Sleeping FAQ: 3-4 Months – Night Waking

Should I introduce solids to get my 15.5 week son through the night?

Despite following the routines since birth and despite my son’s good weight, he will not sleep through the night – he has done so only on a handful of occasions, despite me following all the advice in the CLB book. He has between 3-3.5 hrs sleep during the day and settles well for his morning and lunchtime nap. He is still taking a split feed at 5 and 6pm according to the recommendation in the book for a baby who does not sleep through. However he is still waking at 4.00am-ish and some nights at 2.30am, again at 3.30am and then again at 4.30am and despite trying controlled crying (last night we left him for 20 minutes), I normally have to feed him in order to resettle him; however he wakes again at 6.15am when a dummy usually gets him back to sleep and then again at 7.00am. The feed in the night, at which he takes approx 5oz has the knock-on effect of him not being very hungry at 7.00am. Should I introduce solids as he is now 15.5 wks old? As I am sure you can appreciate that having had only a handful of full nights sleep in 16 wks, I am at the end of my tether; I can’t understand that despite following your routines, he doesn’t seem to be able to sleep through. During the day he is a very happy little baby.

He presently weighs 14.2oz and feeds at 7.15am 5ozs, 10.30am 5.5ozs, 2pm 7ozs, 5pm 4ozs, 6.15pm 5.5ozs,10.30pm 6ozs.

As your son has slept through a few times, you know that he is capable of doing so. He is taking a good amount of milk by day so does not really need milk in the night any more. It would seem that he has got into the habit of waking and now associates settling back to sleep with a feed.

In order to get him through, you need to begin to use the “core night” method. You know that he is able to get from his 10.30pm feed to 4am. If he should wake before 4am, then leave him at least five minutes before going in to see if he will settle himself again. If he does not settle, then offer him cool, boiled water to drink rather than a feed. This will teach him how to sleep through his “core night”.

As he no longer needs a feed in the night and it is beginning to affect how much he takes at 7am, then begin to cut back on how much you offer him. Some babies will continue to wake at night after the time when they no longer need a feed. It may take him longer to settle back to sleep but he should wake hungrier at 7am, thus taking a bigger feed which will take up some of the ounces lost at night. This may then have the effect of pushing his next feed to nearer 11am and he may also increase the amount he takes at that time.

Check that he is not waking due to becoming cold. If he is in a lightweight sleeping bag, then tuck him in securely within a cotton sheet or blanket lengthways across the cot and secured with rolled-up towels down each side of the cot spars. At this age a baby’s Moro reflex can still be quite strong and his repeated wakings may be caused by this. He needs to learn how to put himself back to sleep, which could take some “crying down”, where you may need to reassure him at intervals but gradually lengthen the time between visits. As you are very tired yourself it is sometimes easier to feed a baby as you know that will settle them quickly, but with perseverance over some nights his waking should be eliminated completely. Be aware that if he uses a dummy to settle to sleep at 6.15am he may also be beginning to look for this in the night. Once he has taught himself to fall back to sleep again on his own, he will have no need for all the associations he is using at the present.