The 4 month wakeful is REAL!

Oh my!  Henry was doing so well last week sleeping for super long stretches each night.  Suddenly, he has gone back to waking a zillion times!  I've heard of the "four month wakeful period," but I didn't know if it was actually real or not.  For us, it is very real.  Here is an article from kellymom that explains it all: http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/4mo-sleep.html. 

Apparently it's not too uncommon for babies to have difficulty sleeping during this age because there are big cognitive and emotional changes occurring during this time. They have an increase in awareness and are increasingly interested in the world. Instead of sleeping, they want to play (who wouldn't at 2 a.m. in the morning?).  There is even a growth spurt that coincides with this age to make it even more fun!

Also, starting solids to help sleep through the night is a MYTH.  Rice cereal has barely any calories or nutritional value.  It's really just for practice.