3 Month Old - Multiple Night Wakings

i beat myself up until my son was 5 monthes old because i wanted him to sleep like all of my friends babies did. then i realized that he was his own self! he needed me and my husband to be comfortable and that it's ok! they're only young for such a short time. it's also normal to need night time feedings when they're breastfed. eventually she will sleep on her own and in the mean time if she does need to sleep with you...at least you'll all finally get some sleep:) that made a world of difference for my family! good luck!

Hi K.
When my son started sleeping in his crib because of ear infections he slept in his swing before that but anyway we put a pillow under the mattress so it elevated the head a little bit and was still safe for him to sleep in. T.

Our son has reflux too and he will only stay asleep in his crib as long as the mattress is propped. We put some blankets under the head of the mattress and that keeps the acid down for him. Also we give him formula for his last bottle at night because it is thicker than breast milk and also helps with his acid at night. She should be getting close to sleeping through the night. But it sounds like her reflux is bothering her. Our son also would eat so soothe his reflux but would end up making it worse. You can also get a sleep book too which will help you to gauge where she should be. We use Good Night Sleep Tight by Kim West. It even has a section on medical conditions like reflux.

If a baby is hungry you should feed her. My daughter is 5 months and since birth she wakes 2-3 times a night to nurse. Even after a full meal and a 7oz bottle! I have had very minimal sleep since she has been here but once you can start solid foods it usually helps...mine is just growing fast.

If she's got acid reflux, your best bet is to keep her elevated, especially if it had been working for you before. If you have a baby swing or a baby bouncer, you can use either of those. I put the bouncer right in the crib for a while. You can get an acid reflux pillow for infants, or elevate her mattress with a rolled up towel. Our son had to sleep upright for quite some time due to reflux.

Bring her into bed with you! 3 months old is so young. An infant just wants the comfort and closeness of her mother. There is nothing wrong with bringing her into bed with you if it helps you both sleep better. Try not to have so many expectations of when she should be meeting such-and-such milestone in her development. My son is 10 months old and sleeps either in a crib right next to our bed or directly in bed with us. When he was much younger, he slept in our bed full-time and nursed throughout the night. You will have years and years starting in the very near future to train her to sleep through the night and not need you. Enjoy the precious moments now of her desiring such closeness with you. You're not going to spoil her. It's not possible with an infant so young. Nor will you train bad habits in her that can't be broken later. Take the transition to full-time sleeping alone in her own crib on a little-by-little basis.

Look: here is my advice for mothering in general. Women have been doing this for thousands of years, and it was only VERY recently that we started worrying about tips and tricks and books and websites and whether or not we're training them properly. Whenever I'm not sure about what I should do, I ask myself this: If I were a cave woman, what would I do? And generally whatever I come up with is usually my best course of action.

What would a cave woman do in your situation? I think she'd say, "Hey. I'm tired. My baby is tired. I'm not happy and my baby isn't happy. What's the most obvious way to solve all these problems? Sleep together at night!" Problem solved. Don't over think.

Then try again in a few months to see how she takes to sleeping in her own bed on a more regular basis. In other words - go with the flow.

And good luck!

S.

Growth spurts happen about every 6 weeks. It's possible she's in one. But they shouldn't go for more than about 4 or 5 days needing extra feedings if that is truley the cause of the extra feedings. Have you tried wrapping her? My boys always slept horribly in thier crib if they weren't wrapped.

Try a side car and nurse as needed. Something is happening that she needs attention. At this age the only way they can tell you they need something is to make noise. Just try to make this stage as least stressful for both of you as possible. Keep her at an arms length and nurse when in doubt. It is one of your best parenting tools. Ask Dr Sears is a Web site I swear by, Sears has never failed me.
Good luck and enjoy this fleeting time in your baby's life!
J.

I don't know anything about acid reflux in babies, but is there a chance she still needs to be sleeping in a chair? Cribs are pretty big for a 3 month old baby--do you have a bassinet she can sleep in? Have you tried swaddling her?

FWIW, I think 4 or 5 times a night is a lot, and I will surely take its toll on you... Don't let her nap too much during the day, and when she does wake up at night, don't turn on a bunch of lights or make much noise. Keep the room dim, your voice low, and put her right back to bed.

she could be hungry, breast milk is digested quickly, swaddling helped soothe my son to sleep when he was little. I miss rocking him in our amish rocker and nursing. enjoy this precious time

Does she actually seem hungry or is the bottle a vice to get back to sleep? If she is actually hungry, I would feed her. Babies go through all sorts of changes in sleep patterns. Our daughter went from waking 1 time at 3 months to waking 2 times at 5 months and 3 times at 7 months. This week she has been waking once per night and she is almost 8 months. You daughter could just need time to adjust to her new surroundings. Some people find their children wake more if they share a room. Moving her to another room may help.

Sounds like a growth spurt. She's a baby, feed her.