3/4 month old sleep - is this all normal?

[midwest07]

I have heard of the 4 month sleep regression of course, but wondering it it's happening early.  My DD is now 14 weeks and of course this is all coinciding with me going back to work.

Since DD was around 6 weeks, I could pretty reliably count on just one wake up each night, and at least a 5 hour first stretch of sleep, if not 6 or 7 hours.  It was also very easy to put her down for the night.  Bedtime was somewhere around 9/10pm.

In the last week or so, her longest first stretch is now 4 hours.  We have also pushed up her bedtime since I went back to work because she was getting very sleepy in the evening since we now need to get her up around 6am each morning for a morning feed and to start the day.  It's not that early, the earliest we have gotten her down is 8:20pm.  But since she is now to bed earlier, she is sometimes waking 2 times overnight.  The 2nd wake is often around 5am, annoying, if only she could wait just a bit longer.

Other info - we are still swaddling in a miracle blanket.  Sometimes a paci helps her go down, sometimes not.  Sometimes paci is bad because she wakes when it falls out.  Naps are still going fine, the nanny is able to get her down for usually 4 naps a day for a total day sleep time of 4-5 hours.  The last nap ends around 2-3 hours before bedtime.  We have a basic wind-down routine of bath or massage, PJs, nurse, swaddle, rock, to bed.

Tell me this is normal and it gets better??  If I could just get that 5 or 6 hour stretch back, I would feel so much better!  I feel like preppy and miamigirl may have talked about similar issues recently. 

[fortnightlily]

My DS started his "regression" around 3.5 months, and it lasted about 3.5 weeks By the time it was over he was also done with having his arms swaddled.

[jeaniebueller]

When she gets up at 5am, will she go back down after eating? That's a semi normal schedule for a baby of that age. boht of my kids went through phases where they woke up for a feeding around 4 or 5 am and it sucked, because it disrupted my sleep, but its just something you have to power through. Have you tried putting her to bed earlier than 8:20? Can you try a dream feed before you go to bed?

[miamigirl]

Yes! We had the same issue when I went back to work.
S was sleeping through the night at 8 weeks and she was great until 14 weeks, right when I went back to the office. We also had family staying over so it was harder to keep her on her schedule. I feel like it's slowly getting better now, so there's light at the end of the tunnel! Lol.

[laurack]

unfortunately yes William was sleeping 6 or 7 hour stretches until about 3 months. Then he started waking an extra time. So, no biggie, I could deal with two wakings. Then it got worse and soon he was waking every 1-2 hours. So annoying. With both kids actually this happened. I won't say how long it lasted because I don't want to depress you. For many people it ends after a month or so though!

My condolences.

[pooh8402]

Yea, at 3.5 months, E's sleep went to shit and never recovered. I'd already been back to work for 3 weeks by then. It was a nasty combination of the 4 month wakeful, a cold, and daylight savings time.

I miss that 8 hour stretch at the beginning of the night. *cries*

[preppy]

I think that is totally normal. We have been extremely lucky and haven't experienced any regression just yet, she turned 4 months on Saturday. I am holding my breath since she's been STTN since 8 weeks. I think our world will be rocked once we stop swaddling her, since that is huge for us.

[smock]

It sounds very normal--the 4mw can be a total bitch. It started around 14w for us and lasted around a month, but in our case it meant 3-4 wake ups every night, and shitty naps during the day.

It will get better, but it might take a while. It's hard, but try to be patient!

[midwest07]

Jan 21, 2016 10:45:06 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

When she gets up at 5am, will she go back down after eating? I have not tried to actually put her back down - usually we both catnap (her in my arms) until it's time for me to get up.  Then she is up for about 45 minutes with my H, then the nanny gets there and she takes her first nap of the day.  I think maybe I should try to put her back down.  This would be fine while we have a nanny, but won't work when we start daycare, but that is about 7 weeks away and her schedule could all be changed then.

That's a semi normal schedule for a baby of that age. boht of my kids went through phases where they woke up for a feeding around 4 or 5 am and it sucked, because it disrupted my sleep, but its just something you have to power through. Have you tried putting her to bed earlier than 8:20? I have tried 8pm and the earliest that worked was 8:20pm.  I get home at 5:45/6pm, so I feed her right away, then we play a bit and do bedtime routine, then feed her again right before bed.  We could shorten this routine a bit.  I know you are supposed to put them down before they are showing sleepy signs ideally.

Can you try a dream feed before you go to bed?  I can...I am afraid!  But one thing she has improved on is going back to sleep when she wakes and feeds, so maybe this would work.  So I would try to put her down maybe at 7:30pm, feed at 10, and then hope she goes to 5/6a?  Is that the idea?

