Questions about my four month old baby boy...New Mom!!!?

Question

I have a couple of questions for those of you who can help, about what's consisdered normal etc....first of all how often can I give him a bath. I do it every other night now, but it seems to calm him and I would like to every night, I just don't want to dry out his skin. Also his diapers seem to leak now? I have moved up from the pampers swaddlers, which I loved, to the pampers bigger size, but the seem to droop in the bottom after a while, and he pees out the sides and gets his outfits wet on the side? And how often should he be sleeping during the day/night, daytime it's about 3-4 naps about 45min-1hr long? and he ALWAYS wakes up crying? And at night he sleeps from about 10pm until 2-3am in the 1st stretch then he's up AGAIN around 5am then about 7 or 7:30am. Should he be sleeping longer? And he always eats at his wakenings (he's breastfed too by the way!). Some help would be MUCH appreciated with theses topics! Thanks!

Answer 1

OK on the bath thing you can give him a bath every night just only use soap 2 times a week . Wash his hair with soap though everyday . I had the same problems with diapers . I switched my baby boy to luvs and they don't leak and they last longer between changes cause the diaper doesn't start coming apart and there cheaper . breast fed babies will naturally eat more due to breast milk is a natural laxative so it will digest faster . The baby will choose his own schedule on sleeping . The crying I wouldn't worry about he is just letting you know he is awake and be comforted .breast fed babies will demand a lot more attention then formula fed ones due to they love that skin contact and it comforts them . I know we all love to use that lavender bath was but since you can only use it twice a week try the Johnson and Johnson bail oil gel that comes in lavender . You can rub your baby down with it every night and it will have the same affect if not more relaxing due to you are giving him a baby massage after he just had a warm bath . I m a mom of 3 . Good luck Hun and enjoy your bundle of joy .

Answer 2

Diapers..best ones for little boys would be HUGGIES..they hold alot of urine and are great for the boys,few of my friends and I have had the leak problem..Ive suggested to them to use the huggies, and no more Leaks! those other brands suck!!
However I hate the Supreme Huggies..the texture is totally different compared to the orig,huggies...if your son pees and its hard to tell if he is wet, cause the diaper is a soft velvet like texture...I found out the hard way!

Give you son, a bath every other night, babies that young don't need them every night...try using Calgon Aloe Vera, with Lavender & Chamomile in it...it helps relax the baby and sleep better. It really works!

I had my son on a schudule from day 1, yes day 1..last feeding at 8 - 8:30pm and bed and sleeping by 9...wake in the morning do our thing eat, play or whatever at that time and then he took 2 naps a day(around 4 or 5 mths old) each being about 2 hours long, can be longer, wont hurt..keep him active and entertained when up and after his last feeding he should sleep throug hthe night , unless he is still waking to eat. If he wants to sleep more than its okay... but dont stress he will get on a regular schudlue soon! Good Luck your doing great Mom!

Answer 3

My four month old boy (my first baby too!!) is also breastfed and has slept through since he was 9 weeks old. I bathe him every night as part of his routine (bath, feed, cuddle, bed) and use an infant bubble bath - I also use Balneum bath oil once a week and this keeps his skin nice and soft. I give him his last feed of the day lying down and find it really relaxing for both of us. It's quite important to have started a routine by now I think, and to stick to it - are you putting your son down to sleep awake? He'll be more likely to settle himself in the night if you do. Your wee chap might be ready to start some solids if he seems eternally hungry (although it's not recommended before 16 weeks) - Baby rice mixed with expressed breast milk and some fruit puree is a good one. As for nappies, I'm using Pampers babydry and they seem to work fine - make sure you've always got his boy bits pointing down the way or leaks will happen. I hope you find some of this a bit helpful - I can't help with daytime naps as I'm struggling a bit at the moment with that one myself. Good luck though - the night time sleep issue will get better!!

Answer 4

Okay Melissa I will try to answer them, I have a 4 months (turned 4 months today), I love my huggies supremos, did not like the pampers and I have never had a leak. I even have a 2 1/2 year old and never had a leak. I give my 4 month old a bath every night in her bedtime routine. Also she takes a short nap in the morning for about 20 to 45 minutes, and takes another one around 2 for about an hour to two, then she goes to bed at 8 - 8:30 and sleeps till 6am. She eats 5 to 6 ounces 6 to 7 times aday. She weights about 14 pounds, I will know how much she weights on Monday for her 4 month check up, if I didn't answer all your questions you can contact me. By the way you did ask each question twice.

