Is my baby actually hungry?

[jessetta28]

Help - we seem to be in the middle of an early sleep regression. 12 week old DD is not a good sleeper, but until a week or so ago we would generally get one 3-4 hour stretch somewhere in the night from c. 8 weeks. We now get hourly or less wake ups, always wanting food - before she’d be able to soothe on a couple of occasions with her thumb. These feeds take 5 mins or less and she falls sleep straightaway offthe boob but can’t be moved till deep sleep 15 mins later. She can’t be that hungry if she’s happily go for longer previously and feeds well during the day?! She should consolidate her feeds, no...

Can anyone help? I’ve tried soothing her in her crib - she just thrashes around and wakes up more!

Had the same at that age, what worked was keeping her awake to feed for at least 20 minutes (by fiddling with ear and undressing). It broke the cycle.
They can be hungrier than previously if they are working on a growth spurt.

I think especially when they’re so young their need for milk overnight isn’t static. They develop and grow so fast sometimes they can be much hungrier overnight. If feeding settles her back down I’d just go with that for now.

@GirlCalledJames

Had the same at that age, what worked was keeping her awake to feed for at least 20 minutes (by fiddling with ear and undressing). It broke the cycle. They can be hungrier than previously if they are working on a growth spurt.

Thanks very much both.

This makes sense, I’ll try similar. How long did this stage last for you?

We got her onto 4–5 hour blocks instantly through making her do one decent feed instead of snacking. Within a few days that turned into sleeping through the night, which lasted until the 4 month sleep regression.

This is getting worse 😫 she will now barely be put down in the crib after feeding to sleep and we have to either hold her or jiggle her on my lap on top of the duvet...all night.

She’s chronically overtired and miserable in the day from it. Obviously I can’t hold her all night...