Is the 4 month regression?

[theresaplaceforus]

My baby girl is 14 weeks and for the last 4 nights has started waking so many times in the night.
Previously she would do something like 8.30pm - 3/4 and then down again until 7/8 which wasn’t too bad although the early weeks were hell.
Now she is going down earlier 7.30 but waking at 10.30 and I’m not feeling her just trying to soothe, she will go down again for another couple of hours but then wake constantly as in every 20 minutes or so, not crying just awake and whimpering. I’m giving her her dummy but it’s not really helping. This morning I’ve fed her at 5.30 and she’s now asleep hopefully for a while as she hasn’t really had much sleep at all.
Any advice? Would some sleep training help? I’m more concerned about her than me I don’t want her to keep feeling upset when it’s clear she just wants to be asleep.

14 weeks is very young to be withholding a feed. My (second) baby is 20 weeks and goes down to bed at 7:30, I'll then give her a dream feed at 10ish when I go to bed, and she'll usually last til about 4:30 when I top her up and she's back down til 7am

I would definitely feed her later on in the evening to see her through the night. I know there's a bit of a pressure to get your baby sleeping through, but really if a baby can go 6 hours or so without a feed then you are winning!

I expect you are worried about creating bad habits by giving her a feed when she wakes but I promise you really are not x

Ps just to add yes it sounds like the dreaded regression, but all of a sudden you'll be out the other side of it, do what you need to do to settle her and survive it 😁

She sounds hungry? Definitely too early for sleep training ...

It may be she's hungry. Like a pp said a dream feed is something you could try. Sleep regressions are the devil but they do pass, it's just a development phase which is a good sign (although doesn't feel like it I know!). We did some sleep training and it worked wonders for us, but totally up to you what you're comfortable with. We used Jo Frosts method of controlled timed crying (or something like that). You basically just go and soothe without picking up or talking and double the length of time each time you go in (so 2 mins, 4 mins, 8 mins etc). Be prepared for a rough ride though, it's awful to listen to so you need nerves of steel! The last thing I would say is that it's not recommended you do sleep training in the middle of a regression or if they're ill (obvs) so you need to be sure baby is well and that you're out of the sleep regression. This will pass, the first one is always the hardest but it does end!

I'd feed at 10.30 for sure. Whilst sleep regressions are definitely a 'thing', some of it is also just natural changes in a baby's sleep as they get older.

Oh gosh she probably is just hungry I think where she has gone for longer stretches before I just thought she didn’t really need a feed in the night anymore I feel terrible. Tonight I’ll feed her at 1030 ish

Don't feel terrible! You're doing a smashing job. Having a baby is all about trial and error. Sorry if I made you feel terrible, not my intention at all!

Don't feel bad about it at all- there's stupid articles which I've seen saying once the baby sleeps through don't get into the habit of feeding as you'll undo it all. In my experience that is complete nonsense... also never feel bad just chalk it up to experience. They don't come with instructions, it's a minefield, especially with your first x

My baby is 14 weeks and we are having something similar. She used to only wake up once per night (and had done for weeks), but last week suddenly woke every couple of hours. She doesn’t cry but fusses for a while. I’m leaving her for ten minutes to check whether she resettles, and if she doesn’t then I feed her.

I’m going to go against the grain above, your baby isn’t hungry every 20 minutes. Maybe feed at 10.30 and see what happens after that.