2nd Posting...Baby not sleeping through the night!

Question

OK, my 3 month old was sleeping through the night since he was 3 weeks old. Recently he started waking up 3 or 4 times during the night. He only naps a total of 2-3 hours during the day though so I figured he would sleep harder than he has been. I'm not sure whats going on with him. He usually sleeps with one certain blanket and I haven't put him to bed with it for the past few nights so could that be whats wrong with him? What could be the reasons for this?

Answer 1

It might be the fact that he dosent have his "blankie" or mabey he is starting to teeth. Sometimes babies sleep very well for a while and then WHAMMO!!!!! All night long they are awake and wanting to party. Mabey try some rice cereal before bedtime but of course, talk to the babies doctor first before giving him rice cereal at a young age. Some babies cant handel it.

Answer 2

Like everyone says, there are a million possible reasons! But on a side note, when I started "sleep training" for my baby a month or more ago (she's five months old now), she started sleeping through the night. Every night. Previously she'd done that a few times, but not regularly. I've heard other people say they had the same experience ... so maybe in a month or so, you might want to try some sort of sleep training?

Answer 3

Sometimes during the first couple years, sleeping habits will change.  If he's going through a growth spurt, or learning a new skill, teething, etc.  What I noticed with my girl was that if she slept well during the day (naps) then she slept better at night...be sure to follow your baby's cues and put them down to sleep when they are ready.  If you wait too long, they get overtired and it's harder for them to have a good night's sleep.  Sometimes you may need to adjust their bedtime until they fall into a pattern.  My girl use to go to bed anywhere between 6 and 7pm but now she can stay up until 8 or so. Hang in there and Good luck!

Answer 4

Some babies will go back and forth from sleeping through the night to not sleeping through the night. What I noticed with my son, who is 6 months, is he sleeps rough if he's too hot or cold. I had to bundle him up more or less and find out what temperture he prefers to sleep at. My son has a definate attachment to certain toys so it could very well be that he wants the blanket you spoke of. I would be carful about the blanket though with him being 3 months. I was told SIDS is still a worry at 3 months and I wasn't putting any blankets or toys in with Markus until he hit 5 1/2 months.

Answer 5

At that young age, I doubt if he is already attached to a certain blanket.  It could be a little growth spurt he is going through.  As babies become more aware of their surroundings, they realize "Hey, it's fun to be awake and look around!"  They can get a little overstimulated.  One thing I always did when my babies were that young worked like a charm for getting them to sleep through the night.  I always bathed them at night, followed by the last bottle/feeding, fresh jammies and then put them down to bed.  The bath seemed to really help calm them down and get them ready for sleep.  Good luck.  Try different things and remember its all "phases" they go through.  Just when you have a pattern that works -- they grow through it onto another one!

Answer 6

He could be going through a growth spurt. He could be getting teeth. It could be the blanket. It could be him checking up to see if you are still there ( My daughter used to do that!)

This too shall pass.

Answer 7

He probably misses his "blankie", babies even that young become attached to certain objects for a "security blanket". It may be alittle early, but could he be starting to teethe.too?

Answer 8

Hi,

I think the most important thing to start with is to get your baby into a good sleep routine.  I had massive problems with getting my 4 month old son to sleep.  He would just lie awake and cry for hours, then when he finally went to sleep he would wake every hour or two hours through the night and cry again!  Talk about pulling our hair out .... we were absolutely desperate for sleep!

It was a baby sleep audio program recommended by a friend that finally saved us. We followed the advice and began by creating a baby sleep routine which included bathtime, dimming of the lights, putting James into his crib, final nappy change and then lullabies. We also made recommended changes to his naps during the day and used some of the other recommended techniques. Within two weeks he was sleeping through the night most nights with just the odd night where he would just wake once!

Definitely start by creating a good baby sleep routine though and you could find that solves most of your baby sleep problems.

Good luck!

Answer 9

I would think it was a little early for him to have an attachment to a security item like a blanket, but by all means try!  

Have his eating habits changed at all?  Is he getting up at night to eat?  That might indicate that he needs more food during the day.  This would be the first thing I'd look at.  It could be a growth spurt and his body needs more than he's currently getting during the day.  

It could be teething.  He's young but the teeth can move up and cause pain in the early months long before the teeth pop through.  

Whatever it is, hopefully you'll have some better nights soon!