A Few Questions About 4 Mth Old

Hi S.,

maybe he's spitting up cause of the formula he's taking? Have you tried a different kind specifically for kids who get gas?

My son also had a change in schedule after our visit to Texas this summer (my hubby's parents are there). I just stuck it out and after about a week or two he went back to sleeping through the night. I think they go through changes periodically cause now he's getting up at 5:30am instead of his usual 7am. But i think it's important that you try not to feed him when he wakes up in the middle of the night. Otherwise it'll be a habit and he'll continue to do so. Try giving him a pacifier or rocking him back to sleep. My friend set her alarm to 10 mins before he usually wakes up and woke him up herself. Then she slowly started to set the alarm to 9 mins before, 8 mins before - he was waking up by habit so she got him to train on her clock. After a week, he would sleep through if she didn't wake him up.

Good luck!

Hi S.. Does your son cry when he spits up? My daughter would do the same thing and she was diagnosed with Reflux. I think that it is just a matter of coincidence that all of this occurred when you were with family. My daughter will fluctuate from 4 oz's to 5.5 oz's every two hours. She is three months old. Just like with us, they have a bigger appetite some days. As far as the cereal in the bottle goes, I read up on that very subject and it is a major no no. The cereal can actually be aspirated into their lungs and there is no research that proves that giving them cereal prior to bed time will make them sleep through the night. Up until about 9 months of age, you can expect them to wake up at least once a night to feed, maybe two. My daughter slept through the night for two weeks and now she wakes up at 3:00 am to eat. She goes down between 7-7:30 and gets up about 7:00. One poopy diaper a day is fine, some babies dont go but every couple of days. I hope that this helps. I honestly dont think that your little guy has a problem. One more thing, my daughter doesnt burp after every feeding either. Try it, but dont stress if he doesnt.

If your son has doubled his birth weight he might be ready for solid food. I had the same problem with my daughter when she was 4 mo. Check with your pediatrician.

Hi S.,
I too am a proud Navy wife! My son is now 2, but when he was born, I let him set his feeding schedule. I didn't bottle feed, but still, I let him tell me when he wanted to eat, and for how long. You can't spoil a 4 month old. At that age, babies aren't going to be on the same "schedule" for long, as they grow, they will want to eat either more often, or more at each feeding. Their little bodies are in a constant state of growth. I guess that's why I chose not to set feeeding schedules, or nap schedules for that matter. Pay attention to the signs your baby gives you. He will tell you when he's tired, and when he's hungry. My son fell into a schedule all on his own. As for the spitting up, that's mostly normal. My son spat up after every feeding until he was on solids. Even then, he still spit up every now and then. He didn't start sleeping through the night until he was 5 months old, and even after that, he still had some nights where he woke up during the night just for a snack. It think what he wanted more than to eat was to cozy up to mommy for a little bit. Also, changes in routine can undo some things. Traveling will disrupt everything from appetite to sleep patterns. I wouldn't get too worried, Again, just pay attention to your son's signals, and what he's trying to tell you. If you take your cues from him, rather than try to tell him when he needs to sleep and eat, things may smooth out for you. It worked for us. Good luck, and God Bless!

S.,
I am a mom of a retired Air Force man myself! I have three boys 11, 10, and 6.
I first ask about when your son spits up. How much? Is it just a little and you can take a tissue and wipe his mouth or is it more. If more, then maybe he needs soy formula. Does he bring his knees up and you can tell he is uncomfortable. I had two babies like that. They are allergic to milk. Also, at four months, no baby really needs cereal. Babies can go to 6-8 months on formula alone. I know some doctors tell their moms to give a baby cereal to help the babies sleep through the night but it is just something to waste your money on and it goes right through the baby, in my opinion. I think his schedule got interrupted on your trip and he just has to get back home and back on his regular schedule. He will. Four month olds cannot be spoiled and will make their own schedule. Listen to him. He will tell you when he is hungry. Babies at this age tell us a lot if we just watch and listen. You are doing good!!! A.

I have 2 boys of my own 16mos and 3yrs old. I personally do not beleive in a schedule because I look at it like you don't put yourself on one. My youngest son was up to 8ozs by this time because I guess the milk wasn't holding him. I did give him cereal in a bowl I think morning, afternon and right after a nice bath and then he was out. Do you feed him a bowl of cereal? I think the bottle thing is the easy way out but if you have time fix him a bowl. I think you can start at least the stage 1 fruit also you could but a lil of it in the cereal. As far as the throwing up I'm not sure because they both was so greed nothing ever came back up. But still burp him and sit him upright probably about 30mins after feeding. I know burping might take a while but he's still small and needs it.As far as the sleep at night I'm not sure, they both slept at night. Hope this was helpful.

Hi S.,
How many ounces of formula a day is your son taking in? A 4 month old should be getting at least 38 ounces in a 24 hr period. Also, 4 month olds do go through growth spurts so that is probably why he wants to eat in the middle of the night. Check with your pediatrician about the spitting up, he may have reflux, there are some formulas out there to help with spitting up. Also, we had the same problem with our baby, his system just wasn't ready for formula at 4 months. Good Luck! :)

try goodstart and then stop giving him cereal in bottle. he might be having trouble digesting everthing. he's still young yet for cereal. wait til about 6 months.

Just a few thoughts based on my kids:
First, if he's crying before eating or at all afterwards, that may be making him spit up later. You might want to try offering more (like 7 or 8 oz) and see if that changes anything.
Second, he could be starting teething. That can affect so much, including making a baby gassy, diaper rash, spitting up, fever...the list goes on and on.

