Help with Sleep for 3 Month Old!

My son is now 9 months old and still isn't completely sleeping through the night. But around the age of three months it was very tiresome he would get up more than normal.. When i spoke to the doctor about it (because i honestly thought something was really wrong). He said that it is completly normal for this age. SOmetimes they want to be fed and sometimes they wake up and need comfort b/c that big lonely crib is just too much for a baby so young to absorb. There really isn't much to do but adapt to his new scedule but it does get better once he learns that you are there when he needs you to be

I agree- I wouldn't start cereal without the doctor's okay- especially if upping his formula ounces is making him spit up. I also agree that it is important to introduce cereal with a spoon. My pediatrician actually told me that it is proven that there is a link to juvenile diabetes from putting cereal in the bottle.

You may want to look into some of Dr. Robert Sears' books. According to his research, it is ery normal for a baby to wake one or more times a night until after a year old. It may seem inconvienent but that is just how babies sleep.

I know this will not be a popular answer but you may want to try taking your baby to bed with you at night. My 6 month-old has been sleeping in bed with us since birth and she is a great sleeper. When she wakes up she just gets herself some "num-nums" (nurses) and then goes back to sleep. I barely wake up so we all (my husband included) get a great night's sleep.

It definitely sounds like a growth spurt. Although the popular thing to do is add cereal, I would not. Early introduction of solids is linked to childhood obesity and diabetes. Not to mention their little systems aren't really ready to digest solid foods yet. My advice is feed him when he's hungry. If he was a good sleeper before, he will be again. It is clearly hunger that wakes him. Sometimes they do get into a bad habit, but you will notice that they won't eat as much and that shoud be clue. Best of luck!

A.

Hi! My son did the same thing around 3 months. At 3, and 6 months babies usually have growth spurts. They need more to eat and can become restless. I didn't go the cereal approach. I really believed that its important fundamentaly to introduce cereal with a spoon. I just kept feeding my littel guy as much as he needed. It didn't last very long. And soon he was eating more in his bottles and progressively started sleeping longer through the night. At 5 months he was sleeping completely through the night. Hopefully its just a growth spurt! You ARE destined for more sleep!!

Hi J.

My name is Jeanette and I am a mother of 3 and a grandmother of 2.You my want to rethink the cereal I started my kids on cereal when they were 3mths when they got fussy at night and it worked.Infact my middle one started @2 mths because he needed that extra to help him sleep better he was also in the 97th persentile of his age group.The Doctor would always tell me to put him in football hahaha anyway ask your Mom and see what she says.My Mom was always my 1st call.

Sounds like a growth spurt to me. It really is a little early for cereal unless the doctor thinks that there is good reason to start it. His stomache is small so feeding him more may not work (like you said he will spit up), give it a week to see if it was just growth.

3 months old is a growth spurt! If you are nursing, nurse on demand, and your milk supply will catch up with baby soon enough! If you are feeling tired, you can always bring baby into bed with you when he awakes, allowing you to quickly fall back alseep and sooth him at the same time.

If you aren't nursing, just give him bottles until he seems satiated, this is an age the yoften increase their formula intake.

First, first, first, first FIRST! Check with your Ped. Every mom has a different experience with their angels, but so do their pediatricians! I have a 16 mo. old son and my pediatrician absolutely did NOT recommend cereal until 4-6 months. We opted for 6 months. Dr. Marcie's rationale was that their little tummies are not developed enough to digest the cereal yet. However my dear mother-in-law said that was BS! and that she fed both my husband and his brother cereal at 10 weeks! That's what they did back then! (They also fed babies Karo syrup for ailments too! BAD IDEA!) Things "they did back then" that "didn't harm us" are not necessarily true nowadays in my opinion. Babies are different and so are we. We eat things or don't eat things like they used to. Our bodies are different. Babies are bigger and the technology to discover childhood and birth ailments are so advanced compared to when our mothers and grandmothers "did things". Please check with your doc first and see what (s)he recommends. If you don't like what they say, consult another ped. These moms give GREAT advice, but in the end you'll do what works for you and what your ped recommends. Remember (s)he's the one who will be taking care of your baby for a long time! Good Luck!

J. & baby Xander

3 months is the first major growth spurt- usually this night waking and needing more to eat only lasts for a few weeks. unfortunately, it is just long enough to get your little one in the habit of night waking. if it continues for more than 2-3 weeks, check with your ped. to see if starting a little rice cereal- possibly even mixed in and given in a bottle with a larger holed nipple- is an option. be strong and hang in there. as my mother always tells me, "this too shall pass"! good luck!

Hello. I have to boys ages 4 and 2. My first one I was scared to give anything too. My second one not so much. One of my friends who is a mom too told me to give cereal when my son started waking in the night. So I gave it to him, but really thin. It worked like a charm. He didn't get overweight or anything like that. And as he got older I would make the cereal a little thicker and a little thicker. I also would make the cereal with either formula or breastmilk-whichever way you prefer. And start with the rice cereal. It's the best one to start with. My son was about 3 months when I did that. I hope that this helps.
E.

J.,
Despite what people say about putting cereal in the bottle, it does hold them through the night. Try to put a tablespoon or two in with his bottle. Everybaby is different though, but my baby at 2 month was sleeping 10 hour nights, it's unbelievable but true. Now he is 1 year and he goes to sleep at 7:00 p.m. and wakes up once during night and then at 6:00 a.m. Now I am slowly putting less cereal. Good luck ! Keep in touch !
H.

