My four month old still wakes for a feeding during the night.?

Question

He usually sleeps for a 4-5 hour period (sometimes a little longer) then he wakes and sometimes I can pat his butt and get him back to sleep for another hour or so. More often though he ends up crying and I give him a bottle and back to sleep he goes for another 3-4 hours. He won't seem to eat more than 4-5 oz at a time unless he is really hungry and MIGHT eat 6. The pediatrician stated at his visit on Monday that at this age he should be able to go 6-7 hours at one time at night without eating and to try to wean him from his night feeding. Any ideas on how to do that?

Just so you know...its not that I am being selfish wanting a full nights sleep. I am just going by what she said. I just don't know how to wean him of it. I thought it was normal for them to wake up once to eat too.

Answer 1

Only one waking? You're lucky! Enjoy your sleep, and learn to take what your doctor says with a grain of salt. There's no class in medical school about parenting, and most doctors just preach what they grew up hearing. You're doing the right thing. If you're interesting in helping your baby sleep more at night, you'll love The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley.

Edit: Someone suggested On Becoming Babywise, and I bet your ped. has read it too. The AAP links it to failure to thrive and other terrible things. It's disrespectful at best. Ezzo's techniques have no basis in religion, but he markets his book that way.

Answer 2

Get a second opinion - sleeping though the night for a child that young ranges from 4-6 hours. If you are going to try to get rid of the night feeding, don't do it cold turkey. Only give him 2 oz instead of the 4-5, burp him, and rock him back to sleep. If patting him when he wakes up only gets you another hour, he's definitely hungry. If he's ready, maybe you should try introducing rice or oatmeal cereal during the day and in the evening so he's getting more food in his belly before bedtime. Good luck and remember, what the doctor is telling you is what he considers the norm. Every child is different.

Answer 3

Thats normal and your pediatrition is doing you a disservice by saying that...some babies do and some babies don't. Just ask any mother of more than 1 baby. They are all quite different. My youngest was a snacker...liked to drink small amounts of milk, many times in the day. I started just rubbing her back in the middle of the night to sooth her back to sleep instead of feeding her...it was hard but she started eating more during the day and after about a week of some sleepless nights...she started sleeping through the night again (she slept through the night from 2-4 months and then started getting up again after 4 months). They also change when they are having a growth spurt. Don't get frustrated as each child is different and keep trying different things.

Good luck.

Answer 4

i personally think your pediatrician is wrong
my child woke up to eat until id say around 10 months
it normal very normal 5 hours is reallly good
children wake up for all different reasons try just rocking back to sleep then try changing diaper then feeding
i have a child who would only sleep 2 hours then get up for3- 4 hourssleep 2 hours get up for 3-4 hours
it was horrible and the baby did this till 16 months
just have patience and good luck

Answer 5

Each baby is different, I have a 14 month old and he didn't start sleeping all night until he was around 9 months old. I am surprised your pediatrician told you that. But hey, look on the bright side, you have gotten 4 months down, whether your little guy likes it or not, he'll start sleeping better. Just hang in there and take as many naps as you can. :)

Answer 6

Hi,

I have the best solution for you. When you give him his last bottle lets say 9 or 10 put baby cereal (singl grain) with a little bit of baby apple sauce, if he is drinking 4-5 try to feed him 6 or a little bit more. Make sure that before you feed him you have changed the diaper, cleaned him up (you can sponge bath him) and try to buy lavendar lotion. once he is all clean up feed him the ceral/apple sauce bottle of milk (you will need a #2 flow nipple), once he is done burp him make sure he burps put on classical music and watch him sleep like a baby

TRUST ME it works my son at 2 month will sleep 6-7 hours straight

Hope this helps

Answer 7

Many babies still wake up at night for feeding. I think it is very common for baby not to sleep thru the night at 4 or even 5 months of age. Just like walking/sitting/talking, there is no specific age for each baby to achieve these significant development. He probably is hungry that's why he wakes up at night. You may want to try to feed him before you go to bed even your baby is asleep. This way it will last extra hours to make it thru the night. Don't worry. He will outgrow the night feeding soon.

Answer 8

5 hours is the medical definition of through the night. Statistically only 16%-39% of 6 month olds sleep through the night.

Wakeful 4 Month Olds
http://kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/4mo-sleep.html

"# Only 16% slept through the night at six months old -- 84% were not sleeping through the night at 6 months
# 17% woke more than once per night, ranging from twice to eight times "
Sadler S. Sleep: what is normal at six months?
Prof Care Mother Child 1994 Aug-Sep;4(6):166-7.
http://kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/sleepstudies.html

Baby's age

% babies waking at night
3 months 46%
6 months 39%
9 months 58%
12 months 55%
http://kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/sleepstudies.html

Answer 9

my guy is 3 months. we recently upped his nipple size on the bottle from 1 to 2, he seems to be able to eat more (about 6 oz) faster, and he has started sleeping through the entire night , or about 9pm to 5 or 6 am at least, lol

Answer 10

He's probably just hungry! I say, feed him and ignore your Dr's advice. If he goes back to sleep only to wake again after an hour or so, it seems to me that he is just tired but can't stay asleep because he's hungry. Doctors always want every baby to fit the "pattern" even if it doesn't fit for your baby.