Not sure if this will help, but hope it does. Good luck!

It sounds like your little guy might have acid reflux. My son had this and he would do the same things your guys doing. Does your guy wake up screaming in the middle of the night? When he does cry does it sound like he's in pain? I would talk to your doctor. When my son started Zantac, he was like a different child, it was amazing to see the difference. The first night we gave it to him, he slept through the night and hasn't stopped since.

I scanned through a couple posts and I disagree with the one that said he should be drinking 38 oz of formula each day. Different babies have different needs. Your dr can advise you on how much your baby should actually be drinking each day. My son is almost 6 months old and he only drinks 20 oz per day. He is gaining weight just fine and developing perfectly. Formula companies will try to convince you that babies need more, but that's because you will buy more of their product that way.

As far as the spitting up, maybe the increased amount is too much for you baby. Try giving him just 5 oz at each feeding and see if the spitting up stops. If it doesn't, there are formulas for babies who spit up frequently, you could try one of those. It takes 48-72 hours to see a difference from the formula.

Does your son take a pacifier? My son cries when his bottle is empty but if we give him the pacifier for a minute it calms him right down. (it otherwise stays in his crib)

It is possible that your baby has acid reflux, but I wouldn't think its likely since this is a new development. My son has very severe acid reflux and has since he was a couple weeks old. My concern would be that many drs and parents are quick to medicate, and at times its not necessary.

Its normal for babies to have only one poop per day, some even go only once every couple days. He could be gassy from the rice cereal you are adding to the bottle. And speaking of that, adding cereal to the bottle should only be done under a drs recommendation. Also, there is no proof that it actually helps the baby sleep through the night.

Your son is 4 months old, have you tried feeding him cereal from a spoon? My son loves to eat from a spoon and it has helped with his spitting up.

As for the night wakings, you could try getting him to go back to sleep without feeding. Some babies still need those late night/early morning feedings though. You should first check with your dr to make sure its ok for you to encourage your son to sleep through the night. My husband and I have a "rule" that if Cody wakes before 5:30 AM he doesn't get a bottle. If it's 5:30 or later he gets a bottle. When he wakes we just ignore him unless he starts crying. If he's crying we pat his back, give him the paci and he goes back to sleep within mins.

I hope I have offered some useful advice! Feel free to contact me if you want more info or details about any of it!

Wow.. you have a lot of diverse responses. I don't pretend to be an expert but I will share my experience. It was right around 4 months when my son (bottle fed) started waking up several times a night and needed a bottle to go back to bed. ---- It was also about this time that we started using Dr. Ferbers book to sleep train him. It turned out that he didn't need to eat, he just had an unhealthy sleep association that needed to be broken. Within a week and a half he was sleeping all night. Please contact me personally if you want to talk more about this. Good luck, if you do this right, sleep may be in your future!!!!

S. -

Relax. I know it is hard to be a fist time mom (I am one too), but know that you are doing a great job. It is not easy.

I am wondering a few things. Teething and a learned response.

Perhaps your baby is starting to teethe, hence the waking up in the middle of the night. My son is 14 weeks and has started this habit. I give him a wet washcloth to suck on for a while, and then he goes back to sleep.

Also, it is possible that your baby is not hungry when he cries. Try changing his diaper, rocking him to sleep, or a teething reliever. If that doesn't stop him from crying then try to feed him. Although you may think he is eating too much, I have a friend who's son has eaten a lot since he was 3 months old ... every baby is different.

Finally, my son is also a lazy burper. To solve this problem I do one of two things. First I put him on his tummy for a few minutes. He normally will burp himself that way. If nothing happens, I turn a boppy backwards and place my son on his tummy in the boppy with his arms slung over the edge. He mornally kicks his feet for a while and then burps. Try that it may help.

Good luck!

Hello! I don't know much about bottle fed babies, because I'm out of practice (worked in daycare w/them, but breastfed my own). I would ask the Dr. about the spitting up alot if it is really increasing, it may be an intolerance to the formula!? Anyway, as to waking in the night more often, it could be that he is going through a growth spurt and needing to be fed more often, or the trip may have thrown off his schedule. You could try to get him back to sleep w/out the bottle and see if that works, but it may just be that he is needing some extra because he's growing right now! Good luck!

Hello S.-

For your first issue, I would suggest talking to your doctor to see if your son might have reflux. In the mean time, make sure you're using good feeding techniques - have him sitting as upright as possible when your feeding him, burp him mid-bottle and then after, don't lay him down flat for at least 30 minutes after he's done eating. It is up to you whether you want to try to get him back on a feeding schedule, but there is nothing wrong with feeding him on demand...though most babies his age are probably hungry about every 2-3 hours so you might find if you just feed him when he acts hungry he will fall into his own pattern of eating. I mean, my son is 6 months old and I never really tried to set a schedule for him, but he generally is hungry when he wakes up in the morning and then again only 2 hours later (I guess from not having eaten so long through the night)but after that he eats about every 3-4 hours until he goes to bed at a little after 8pm.

For your second question, with the waking up, he may be going through a growth spurt and that is disrupting his sleep...next week he may settle back into his normal sleep pattern, so you might need to wait it out for a few more days. You could try not doing the cereal in the bottle - for some babies that might work (though I think I read that cereal in the bottle was one of those old-wives-tale sort of things) it seems like its not helping your son and as a previous post said, it could actually be causing him tummy issues.

One poop a day at his age is totally normal. For the burping, if he won't burp then don't try too hard...sometimes over-burping can cause spit-up too. I would just try for a few minutes and after that keep him upright for a while.

Good luck! Let us know what ends up working for you :)