Needing pacifier during the night...nightwakings popping back in...solution?

[kitten2014]

Hi guys, our lil miss settles really well for naps during the daytime and even at bedtime without the pacifier but has started waking hourly after 5hrs sleep at night..for example, settle her at 7-8pm with bedtime routine, I come to bed 10ish by which point she is deeply asleep...get approx 2hrs sleep until 12.30/1.30am whereby she is tossing her head side to side mouth open making sucking motions, she is swaddled at the arms so unable to self soothe but wont sleep any other way (tried weaning at naptime to one arm free...total disaster!), I then thought was feed related but she takes 32-34oz through the course of the day and cluster feeds 6-8pm, therefore I know she can go through the night as she has done previously....when I did offer bottle it became every 2-3hrs and very little qty as if she got day/night confused and thought it was still a 3hr cycle. So I stopped feeding her at the first waking and tried the pacifier which works really well but get the inevitable nightwakings popping it back in, some nights she'll suck for 8-10mins pop it out (I go in and stealthily pick it up) and she stays asleep for 45mins-1hr by which point she's doing same thing again (this suggests that she wasnt hungry just wanted soothing)...eventually I feed her at 4am as this is the routine we have established and what she is used to...after this feed no dummy is required but she still wakes every 45mins-1hr until wakeup 7am but she is just fussing/getting out of swaddle not crying, even at 4am she is just fussing not crying but if leave her long enough she wakes herself up then cries so try and do the dream-paci and dream-feed method which keeps her drowsy so she can just drop off again after....should I wait for full blown crying? should I offer a feed when she wakes at 12.30/1.30 even though she fed less than 4hrs prior? These are the questions that a sleep deprived ftm asks at 1am in the morning when lying in bed listening to your baby fuss, frustrated as you'd only just gotten to sleep and feel like toothpicks are holdin your eyelids open...pls tell me this is typical behaviour and what if anything I should try/adapt during the nighttime? I should also mention that she has now gone through the 12wk growth spurt as she had 2-3days of crankiness, extra feeding, harder crying and then settled back down again so I know its not that...she is generally very happy and content during waketime so she must be getting enough sleep but you have to wonder whether pacifier helping or hindering...appreciate your thoughts on this...

 

[kumber]

They can go through phases of not sleeping, just like adults! The 12 week spurt and leap is vile, it lasts about 2 weeks so even though she's not fussy or cranky, she could still be in it. Without meaning to sound harsh, I think expecting her to go 11 hours with no food at 12weeks is a bit much - ds slept 9-6 from 8 weeks but didn't go 11 hours until 6 months and was weaning. I would offer a other feed, even if she only has a snack it'll keep her going. As for the waking up and fussing, you probably just need to ride it out!

 

[kitten2014]

No thats alright Kumber, I appreciate your opinions/thoughts, she doesn't go 11 hrs, usually 8-9hrs before 1st night feed then 3hrs til morning feed. Two weeks wow- didnt realise it lasted that long, her dirty nappies have increased and her bottle size in last two days also so think her body is now processing things faster and the increased bottle size coincided with changing from size 1 to size 2 teats...sh now takes 6-7oz per feed instead of 5-6oz...how do you know how many times they need feeding at night though cos like I said above after her feed she fusses a lot every hr on the hour and dont want to get back to feeding every2-3hrs overnight as dont think she needs that regular...she stopped doing that at 8weeks and started taking 1-2night feeds.....I will try riding out the nightwakings...should I not offer the dummy and see if she'll self settle/fuss back to sleep? dont want the dummy to become a sleep aid

 

[kumber]

Offer the dummy, some babies need to suck to soothe. I was so against dummies, it took a lot of cajoling from hubby go get me to use them but the difference was immediate. He still woke during the night but as soon as the dummy was in he conked straight back out. Now he has it to fall asleep and either spits it out and leaves it out or puts it in himself and goes back off.

 

[littlemonkey]

If you know your LO can go through the night try offering the dummy first. If she's waking again soon afterwards or spitting its out offer a feed. That's how I do it.

Their sleep changes so much in the first year that even a baby who sleeps through will have some sleepless nights. My eldest slept through from three months and my youngest is just starting to now at 11 weeks. Even still I would have a bad night or two a week with my eldest and he had phases of being unsettled at night with teething, being unwell and just because he wanted to!

 

[kitten2014]

hi guys, ok so last night bedtime and final feed was 7pm and at 12.30 she stirred so offered dummy, she stirred again 1.30 so this time fed her, took full 7oz, settled back down, she then stirred every hr after that but didnt cry so left her, at 4.30 she stirred properly so tried dummy, she spat it out so gave her bottle, took 4oz, settled again, woke 5.45 but settled again then woke fully 7.30 so started the day with nappy, change of clothes and next feed. I also did nappy at 5am as figured that a wet nappy could have been the culprit in previous nights, was only half full but a dry nappy still better. It could simply be she's going through her growth I guess as whether offer feed or dummy her nightwakings are very similar. In fact last night it was worse but she had wind as heard her trump loudly at 11pm! From going to bed myself 9.30pm til 7.30am managed one or two hr and half slots otherwise was waking every 45min-1hr...despite this she was in a happy mood when she woke this morning so clearly she's still getting enough sleep lol...I guess I'll try and do the same for the next few nights and see what patterns develop...