My 13 week daughter still needs a small feed at 4am
My daughter is thirteen weeks old and still not sleeping through the night. She wakes around 4am each night. In addition she will not sleep more than 45 minutes at lunchtime despite trying all the methods in the CLB book.We have reduced her 4am feed to just 3ozs [1/2 water and ½ formula] as she refuses to drink water at any time of the day. For two weeks I increased her milk intake during the day but she still woke at night and she out on 22ozs in a fortnight. She started being sick a lot [she suffers from reflux and is on Gaviscon] so I have now reduced her feeds to those shown below.
In the daytime she has 3 naps all for 45 minutes. Again for the last three weeks I have held her, let her cry and even lay down on the bed holding her for the following hour but she still refuses to sleep more than 45 minutes. However despite this she sleeps well from 6.45pm until 7-8am each day only waking for her 4am feed and then goes straight back to sleep.My daughter takes feeds at 7.30am, 10.45am, 2.15pm, 6.15pm and 10.30pm of 5ozs. She has 3ozs at 5.00pm and her diluted feed of 3ozs at 4am. She weighs 12lbs 4ozs.
She naps at 9-9.45am, 12.15-1am, 3.45-4.30pm.
As your daughter is taking good feeds during the day it is sensible that you are offering her a diluted feed in the night. As she wakes at the same time each night, rather than randomly, she may well be coming into her light sleep and finds it hard to settle herself back to sleep. Try cuddling her first, to see if she will settle without a feed. If she cannot fall asleep then you need to keep offering this feed to her until she shows signs that she really does not need it any more. When you notice that she is waking later in the mornings or becoming less interested in her 7.30am feed you can begin, little by little, to cut back the amount you give her at 4am. It can take some babies a little longer to go without a feed through the night, especially when they have reflux, as they are unable to take too big a feed in the day without becoming uncomfortable and distressed.
Check that your daughter is well tucked in. Her Moro reflex may be waking her when she is in a light sleep, both at 4am and during her lunchtime nap. Use rolled towels down the cot sides to secure a cotton sheet or light cotton blanket placed lengthways across her. Even if she wears a sleeping bag, being firmly tucked in will help her to stay secure.
If you have tried all the suggestions in the Contented Baby book as well as those in the article on the Lunchtime nap then continue to give her the three 45-minute naps. It can take a while to really establish the longer sleep in the day but it is worth persevering. To reset her cycles, so she does stay asleep for longer than 45 minutes, you may need to do the same thing every day for one or two weeks. This might be holding her or taking her out for a walk in her pram. Being consistent, as well as persistent in the method you choose, will really help you. You may find she will sleep longer at this lunchtime nap once she is more active with rolling and crawling or once she is weaned. Every baby is different and has different needs. Use the routines as a guideline but also accept that your daughter may take longer to be able to follow the routine for her age.