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35 years
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Hi drs. advice plz. 3months baby eating every 3-4h barely sleeping. gaining weight. fully healthy. but cries a lot day and night.breastfed.solutions? mom exhausted and almost depressed.
Sep 6, 2014
2nd opinion

Dr. Zakia Dimassi Pediatrics
Babies younger than about 12 weeks of age cannot be expected to regulate their sleep/wakecycle; the part of the brain responsible for this function is not yet fully developed at this point. Thus, they may sleep less at night than during the day. Additionally, they require frequent feeds, especially if they are maintained on breast milk. Night waking is therefore normal at this age, and babies still need reassurance that their parents are close by. Moreover, breastfeeding at night is necessary for the production of adequate amounts of milk. However, babies' lack of sleep pattern regulation can be cumbersome to parents and negatively affects their own quality of sleep and well-being. Night waking and excessive crying have been implicated in an increasing the risk of child abuse, like violent shaking of babies, plus increased risk of depression in mothers.
By 12 weeks of age, the majority (though not all) Babies should be able begin settling down into longer sleeping patterns at night, but the time for this to happen varies widely within the normal range of sleep development.
Research evidence on baby sleep indicates that introduction of a bedtime routine, placing the baby awake in his/her crib with a favorite toy (not a stuffed soft toy though, otherwise you'd be running the risk of suffocation) can trigger the baby to develop positive sleep associations, so the chances of them going to sleep and returning to sleep without the presence of their parents become higher. Some evidence suggests giving the baby a good feed (especially formula milk, which takes more effort and time to digest, thus more durable sleep is achieved) between 10pm and midnight can aid in establishing sleep at a time convenient for the parents. ‘Extinction' methods that involve leaving the baby to cry himself or herself to sleep were effective in increasing the duration of nightsleep; but many parents are not comfortable leaving their baby to cry. Furthermore, some believe that leaving babies to cry without consolation may impart longer-term negative effects on the development of their personality and ability to start and sustain close social bonds. It can also reduce night feeds and interrupt the mothee/baby rapport established through the breastfeeding relationship.    
The most significant increase in length of nighttime sleep occurs within the first four months, but, in order for a baby to sleep at times convenient to parents, this will take more time.
By six-to-ninemonths, a little bit less than two-thirds of babies sleep concurrently with their parents.
Research has demonstrated that when parents started and maintained a consistent bedtime routine, and put the baby to bed when he or she is sleepy but still awake, this helped babies develop self-regulating sleep behavior. Babies learn to put themselves to sleep and return to sleep when they wake at night. As for excessive crying, it should be significantly reduced starting five days after beginning to follow this practice, with a significant reduction in a matter of two weeks. Parenting stress will therefore become less. This reiterates the observation that parental behavior at bedtime has a great influence on night waking in babies who no longer require to physically feed frequently at night.
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