Growth spurt?

[Tea Lady]

Just wondering - does anyone know if babies have a growth spurt at around 8 months? Jo has been ravenous the last couple of days and after sleeping through the whole night for a few nights (as a result of starting CC a week ago) she is now waking up and crying and crying and when I try to resettle her she will fall asleep and wake up about 30 seconds later screaming and the only thing that gets her off to sleep properly is a feed (I've only needed to feed once a night, so it's not just a settling thing - I don't think). The other night I actually heard her tummy making sounds - I wasn't sure if it was gurgling like when you've got gas, or if she was really hungry but it made me worry that she might be really starving and I just can't not feed her if that's what it is.

Has anyone else had this happen at around the same age? She is also SUPER grumpy today so I guess it may be something else bothering her, but I'd like to hear what people think.

Thanks

Lucy

[draught]

Your Jo sounds like my Chloe - CC works for a few nights, then just when you think you have your sleep back they wake so distressed that you end up feeding them again. Chloe is nearly 1 and I still find myself feeding her in the middle of the night every few nights, despite the experts saying that babies don't need food in the night after 6 months.

Two things flow from this - the first is that it is my confirmed experience that if you start feeding in the night you will end up waking in the night again and doing CC again (we are up to about the 10th time - I lose count). The second is that you can try feeding more at dinner time. I think xkwzit posted a while ago her description of the three course meal - and it is something I try to follow - dinner, fruit, milk, snack etc - really fill them up before you put them down. That way when they wake in the night you know that it can't be food. I have tried making my own custard and mashing in banana - after dinner she loves it and it really fills her up - and most nights that she has this she seems to sleep better. (I should note that I NEVER had to do this with DD1 and am not thrilled at the idea of the sugar etc but am doing what I need to do to get through!).

Anyway - wishing you a good night's sleep and a happy baby!

[JanetF]

Babies have growth spurts to their own individual timetable. So yes, it's quite possible that she's waking very hungry indeed. You don't say if she's bf but if she is, there is no difficulty with feeding her whenever she cries, wakes or requests it. It's how babies keep healthy, just like adults. Babies are not designed to sleep for many hours in a row ("sleeping through" is actually only 5 hours in a row) as this both protects them from the too deep sleep which is a cause of SIDS and also keeps them well fed with such tiny tummies. Babies cry for good reasons and are unable to communicate in other ways with a person who is in the next room because you cannot respond when they try to tell you in quiet ways that they need you. My son has coslept from day 1 and never cries to be fed at night because all he had to do was shuffle about and I would wake for a milisecond, whack him on the boob and then we'd both go back to sleep. No crying, no wakefulness, no distressed baby or mother. Pinky McKay's lovely book "100 ways to calm the crying" and Dr Sears site http://www.askdrsears.com could both be really helpful to you at this time. I hope you can find a gentle solution that leads to both of you feeling happy and nurtured. :)

[jamb]

I am not sure exactly when they go through growth spurts but reckon they just come and go. I havent done CC but just go with the flow.

I find that we go through waking in the night periods and then all of a sudden he sleeps through again (and I wake up going OMG is he alive???!!!) I figure it could be for any number of reasons from constipation, teething, hunger, dog bumping cot (gggrrrr) or too hot too cold!

I've given up fighting it or questioning it. I just get even more tired as I stumble around at 2/3am heating a bottle before falling asleep thinking dam it, only 2 hours till my day starts! LOL

Good luck, hope sleep comes your way

[zenifa]

As someone who has worked with parents grieving following the death of a child from SIDS, forensic pathologists, the coroner, SIDS & Kids assoc and researchers I have never heard that a baby that sleeps longer than 5 hours or has a too deep sleep as being risk factors for SIDS or being a cause of SIDS. If you have some info Janet that indicates otherwise, please share as I'm interested to learn more. I just hope you weren't worrying mums out there unneccessarily as I'm sure that wasn't your intention.

