12 week old suddenly waking during the night

[J_Anne]

I need help! My 12 week old has always been a brilliant sleeper and has slept through the night more or less since 5 weeks. She's been sleeping 7.30pm - 5ish. For the last 4 nights, she's been waking up between midnight and 1 then again from about 3/4am onwards. If I give her a dummy she goes straight back to sleep, until it falls out so I'm spending most the night in a light sleep waiting to hear it drop. She has her dummy when she's going to sleep but it falls out within 10 mins of her nodding off so she doesn't need it while she's sleeping.

Just now I tried leaving her a bit longer before doing anything, then put my hand on her but it slowly turned into a complete meltdown and now I'm feeding her to settle her back down. I just don't know why she wakes up at the same times each night, if she was hungry then surely she wouldn't just make do with her dummy? But the way she is feeding now, you'd think she'd been starved yesterday! If she is hungry, how can she go from sometimes sleeping 7.30-7 to waking at this time?

Has anyone experienced anything similar? X

 

[mrswoody]

This is exactly what happened to us. My lo slept through from 5 weeks just before 4 months old she woke up!!
The only way to settle her would be to feed her and she guzzles the milk. She wakes at the same time pretty much every night. I'm still waiting got her to sleep through again,
xx

 

[Mrs Wibbily]

Growth spurt, leap and sleep regression are all normal about this time. Just roll with it girls and babies should settle back down shortly. Do not think it's a sign for weaning as it's not. It's perfectly normal. Try rest during the day if you can to make up for it. X

 

[Leah04x]

Could be a growth spurt? A similar thing happened to us. Ethan slept through from 7 weeks old but then was a bit hit and miss from 3-6 months. At 6 months, he was sleeping through every night again.
I'd just feed her and ride it out until she's ready to sleep through the night again.
Us ladies have had it pretty easy when it comes to having a good sleeper, so it always comes as a bit of a shock when our babies have us up in the night!

Xx

 

[Mrs N]

Tbh to have a baby that sleeps that well at 12 weeks is amazing! H only just started sleeping through at 16 months! At that age I would try feeding before dummy, you will soon see if its needed or not, my bet is a growth spurt!
Xxx

 

[Karate Kid]

Growth spurt, leap and sleep regression are all normal about this time. Just roll with it girls and babies should settle back down shortly. Do not think it's a sign for weaning as it's not. It's perfectly normal. Try rest during the day if you can to make up for it. X

Wss Sounds like a 12 weeks growth spurt and leap Hun. x

 

[J_Anne]

Thank you ladies! Leah-you're right, I think I've been spoilt! she has been more sleepy during the day for the last few days too so I guess that would tie in with a growth spurt too. I feel terrible for giving her the dummy now, during the day there's no way she would entertain it if she was hungry but I guess she's being too polite! X

 

[littlemonkey]

I would say growth spurt too. My LO's sleep didn't change much, but he started taking much bigger feeds in the day at 12 weeks. Try offering bigger or more frequent feeds in the day and see if that helps at night. When she first wakes, offer a feed and you might find she sleeps through from it.

 

[J_Anne]

She's breastfed so I don't know how much she's getting. I've tried feeding more frequently during the day when the HV said she was slow to put on weight but she's just not interested. If she wakes tonight I'll feed her straight away and see what happens! x

 

[Gayle30]

Sorry-I didnt experience the wakening in the night but 12 weeks is classic wonder weeks development and ny girl was a pain in the bum for a while round about that point. She did sleep all night and has done from 7 weeks but at 14 weeks she stopped napping as much in the day. Xxx

tapatalking

 

[HL28]

My little one dropped a centile and my HV wasn't too impressed she slept 6 hours one night. they advise BF babies to go no longer than 4 hours. B now sometimes goes 6 still but sometimes 4 hours. If she wakes I feed her straight away and she goes back off. I probably have woken her for a dream feed if I wake and think she's gone too long without a feed but now if she goes 6 hours I'm ok with that but will not expect her to go all night until she's weaned. My other two were a lot older probably about 9/10 months before I cut night feeds xxx

 

[J_Anne]

Yeah, because she was jaundice at birth, I was having to wake her for every feed but ever since she's been waking 100% for each feed, she just hasn't been bothered at night. She'll sometimes wake about 3/4am but otherwise sleep through-she's lazy! At first the HV told me to do a dream feed but she's not interested, I spent a couple of weeks worrying at first but then decided she's happy and very alert when she's not feeding and rarely cries, PLENTY of nappies so I'm letting her lead me instead of books & HVs, I feed on demand but the signs she is showing at night are not her usual hunger signs which is why I tried other ways to soothe first.

She's feeding now! she was very grumpy at bedtime which is so unlike her, woke up 3 times within an hour after putting her down so there's definately something going on in that little body!x

 

[1st_time_mummy]

I had the exact same with my LO at 3 months (she is 6 months now). She had been sleeping great for the 1st 11 weeks and me and hubby thought aw great she is really good at sleeping. Then 12 weeks she was waking every hour. I breast fed on demand and she was feeding every couple of hours in the day. Everything i read said it was a growth spurt but i was a walking zombie. My mother-in-law kept saying it will pass but i was shattered and thought this was how it was going to be till she was weaned. It did pass though and she started usually waking once for a feed during the night (except the odd night she wanted to wake and play she sleeps with us so can be very tiring lol)

Good luck tho it will pass, just a growth spurt x