I NEED HELP BEFORE I COLLAPSE!

Twizzlers

Fri, Jul 18 2008, 12:05 pm

my now 4 month old *used* to sleep thru the nite. I mean, anywhere between 7-8-9 hours straight. he'd drink a bottle at like 10 and then go till 6 or 7.
over the past few weeks, he decided he'd rather not.
during the day, he doesnt sleep all day, but goes 4-5 hours between feedings and then I have to practically force him to eat. like yesterday, his schedule was as follows:
8 am - 5 oz
1 pm - 5 oz
4 pm - 3 oz
6 pm - 2 oz
9 pm - 4 oz
and at nite, he doesnt want to play or anything, just drinks his bottle, and goes right back to sleep, but its way too often. like last nite for example, was:
2 am - 5 oz
5 am - 1 oz
6 am - 1 oz
8 am - 1 oz
9 am - 3 oz

he used to have 5 oz every 3 hours and somehow that schedule went topsy turvy. I cannot handle another nite like last nite and even having dh take over so I can get a break wont work because he is such a heavy sleeper, he doesnt hear the crying so I gotta push him outta bed and by that point I'm up already, its not worth it.
I should add that he is on Enfamil AR which has rice in it because the ped suspects reflux.

any advice from all you experienced mommies?????????

gold21

Fri, Jul 18 2008, 1:59 pm

Well u know im a very proactive type of mommy and youre more Go With The Flow. so my advice may not be helpful to you. but this is what I would do: u say that ped suspects reflux. now ds is not eating properly. could it be that the reflux is irritating ds and causing him to avoid food? the other issue is that he isnt sleeping well. could it be that the fact that his little tummy is not totally satisfied causes him to sleep fitfully and not sleep a lot? (as an adult, I sleep better when my stomach feels satisfied..and its a fact that we all can sleep like logs on shabbos because of all the food we eat) those would be questions that I would explore. (umm but perhaps I would explore these questions with a more proactive ped. if u get my drift.) good luck hon!

gold21

Fri, Jul 18 2008, 2:04 pm

amother

Fri, Jul 18 2008, 2:07 pm

ok. sounds like my life a couple of months ago
its possible that your baby has gotten used to eating closer together and his stomach keeps waking him up to eat. he may also rely on sucking the bottle to fall back to sleep.
not fun for you
it might also be hes not eating enough during the day
I got a book by doctor ferber who tells you how to sleep train your baby
its amazing and now my baby sleeps 10-12 hours a night Very Happy

you have to wait till baby is 5 months to start
hang in there
hopefully your baby will get back on schedule on own

amother

Fri, Jul 18 2008, 2:17 pm

Ferbers method of allowing a baby to "Cry it out" is suggested for infants 6 months or older. Ferberizing can be wrenching, and traumatic for both parent and child.

I am not starting a debate of whether Ferberizing is a good technique. You should, however, weigh all pros and cons before making such a decision.

Twizzlers

Fri, Jul 18 2008, 5:36 pm

apparently I was not clear enough. my main issue is that my baby DOES NOT EAT DURING THE DAY! and then is understandably starving all nite long. if I knew nothing was bothering him, I would do a little CIO but I KNOW he is starving so I feel bad and feed him all nite long. we are caught in an awful cycle.
right now its 5:35 pm and he ate exactly one time the whole day so far. no amount of pushing can get him to drink even one more drop!

please help!!!!!!!!

pinkbubbles

Sat, Jul 19 2008, 6:40 pm

Sounds very strange why he doesn't want to eat more and more often?

I would suggest calling your GP and getting some advice.

Then once you get feeding problem sorted out, if he still wakes up at funny times you can try rescheduling his nap/feeding time. There are lots of books on how to do it, just try to find one that works for you and your baby.

gold21

Sat, Jul 19 2008, 11:45 pm

Of course you shouldn't do CIO at this point. The poor little guy is suffering here.
Please, twizz, see someone who can help you. This sounds nutty. Something is really bothering him. Maybe reflux. Maybe something else in his throat bothering him that has not been detected, such as strep throat.ya know, it could be a million things. But get help!

cubbie

Sun, Jul 20 2008, 2:43 am

At around 4 months, babies switch from needing to eat every 3 hours to every 4 hours during the day and if you don't do the switch with your baby, it can totally mess up their eating schedule and have them start eating less more often and they start waking up in the night - I know it sounds wierd but it happens. Try it, the schedule that I found worked best with my girls at that age was to give their first feed at 7am, then at 11am, and 3pm then before bed you "cluster feed" that is when you give them two feeds close to each other to fill them up for the night, so feed at 6pm and then 7pm, then put them to sleep for the night and dream feed at 11pm (that is when you feed without waking them - you simply lift the baby out of the crib, feed and return to the crib without burbing or changing them). Once they are on solid foods you can cut out the cluster feed and the dream feed. Also never put your baby to bed straight after feeding during the day or they associate going to sleep with feeding, feed when they wake up from their nap instead. Read The Baby Whisperer, for tips on getting your baby to sleep WITHOUT CIO and setting up routines etc.