Baby Wakes Every Hour at Night!

He may be going through a growth spurt.
Typically, a growth spurt occurs at 3 months.
He is probably "needing" to "cluster feed"... which means a baby needs to feed even every hour.
Breastfeeding is hard work... but for a baby, they need to feed.
Cluster feeding, usually occurs when a baby is having growth spurts and developing a lot, and going through lots of growth changes and/or hitting milestones.

Is he latching on properly? Is your milk supply adequate? If not, a baby will always be 'hungry' and wakes up a lot. And, some babies just have ginormous appetites, which coincides with their growing.

I would make sure you are producing enough milk, stay hydrated and drink lots of water. When a baby starts to need to feed a lot, it usually then triggers the Mommy's body to produce more milk. Its nature. Its for a reason.

30-40 minute 'naps' is not much... often times a baby will 'stir' and toss and turn or 'seem' to wake... but it does not mean they are "done" with their nap. Try waiting... then if he really calls/cries for you, then pick him up and/or feed him. If he is still seeming to be tired....then he probably needs more sleep, or that his sleep was disturbed.

But, babies wake, and they feed. Its what they do. 24/7. Feed on demand, always.

Try asking your Pediatrician too.

I think he's hungry. But ask your Pediatrician...

If you are going to wean him... I would not do it at growth spurt periods... because they need more intake at these times, and they need you. And, ask your Pediatrician about "how" to wean him and start him on Formula, if that is what you really want to do.

All the best,
Susan

Hi there,
To start with, I wouldn't feed him that many times at night or your going to start a habit that will be hell to break. Only feed him when he is supposed to eat. At that age, my daughter was waking up only one time in the middle of the night to feed.(it's much later on that my daughter started waking up a bunch of times a night) Most of the time, I let my husband feed her with a bottle. That was the only time she had one, except for when I went out without her. (but, she did take a bottle from other people, you need to work on letting others feed him)
Anyway. I couldn't tell you why he is waking up, there could be a million reasons. But the most important thing is, is that he doesn't create bad habits.
Don't pick him up when he cries. You can go in his room and touch him, but limit your time and whatever you do, don't do it until he fall's asleep. The whole object is to let him know you are there, but you need to leave him to actually let him fall asleep on his own. (except when he has his night feeding of course)I know he is still very young, but he needs to learn how to do it.
I have a great on-line book you can have if you'd like. Just email me at ____@____.com (or any other mom who needs it) This book really did change my families life. This book gave me the tools to train her to sleep through the night. (that's exactly what you are doing...sleep training) It has been wonderful, and I wish I got my hands on this book much earlier!!
Good luck and take care,
M.

L.,
Sounds like he's cluster feeding, must be a growth spurt. And yes, it's every hour on the hour!! Hang in there and stick with breastfeeding as long as you possibly can ... I know it's difficult sometimes, believe me.

Sounds like a growth spurt. Babies nurse more to make you make more milk to keep up with their needs. Breastfeeding is all about supply and demand. If after each feeding he is content(sleeps, smiles etc) he's had enough at that feeding. Because of the growth spurt he's metabolizing it faster so he needs to feed more often. Breastmilk goes through the body faster than formula because it doesn't have additives in it that the body doesn't need. Also when babies hit major milstones it can mess with their sleep. Take a look at overall sleep a day instead of how long each nap is. My 3mo old does the bulk of her sleeping at night, which means that what few naps she takes during the day are on the short side. I don't even get a shower out of most of them. Unless you see signs of discomfort(crying all the time etc) and you're seeing less dirty diapers a day I would say he's fine. It does pass.

Hi L.,
Please check out my book - What Haven't They Told Me? Practical Tips for Surviving and Thriving During Baby's First Year. It contains helpful hints from experienced parents on everything from sleeping to breastfeeding to traveling and diapering.

Best of luck!
L.
www.OffRampPublishing.com

First, do you have a reason to wean him? I am not a crazy breastfeeding advocate- but it really is best- if you don't have any work or health reasons to quit I would reconsider.

Sleep is not related to these feedings (if he is growing and your doctor is not expressing any concerns he is getting the needed amount of food). He does not know how to soothe himself back to sleep, so when he naturally wakes up you are soothing him to sleep. Between 4-5 months is the perfect time to let him discover how to soothe himself back to sleep.
Q: How long does he make noise before you go and get him? Leave him for a bit and he may just go back to sleep.

