If LO wakes up between 3am-6am what do you do?

[Deleted]

We're losing the plot over here. DS2 had been STTN 7pm-6am and I haven't done a MOTN feed since he was really little, until the last couple weeks. Lately he's woken up crying anytime between 3am - 6am and won't go back down unless I BF him. I've tried shushing him, patting him, giving teething gel, etc etc. DH goes in too, but he's adamant for the boob and won't relent until he gets it. Then he's out like a light until morning.

I'm afraid of starting a bad habit - or rather conditioning his hunger to go off at those hours. I didn't have this with DS1 so I don't know what to do. DH reckons it's just a phase (possibly teething related) and won't form a bad habit. I'm worried it will. It's been getting earlier and earlier, last night he woke at 3am.

What do you do? Feed? Not feed? Other options??
Thanks and sorry it's long.

[TrudyCampbell]

I try as hard as possible not to feed. I usually have my H go in to soothe her so she doesn't get tempted by the boobs. If nothing works, I feed her. At that point I just assume she's hungry and needs it.

[lolaburns]

Luke has been doing this for the last 2-3 weeks. He used to STTN from 7 to about 7-8am. Now he wakes around 2am and he wants to feed, nothing else. So I give him an appetizer of 2oz. He's been waking again to feed around 5-6am which is still earlier than he used to. I figure it is a growth spurt/teething/developmental spurt of some sort and he really is hungry. I don't think we are making bad habits.

[vthokie]

Ansley has been doing this the past week too. She's STTN FOREVER, so it's really weird. I keep sending DH in so she isn't tempted by the boos, but she does this crazy yell thing when she's hungry and I know when she needs food before she'll go back down. I've (unfortunately) been feeding her around 3 each morning. I'm assuming it's a growth spurt of some sort and hopefully it will end soon.

[erniebufflo]

Etta does this and I put her in the swing and hand her a bottle.

[sunshineluv]

I feed him. It only happens on occasion, and then he goes back the next night to STTN. I haven't worried about creating a pattern. It is probably just laziness on my part, he nurses and goes back to sleep so easily, my sleepy mind thinks of it as a quick fix for the magic boob.

[laurack]

I feed usually if it's after 3. For her earlier wakings I try not to. I used to just feed her any time (4 times a night) to me she seemed legit hungry as she'd go to town on the boob. However then I read Ferber and it seemed ok maybe my 6 month old doesn't need 3+ MOTN feeds.

Because of bad habits/ hunger, I do try to avoid feeding more than once in the MOTN. But then my baby seems to tend towards latching onto bad sleep habits and hanging on for dear life... Ha. If you have generally an excellent sleeper you probably don't need to worry.

[Deleted]

I grumble about how it is too early on my way to her nursery and just feed her, mainly because I am too lazy then to try anything else. She went through a wake up at 4-5am everyday phase a few weeks ago, it lasted about 2 weeks and stopped on its own. Maybe it is just a phase?

[formerlyllizzyb]

I feed off one side anytime after 4. We all go back to sleep much quicker if I do this. Considering he goes to bed at 7 and normally wakes for a feed around 4:30 or 5....well, that's 9.5 or 10 hours of sleep. I figure although I'd prefer he sleep straight 7-6 or 7-7, what we've got going on isn't too bad. I've heard of other nine month olds doing much worse at night!

[jaime183]

We (really DH) feed because he chugs a bottle and goes right back to sleep. I figure if he doesnt stay up he must be legitimately hungry.
I also think besides teething- he's in a weird stage where milk doesn't completely hold him over but he's not ingesting enough solids (we do BLW) to make up for it. So I think he's hungry by 3am.
At our house it's really just how to get back to sleep the fastest.

[Deleted]

Thanks guys, it's helpful to hear others are in the same boat. Yes, it IS easier to just feed as he goes back down right away. Also as he's sharing with DS1 I don't really want to CIO and have him yelling away in there for ages.

LOL at Ernie, handing her a bottle - hear ya go, luv!

[erniebufflo]

Jan 4, 2013 22:19:58 GMT -5 @starbound said:

Thanks guys, it's helpful to hear others are in the same boat. Yes, it IS easier to just feed as he goes back down right away. Also as he's sharing with DS1 I don't really want to CIO and have him yelling away in there for ages.

LOL at Ernie, handing her a bottle - hear ya go, luv!

These days she is so proud that she can hold her own bottle, she rarely lets us feed her. Works great and the swing is by our bedroom door.

