Conference moira::parenting

I don't think there is any pat schedule for growth spurts, they just happen 
when they happen.  And they can last different amounts of time.  It's 
probably different for different children.

My 3 year old frequently was waking up in the night for bottles, now that she 
no longer is on the bottle she still wakes up for a cup of milk or juice 
sometimes. I definately think they go through growing spurts rather than a 
steady even growth, because both my kids often want to eat or drink more than 
other times. And sometimes there is a remarkable difference in the amounts 
they will eat, especially with my 3 year old.  Although it's evened out alot 
for my 11 yr. old.  I have always believed in on demand feeding.  Both my 
children now 11 and 3, I fed this way during babyhood. When they asked for it 
I fed them. I've heard many times that age 0-5 it's critical that they get 
enough protein.

Another reason could be just plain thirst, I know during the winter months 
you can get really thirsty when using artificial home heating. It makes me 
and my kids really thirsty during the night when the heat is on.

It doesn't sound like a problem to me except that you're probably really 
tired!  Does your pediatrician have a call in hour?  Sometimes it just helps 
to here them say this is normal - and they might even have a suggestion or 
two.
	
-Marianne

    I think if it's a growth spurt, she should be more hungry all day long,
    not only at night.  Have you tried giving her more before she falls
    asleep?  Also, if it's a growth spurt, I don't think it should last
    more than a few days.  I vaguely recall being told that growth spurts
    occurred at approx. 1 week, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and
    I don't remember after that.  I was nursing my baby at those points, and 
    sometimes noticed an increase in her demands.
    
    I would be concerned about the start of "night waking" or "sleep
    disturbances", which can typically start at this age (according to Dr.
    Spock). Although, it  doesn't sound like she's only waking up for
    company, if a bottle gets her back to sleep, if she starts just
    playing/wanting to be rocked, etc., and you decide that you don't want
    to get up in the middle of the night anymore, you will have to take
    some drastic measures to cut this habit quickly, before it's more
    ingrained.
    
    Occurrences like illness and travel can also bring on awakening during
    the night.  
    
    There are many notes on sleep disturbances in this file, which you
    could peruse for ideas (and the "drastic measures" I mentioned above).
    I have been pretty strict with not catering to night waking, and my
    baby doesn't (or if she does, she puts herself back to sleep without
    crying).  It was at about 7 months (after she'd been primarily
    sleeping through the night from 8 weeks), that I stopped going in to
    nurse her if she woke up.  
    
    Good luck!
    
    Jennie

    I just noticed something else in your note.  You mentioned that for a
    few nights her diaper was leaking, and that woke her.  If that's what
    started this, it could be that she's decided she likes your company in
    the middle of the night, and has started a new habit.  It may just be
    coincidence that once she's had your company (and the bottle), she's
    ready to go back to sleep. Once you've assured yourself that she's not
    ill, or teething, or whatever, then if you don't think it's a good
    habit, you need to decide what you want to do to stop it; "drastic
    measures" are basically ignoring her, or comforting her periodically
    for a minute or so by assuring her verbally everything's  okay, but NOT
    PICKING HER UP.  This is very difficult to do, since the previous
    months it's been the best thing to respond very promptly to every cry. 
    But this age is about the time when the baby starts to realize that a
    cry can bring company, and they stop only crying out of hunger or
    discomfort, etc.  So, if you want the baby to learn that night time is
    sleep time, you may have to have a few nights of some crying.  My baby
    cried 40 minutes the first night (I went in to soothe her after 20
    minutes, and 20 minutes later; she stopped crying about 30 seconds
    after the second time I left the room); about 15 minutes the next
    night; and 2 minutes the third night. Then the problem went away.  I
    felt the most awful the first night, but she is almost 1 year now, and
    no sleep problems. 
    
    Again, you can read a lot of stories like this in a previous note about 
    sleep.
    
    By the way, on teething, the discomfort can start up to 2 months before
    the tooth shows!
    
    JL

    When my daughter was 1.5 years, she had heart surgery to fix a narrowed
    heart valve.  When she was released from the hospital, the doctor
    warned us that her body would develop greatly almost "overnight"
    because her body had a lot of catching up to do.  She was such a tiny
    little thing.
    
    Anyway, in one month's time (30 days) she grew 3 clothes sizes and 2
    shoe sizes.  So when I say she grew, she really grew!  The one thing
    that I had asked the doctor about was the problem we had with her
    waking up NUMEROUS times during the night and asking for "Ba-ba".  She
    didn't care what it was she was drinking, as long as it quenched her
    thirst.  Then of course we got into "she's drinking more, hence she's
    wetting more" stage.  What a pain!
    
    The doctor said this is very normal for a child who is going through a
    growth spurt.  The body, understandably needs more fluids.
    
    Now she's 8 1/2 years old and goes through a growth spurt every spring
    and then every fall...like clockwork!
    
    Gail

    
    	Ask your pediatrician. All children are different in when or how
    these situations occur.