3 Month Old Weird Sleeping and Eating

Updated on May 20, 2009
W.G. asks from Aledo, TX
13 answers

My daughter is 3 months old and is still not sleeping more than 4-5 hours through the night. My son who is now almost 3 was sleeping through the night at 8 weeks. I know every kid is differemt but I cant seem to get her on a schedule. She is different everyday. She has GERD so I just started putting 1 tbsp. of cereal to 4 oz. formula and it has helped a lot. She still wont take more than 4 oz. at a time. I try to feed her as late as possible and she still gets up at around 3 am and then again between 6 and 7. Has anybody else gone through this and what is the best way to get her on track? Thanks in advance!!

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J.C.

answers from Dallas on

Don't feel bad my 7 month old still won't sleep through the night. My first daughter took 8 months to sleep through the night. I can't tell you how much my baby eats because she is a breast baby. Good luck and be patient.

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M.A.

answers from Dallas on

Oh W., you poor thing, I hate to have to tell you this. Sorry, but your daughter is not weird, actually your son was weird and you just think it's the other way around. Your daughter's eating and sleeping habits are perfectly normal. There is nothing wrong with it. There is nothing you can do or should do to try to change it. As she gets older, it will get different, but you are just going to have to stick it out for now. I don't think that you should try to manipulate her sleeping/feeding schedule any. She will adjust it herself when she is ready. I would however suggest that you go to her pediatrician and ask about the possibiblity of giving her Prevacid to help with the GERD. They give it to babies frequently. It often helps, and it could help her sleep better if the GERD is waking her up, but I doubt that is what is waking her up. She really still should only sleep 4-5 hours. But it wouldn't hurt to try out the Prevacid, the doctor can give you like 2 weeks worth of samples to try and see if it helps before you buy any. Although it is definitely okay and safe for a 3 month old baby to sleep for say 6-8 hours at a time if that is their style, it should not be expected and is definitely not the norm. Sorry your son's weird sleeping habits misled you! Mine wasn't even sleeping at 5 hours at a time yet at 3 months, I was only getting about 3 hours out of her at age 3 months. She really increased her sleep about an hour with each month of age now that I think about it. At 3 months, she would only sleep 3 hours. By 6 months, she would sleep 6 hours. I think you are lucky to be getting 4-5 hours out of her. You will get through it! Then you will miss it! Good luck! You can do it!

2 moms found this helpful
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D.I.

answers from Dallas on

You don't need to worry about anything!!! Your kid is doing just fine. I have a 9 month old and he still takes around 4 oz of milk/formula every 3 hours. They have a very small tommy (size of a baseball), and they can't take more than 4 oz unless you have a really big baby. My son was ~5 lbs at birth. It's recommended that you start cereal only after your child is 6 months so that you can reduce allergies.

Regarding sleeping habits, a 3 month old baby is not supposed to sleep for more than 4-5 hours at a stretch. So the fact that your baby wakes up every 4-5 hours, you are good.

Don't worry..just enjoy your baby!!!

1 mom found this helpful
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P.G.

answers from Dallas on

Honestly, I think it's less a schedule and more a routine. I don't have experience with GERD, so don't know if that's contributing. Sounds kinda normal, actually! Sleep is wonderful - wish I had some! LOL

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W.P.

answers from Amarillo on

You might ask your pediatritian about a reflux wedge and a Tucker sling. It's a big foam wedge that fits in baby's crib and lets her sleep securely at about a 30 degree angle. Really helps with GERD. You can get them at a medical supply store (ours came from Britcare), and with a prescription your insurance may pay for all or part of it. It's been a great thing for my little one. The first night we put her to bed on it, she slept for 8 hours straight.
Best of luck to you!

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L.D.

answers from Dallas on

W.,
This is normal. She is only 3 months. I went throught this with both kids. Like you said, every baby is different. It isn't easy, is it? Good luck and be patient. It will get better as she gets older.

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M.M.

answers from Dallas on

Hi W.,
Maybe your baby is waking up because of GERD. When my baby was 3 months old we discovered she had GERD and that's why we had a hard time during the night. The doctor prescribed Prevacid. Since she started the Prevacid all the nightmares stopped. She continued the Prevacid until she was 1yr old. Also, when she was 6 mo. I started to use a memory foam pillow so it would help with the reflux and I noticed that helped with her skull too (she had a little of flat head). I would recommened to resolve the GERD problem first, then if you did every possible to resolve the reflux then is the way your baby is at night. God Bless!

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A.K.

answers from Dallas on

Every child is different. Filling their belly won't make them necessarily sleep longer. My 11 month old son has been a high needs baby and is still not sleeping through the night. I can't seem to get him on a schedule either. Consider yourself lucky-most the time my son wakes up every 2-3 hours. :) Your son sleeping through the night at 8 weeks is not the norm.

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M.W.

answers from Dallas on

Of my three, only one slept for longer than 4 hours at a time at that age. As someone already said, you were probably just lucky with your son.

I just embrace that this is the way it's going to be for now. It's certainly not awesome, but it's also not going to last forever.

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C.H.

answers from Dallas on

My son is 4 months and he sleeps about 3 to 4 hours before he wakes up for a feeding. Your daughter is perfectly normal and I wouldn't call her sleeping and eating weird at all. Does your baby take a pacifer? The doctor told us we could try the pacifer when he woke up if we wanted to try to extend his sleep, but I like the time I have with him.

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K.K.

answers from Dallas on

Sounds like she is doing great. She is little and will probably wake up for awhile...neither one of my kids slept through the whole night until they were 12 months...now they are great sleepers....get rest when you can but I would not rush her in this area.

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G.H.

answers from Dallas on

Hi W.,

My son and daughter didn't sleep through the night, they would wake to feed every 3 hours till they were almost 1 years old. Feeding her late might not be the answer. You might also consider changing her formula, she might need something else. Is she sleeping a lot during the day, if so, you might want to shorten her naps during the day. It's a trade off for the night, but it's up to you. My children are now 33 and 28 years old. I'm a grandmother and things are different from my days as a young mother. But I will tell you that your baby sleeping that long at night is great, there are a lot of women still getting up every 3 to 4 hours. I can remember the first night I slept 5 hours and it was great. Enjoy this time with your baby, it won't last long, they grow up fast. Hope this helps, G.

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L.S.

answers from Dallas on

You were just lucky with your son. Frankly, your daughter's sleep sounds pretty normal and not that bad. Drs consider sleeping about 5 hours to be "sleeping through the night" and not the 10-12 hours we wish they would sleep.

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