My daughter is 4 months and has always been a really good sleeper and eater. She is a breastfed baby and is a good one. For some unknown reason she has been waking up crying and easlity awoke especially at night and not napping very well going on the 5th day. The only thing to calm her is usually giving her the breast. I am not sure if this is only a growth spurt that she will soon grow out of or what I should do. I dont like to use any medications unless it is neccasary and also want to make sure she is fed good and can get a good night sleep. I am puzzled and not sure how to handle this issue. Any advice or experience would be really helpful.
Thank you in advance
Take her to the chiropractor. That ALWAYS helped my babies. As soon as they quit sleeping I would get them adjusted and you could tell the difference the 1st night!!!
this is common for babies. just keep doing what you are doing - nurse her whatever it takes. babies are actually programmed to wake often - this helps prevent SIDS, so i would be MORE worried about a baby who sleeps soundly all the time.
it could be that some teething is starting, or perhaps she has an earache or something? trust your gut. it IS ok to nurse her on demand, it IS ok to cosleep (have her sleep in your room in her bed) or even bedshare (sleeping in the same bed or bedside sleeper for her)
its safer than people let on as long as you are not drinking or under the influence of any drug,.... etc.
if its teething, there should be bumps in her gums. the teeth might not break through for another month or 2 or more... but the teeth can pop up and down for a while. there is a brand - hylands - which is all natural and seems to work well! i even tried it for my wisdom teething pain (my son and i can feel each others pain since we are both teething molars LOL) and it works pretty good.
good luck, remember that this stage WILL pass, and you might very well miss it. trust yourself, you have the specific instincts for your specific child, no one else but dad has that! so trust IT before you trust ANYONE or ANYTHING else! :D
Sounds to me like she may be hungry. Maybe introducing some cereal in some pumped milk would help.
Four months is growth spurt time! Just feed her as often as she needs. It will get better and she will sleep again. :)
Please please please don't introduce formula or rice cereal or solids of any form. It will only hurt your breastmilk supply, and possibly your daughter. Babies don't need rice cereal at four months. (And for goodness sakes, NEVER put it in a bottle!)
Good luck to you!
it does sound like a typical growth spurt. even if she doesn't want to eat ... I am out of the loop for a while now (my youngest being 3, one on the way but that doesn't help) but it may be possible she is starting to break her first tooth, with my second child, his teeth came out and went back in for quite a while before it decided to stay out...teething can make strange changes (crankiness and waking at abnormal hours) in infants...
At four months, your baby might be working on a new skill, like rolling over, that is keeping her up at night. Babies work so hard to achieve their skills that it literally keeps them up at night! It happens when they are learning to roll over, crawl, pull up, and walk. It could also be a growth spurt. Like all things with babies, it will pass. When she's older, you'll realize the phases passed too quickly! Enjoy your time with her!
Welcome to the 4 month growth spurt! Its totally normal, and just feed her on demand. she is upping your milk supply, and her body is going through the biggest growth spurt in her 1st year.
I promise she will grow out of it, and the 4mo growht spurt is the longest... so it could be a week, or a month, but she WILL outgrow it, just continue nursing her on demand.
You could have her ears checked. She might have an ear infection. What you described usually meant my kids had one of these. One of my kids always gets a fever with her ear infections and my other one never does. Just a thought.
4 months is the peak of acid reflux, try having her sleep in her car seat or slightly elevated and see if it helps.
I went thru a similar situation with my daughter about a month ago. It turned out to be a milk protein intolerance. So I had to cut dairy out of my diet. It has been hard but worth it. She is back to being happy and sleeping thru the night. I have also found that she is sensitive to the normal foods such as onions and garlic. My best advice is to talk to her pediatrician.
Hope it helps.
S.
My four month old just went through this too - I let the night feeding go on for two weeks (he hadn't eaten at night for over two months!) When it didn't stop, I finally decided that he was hungry - I've been giving him rice cereal, just at supper time for a week now and it has really helped with the night feedings. He hasn't woken up to eat for the past four nights, so I think it is helping! He is still nursing just as much too, so the addition of the cereal has not affected that.
Hi R.-
I breast fed both of my sons (5 year old and a 10 month old). Couple of ideas - have you been eating anything different? Chocolate, spicy foods, etc. can show up in your breast milk and upset the stomach of a breast fed baby. The 2nd thought is that yes, this is probably a growth spurt. The more you feed, the more milk you will produce for her. She probably will settle down - just feed her whenever she wants it. However, the same thing may happen again in a few weeks when she has another growth spurt. Remember, the breastmilk is more easily digested than formula so it disappears out of the stomach sooner. Unless you think something is really wrong like no wet or dirty diapers, refusing to eat, etc. then I would think this is just a stage. Hope my experiences help you!
J.
