hiya everyone, my baby boy is now just over 14 weeks, and for the past month he has started waking again during the night, every two hours for something to eat, im pretty sure that he's ready for food but all the health people around here say to wait until babies are 6 months before giving food, (dd was started on food at 4 months, shes fine and has no food allergies whatsoever)
i dont know if i should start putting something in his milk at night to try and make him go longer or if i should just try and wait it out, he used to be a great sleeper but this has been going on for a while. during the day he has full 7 oz bottles but at night when he wake he will have about 4-5oz, ,
if i put something in his bottle what should i put in there?

the lack of sleep is starting to take its toll on me, i cant nap during the day cause i have a hectic 3 yr old, and dh cant do the nights on the weekends cause he wont settle for anyone but me, he'll just cry and that keeps me awake anyway lol

My son was just the same. At about 12 weeks, I had to thicken his formula with a bit of cereal for his night time bottle. It just seemed to hold him over for a couple more hours. He wouldn't really settle down for the night until I started doing that. Good luck.

Although it might be coincidental that some babies sleep better after starting cereal, there is NO medical proof of it anywhere, and in fact most doctors will disagree. I personally think that 14 weeks is way too young for cereal, their bellies are not yet mature enough to digest it, and it can cause problems in the long run......could he be teething or just going through a growth spurt? Both are very common at that stage. Maybe try increasing each bottle by an oz. or two to make sure he's getting a little more, and itmay tide him over at night, but it's probably just temporary.;)

It is a phase, and it won't be the first sleep phase your baby goes through. My son would sleep well for a few weeks, then get off schedule for awhile, and then go back on it. He is 8 months right now and we are having sleep issues again - waking up at 4 a.m. for the day!!!

I know you want to cry b/c you are so tired, but I really shouldn't put the cereal in his bottle. It might work for a few days, but most likely your baby will go back to his schedule of waking every few hours.

Also, he is probably going through a growth spurt and is just hungry. It should soon pass. Just hang in there!

yep it is a phase. Please make sure he isnt teething before you start dosing him with cereal. Teeth do wake them up during the night and also learning something new does as well. so please make sure you know if it is teeth or not. Drooling is a given but just because they are teething doesnt mean they will break teeth yet. so just watch and see. You have a three year old so you have been through this before and as you know this will be one of many phases baby will go through. I hvae 4 kids and mykids on any given night gets up for some reason or another. You just have to figure out which problem it is and try to fix it. SLEEP? what is that? NEver heard of it and rarely get it but hey i cant complain i chose to have 4 LOL.

GOod luck. And no there is nothing wrong in giving a little rice cereal (make sure there is no allergy first) in teh formula. Although you should wait and see first if its the teeth. Could be tummy trouble due to teething as well and therfore maybe a little tlc is in order and not food. Some babies need to learn to go to bed on their own.

How are you putting him down at night? Gradually start trying to put him down drowsy, but awake. When he wakes in the middle of the night, perhaps if you give him a minute or so, he'll fall back to sleep. Babies need to learn to fall asleep on their own so they are able to go back to sleep when they wake in the middle of the night.

14 weeks is still very young and he very well may need to eat. Growth spurts happen often. But I would also try letting him settle back down on his own before rushing in to feed every time. It's the easiest solution to get them back to sleep, but in the long run, it's best to teach them to fall asleep on his own. Remember, babies will look to fall back to sleep the same way they went to sleep in the first place.

As far as your sleep. If your three year old doesn't nap still, there's nothing wrong with putting on a short video while your baby naps and closing your eyes for a power nap while your three old is occupied. I've done that when needed and I don't feel guilty about it either. In fact, I still do that and my kids are older. My 7 and 5 year old have a tv time each day which I very conveniently plan around my 14 month old's afternoon nap. It's my down time and I often will close my eyes for a short while. Some times those 5 - 10 minutes of snooze time for me makes a much more pleasant day for all of us!!!!

Why don't you try giving him water at night instead of a bottle? He may just want the comfort of you being there and responding to him, plus the comfort from sucking.

I noticed that about every 2 weeks it seems the schedule changes -- both sleeping and eating... my DD is about 8 months old. And you're right, it does get old after awhile. We've all been there and can understand your frustration. :)