Teaching My Son to Sleep...

Maybe he's still hungry? They grow so quickly at this age. Does he bottle feed at all? Maybe offer another ounce or two. Breast milk (while nutritious) isn't as filling and he may be hungry. I'm not suggesting that you don't breast feed, I'm just saying he may need more.

I had a similar thing happen with my daughter, although she was a little older. She started waking once per night and a bottle made her happy. It lasted not even two weeks and then she was back to sleeping through the night. Growth spurt maybe?

yes, every baby is different.. but yours should be sleeping thru the night.. most babies sleep thru or maybe wake up once a night.. when they about 2 - 2 1/2 months old. I think the baby must be hungry. Are you pumping at all so you can see how much he or she is getting. This might help.. My niece is 9 weeks old and already sleeping thru the night.. she get a full 7 oz. before bed at about 9:30 and sleeps until 8 a.m. yes she is good.. but she also drinks a lot before bedtime. my other niece is 4 months old.. and she to sleeps thru the night.. she drinks about 6 oz. at 11 p.m. and sleeps until 6:30 or 7.... so it might be he is getting up because he is hungry.. maybe your not producing enough and need to supplement.. is he on the bigger side.. i know my one niece who is 9 weeks old.. was born 9 lbs. 8 oz.. so she is on the bigger side.. my other niece was 7.7 when she was born... the bigger one needs more formula to sustain her.. good luck

Hi W.. I happen to be a sleep medicine physician (and a mother). I'm not certain that I understand fully the problem, since you indicated that you nurse your baby twice a night and he's waking only 2-3x per night (to nurse twice plus just once more? or 2-3x in addition to the 2x for nursing?). In any case, I counsel patients that babies cannot sleep through the night consistently until they are at least 6 months old. They may sleep through on occasion or for short stretches of time prior to that, but this is a period of rapid growth and development and any number of things could wake a baby during the night---some factors that you may be able to identify (e.g. teething) and some maybe not. So, unfortunately, I'm not sure that you are going to gain a considerable amount of ground until the baby is a bit older. Nonetheless, the techniques you are using will prove immensely helpful since your son will be (is) already able to fall asleep on his own. Mastering this skill only becomes harder as the baby/child gets older. So stick with it and keep us posted!

Stay consistent, you're doing the right thing. At about 4 months, babies become aware of their outside surroundings. My son did the same exact thing around that age. We did Ferber with one feeding during the night till about 7.5 months. He'll push the limits a few times more, the trick is to stay to the routine and don't give in. Good luck to you and congrats for sleep training. Hang in there.

Hi W.,

Although I am a believer in sleep training and the Ferber method I think your baby is too young to be expected to sleep through the night. A large percentage of babies have night feedings until six months of age and I don't think I could let my baby cry it out that young. Until you are sure he is not hungry, teething, or has other needs (stomach issues etc) I wouldn't let him cry it out yet. You can however pat his bottom, or rub his belly without holding him so he learns to sleep independently in his crib. I don't even think cry it out is recommended until 6 months. I would check with the doctor maybe you can start some cereal and fruit for breakfast and before bed to help hold him over at night. Good luck I know how hard it is when you don't get consistent sleep. I didn't do cry it out until a year old and that was really horrible, so I wouldn't recommend waiting that long but 4.5 seems a little young to me.

While I didn't use these methods at all, and wouldn't have considered it, please be aware that they are not meant or recommended for very young infants. Dr Ferber himself has stated that his program is not for babies under 5-6 months to begin.

That happened to my twins at 3.5 months too! They were sleeping really well and then suddenly regressed. they were also rolling front to back and back to front etc.... it turns out that they were hungry and needed more food suddenly. The ped said that since they could hold up their heads and sit up (sit w/ assistance) that they were ready for solids. once we started them on a little rice cereal, they went back to normal. they are 4.5 months now and take 3-4 hour naps in they day and wake at 7am as well. The difference is that they only wake up once- sometimes twice at night. They usually get up for a feed at around 3:30-ish/4:30-ish and thats it. Hope this helps. Good Luck!

Ok well I dont want to sound harsh but it sounds like you are concentrating more on textbooks than your heart..No child is "expected" to do anything at such a young age. My son didnt sleep completely thru the night until he was 16 months old. Ferber method isnt for every child and parent. I personally could never do that. I feel when your child is crying and needs you that you go to them and reassure them, feed them, cuddle, whatever it may be.I nursed my son on demand, not what the textbooks/methods said was right. The books dont know you and your child, my advice is chuck the books and follow your heart and youll be a happier mommy and have a happier baby!

I know this might not be what you want to hear - I know it wasn't when my daughter was that age....around 4 months they become so distractable and excited about the world around them, sometimes they regress. Nighttime feedings can become very important to their overall calorie intake because often they don't nurse as well during the day ( mine doesn't!!). Some babies just wake at night and will grow out of it eventually. I know it can be hard to hear but if he's waking, it's because he needs something from you, whether that something is a feeding, a dry diaper or just a cuddle or some comfort nursing. It's hard, I won't pretend it's not, my daughter is 8 months and wakes at least twice a night still. You can try some of those approaches I guess, but to me most of them seem very harsh -- babies don't generally have the capacity to manipulate us by crying, its' their only way of communicating their needs. I hope he starts to sleep better for you soon.

Did he hit his 12 week growth spurt yet? Alot of times they wake more at night, this helps to increase your milk supply. If this is what it is, give it a week or so and it will calm back down. And at this age I wouldn't restrict night feedings. His stomach is really only the size of his fist and he can only hold so much. And breast milk is processed much faster then formula. If he's waking to eat, then he's truly hungry. Babies don't just wake up cuz they have nothing better to do. And if it is the growth spurt, this helps increase your milk supply for what he will need in the future. I never tried any of these sleep methods everyone seems to be so interested in. Just listen to your son. He will tell you what he needs. Most babies don't sleep through the night until they are 6 mos old. And lots of breast fed babies don't do it until their 1. This is totally normal. If it's a sleep issue for you try this. When my kids would wake to feed during the night, I would bring them into bed with me (not a habit I wanted to start, but if it helped me get more zzz's I'd do anything). Lay on your side facing the baby. Lay him on his side facing you so your belly to belly. Then get him to latch on and go back to sleep. When he's done he'll let go. And you can move him to the crib then. This is only for a short time. It will pass.