[thedahliharpa]

We nurse at around 3am nightly. H did for quite some time but eventually outgrew it. I'm sure her sister will follow suit

[Deleted]

Jan 4, 2013 22:27:52 GMT -5 thedahliharpa said:

We nurse at around 3am nightly. H did for quite some time but eventually outgrew it. I'm sure her sister will follow suit

Yeah I guess I will just suck it up and do the same. I had gotten used to STTN and had it my head that I wasn't doing MOTN feeds. But letting him cry and go in and shush and back out again x 20 over the course of 2 hours is way more work than just nursing him. At least I can be back in bed in 10 mins and less tired in the morning.

We had girls' night last night so I only got 4 hours due to DS2's shenanigans |-)

[charlielove]

Jan 4, 2013 22:27:52 GMT -5 thedahliharpa said:

We nurse at around 3am nightly. H did for quite some time but eventually outgrew it. I'm sure her sister will follow suit

Same here. Sometimes she is up twice, but no matter what she is always up around 3. Claire did this too, until she was about 12 months.

[thedahliharpa]

Jan 4, 2013 22:32:31 GMT -5 @starbound said:

Jan 4, 2013 22:27:52 GMT -5 thedahliharpa said:

We nurse at around 3am nightly. H did for quite some time but eventually outgrew it. I'm sure her sister will follow suit

Yeah I guess I will just suck it up and do the same. I had gotten used to STTN and had it my head that I wasn't doing MOTN feeds. But letting him cry and go in and shush and back out again x 20 over the course of 2 hours is way more work than just nursing him. At least I can be back in bed in 10 mins and less tired in the morning.

We had girls' night last night so I only got 4 hours due to DS2's shenanigans

I hope it was a good girls night!

[charlielove]

She's never STTN so I don't know what I'm missing, but that is tough to get used to again I'm sure, star.
Hope girl's night was worth the little sleep! Didn't you go to a movie? How was it?

[claralou]

Jan 4, 2013 22:32:38 GMT -5 charlielove said:

Jan 4, 2013 22:27:52 GMT -5 thedahliharpa said:

We nurse at around 3am nightly. H did for quite some time but eventually outgrew it. I'm sure her sister will follow suit

Same here. Sometimes she is up twice, but no matter what she is always up around 3.

Same here. 3am seems to be the magic time.

[Deleted]

Curse of 3am!!
We just went to dinner at a great Nepalese restaurant. No kids constantly interrupting us, and a couple bottles of wine.

DH and I had a MOTN argument about what to do re: DS2 and I was too annoyed to go back to sleep right away. DOH! So we were all awake from about 3am-5am. Then DS1 was up at 6am calling from the bathroom wanting his bum wiped. Kids! Who needs em

[devotchka]

Jan 4, 2013 21:48:33 GMT -5 @starbound said:

We're losing the plot over here. DS2 had been STTN 7pm-6am and I haven't done a MOTN feed since he was really little, until the last couple weeks. Lately he's woken up crying anytime between 3am - 6am and won't go back down unless I BF him. I've tried shushing him, patting him, giving teething gel, etc etc. DH goes in too, but he's adamant for the boob and won't relent until he gets it. Then he's out like a light until morning.

I'm afraid of starting a bad habit - or rather conditioning his hunger to go off at those hours. I didn't have this with DS1 so I don't know what to do. DH reckons it's just a phase (possibly teething related) and won't form a bad habit. I'm worried it will. It's been getting earlier and earlier, last night he woke at 3am.

What do you do? Feed? Not feed? Other options??
Thanks and sorry it's long.

I feed or binky him, depending on whether he takes the binky or not. We co-sleep though and it's hard not to feed him for me bc of that - and he wakes up a lot lately in general so I'm probably not much help

[lauranicole91]

Diaper change, nurse, out like a light. Her 4:30am nurse is her best nurse in an entire 24hrs. She's chugs down for at least 8mins total. I don't dare take that away from her.

[Deleted]

Jan 4, 2013 22:54:17 GMT -5 lauranicole91 said:

Diaper change, nurse, out like a light. Her 4:30am nurse is her best nurse in an entire 24hrs. She's chugs down for at least 8mins total. I don't dare take that away from her.

I had to STM at this. Yes we are lucky to get 5 mins at a time, during the day. 8 mins! woah Pey! she's really camping out on there

[eav2c]

If shushing/patting doesn't work, I don't really think twice about BFing him. He already doesn't have the best habits when it comes to MOTN problems but I feel like he needs it because there have been plenty of times that I've been able to shush and pat him with no issues so when he doesn't respond to that... I figure, he really does need to eat.

[wildcatprincess]

Jan 4, 2013 22:27:52 GMT -5 thedahliharpa said:

We nurse at around 3am nightly. H did for quite some time but eventually outgrew it. I'm sure her sister will follow suit

Same. Well, DS nurses around 3 AM....DD nursed about 4 other times on top of that. But if she could outgrow all that I figure he'll drop the one eventually.

