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3 month old keeps waking throughout night

23 replies

Emeraldbuttons · 16/07/2019 16:38

Hello everyone
My 3 month old DS is habitually waking around 2/3am every night. He is mainly BF, with a bottle of formula introduced around 6:45pm as the last feed of the day. He goes to sleep without any fuss every night around 7pm. He has set this bedtime himself as he is shattered by then and cannot stay awake any longer. I dreamfeed around 10/10:30pm when I go to bed and he sleeps through until around 2/3am when he starts to grunt/moan and wakes me up. I used to get up and BF at this time but over the last few weeks have been giving him a dummy and he goes back to sleep until about 5/6am. He never wakes up crying so I know he is not waking up out of hunger. Over the last week or so this has progressed into him waking from midnight every 30 mins/hourly until around 5/6am when I get up. I get up every time and give him his dummy. There have been some occasions when he has slept through to about 5/6am which is fantastic and gives me false hope that he is starting to sleep longer. I can take the 5am wake-up if the other ones throughout the night stopped. I don’t know if this is an early 4 month sleep regression? Also relevant he has started to be a terrible feeder, not really wanting to eat much at all until around lunchtime. I feel like I spend all morning battling with him to BF. I introduced a bottle of expressed breastmilk a couple of times a week at 7 weeks old so I know it’s nothing to do with that. He’s started to nap better during the day, I take him out for a walk once in the morning and once in the afternoon where he sleeps for around 1:30-2 hours each time. I’m due to go back to work in a few weeks and work 12 hour shifts. I’m terrified that he will be still be waking me up all night long and not sure how I’ll cope. If anyone has any ideas on what I could change I would be very grateful Smile

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Ginnymweasley · 16/07/2019 16:49

Totally normal for a 3 month old to wake up during the night. He is probably hungry. My 1 year old still has 1 feed during the night some nights. There is not much you can do other than ride it out. He is still so little his sleep will change loads over the next year with weaning, teething etc.

Sunflower160 · 16/07/2019 17:15

I would feed him, he is probably hungry. My DS is breastfed during the night and has a feed around 1-2am and another at 5am. Just because he isn’t crying doesn’t necessarily mean he doesn’t want a feed, he might go down for longer with a fuller tummy.

Thesearmsofmine · 16/07/2019 17:17

Feed him when he wakes. It’s normal for a 3 month old baby to wake in the night.

simplekindoflife · 16/07/2019 17:20

Your 3 month old baby sleeps better than my 4 year old! Confused

simplekindoflife · 16/07/2019 17:23

Sorry, not helpful, I'm just slightly jealous here about 7pm till 6am with only one wake up!

I'd say he's hungry. Most babies still need a night feed at this age. Hopefully he'd sleep in longer in the morning then.

MindatWork · 16/07/2019 18:51

I would feed him OP - just because he’s not crying, doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not hungry.

What you’re describing is totally normal behaviour for a 3 month old - I imagine the reason he’s waking every 30 minutes is because he’s hungry.

DD fed more at night and was also a nightmare with her morning feed at this age too so it may be a regression/developmental thing.

PotteringAlong · 16/07/2019 18:54

You can’t change a thing. It’s completely normal. My 2.5 year old doesn’t sleep through. Last night my 4 year old didn’t.

This is what young children do. Thinking it’s something you can sort out or solve (or, in fact, that it’s a problem that needs solving) is the way madness lies.

hormonesorDHbeingadick · 16/07/2019 18:55

What you are describing is not morning for a 3 month old- they normally wake up much more frequently. He is still little just feed him.

PotteringAlong · 16/07/2019 18:55

But I would also feed him every time he woke up at 3 months old.

TheSheepofWallSt · 16/07/2019 18:56

A breastfed baby at that age is likely hungry. DS was breastfed to 2, and he fed 2-4 times a night until he was a year.

Sexnotgender · 16/07/2019 18:58

I still feed my 5 month old every time he wakes. He gets up usually 1-3 times per night.

Bringonspring · 16/07/2019 18:59

Totally feed!!!!!

NeverGotMyPuppy · 16/07/2019 19:01

Yeah at that age I would feed. 6 months maybe not but yeah feed him for now.

NeverGotMyPuppy · 16/07/2019 19:02

@simplekindoflife OP has said that he has gradually got worse and is waking every 30 mins/every hour.

Celebelly · 16/07/2019 19:36

Sounds like he is reverse cycling:

kellymom.com/bf/normal/reverse-cycling/

If he's distracted and not feeding well during day, he will be trying to make up for it overnight.

Celebelly · 16/07/2019 19:38

Also I feed my five month old DD at least once a night - if it's been more than three hours since she last woke I figure she is probably hungry or thirsty, particularly in this heat. I'd try feeding him at his first wake-up and see what happens.

ColaFreezePop · 16/07/2019 19:56

Your LO is totally normal.

My DD fed like this at 3 months. She then had her vaccinations and regressed for 2 weeks so was waking up every couple of hours. After that she went back to feeding like this until 6 weeks after she was weaned just before 7 months.

I went back to work when she was just over 4 months so her father looked after her. I was a walking zombie.

Luckily my work meant I could work from home a few days a week. I would bf her 2 times in the morning before work and 2 times in the evening/night. Her middle evening/night feed was actually a bottle.

Emeraldbuttons · 16/07/2019 20:33

Thanks everyone for your replies, it helps to hear what everybody else thinks. This is my first baby and it’s all a bit overwhelming knowing what to do for the best. I forgot that he did have his vaccinations last Monday, maybe that has contributed towards it. He’s also just started to roll over the last few days. I guess I’ll go with the flow and feed him more at night as that’s what he seems to need at the moment.

OP posts:
MonkeyTrap · 16/07/2019 20:35

Definitely normal. My four month old went from 9-530 to hourly wake ups at about 3.5 months. All my mummy friends are going through the same. I feed on demand, including through the night. He’s not waking every hour now, but it’s not quite as good as it was yet.

Elmo311 · 16/07/2019 20:57

Hello, not BF advice as both mine are FF.
My 14 week old has slept through since 6 weeks old, so did my son. My son used to wake frequently but it was because the dummy had come out as he used to knock it out of his mouth with his hands, we then swaddled him and so the dummy rarely came out and it then he slept through.

We ended up moving him to his own room from 4mo as we were all waking each other up with general movements during sleep / grunts etc.

GinIsHappiness · 16/07/2019 20:58

Totally normal

EAIOU · 16/07/2019 21:08

They have a growth spurt around 3month stage I'm sure. Their little brains and bodies are developing at rapid pace and usually causes all sorts of changes.

Definitely keeps you on your toes!

Congratulations on your lovely baby!

MindatWork · 16/07/2019 22:31

Sounds like a good plan OP - my DD is now 8 months and still keeps me on my toes with chopping and changing her feeding habits!

Fingers crossed for a better night tonight x

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