4 Mo. Old - Growth Spurt + Sleeping

I wouldn't do the cry it out method at 4 months. They don't recommend that til at least 6 months. She could be hungrier at night time, you can start to try some baby cereal, she could have an ear infection,teething, or she could be too cold/hot. Try these first. With my 2nd. he didn't sleep well until after 7 months (he started teething at 3months) so we had many sleepless nights. It does get better. It gets worse before it gets better!! Have faith and just keep trying!

Whenever our kids (from baby on and still today--ages 4 1/2 and 2) start having rough nights we bring them to the chiropractor. We see an IMMEDIATE difference the FIRST NIGHT!!! I suggest trying the chiropractor.

Our son was like 12 hours old the first time he was adjusted! And he LOVED IT. He had a tramatic birth (shoulder distocia) and had to have cpr and be rushed to another hospital with a NICU and everything. But he came around and my midwife got him released to my husband to bring him back to the hospital that I was at. He pitstopped at the chiropractor and my husband said she did the cranial sacrial (sp?) thearpy on him and his eyes just rolled back and he moaned and went to sleep!!! HUGE difference.

They've worked wonders with our kids. Including curing ear infections that were doctor diagnosed (prescription written) and then chiropractor treated. Then we brought them back in to have doc make sure it was gone. YEP! Exact words the one time "oh, that medicine is REALLY doing its' job. Keep giving it to her till it's gone!" She never had a drop!!! LOL. We still laugh at that.

Good luck.

She's probably teething and is in pain. Don't make her cry it out, that's not going to solve anything. Instead teach her lovingly how to sleep by cosleeping and/or responding to her cries. It is an inconvenience having a baby, and the hardest part is having many periods of sleep deprivation. This won't last forever--hang in there and respond to your baby. She's not keeping you up all night because she's having behavioral issues; she's keeping you up because she needs you. After all, she's a baby. She can't communicate her feelings to you, and the only way she can communicate is by crying. I hope you both get sleep soon, gently and happily.

Hello,
Take it from a mom who never sleeps...this too shall pass. Henry, my 5 month old, used to wake every two hours to eat but one day, out of the blue, he slept for 6 hours! It just so happened that he stayed up late (waiting for gramma to arrive); normally he went to bed around 6 or 7 but that night, he wasn't in his crib until 9...I was so amazed! So, I've been keeping him up later and he continues to sleep a long stretch and then a few shorter stretches (12-14 hours in all). Secondly, we tried feeding him cereal at that age and, he too, wanted nothing to do with it (isn't it hilarious though!!!). He now eats two solid food meals a day (banana cereal in the mornin and sweet potatoes at night) and LOVES it! Finally, Henry had the same 3 month growth spurt but he also had one at 4 months, too! (actually, considering he now weighs over 22 lbs...I don't think he's ever NOT been in a growht spurt :}...).

So, what I would suggest would be to
1. let her fuss for a few minutes,
2. try to soothe her without feeding her,
3. keep her up later,
4. feed her if she's hungry...it may just be another growth spurt
5. try the cereal agian in a few weeks...henry likes it with mashed banana :}, and
6. reassure yourself that, yes, one day, you will sleep again!

Hope this helps!
S.

How quickly does she calm down when you do pick her up, or are just talking to her without feeding? And when she is in bed with you, does she sleep through the night then? My daughter is almost 4 months - and I got lucky this time around - she's been sleeping through the night since just about day one, but very rarely she will wake up middle of the night, will eat, and go right back down. I also have a 4 year old and he was a completely different story! With my daughter right now - I think she is beginning to teethe - and when she's upset over that, it doesn't matter if we're holding her or not - unless she's chewing on our finger (and sometimes even that doesn't work) - it's harder to calm her down. If it were pain - like from teething or an ear infection it would take quite a bit more to calm her - and certainly just having her in bed wouldn't do the trick either (most likely).

If she's not eating every time she's waking up - if she's still hard to put down - maybe she is hungry - and that would be a good sign of a growth spurt - if she calms right away when you pick her up - it's probably not feeding either. (Sorry if I'm not being much help - just trying to help rule things out!)

When my daughter wakes up at say 5 or 6am and I have another half hour/hour to sleep and usually at that time she's just not tired, I will bring her back to bed with me - and that hasn't had any effect on her at all. With my son - very different story. He had a traumatic birth and was right away put on UV lights at home for jaundice - the lights had to be on 22 hours a day - so we kept him in our bed - and for him this did create a big problem when finally transitioning him to a crib. Basically what I'm getting at - every baby is going to be different.

I agree with a previous poster - growth spurts can last weeks. And if you're going to be staying somewhere else for a couple nights - that really might put a hinder on anything you might start trying at home anyways because you'll already be shaking up her "routine" a bit. I also agree to let her fuss/cry a little bit before actually going into her room to allow her to put herself back to sleep/calm down - but crying it out isn't a great option. Especially if you don't know what the issue is yet - all that's going to do is put her back to sleep by exhausting her and may not do anything for the following nights if it's an actual "issue".

Other things to consider........she may have an ear infection (that can cause babies to wake often), she could be cutting teeth, or she could actually be hungry. I would not let her cry it out. She is still very young for that and is crying and waking for a reason. Growth spurts can last up to two weeks, so give it some time. I wouldn't bring her to your bed if you are not wanting this to be a long term habit. When she wakes, let her fuss a little (not screaming and frantic crying, but fussing) - she could just be waking up while going through sleep cycles. I would have her ears checked though to be sure that is not the case. Good luck with everything!