DD finally started settling in her Moses basket in the evening between 7 and 8 and staying there all night, and started doing good 5 hour stretches. Even, teasing me most horribly, four nights sleeping from 9-5 or 6. She's now 13 weeks and for the last two weeks that's all changed and her sleep is getting worse. She is now waking about every two hours after her 10.30/11pm feed (which sometimes she wakes for, sometimes I dream feed- have not worked out what's best). She doesn't always seem hungry- last night I just fed her at 1.30, then again at 5.30, when she def wasn't hungry- but she also woke at 3.30, when I managed to get her back to sleep again eventually, but with probably half an hour of rocking her and then she slept very fitfully after that. Am feeling very desperate and exhausted and no idea where to begin with helping her back to sleeping better.
Any advice hugely appreciated...

Yes sorry to be bearer of bad news but I experienced similar - look up 4 month sleep regression and you will find you are not alone.
No advice on fixing it - it may pass by itself.

She's probably going through a growth spurt and or sleep regression. Google sleep regression for more information. Quit normal at this age.

I'm living through this at the moment too!! Zzzzz....

DS has learnt to roll and he is much more active in his cot. He seems to want to sleep on his front now which I haven't relaxed about yet!

I've just got my fingers crossed that he will get used to this new normal soon and will be less fretful if he does wake up during the night.

Good luck - do keep posting if you find any good survival tips!

Alixion it's awful isn't it! I'm really struggling ... am really no good on little sleep, and I feel like I was getting much more in the early days when she was co-sleeping with me. Am considering just keeping her in with me tonight to see if we can both get a bit more sleep, but worried about getting her out of the habit of her moses basket. I'm sure you and everyone is right about the regression/growth spurt - she is changing so much at the moment and getting so fat, but that doesn't really help in those small hours with a wailing baby ... :(

Get yourself a copy, library or order it, Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems. It was recommended by my GP and the information in the first third of the book, on sleep cycles and sleep associations, saved my sanity because I finally understood what was happening with DD. The method prescribed in the book is cry it out and has come in for a lot of criticism. I didn't and never would use it. But the first third is just so helpful, and gave me the confidence to remedy what I was getting wrong with DD.

"she is getting so fat" fabulous!

Also meant to ask how your daytime is - I've been trying to instigate more of a routine but it's hard because she'll only do 30minute naps. She's terrible at getting past that first sleep cycle - so I'm wondering if that's also a problem at night, that when she comes into light sleep, she can't go back off again.

rootypig thank you thank you for recommendation. It sounds very interesting ... I'm only a little sceptical about buying more books as I have every other frigging one you could imagine! (This DD is my third ...) However despite never wholeheartedly going with any particular routine or philosophy I've always been able to take useful bits from every book, so this one does sound promising. Knowing more about how she sleeps would be so helpful, as I'm just fumbling around in the dark here (both literally and metaphorically). Honestly, I thought I would have had it sussed by number 3!

Roo if you live in a city, there's a good chance your library will have a copy

Re naps, sorry if I'm teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, but do you follow the 90 minute rule? down 90mins max after first waking?

My three and a half month old seems to have hit his four month sleep regression already. I think we just have to ride it out! He wakes every two and a half hours in the night now, where he used to do at least one 5 or 6 hour stretch.

It won't last long crosses fingers

I think the key is to avoid turning a sleep regression into a sleep association. If you feed them back to sleep every time they wake in a sleep regression (understandable, when you're bone tired and it works) then this will quickly become a sleep association.

All babies, and all people, rouse naturally in the night. The trick is being able to put yourself back to sleep, without being rocked or fed.

rootypig yes I do get her down pretty much every 1.5 hours - she still can't last much longer than that. Though I probably need to be more tuned into her sleepy cues - it's easy to miss them or not realise that 2 hours have gone by ...

luckiestgirl sounds just like my DD. Though she's only just 3 months, so she's clearly decided to have her four month regression early But argghh!! It's pretty horrible isn't it

Yes she definitely can't get herself back off to sleep at the moment, when she wakes in the night - she doesn't always need feeding, but then it'll have to be vigorous rocking, which is almost more bloody knackering than feeding ... She can get herself off to sleep at 7pm though, maybe with just a hand on her, and isn't too bad at settling herself in the first instance for naps - but it seems to be different when she wakes in the night.

If she is settling without much help for naps and going down, she's probably just a bit little to go so many hours on her own. Not what you want to hear, probably! Does she sleep in your room?

Though she was doing much longer stretches .... she does sleep in our room, right by our bed. I'm feeling more and more that her daytime thing is not helping - she's a terrible catnapper - today has had about 5 naps ranging from 20 mins to 40 mins ... driving me insane! I can't seem to do anything to extend them at the moment.

Hi, following this as sounds just like me DS. He's just 12wks. Jes never spelt through but once did 5hr stretch. These last 4nights, where I'd been eeeking out his feeds, he dramatically shortened to2hrs! He is my second, DD is 2yrs. I gave in pretty quick and put him on his tummy (angelcare on) as he was waking with wind & seemed to settle himself to sleep better. However now I think it's more of a bad thing as he's never settled himself from those joults they do & gets quite angry on his tummy at times. However on his back he is hyper failing arms & legs everywhere! He has a snotty nose at the moment & on his tummy this seems to agrrivate him more, but won't calm down on his back enough to sleep. I am also ffeding him when he wakes, which is bad esp as I don't think he's starving.
I can't help but think at just 12wks that this isn't the sleep regression.
How old are your other two kids? Like u, I thought it would b easy this time ;) x

My LO is 13 weeks and she is having a major growth spurt and her sleep has gone out the window at night. She was getting dream feed at 10:30ish then feeding again about 3:00, but the last couple of nights she's had another couple of feeds and was waking early for the supposed dream feed.

I'm just letting her go with it, and hoping it won't last! My sympathies

Lasted less than a week, hope your LO is more settled now.

Sounds very familiar! I thought it might be the heat as our bedroom is v warm but maybe it's just his age. It's frustrating when you know they have slept longer in the past!