What do you do at night?

[sharvs]

I've started putting my son to bed whilst he is still awake. So far it is working well. During the day I put him to bed & will usually have to go in only once, put his dummy in & he will go straight to sleep. At night it is different. He has been sleeping through for about 2 months but recenlty he has started waking at 4am. He is much harder to get back to sleep at this hour. During the day I have the time & patients to leave him for 5 mins etc, but at that hour it isnt that easy - i never get back to sleep, even once he has gone back to sleep. I guess i need to keep doing the same at night to keep it consistent?

[Me]

Hi Sharvs,
It is really hard but if you stick with it and are consistant it will pay off for you. My daughter went from waking 6-8 times a night and not having any day sleeps to having 3 day sleeps(2 long and 1 short) with only waking 1-2 times a night(feeds) in a matter of days - which a few weeks later is still pretty much the case.
On average how long is it taking for your son to get back to sleep in the mornings if he does go back to sleep? It is a silly question but have you ruled out hunger? I have heard a lot of babies who have slept through do begin to wake at some stage due to hunger. What time is he going to bed of an evening? and how much sleep is he having during the day? Perhaps he feels ready to start the day at this hour - in which case you may decide a slightly later bedtime will help to improve the situation.
Just some thoughts anyway.
Good luck and i'll check in to see how your going.

[Nan]

...It is a silly question but have you ruled out hunger?...
Hi Sharvs,
I was going to ask the same question! Perhaps he is hungry? :fingerscrossed: for you.
Love,
Nan. xx

[JE's Mum]

Yep lots of bubs, especially breastfed bubs, start waking again for feeds particularly around 4 months. This is the age they get more and more distracted during feeds during the day because there is so much more interesting stuff going on! (if you think about they way your bub feeds now you probably realise they're not eating a lot during the day) Not surprisingly they start waking for feeds at night again. Mine certainly did!

If they're hungry you will usually find they will settle back to sleep pretty easily once they have a feed. Also, if you don't already, try feeding them in a darkened room during the day. This distracted stage usually lasts until 6 months or so at which time they get more business like during milk feeds and most will be eating solid food. Hope things improve.