Sleeping FAQ: 3-4 Months – Other

13-week-old Charlie’s sleeping has gone wrong – is it jetlag?

Hi. Firstly can I say I think your book is brilliant. We have used it from day one on our baby and swear by it and have recommended it to many friends.

We are living in Switzerland and have recently been back to NZ for a month. Charlie, our 13-week-old baby, slotted in very well to his routine after about a day in NZ but on our return he he has started waking in the night – we are thinking maybe due to jetlag. He had started sleeping through from 11pm-7am just before we left Switzerland when he was about 7 weeks old. Then he stopped for a couple of weeks in NZ, then began sleeping through again from 11pm-7am for the last two weeks in NZ.

Since being back here (we have been back one week), he has been sleeping from 11pm to about 3.30am when he wakes (he woke at 2am and 6am last night). We let him cry himself back to sleep which takes between 10-30 minutes, but then he always wakes up again an hour or so later, in fact, every hour until 7am. I have given him a breast feed at 3.30am once or twice and it has seen him through until 7am, but we are concerned that he is getting into the habit of waking at this time and so have been just letting him cry.

What should we do? We are following your 8-12 week routine strictly and he is feeding and sleeping at the times you specify. We are thinking perhaps he could be going through his 3 month growth spurt which may be having some effect on him?

He was 7.5 pounds at birth and is now a little over 13 pounds. He seems to feed well at each feed during the day although lately has been exhausted at the 6pm feed but still seems to feed properly (I think). He now goes to sleep straight away at 7pm when it used to take him 10-20 minutes to settle himself for this sleep.

Anyway we would really appreciate some advice on what to do as we are both becoming exhausted. Thanks and regards,
Rebecca

In my experience babies of this age rarely suffer too much from jetlag. A growth spurt at three months may well have started this pattern of night waking but growth spurts usually only happen over two or three days.

To eliminate the possibility of hunger I would offer your son a top-up feed of formula or expressed milk after his 10.30pm feed. If he still continues to wake at 3.30am try to settle him with water in about 10 minutes from his first waking.

The problem of him being exhausted at 6pm could also being having the knock-on effect of him coming into lighter sleep towards the end of the night. Try splitting this feed for a while. Feed your son one breast at 5-5.15pm then give him his bath. Follow with the second side by 6.30pm. This way he should take the full feed before falling asleep.

Does your son sleep in a sleeping bag? Check he is not cold. He may need the security of a light sheet tucked over him until he is more mobile