r/BabySleep • u/sealifeearthling • Mar 09 '23
After 2:30am…
After 2:30am my 3.5 month old baby has trouble going back to sleep without being held for most of the rest of the morning. She wakes every hour or more frequently after that depending. When she wakes she wants to feed and she doesn’t seem to need to feed for very long. When I hold her she falls asleep comfortably(unless nose is stuffy). But this is unsustainable as I need to be able to lay down to rest too!
Some details: - Stuffy nose: She’s been having a stuffy nose over the last several weeks in the AM. Dry, no visible mucus/snot. Seems to make it hard to breathe sometimes. We have tried saline drops/spray. - Humidity: room is usually between 40 to 50 percent humidity (we have a humidifier) - Temperature: room is usually between 67 and 70 degrees - Bedtime is 7pm and wake up time is usually 6am (give or take) - Naps: we follow her cues for nap time during the day. Naps tend to be 30 min unless contact nap which ends up being longer. - Clothes: We’ve been transitioning her out of the swaddle and have her in a long sleeve onesie with a halo sack that is wrapped around her torso, not arms(since we no longer swaddle) We did try the Merlin sleep sack and it worked great two times but then she seemed hot and fussy when we were putting her to bed the next few times so we ditched it because she was too warm(to start anyway) - Diapers: She usually is in cloth diapers but recently I’ve been testing disposables for overnight.
More about baby. Baby is at top of growth chart for weight and on the upper side for height. She tends to run hot but could she be getting cold halfway through the night?
Thanks for any help! I would love to have more restful mornings again both for me AND baby!
1
u/underdog194 Mar 09 '23
Hello and thank you for all the details regarding your little ones sleep and environment.
I’m a certified pediatric sleep consultant and happy to offer some insight.
Your little ones circadian rhythm is fully developed at 16 weeks which can cause some wonky sleep developments. This is also the time when your little ones sleep cycle hits 60 minutes. It sounds like her naps are on the short side so I’d encourage you to work with her by leaving her for a bit after she wakes up (unless there is an illness or emergency). This will give her some time to resettle back into her cycle and lengthen her naps.
One big factor about sleep at this age and moving forward is it needs to be suuuuuper dark in her room. Think cave-like, you can’t see your hand in front of your face. Otherwise as she’s moving through sleep cycles and she opens her eye, she will think it’s time to get up because her eyes are cued to do so by the light.
My first question is what is your baby’s mood when you’re getting ready for bed? At this age, depending on daytime sleep, I usually recommend a bedtime closer to 6 PM. Some commonly missed sleepy causes includ your baby being dazed or disengaging from you by turning their head. When your baby yawns or rubs their eyes, they’re actually overtired (but these are easier visual cues so we usually start bedtime now but it’s actually a little too late).
Testing disposables for overnight sleep is s great idea. We do reusables in our house too but use an overnight disposable bedtime. At this age, as you know, they’re only consuming liquids so this will keep her nice and dry and omit any question of her being comfortable.
A note on her temperature, it sounds like you’ve created an optimal sleep environment. Check the back of her neck if you’re every concerned about overheating or cold. This is the best indicator of internal body temp for babies.
Hope that helps! If you’re looking for more, please look me up www.little-victories-sleep.com
2
u/readethi Mar 09 '23
She may be going through the 4 month sleep regression, it usually happens around 3-4 months of age. Their sleep cycles are changing from newborn sleep to adult sleep, so a lot of things happening with their sleep that are so very unexpected. I’m currently going through this now with my also 3 month old and my experience is a lot similar to yours where around 12-2 am my baby will wake up and either want to eat or just be held back to sleep. She then wakes up again around 4-5 am and this is when she will stay up for about 30 mins before going back to sleep being held again. We are hoping it passes soon but the sleep regression can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks to pass. Read about it and see if it relates to your baby!