19 wk o started waking through the night..

[georgieporgie6]

my daughter has never slept for 5, or 6 hours straight, she always has her longest sleep between 7pm when I put her down, and normally wakes at 11pm ish for a feed. However for the last 3 nights she has been waking every two to 3 hours again, the worst bit being at 3 am when she decides it is time to play!!She is fully breastfed and I have become used to the broken sleep; as much as you can, up until now, by catching sleep in the daytime, however her daytime naps have reduced to 30 minute power naps! Does anyone have any suggestions?I would appreciate any advise or tips. I have tried more fresh air, more play time. I also have a routine of bathing and feeding and have done since she was 2 wks

Hi georgie,
Sounds rough - it's horrible when things like sleep patterns seem to regress.
Can you give a bit more information, as it's difficult to come up with ideas as to what might cause changed sleeping patterns without knowing a bit more e.g.:

Has anything changed recently in the household?

Do you have a routine for feeding/naps?

What do you do when she wakes at night?

Was this a gradual change, or did she suddenly switch from longer naps and sleep at night to short power naps and 2/3 hour waking practically overnight?

Did the naps get disrupted before the night time sleeping, or the other way round? Or was it both at the same time?

Sorry for the 20 questions, but hard to advise otherwise.

Her sleep has not regressed, she is going through the 4 month growth spurt. Just feed her as often as you can during the day. It's harder at this age to get BF babies to want to feed a lot because they're getting more mobile and are better able to explore their world (especially now that the oral exploration age has begun). The 4- and 6-month growth spurts can last a few weeks, but they do go. For daytime naps, try lying down with her and having a cuddle. If you let her nurse as soon as she stirs, she may go back off for another sleep cycle.

Do you still both get that 7-11 4 hours of sleep?

Make sure you do.

Don't be expecting sleep to improve, - it is all fits and starts, 4 steps forward and then 2 back. It is to do with developmental milestones and it is normal and natural.

You haven't done anything wrong and it will improve shortly.