There aren't any known causes of SIDS, only factors that can increase the risk - as they've been found to be very common in research of SIDS deaths - eg smoking, cosleeping, baby sleeping on tummy, not well ventilated room, too hot a room etc - unfortunately its not an exact science and is very distressing to parents, as SIDS can be any unexplained death of a young child/infant - not suffocation etc.

Anyway thats just my 2c worth.

[JanetF]

SIDS is in many cases inexplicable but we also know some facts about countries with low rates of SIDS and they are countries where cosleeping is the norm so baby's breathing is regulated by sleeping close to their parents and breastfeeding is the norm. References below. I hope you'll share them with colleagues and expand your knowledge.

http://www.nichd.nih.gov/sids/sids_fact.htm

There is some evidence to suggest that breast feeding might reduce the risk of SIDS. A few studies have found SIDS to be less common in infants who have been breast fed. This may be because breast milk can provide protection from some infections that can trigger sudden death in infants.

http://askdrsears.com/html/10/t102100.asp#T102106

I believe that training babies to sleep too deeply, too long, too soon, while convenient to parents, is not in a baby's best biological interest. Sleep- training done before their cardiopulmonary control mechanisms are mature enough to handle prolonged deep sleep could be risky. Training a baby to fall asleep and stay asleep alone in his own room in his own crib may be the "modern" way, but for some infants sleeping lighter and for shorter stretches may be the safer way.


http://askdrsears.com/html/10/t102100.asp#T102103
8 ways breastfeeding can lower SIDS rates.


http://askdrsears.com/html/10/handout1.asp

Sleep more peacefully
Research shows that co-sleeping infants virtually never startle during sleep and rarely cry during the night, compared to solo sleepers who startle repeatedly throughout the night and spend 4 times the number of minutes crying 1. Startling and crying releases adrenaline, which increases heart rate and blood pressure, interferes with restful sleep and leads to long term sleep anxiety.
Stable physiology
Studies show that infants who sleep near to parents have more stable temperatures 2, regular heart rhythms, and fewer long pauses in breathing compared to babies who sleep alone 3. This means baby sleeps physiologically safer.
Decreases risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Worldwide research shows that the SIDS rate is lowest (and even unheard of) in countries where co-sleeping is the norm, rather than the exception 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Babies who sleep either in or next to their parents’ bed have a fourfold decrease in the chance of SIDS 10. Co-sleeping babies actually spend more time sleeping on their back or side 1 which decreases the risk of SIDS. Further research shows that the carbon dioxide exhaled by a parent actually works to stimulate baby’s breathing 11.
1. McKenna, J., et al, "Experimental studies of infant-parent co-sleeping: Mutual physiological and behavioral influences and their relevance to SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome)." Early Human Development 38 (1994)187-201.
2. C. Richard et al., “Sleeping Position, Orientation, and Proximity in Bedsharing Infants and Mothers,” Sleep 19 (1996): 667-684.
3. Touch in Early Development, T. Field, ed. (Mahway, New Jersey: Lawrence Earlbaum and Assoc., 1995).
4. “SIDS Global Task Force Child Care Study” E.A.S. Nelson et al., Early Human Development 62 (2001): 43-55
5. A. H. Sankaran et al., “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Infant Care Practices in Saskatchewan, Canada,” Program and Abstracts, Sixth SIDS International Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, February 8-11, 2000.
6. D. P. Davies, “Cot Death In Hong Kong: A Rare Problem?” The Lancet 2 (1985): 1346-1348.
7. N. P. Lee et al., “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in Hong Kong: Confirmation of Low Incidence,” British Medical Journal 298 (1999): 72.
8. S. Fukai and F. Hiroshi, “1999 Annual Report, Japan SIDS Family Association,” Sixth SIDS International Conference, Auckland, New Zealand, 2000.
9. E. A. S. Nelson et al., “International Child Care Practice Study: Infant Sleeping Environment,” Early Human Development 62 (2001): 43-55.
10. P. S. Blair, P. J. Fleming, D. Bensley, et al., “Where Should Babies Sleep – Along or With Parents? Factors Influencing the Risk Of SIDS in the CESDI Study,” British Medical Journal 319 (1999): 1457-1462.
11. SIDS book, page 227, #162
12. P. Heron, “Non-Reactive Cosleeping and Child Behavior: Getting a Good Night’s Sleep All Night, Every Night,” Master’s thesis, Department of Psychology, University of Bristol, 1994.
13. M. Crawford, “Parenting Practices in the Basque Country: Implications of Infant and Childhood Sleeping Location for Personality Development” Ethos 22, no 1 (1994): 42-82.
14. J. F. Forbes et al., “The Cosleeping Habits of Military Children,” Military Medicine 157 (1992): 196-200.
15. D. A. Drago and A. L. Dannenberg, “Infant Mechanical Suffocation Deaths in the United States, 1980-1997,” Pediatrics 103, no. 5 (1999): e59.
16. R. G. Carpenter et al., “Sudden Unexplained Infant Death in 20 Regions in Europe: Case Control Study,” Lancet 2004; 363: 185-191.

