>So your four-month-old who previously slept consistently all night with the exception of one or two quick feedings suddenly starts waking up every hour and a half. What’s wrong? What do you do?
I think you probably have some immediate ideas and suggestions. If you don’t find yours below, feel free to email me or comment here, because I can tell you that we are in the middle of sleep-deprivation hell (not to be confused with other kinds of hell, like not having a job hell or living in a war zone hell, both of which are obviously worse).
So this is what’s been going through our minds for the past two weeks:
Maybe…
~He’s teething. (checked and saw nothing coming through, but gave Infant Tylenol just in case)
~He has a cold. (tilted up the mattress, plugged in the humidifier, and again tried Tylenol)
~He’s too hot. (changed his sleeper for a onesie and his fleece swaddle blanket for a cotton one)
~He’s too cold. (changed back to a sleeper and replaced fan for a new sound machine)
~He has gas. (more cutting out of dairy so now I eat NONE, along with those gas drops)
~He has a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. (stopped taking fenugreek to boost milk production)
~He’s going through a growth spurt. (upped bedtime bottle to six ounces)
~He’s ready for solid food. (started him on baby oatmeal and rice cereal; he loves it.)
~He’s about to make some developmental leap. (yes, he started reaching for toys and holding them and then he rolled over from his back to tummy for the first time. nothing we can do about that but ride it out.)
Ok, ok. So maybe it’s none of those.
Maybe it’s just that (sigh) he’s not yet sleep-trained to fall back to sleep on his own.
So we began phase one of the sleep training, too, on top of all of that. And if you’ve ever done any method of sleep training, you know that it gets worse before it gets better and it’s mentally and physically exhausting.
And suddenly he started sleeping normally again. Five or six hour stretches, only one or two wake-ups.
Ahhhhhh.
Except that the last two nights we’re back to every hour and a half. And if I look at the list above of what we did, I have NO IDEA which of those interventions actually worked, so most of them are still in place.
Which should bring you to one conclusion: that I am desperate for a chai latte, a pint of Chubby Hubby, and a decent night’s sleep.
>Oh dear, these 'phases' are so painful! And so life consuming! I can hear how frustrated you are! And how many scientific 'trials' are you doing! I convinced myself that wyeth would only sleep when he wore this bright orange jumpsuit because he slept one night while wearing it! So everyday, I'd duitfully find that thing and stick him in it with the hope that it would 'work'. So I feel your pain! The only thing I can think of is that it is developmental. Theo is waking up to the world around him! It sometimes happens that he also doesn't have good nursing sessions because there are things to see and do! Hello Sebastian! What was that? A car? A truck? What are these things? My fingers!? so maybe he is making up for those daytime distraction filled feedings by eating at night!?? Or does he just want to say 'hi'. Four months is often when littles wake up to the world…maybe that is happening! Either way, it is frustrating and exhausting! May Santa bring you Chubby Hubby and several nights of rest!! Been there, done that and lived to tell the tale! Hang in there!
>I don't see "send him to the grandparents for 8 hours" on your list. There is a wonderful hotel near here – you can drop him off and go check in for a darkened room and no disturbances. Close enough for emergency contact but too far to hear any 'wake-up' calls. The offer is on the table:-)
>funny – this thing they call sleep. I thought once my kids were grown they would sleep through the night and so would I. For the most part, they turned out to be pretty sound sleepers. I, on the other hand, have become such a light sleeper since needing to listen for little breaths, then little feet and little cries for the monster in the closet that I haven't slept a sound 8 hours in like, forever! Having wonderful relatives to take the babies does give you a nice break, Jessica! Take them up on it whenever you can!