Now, for letting him learn how to soothe himself back to sleep (this will completely change his naps and his night sleep). Put him down at 7pm (maybe 6:30 if he is tired) and go back and get him at 7am. Yes, he will cry as he protests the change (natural human instinct, right?) BUT he will also have the opportunity to soothe himself to sleep (a very important discovery!) and begin sleeping 12+ hours a night (and you will too). It will only take a few days for him to settle into the routine and learn this skill. And you can do it- as you know with a 4 year old sometimes we just have to do things that they don't like because it is best/safest/healthiest...

Other things to consider:
Naps- he should probably be taking 3 naps- 8:30/9, 12, 3 OR 2 long naps 9ish and 1ish OR he may need more sleep still and show sleepy signs as early as 1-2 hours after waking. Whatever the case may be- be certain that he is not getting overtired and let him get the sleep he needs- sleep begets sleep, overtiredness (or waiting for him to become super tired) begets crying and often difficulty sleeping!!

Sleep environment- dark room, cool in temperature, sound spa/white noise

Nighttime bedtime routine- simple, short, consistent- bath, pjs, nurse, to bed (do you still swaddle? if so that is fine)

Check out this: http://www.lullabyluna.com/2008/12/happy-new-year.html
AND
http://www.lullabyluna.com/2009/01/sleep-ponderings-from-...
AND
http://www.lullabyluna.com/2009/04/sleep-ponderings-from-...

You can do it!

C., mother of 3, sleep consultant, sleep blog writer

hi L. - this may be far-fetched but could it be that he has ecezema and he is waking from the itching? my son started waking frequently when he was a few months old, and it took me a while to realize that it was from teh itching. we just went in his room and were watching him sleep for about half an hour when we noticed he kept rubbing his legs togehter until he couldn;t take it anymore, he would awaken crying.
this certainly may not be the case for your little one, but wanted to bring it up since it is so common with infants these days.

Hello! I totally understand where you are at. Just shy of 4 months, my little boy did the same thing. For almost a week he woke up 5-6 times at night. I emailed my pediatrician and he gave me the okay to start cereal. I do breastfeed as well, but now I am getting a full night's sleep because I feed him cereal between 7 and 8, then he nurses around 8:30 and goes down for the night. Adding cereal has improved his sleeping and overall contentness tremendously. I know that there are a lot of different theories out there on food, but you have to do what works for your child .... if you believe he is hungry, try some cereal to see if that helps hold him over. Good luck!

Hi im also breast feeding but he gets formula once a day and thats ocasionally at night. My son wasnt sleeping well either durring the nights i feed him a bottle at night before bed either formula or breast milk. My babys 3 months old and is also teething its horible :( give him teething tabs before bed time or if that didnt seem to work the next night give him the lowest dose of infant tylonel which is the0.3 mark! Good luck mama :)

First off, he will not do this forever! My daughter was the same way, ESPECIALLY around 4 months old. There is a lot going on, developmentally-speaking, during that time, and it sounds like he needs the extra nutrients and comfort.

It is a possibility that it is teething - in which case this will not become "habit" but will stop when the pain subsides. You are doing the right thing for your child by nursing on demand. It will not last forever. The teeth will come in and you will be faced with a different developmental challenge ;)

As far as the naps, you can try to adjust your routine to encourage longer naps, but remember he is an individual like you and me and may just have a slightly different sleep pattern than, say, you or your daughter or husband.

Does you little guy take a pacifer. My son was trying to feed every 30 min when he was a newborn. After weighing all the pros and cons giving him a pacifer was much more beneficial we gave it a shot and it saved our breastfeeding relationship his need to suckle for comfort and my need for a little sleep. I would also have to suggest cosleeping (done properly) can help you quickly comfort your little angel . Hope this helps just know I've been there and my son now 9 months is a happy healthy and yes sleeping baby

Hi L.,
You sound like a very concerned and caring mother. I can imagine how exhausted you must be. I would need to know a little bit more about your situation before I could give you meaningful answers. Are you a stay-at-home mom or have you returned to work? Is your son truly waking up or just semi-waking up at night? Could your son be going through a growth-spurt and needing to spend more time at the breast to build your milk supply? Is this the reason you are interested in weaning your baby? I would like to suggest you feed your baby as much as possible during the day and right before you go to bed at night, this may help your son sleep better at night. If this does not help, I can help you via SKYPE. Please visit my website at:
VirtualBreastfeedingHelp.com

Take care, L..

L., IBCLC

Give him some tylenol before bed & if he sleeps 4-6 hrs (until the tylenol wears off) then you'll know that it's probably teething & he's in pain.

I agree with the other moms in that he should be getting about 3 naps during the day at this age. My baby got up 2X during the night to nurse at this age also.

He's probably going through a growth spurt. When that happens, they eat more and stay awake more and then they'll go back to their routine again.