Hi J.. My son is currently about to turn 3 months old, and he has been on cereal since about 2-2 1/2 months. The reason being is because his Ped. told me to do so because his bowel movements were so watery and he'd do them so often that he started to get really bad rashes from it. In any case, it was recommended by his Ped. and quite frankly it's been helping with his bowel movements. On the other hand, he was also a restless baby. At least your son would actually sleep through the night up until 1/2 week or 1 week ago. My son has not done that since he's been home...until I started him on the cereal. He sleeps a good 4-5 hours at a time with it, and it is soooo wonderful. I'm still restless but he's getting his sleep and that's all that matters to me. Alot of people say cereal will or will not make a baby sleep longer, but I believe it does because it seems to work wonders for my son. Different Ped. have different advice for different babies because all babies are different. My son is actually eating 6 oz. and downing it and has no problem keeping it down with the cereal!!! So in my advice, try giving him the cereal, it worked for my little one. The Ped. says 1 tsp for every ounce of milk....but I tend to do maybe for a 6 oz. bottle 4-5 tsps. Make it as thick as your comfortable with. Good luck with the little man!!! I know exactly whatyou are going through.

My son started a bit of that around that age. I had tried giving him some cereal once or twice before than, but in my experience, he still woke up every four hours at night and ate the same amount... so it didn't sustain him any!

People told me he could be teething. Is he slobbering to the point where his shirts or bibs are just soaked with drool? Is he trying to bite everything he can reach... your hands, your nose, your chin, chewing on his pacifier, toys, etc? Does he push the bottle away sometimes, but after a few minutes, drink from it? These were some of my son's signs of teething. Sometimes it hurts him so bad, that he doesn't eat at all.

If he's not really showing definate signs of teething, cause all babies are different, I would bet that he is going through a growth spurt. Babies suddenly consume a lot more than usual when they go through this. My son was like this for about a week, then it started to go back to normal... or into a more predictable schedule I should say. I would just keep doing what you are doing... talk to your doctor about when they believe you should start babyfood and cereal... and feed him as much as he wants. This will pass, and come back again, then pass, and go on that way for a while. Before you know it, you'll wake up freaking out because he didn't wake up... lol. I did that a number of times.

My daughter after the 2nd month started sleeping through the night but only after I added ceral to her bottel..not alot, it would still be liquidy enough to drink out of a bottle with a little bigger nipple. She slept though the night since she has a little something that would sit longer in her tummy.

Sounds like a growth spurt or the beginnings of teething. I'd just feed him.

"this, too, shall pass..."

I would advise against formula in a bottle at night. I have talked to several pediatricians who advise against this as it is not good for them to have so much before bed in a bottle. He most likely is going thru a growth spurt and/or just needs comfort. My daughter did that and she is now almost 2 and has always slept thru the night since about 2 months old, but occasionally she wakes up for different reasons, teeth hurting, comfort, etc. I would talk to your pediatrician and get their advice, but I started my baby on cereal during the day (off of a spoon) at 3 1/2 months. Anyway, just my 2 cents, hope it helps.

Unfortunatly he is going through a growth spurt. It happens at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 9 months. He actually is hungry and needs to be feed. It should only last a couple of weeks and then go back to normal (at least it did for us, I know not every baby is the same) But then it's going to happen again at 6 months. Just be patient and you'll make it through. We have all been there.

My daughter did the exact same thing when she was around 3.5 months old. For her I think it was a combo of a growth spurt and teething. Her second tooth just broke through last week, she's now 5 months old. So she's been waking up 2x a night for 1.5 months now, but now that that tooth broke through, she seems to be getting back to her regular schedule.

I did not start her on solids. I just hung in there with her and woke up to feed her. I'm not a fan of giving a little one cereal before bed, especially not through a bottle. IMO, if they're not old enough to take it from a spoon, they're probably not old enough to eat it.

Of course, consult your doc, s/he will know what's best for your little one!

Good luck...sweet dreams!

HI J.
My son is now 5 months old and has been sleeping through the night since he was 9 weeks old. But when he was around 3 months he started waking up during the night for a feeding and then again early in the morning. It lasted about two weeks then he was sleeping through the night again. I was concerned like you and started asking around. I got several different reasons that it could be. Baby could be to warm at night, to bright in the room, starting to teeth(even though you may not see a tooth up to two more months) or a growth spurt. SO my husband and I tryed different things, we went out and bought sleepers with open feet, put curtains up(it was kind of bright in his room), bought oragel for his little gums and let the growth spurt pass. Hope all goes well.

E. Naples, FL.

My name is M. and i have a 7 & 4. What i did with my kids when they were that young was put a little ceral in there last feeding bottle and it seemed to help them sleep a little longer at night. Formula or breastmilk is ok but they are growning and sometimes they need a little more to calm there bellys to fill them up. now be careful on what one to use cause the rice one will bind there bowels and they could have problem pooping. but try the ceral. and maybe your breastmilk is not enough talk to your doctor and see if you should switch to formula.

Hi J.. It sounds to me like he's going through a growth spurt! You might want to get used to it, it will be happening every couple of months. I believe I started giving my daughter rice cereal in her bottles at bed time when she was about 3 months old. Only rice though. I don't see why you couldn't do the same, but please make sure you discuss it with your pediatrician before you start doing it. Good luck! and God Bless,
L.

J. have you tired cereal? I have been give cereal two my 4 month old since he was 1 month old and I never had no problem.
I out my to sleep at 9:30 P.M and he wakes up at 5:30A.M. I give him a bath and a bottle of 8 oz w/ 2 scoops of cerel in it.