My 3mth old has slept through (7pm-6am) since 8 weeks - however this week, he has been waking at 4am?

Question

every morning - I stick his dummy in and he then goes through til half five (he doesn't have his dummy at night) which is when I give him his first feed of the day. Anyone shed any light on this sudden change of sleep pattern??

Answer 1

I would agree it's a growth spurt and would suggest giving him a bit of extra milk in the day and try and make sure he takes all his bedtime feed. He may need a top up 'dream feed' between 10 and 12pm but if you do this don't rouse him too much and keep it dark. If he still wakes at 4am don't rush straight to him give him 10 mins to see if he resettles as long as he's not getting hysterical. If he won't go back down and you know he's had plenty of milk the previous day you could offer some cooled boiled water and you should find he will stop waking after a few days. Make sure there are no other reasons he could be waking in the night like noisy heating or sunlight coming through so you can rule out those facotrs.



He may also have a dummy association problem. Some experts recommend removing the dummy between 3 and 4 months so that the baby learns to self sooth with a comforter or something similar. Then when he wakes in the night he will be able to settle himself back to sleep. This certainly worked with our little boy but it's up to you. Many people love having the dummies well into toddler years.

Answer 2

Babies go through semi-predictable growth spurts (one is at about 12 weeks.) My guess is that he is waking up hungry, needing extra calories so he can start his growth spurt. His dummy holds him over for a bit until he does get his feeding. Is he suddenly eating more during the day? He may eat extra for a few days, then sleep extra hard/long for a few days, then go back to his 'normal' pattern.

Answer 3

he is hungry, probably having a growth spurt. my son has done at least 12 hours from 6 wks and now does 14 hours but last week he woke up 2 nights in a row twice for a bottle and that was it

Answer 4

You are one lucky mum! He's probably having a growth spurt and is hungry when he wakes at 4.So that is probably the culprit for the change.

Answer 5

He is getting up at 4am because he is getting too much sleep. If you was to give him less sleep for 2 days so he can fall behind in sleep hours, he will either get up at your normal time, or maybe an hour later.

Answer 6

feed him without turning on any lights or speaking to him & change his diaper. when done, give him the pacifier & leave the room. install black out blinds.