[AndyCohen]

Audrey's default is to STTN, so if she's crying I'll usually go feed her because I know it's a developmental or teething phase or maybe she didn't eat enough the day before. Sometimes she just wakes up and lightly complains and babbles. I don't go in until the complaints get stronger and it doesn't seem like she's going to go back to sleep. I hope this is just a phase for your little guy as well!

[Deleted]

I'm still nursing her so I get up and feed her.. hate that time of night feeding but it's easier than having her really upset and crying.

[biblionerd]

I'll paci, shush, and pat, but if that doesn't work I don't hesitate to (grumpily) feed. She falls right back asleep. I never really subscribed to the idea that since they've been sttn that they aren't hungry. Their needs change. Hell, I have off days and wake up starving in the middle of the night. If she needs me, she needs me!

[creamsiclechica]

Jan 5, 2013 1:08:10 GMT -5 biblionerd said:

I'll paci, shush, and pat, but if that doesn't work I don't hesitate to (grumpily) feed. She falls right back asleep. I never really subscribed to the idea that since they've been sttn that they aren't hungry. Their needs change. Hell, I have off days and wake up starving in the middle of the night. If she needs me, she needs me!

Okay, this makes me feel good, biblio, because reading this I was getting anxiety like I'm wrecking my kid because I feed her if she wakes up and won't go back down, haha. She genuinely drinks, it's not like a comfort suck, so I thought it was okay to continue doing.

[biblionerd]

Jan 5, 2013 1:20:39 GMT -5 creamsiclechica said:

Jan 5, 2013 1:08:10 GMT -5 biblionerd said:

I'll paci, shush, and pat, but if that doesn't work I don't hesitate to (grumpily) feed. She falls right back asleep. I never really subscribed to the idea that since they've been sttn that they aren't hungry. Their needs change. Hell, I have off days and wake up starving in the middle of the night. If she needs me, she needs me!

Okay, this makes me feel good, biblio, because reading this I was getting anxiety like I'm wrecking my kid because I feed her if she wakes up and won't go back down, haha. She genuinely drinks, it's not like a comfort suck, so I thought it was okay to continue doing.

I really don't feel badly about it. Some people sleep train hardcore and limit feedings, etc., but I guess I just really feel like they're just telling me what they need. I mean, if it got to the point where she was up and just partying then I'd do something about it. I know DS is a whole whopping 21 months old so I'm sooooo experienced He was just an awful sleeper. I was fine just dealing with it, and when he was ready he just flipped a switch and sttn. I cuddle them when they need it. They cry and I go hold them. I feel like sometimes just needing to be held is a legit need. So I'm definitely not one to without food if that's what they want. If nothing else works and she sucks down a bottle then I don't feel bad. Who am I to tell them they're not REALLY hungry because X textbook says they don't need to eat overnight?

Different strokes and all that. I don't think there's a right way or a wrong way, but do NOT feel like you are ruining her! Linus was a textbook miserable sleeper/eater/etc. I probably broke every sleep training rule in the book with him and just did what felt right- bed shared, fed on demand, rocked to sleep, etc.

[eav2c]

Jan 5, 2013 2:56:56 GMT -5 biblionerd said:

Jan 5, 2013 1:20:39 GMT -5 creamsiclechica said:

Okay, this makes me feel good, biblio, because reading this I was getting anxiety like I'm wrecking my kid because I feed her if she wakes up and won't go back down, haha. She genuinely drinks, it's not like a comfort suck, so I thought it was okay to continue doing.

I really don't feel badly about it. Some people sleep train hardcore and limit feedings, etc., but I guess I just really feel like they're just telling me what they need. I mean, if it got to the point where she was up and just partying then I'd do something about it. I know DS is a whole whopping 21 months old so I'm sooooo experienced He was just an awful sleeper. I was fine just dealing with it, and when he was ready he just flipped a switch and sttn. I cuddle them when they need it. They cry and I go hold them. I feel like sometimes just needing to be held is a legit need. So I'm definitely not one to without food if that's what they want. If nothing else works and she sucks down a bottle then I don't feel bad. Who am I to tell them they're not REALLY hungry because X textbook says they don't need to eat overnight?

Different strokes and all that. I don't think there's a right way or a wrong way, but do NOT feel like you are ruining her! Linus was a textbook miserable sleeper/eater/etc. I probably broke every sleep training rule in the book with him and just did what felt right- bed shared, fed on demand, rocked to sleep, etc.

This is what I needed to read/hear! Thank you