[JanetF]

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0838/is_2002_Sept-Oct/ai_102980250


At the most recent International SIDS Meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, Sankaran et al. presented data from Saskatchewan, Canada, showing that where breastfeeding and forms of cosleeping coexist, SIDS deaths are reduced. (14) This finding is consistent with a study in South Africa indicating that bedsharing babies have higher survival rates than solitary-sleeping babies. (15) In Hong Kong, where cosleeping is the norm, SIDS rates are among the lowest in the world. (16,17) The same is true in Japan, where rates of not only SIDS but infant mortality in general are among the lowest in the world, according to the Japan SIDS Family Organization's 1999 report. (18) Moreover, as shown in Figures 2-5, during a span of about four years in Japan, where maternal smoking has decreased while breastfeeding, cosleeping, and supine (faceup) infant sleep have increased, SIDS rates have decreased--the exact opposite of what bedsharing critics would predict.

http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBMayJun99p68.html
http://www.naturalchild.com/james_mckenna/babies_need.html
http://www.wearsthebaby.com/familybed.htm

[wattle]

Now, pleasantly getting back on track.......

I found that ds had a growth spurt at 8 months. It only lasted a couple of days (he woke up starving hungry during the night, and had extra food during daytime meals). Just go with the flow and trust your mothering intuition the best you can.

Just as there are millions of parents, there are a million different ways of parenting. Because our precious little ones can't tell us whats going on, all we can do is what we think is best. Sometimes it will be right, sometimes it won't - but that's what life is all about.

[AM]

It is entirely possible that your 8 month old is having a growth spurt, as they do not come on shedule, just when baby is ready for one!
There are of course other reasons for a baby to wake during the night, teeth moving around under the gums causing discomfort, an illness coming on, I always found that my ds would always up his amount of night feeds just before he got sick, bad dreams - it sounds funny, but occasionally ds would begin to cry like his heart was broken, and seemed really afraid, and I'm sure it was a dream.
Babies can also experience separation anxiety even at night, and need a bit of reassurance.
Babies do naturally have much shorter sleep cycles than adults, so are in a lighter state of sleep many more times a night than an adult, and any of these lighter stages of sleep can be potential wake up times if there is any kind of unusual noise, baby feels a bit cold or hot, or even something as silly as a bug bite!

I gave up long ago trying to figure out exactly what was waking ds, and just gave him exactly what I knew would work every time - the boob! :D
Breasts are wonderful things!

[Tea Lady]

Thanks so much everyone who replied. I've been offline for awhile because we've had a horror weekend with the world's most grizzly child - but then I discovered she has 4 teeth coming through at the top, so I think that explains a lot! Her sleep has settled down a bit today, so I'm really hoping for a better night's sleep tonight (I can always be optimistic). Luckily Jo has just started to make the cutest talking sounds so I don't feel so terrible about her being grumpy - it must be a survival instinct to do something cute when mum is at the end of her tether!

Anyway, thanks for the support.

Lucy