In the past few weeks my baby (3 months old) has started waking entirely too often in the night (every 2.5-3hrs). At first I thought it was teething, then I thought a growth spurt, then I thought maybe it was a self-soothing issue, and most recently I question my milk supply. So can someone please help me figure this kid out…

He is super happy by day. When he's tired he might make a little fuss for a couple of minutes, but if no one picks him up, he'll just fall asleep on his own (in bouncy chair, car seat, swing, etc.). During the day, he never acts very hungry. I'm not sure he would notice at all if I didn't feed him, so I try to feed him about every 3 hours. I nurse him to sleep in the afternoon and at night, but he usually opens his eyes and looks around before really falling asleep.

In the night, however, he is a completely different creature. Last night he woke up about every 2 hours. If I ignore him, he will fall back to sleep in about 15-20 minutes, but then he wakes up again about 30 minutes later (really mad). It's at that point, that I've been going in to nurse him (after it's been 3 hours). He really chows down in the first part of the night (even after only 3 hours). One time recently he was so excited I hadn't even got my nursing bra out of the way yet and he tried to latch with my nursing bra in his mouth. But in the early morning (4 and 7 this morning) he only nurses for maybe 5 minutes on each side. I feel like there's probably not any milk left from all of his night nursing by morning so he couldn't nurse for more than a few minutes if he wanted… but at the same time, maybe he's not even hungry by then and just wants to be nursed back to sleep. I don't know.

For what it's worth, he wakes up in the morning very happy, singing, talking to himself, and acts like he's had plenty of sleep (despite being up in the night a million times). He's not a cranky kid at all so it's really hard for me to tell if he's just overly-tired and waking too much, or if he's really hungry in the night.

The main thing that makes me think that it might be supply issue is a few nights ago, after he'd already nursed for the night, I decided to give him a few more ounces in a bottle. I only had 2 oz, but he drank them in seconds. That night he slept 5 or 6 straight hours… has not slept that long at one time since then.

So any thoughts or words of advice before I offer/try formula?

So what is his nursing like at bedtime? How long is he nursing for? Do you see him swallowing? Are you feeling letdown at bedtime? Are you offering both breasts at bedtime? If he'll take the bottle, would he nurse longer on the other breast? If he falls asleep, would he wake up enough to take the other side? With DS2/DD they would often be "sort of out", but if I let them stay on for a little while for comfort sucking, a 2nd letdown would happen, and they'd wake up and start nursing like crazy again. Maybe toward the end of his feeding, switch to the other side, or massage the breast you're on to stimulate a 2nd letdown. It was always weird, because to feel my breasts, they felt completely empty and deflated, but when that 2nd letdown happened, they call all hard immediately again.

Breastmilk can come out a lot slower at the end of the day, and babies often will take longer to feed and be satisfied. As we've discussed, I did a 2 ounce bottle thing when DS2/DD were around that age, mainly because I didn't want to nurse them for the length of time they needed at night time. I just didn't want to sit there for that long. I did that for a month or so, and then when their nursing abilities got stronger, I didn't have a need to do it.

I would stay, try the 2 ounce bottle of breastmilk for 3 nights in a row if you can find the time to pump that. If he sleeps the 5-6 hours, then you may have your answer. I would say at his age, at least one 4-5 hour stretch at night should be expected.

If he's gaining weight on "the curve." And producing the wet/dirty diapers expected, then it's probably not a supply issue. You might also try breastfeeding him every 2.5 hours during the day, instead of 3 hours. That way, he could get more during the day? (I'd try that if the 2 ounce bottle trial doesn't work.)

Thanks, Proudmama. I usually nurse him on both sides at bedtime from about 7:30 to a little after 8pm. If he's not asleep (or looking like he's tied) around 8pm, I let him watch TV with my DH, while I get ready for bed, and then nurse him again at 8:30. One side will usually give me a 2nd let-down, but I don't think my left side ever has. He nurses from both breasts in the night too. Pretty much the only time he doesn't nurse from both sides is the first feeding of the day and/or the 2nd feeding before his morning nap.

If I could remember to eat and drink something prior to dinner time I'm sure I'd be doing a lot better. This morning I poured myself a giant cup of orange juice to drink on my way to preschool and discovered it again at noon sitting on the steps with only one sip taken out of it. Yesterday, other than a cup of coffee (decaf) I had not had anything to drink at 4:30pm. My DH even got me these large straw cups so I could drink more and they sit filled to the brim all around the house... I'm worse than the kids!

Anyway, I'll try to gather enough milk this weekend when it will be easier to pump with my DH home. I'm not really trying to nurse him for a full year, but I really did want to make it to at least 6 months without supplementing.

You're doing great. Don't beat yourself up. You DO need to drink though. Maybe you should look at one of those camelbaks that hikers wear. lol.

Haha! I actually saw a cyclist with one of those on Sunday and told my DH, "maybe that's what I need!"

I really do think the issue is a supply issue now. I seemed to have a good bit more milk last night (after drinking adequately and eating some oatmeal) and he slept much better. His longest stretch was only 4 hours, but that's certainly better than every 2 hours. Pumping now to have more to give him tonight.