Why did my baby stop sleeping through the night at 4 months old?

Question

Our baby girl is now 4.5 months. At 3 months, the first stretch of night time sleep was at least 5.5 hours. She even started to sleep for 7.5 hours straight! She was also taking two longer naps during the day. We didn't do anything special to get her to sleep through the night. This is just how she evolved. But then the day after she turned 4 months it all changed. All of a sudden she won't sleep more than 3.5 hours straight at night. She wakes up to nurse and will fall a sleep after about 10 minutes. And her naps are no longer than 30 minutes. We've made no changes in her routine or her environment. I'm still at home with her, still breastfeeding exclusively (no solid food yet and no bottle), and she's still in her crib in her nursery. She's pretty happy and healthy, but I do worry that she's not getting enough nap time. She also started drooling a lot and biting her lower lip, so maybe she's teething. Can this have changed her sleeping pattern? Has anyone else experienced such a sudden change in sleeping?

Answer 1

I vote for teething.  Get some teething gel to help numb the pain.  Hopefully that will help the baby sleep better.  

Answer 2

2 things are happening.

Teething:  Rub ambesol on the gums before nap or sleep.  the teeth are starting to cut at this age and the drooling is a big tip off to teething.  Watch for diaper rashes as they can get pretty nasty which will cause more sleeping issue with a sore bottom.....just keep the bottom with talc or ointment if/when it starts.

Food:  My little one was on cereals and stage 1 foods at this point.  Not sleeping could also indicate that the child is feeling hungry or not satisfied.  Time to start weening from nursing and integrating some hearty foods....especially at night.  A full belly will mean a full night's sleep.

Once the teeth start coming in, you can start with more table foods like pasta or other things......But wait until stage 2 or 3 foods before table food.  My little one was about 11 months old when she scoffed almost a full slice of pumpkin pie.....we knew then that it was time for table foods.

Answer 3

Babies constantly change in every way including sleeping patterns it is completely normal and theres nothing you can do and it has nothing to do with what you have done so don't worry and yes it could be she's starting to teeth and is uncomfortable.

Answer 4

She's probably getting hungry in the middle of the night so maybe you can try her on a little bit of rice cereal twice a day or so just mix it with formula or breast milk and feed with a spoon. And teething causes it too so if she seems in a lot of pain give her a bit of tylenol after checking with your doctor.  

Answer 5

Yes, teething can change your baby's sleeping patterns, although it's also common for patterns to change every couple months. Just when you think you've got it all figured out, it changes. The joys of being a SAHM, right?

Some things to try:

Putting a couple receiving blankets in between the crib mattress and sheet,

Putting her to bed with something that smells like you,

Giving her Baby Orajel (Ambisol; can be found at walmart in the baby aisles) right before bed.

Keep in mind that at her age, she needs about 12-14 hours of sleep per 24-hour period. So, if she's sleeping alot at night, she probably won't sleep much during the day, and vice versa.  

Answer 6

Her hours have changed.  Because she's resting all day, she's up and at em in the night.  Give her a lot to do during the day, keep her active and even when she's sleepy, keep her up.  And contrary to the pediatrician's advice, pump a bottle, get some rice cereal and give her a full bottle before she goes to sleep, trust me

Answer 7

It's common for babies to regress slightly before going through a developmental change.  So she'll stop sleeping through the night for a bit, then next thing you know she's doing something more advanced...rolling over, crawling, walking, whatever.

You don't need to worry about it.

Answer 8

Sounds like a combination of growing spurt, teething and being curious about what's going on in her world. My daughter will be five months old tomorrow and she's totally changed up her sleeping routine this last week or so. The good news is that she's sleeping about 10 - 12 hours at night!! But her naps have gotten a lot shorter. I think it's her teeth because she chews on her hands and pulls her ears when she fusses and wakes up. She's so curious about what's going on around her that she's totally entertained when she's awake and doesn't want to miss out on anything. I really think this is a stage and I'm prepared for lots more changes in sleeping patterns coming up. I remember my son changing his sleeping and eating routines regularly during the first year.

Answer 9

Growth spurts can affect sleep patterns.  So can the amount of sunlight you get during the day or the food you've eaten that day.  Also, teething or illness.  It could be any number of things.

Answer 10

My little girls sleeping pattern changed a dozen times before she finally settled into her current routine.

Im sure your little one will change a few more times before she gets into a routine that works for her.

Teething, growth spurts and other changes will affect her sleep patterns often.

What worked best for us was to make sure we kept her to a very regular routine. We still have the occasional 4 am wake up or 30 minute nap, but for the most part she sleeps very well.  

Answer 11

The same thing happened with my son. His problem was paritally teething and the fact that he was starting to realize that not everyone goes to sleep the same time he does and if he stayed up longer he could play with more toys. He got over it in about a month or so, he is now sleeping through the night.