[midwest07]

Jan 21, 2016 10:57:44 GMT -5 laurack said:

unfortunately yes William was sleeping 6 or 7 hour stretches until about 3 months. Then he started waking an extra time. So, no biggie, I could deal with two wakings. Then it got worse and soon he was waking every 1-2 hours. So annoying. With both kids actually this happened. I won't say how long it lasted because I don't want to depress you. For many people it ends after a month or so though!

My condolences.

Yes - don't tell me!  I know I should feel ok about 2 wakings as that's typical at this age.  It almost seems better if she had never teased me with the longer stretches!

[midwest07]

Jan 21, 2016 10:59:21 GMT -5 preppy said:

I think that is totally normal. We have been extremely lucky and haven't experienced any regression just yet, she turned 4 months on Saturday. I am holding my breath since she's been STTN since 8 weeks. I think our world will be rocked once we stop swaddling her, since that is huge for us.

Ha - I hope I didn't jinx you!  I might have been thinking of pooh8402.  Sorry pooh, hope it gets better for you soon!

[soozy87]

Yes, my son was sleeping so much better at 2-3 months than he is now at 4.

[jeaniebueller]

Try to feed her quickly at 5am and put her back down, even if it means that she only sleeps another 30-40 minutes. What you eventually want to happen is for her to lengthen that 5am wakeup to 5:30, 6, 6:30 or 7am and not to make 5am be her natural wakeup time. Unless that is what you want

[midwest07]

Jan 21, 2016 11:43:29 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Try to feed her quickly at 5am and put her back down, even if it means that she only sleeps another 30-40 minutes. What you eventually want to happen is for her to lengthen that 5am wakeup to 5:30, 6, 6:30 or 7am and not to make 5am be her natural wakeup time. Unless that is what you want

You are smart, I will try this and stop being lazy about wanting to just hang out in bed.

That could actually work too even when we start daycare - DH will take her, so he could let her sleep until 7/7:15am (if she goes that long) while we get ready, wake her/dress her, take her to daycare.  Then she could have a first bottle not too long after getting there.  This may also help us move to a 3 nap a day schedule.

[pooh8402]

Jan 21, 2016 11:36:48 GMT -5 midwest07 said:

Jan 21, 2016 10:59:21 GMT -5 preppy said:

I think that is totally normal. We have been extremely lucky and haven't experienced any regression just yet, she turned 4 months on Saturday. I am holding my breath since she's been STTN since 8 weeks. I think our world will be rocked once we stop swaddling her, since that is huge for us.

Ha - I hope I didn't jinx you!  I might have been thinking of pooh8402 .  Sorry pooh, hope it gets better for you soon!

thanks, I hope so too! we're planning on ferbering him next week, when I've got several days off in a row.

[midwest07]

Jan 21, 2016 11:58:10 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

Jan 21, 2016 11:36:48 GMT -5 midwest07 said:

Ha - I hope I didn't jinx you!  I might have been thinking of pooh8402 .  Sorry pooh, hope it gets better for you soon!

thanks, I hope so too! we're planning on ferbering him next week, when I've got several days off in a row.

I look forward to hearing about this.  Are you trying to get rid of night feedings and wakings all together, or leave a night feeding?

[pooh8402]

Jan 21, 2016 12:05:31 GMT -5 midwest07 said:

Jan 21, 2016 11:58:10 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

thanks, I hope so too! we're planning on ferbering him next week, when I've got several days off in a row.

I look forward to hearing about this.  Are you trying to get rid of night feedings and wakings all together, or leave a night feeding?

I'm willing to leave 1-2 night feedings. Right now, E is waking every 1-2 hours and nursing back to sleep. I believe it's become a sleep association.

[bullsgirl]

DD started around 3 months. It lasted about a month. When we dropped the 4th nap her sleep seemed to improve. We also gave her a dream feed at 10. She was asleep at 7pm though, once we dropped the 4th nap. Pretty much since that time until now (18 months) she had needed 12 hours of sleep at night. Putting her to bed earlier might actually help.

[booboo173]

Sounds normal. My ds was a great sleeper til that age and then it feel apart. And of course if correlates with going back to work. We sleep trained going down to sleep at 6mos and motn feedings at 11

[Koala]

I'm definitely nervous about the potential 4month wakeful (they'll be 4 months tomorrow).

I would try a couple things that have already been suggested. Possibly putting to bed earlier and doing a dream feed around 10 and making the 5am feed quick, so she can go back to sleep.

Currently we put them to bed around 7 (which is hard for DH because he doesn't usually get home until 6 or so). They get a dream feed before DH goes to bed around 10:30. They wake up for a morning feed sometime between 5 and 7. If it is before 7, I can usually get them to go back to sleep until 7:45 or so. If it is after 7, then they are up for the day. I'm going to be sad if/when this changes.