Answer 5

You can give him a bath every night if you want,I bath my son every night,be sure to put baby lotion or baby oil gel on his whole body so his skin does not dry out.I also use pampers and they work awesome,I have heard that Huggies seem to work better on chunkier babys,my son is very long and slim so pampers work great,or maybe try doing the diaper a little tighter.All babys are different for naps,his daytime naps do sound very normal though,he probably has gas which will cause him to wake up crying,my son at 8 months still does this and he has a feeding tube which causes even more gas so when he wakes up crying if I cannot get him to go back to sleep I put him to sleep in his swing in our room.Breastfed babies eat alot more because their bodys digest it quicker than formula.His night time he probably should sleep longer but you will soon notice this will change,the next thing he will be teething!!Good luck to you!!Hope I helped a bit!

Answer 6

Baths: All that he really needs are a couple per week. If they help calm him and he doesn't have any skin issues (our 5 month old has eczema so she gets infrequent baths) then you should be okay giving them every night. To help lock in moisture and keep his skin from drying out, apply lotion all over his body within 3 minutes of getting him out of the bath. The baby massage will also help to further relax him.

Diapers: Try different brands. We're Huggies people because they work for us. Some people have the best luck with generic store brand diapers--and hey, they cost less too. Try calling the customer service numbers located on diaper containers to get a free sample to try before buying.

Naps: My baby takes a nap between each feeding. They generally run 1-2 hours at a stetch. Sometimes she will wake in the middle of a nap and if I go in and turn on her mobile she'll fall back asleep.

Nightime sleeping: Most babies have the ability to sleep through the night somewhere between 4-6 months. My baby goes to bed at 8pm and sleeps until 5 or 6, eats then falls back asleep until about 8 or 9. Sometimes she'll wake at 1 or 2am and I can just go in and turn her mobile on and she'll fall back to sleep without a feeding. BUT, every baby is different, so your baby will not necessarily need or do the same things as other babies.

Encourage him to find ways to self soothe such as a pacifier, thumb sucking, lovey, music or crying. Then he'll be able to get himself back to sleep when he wakes without needing your help.

Answer 7

As long as you use the correct bath products, it's perfectly fine to bath a baby every day. Use only water if you're concerned. Also, if the nappy is leaking, it's too big - go back to the smaller ones. As for the sleeping, all babies are different. My 6 month old sleeps 12 hours a night and has 2 or 3 small naps during the day and has done since she was 2 months old. I'm lucky that my daughter doesn't cry - if she wakes up during the night, she just sucks her thumb and goes back to sleep. It is normal for breastfed babies to eat more regularly than bottle fed babies - when I used to breastfeed, I did it every few hours but now that she's on the bottle, she can go for longer periods of time without eating. Young babies don't tend to overeat - if they want it, give it to them. My sister had 6 kids and fed them whenever they were fussy and they all turned out fine. If you want to talk more or ask any other questions, please feel free to message me.

Answer 8

Totally normal. If his skin isn't dried out, he can be bathed every day. I would use plain water for an every day bath, then just use soap once a week or when his hair is dirty. DawnRenee gave great suggestions for soap brands.

The diapers are too big. Disposable diapers leak all the time, and there's not much you can do about it except find the proper size and brand for your baby. Have you looked into G diapers? They have a real diaper cover and a flushable absorbent liner. A fabric cover will keep leaks under control. Of course, you can switch to cloth if you're tired of leaks. Cloth diapers only leak if you don't change them in time, and they're more convenient and smell better. I love the bubble-butt look on my baby! Super-cheap, too!

It sounds like he's going to bed really late. If it works for you, then it's OK, but most babies like to go to bed around 7 or 8. I know that they can't tell time, but I think the sunlight cues them. They seem to be happier and better nappers when they go to bed early. Plus, mom gets more time to herself!

Get the Sears Baby Book--it has all these answers in it and more! Also, read the No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. Even if sleep isn't an issue (now), she explains a lot about sleeping. It's very informative.

Answer 9

Are you using Pampers Cruisers or Pampers Baby Dry? the Cruisers have a liner in them like the swaddlers that seem to work really well. You have to remember that he is eating more, so he's making more urine now. as far as the bath, I think everynight is fine, just maybe use some lotion afterwards, which he'll enjoy the rub anyway :) His sleeping sound pretty normal to me, each baby is different on this and in the next couple of months he'll be changing his sleep habits, 4 months is during a growth spurt and he needs his feedings to keep up!

Answer 10

I bathed both of my kids everyday. I loved doing it and so did they. It does relax them and if you are worried about drying out his skin, put baby lotion on afterwards. I loved doing this because it gave both of us more bonding time. I used luvs diapers on my kids. They worked a lot better than pampers. I never tried the swaddlers, but I swore by luvs. As far as sleeping, he will work out his own schedule . I breastfed both of my kids, but I started them on cereal at about 2 months. A lot of doctors don't agree but it helped them sleep better. Start them with oatmeal or rice mixed with a little juice. It should be soupy. Just stick with the same mix of juice and cereal for a while to make sure he won't have an allergic reaction.