3-month-old sleep, bfing and growth-spurt questions

Hi,

DS is just over 3 months old. He was sleeping 6-hours (10pm-4am) each night, then generally feeding every 2-3 hours during the day.

Last Thursday, and every night since then, he's been feeding 2-hourly overnight. I figured it might be a growth-spurt. Sounds right yeah?

Except that suddenly he's only feeding every 5-6 hours during the day. He's generally wakeful during the day, having 20-30 minute catnaps, and more sleepy at night (sleeping in between feeds, not staying awake to play).

He is definitely hungry at night - he won't be settled back to sleep without a feed. Sometimes he feeds from both bbs, although previously he was generally satisfied with the one. I've tried stretching out his feeds with a dummy, but he just becomes more unsettled until I feed him.

During the day, I expect to feed him every 2-3 hours, as was his previous pattern. Only now he spits out the boob and goes back to playing. I'm happy to offer him the boob whenever he wants it, but at the moment he only asks after 5 hours!

I'm really hitting the wall now. :cry: I know it's only been a few days, and I know it might just be a growth spurt :pray: but is the upside-down feeding a sign of a growth-spurt, or is something else going on? I'm completely open to him setting the routine, but his current one is just about killing me. I'm not getting enough deep sleep to function during the day. The fridge is empty, the house is a mess, and I'm slowly going mad.

We only bathe him every second night. He doesn't have a set pattern and we're not particularly good at setting a routine for him - so whilst he knows the bath/feed/bed routine, it only happens every second night, so it's not predictable for him.

Does the upside-down feeding thing sound like a growth spurt? Or something else? Help me please!

ETA: He is fully breastfed and a happy, content little baby. There's been no grumbles or fussiness in the last week. Oh, and he's not due for a Wonder Week for another few weeks.

:bump:

Hey Seph, I saw this post earlier but got side tracked with missy!

Evie does this too sometimes, not all the time I have to say but sometimes. I just go with it because she doesn't do it often. I actually find that she doesn't feed much when we are out and about (she loves to lie down feeding and we can't be doing that in public LOL) - so I can guarantee that night we will be awake a few times for a feed. When we are at home, she is pretty good and feeds 2 hourly in the day and goes longer at night.

Has this been going on for long? I guess it could be a growth spurt like you say.
I'm so sorry that I haven't been any help at all. Just not very experienced with this whole parent hood thingy ;)

Sue xxxx

Sounds very familiar! At this age they're more interested in checking out the world than feeding, meaning they catch up in the dark boring hours when they have you all to themselves.

I started to feed dd in a dark quiet room in the day to simulate the night. I know it's a pain but they get better at focussing on feeds again in a few months.

Otherwise, I would express until I got a let down and then try and feed, so bub doesn't have to work too hard. The dark room worked well here though...it's just boring for you!!

Yeah, it's a developmental stage they go through at around 3-4 months - hopefully it will pass with a bit of time.
I also recomend a quiet darkened room - that's the only way DS would feed. Don't try to push it too much if he's really not interested, as that can be counterproductive unfortunately (as I learnt).

Thanks ladies. I realised that yeah, DS often "skips" a feed during the day if we're out and about. I will often think (whilst walking through a shopping centre) that "he'll need a feed soon" but he doesn't ask for one, and next thing I know he's asleep and goes another 2 or 3 hours before having a feed.

Having said that, the last couple of days I've made sure that he's feeding every 2-3 hours during the day, and noticed that he DOES ask for it when he's not distracted by the world around him. Even so, he's STILL waking every 2 hours overnight. The last three nights he's fed at 9pm, 11:50pm, 1:30am, 3:30am, 5am, 7am, 9am, etc. And they're usually big feeds, not snacks. I've tried swaddling him, not swaddling him, checking that he's not too hot or too cold - basically anything that might be the reason he's waking so much. But it doesn't matter - it appears that he is only waking because he's hungry, and this must just be a growth spurt. Which makes sense, cause he appears to be growing in front of my eyes :o and I've noticed a few changes in his behaviour too - he's started giggling a lot more, and reaching out for things. His head control has also become a lot stronger too. So perhaps the extra feeding is also part of a neurological leap? I guess I'll only be able to tell when I look back on these few weeks...if they ever end! God, I really need some sleep!

They grow so fast hey?

I swear DD gets heavier by the hour!! LOL

She's a very hungry baby and asks me 1.5-2 hourly for feeds - some nights she sleeps for 3 hour stretches, other nights she wakes every 2 hours!

Your little man sounds like he's sprouting! xxx

Sue xx

I always include in my posts "Hopefully the phase will pass soon" But sometimes it doesn't.