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Behaviour/development

Sleep! 14wk old experiences please

8 replies

ladypop · 26/07/2013 08:35

Just wondering if others experience similar to us and any good tips?
DS is 14 weeks, ff and on a pretty good 4 hour routine throughout the day. He has his last feed at about 6.30 and is generally asleep just after 7pm.
Last night I introduced a dream feed at 11pm. Mainly due to the fact I have just been reading the Baby Whisperer and the suggestion that it promotes longer, undisturbed sleep during the 'night'.
The only real gripe I have is that he tends to wake any time from 4am onwards.
I know he isn't hungry and he is still tired because if I pick him up and cuddle him he goes back to sleep.
In a bid to not let him get into the habit of this happening, especially as i end ip bringing him into bed with me so i can doze whilst i cuddle him, apart from an initial cuddle at 4am this morning, I just kept putting his dummy back in and stroking his nose ( sends him back off to sleep!) whilst he lay in his cot.
I was up and down like a yoyo everytime he woke (as I know the noises he makes means he is only going to get more wound up if he is just left) until 6.20 when he was awake and I thought, fair enough it is time to get up!
The dream feed didn't really make any didference in the sense that he still was waking early, even if I allowed him to wake up of his own accord when he is hungry (usually between 12-2am) rather than a dream feed prompted by me.
Not entirely sure why I am posting tbh!! just wondered how others are finding this stage? This coupled with our 3.5yr old DS1 getting up in the night sparodically and also waking up any time after 5am, I am pretty knackered.....bit I know that is what motherhood entails!

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ladypop · 26/07/2013 08:42

Ps I know he is still only little and I can't expect too much from him, but I know he is still tired at that time so feel it is fair to persevere on getting him to sleep later x

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beckslovestimmy · 27/07/2013 10:19

DD started to drop this feed at about that age, I found swaddling really helped, she seemed to wake because she startled and if she'd been asleep for a few hours she couldn't get back to sleep. she also started to up the amount she drank in each bottle. Is the room dark, so baby still thinks its night time?

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ladypop · 27/07/2013 13:31

Yes he is swaddled but is pretty good at wriggling his arms out, just this past week, he is like Houdini!! Room is v dark too. Thanks for your reply though!

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Havingkittens · 27/07/2013 22:22

Wow, sounds like a dream to me! My baby is 15 weeks old and is averaging a feed every 2-3 hours, 24 hrs a day! Although I am breast feeding rather than formula feeding. Still, that's a pretty radical difference. I'm rather jealous Envy

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Havingkittens · 27/07/2013 22:26

Interesting point about the light though. I do keep a side light on a dimmer switch on through the night so I can see what I'm doing when the baby wakes. I wonder if it would make a difference to turn that off.

Sorry to hijack the thread! Although, thinking about it OP, perhaps OP, if you do have the light off in the night could it be that the baby is waking up when it naturally gets lighter in the room with the sun coming up?

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Havingkittens · 27/07/2013 22:26

Didn't mean to put OP twice! That's sleep deprivation for you!

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Sonar · 28/07/2013 01:39

I have a 15 week old who is bf & on 4 hourly feeds during day. Goes to sleep about 7.30pm until 7/8am but still wakes up twice in the night for a feed. Usually around 12/1am & 4/5am. The dream feed has never made any difference so gave it up as that meant I could go to bed earlier too.
He did go through a phase of only waking once in night but this hasn't happened since all the hot weather we've been having. In fact some days I've increased feeds to every 3 hours to see if any difference but there's been none!
I too have a nearly 4 year old who awakens around 6am & it's a killer. Especially when baby sleeps until 8am!
I would say for a ff baby you're not doing too badly. I have read that some people give their ff babies some cool boiled water in the night when they wake but know they're not hungry. Does the baby sleep much during day? Some recommend a maximum of 3 hours of sleep at this age.
I know what your an about being like Houdini!!! I can't swaddled lo anymore as it just annoys him to the point of crying & wriggling out of it so given up!

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Sonar · 28/07/2013 01:42

Sorry meant to write "I know what you mean about being like Houdini"

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