When did your baby start sleeping pretty much through the night?
Baby General
psalms912b asked:
I just had a baby and I realize that for now he needs to wake up around the clock, but I wanted to see what experiences you have getting your babies to sleep through the night. Any advice on getting a baby to sleep through the night when he is ready? Or at least cutting down to one feeding between 11pm and 7 am?
Carla
I just had a baby and I realize that for now he needs to wake up around the clock, but I wanted to see what experiences you have getting your babies to sleep through the night. Any advice on getting a baby to sleep through the night when he is ready? Or at least cutting down to one feeding between 11pm and 7 am?
Carla
November 5th, 2008 at 4:02 am
Melissa
We accomplished that at exactly one year. All babies are different, please love your baby, and don’t be cruel just to get some sleep. Good luck~
November 8th, 2008 at 2:17 am
Derek
My baby started sleeping through the night when she was 4 months old. But everyone is different maybe for some it’s sooner and other’s later.
November 8th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Lynn
about one year
November 11th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Geraldine
my son starting sleeping through the night after three and a half months old before that he would get up three times a night to twice a night. personally, i would get your child into some sort of routine everyday that way it goes lik e clockwork it isnt going to be easy but it all depends on the child and i would have the child nap throughout the day as well that will help to
November 14th, 2008 at 4:39 am
Corey
my first born started sleeping through the night the 3rd day he was home from the hospital and has ever since….and my 2nd started sleeping throught the night 1 week after she came home…….i really don’t know why they did but it just happened….it just depends on if you child gets hungry during the night…all kids are different….maybe in the last feeding before bed feed him alittle bit more to satisfy him….an ounce or 2 or depending on his age feed him some cereal by spoon…
November 14th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Carla
My son is 17 months and he wakes 3 or 4 times a night.
Co-sleeping has saved my sanity.
My best advice is to settle in for the long haul and be pleasantly surprised if it happens sooner.
November 16th, 2008 at 12:02 am
Jason
I stopped breast feeding and switched my son to a soy formula which he tolerated better around 2 1/2 weeks and he has slept through the night ever since with few exceptions.
November 16th, 2008 at 5:53 am
Minnie
My baby is just over 2 months. She now goes down at 10:30-11:00 and sleeps until 6:30-7:00. Im not sure if thats the norm or not. Its loud around our house all day, so it being quiet and dark at night probably has something to do with it. As soon as the other kids are up, they wake her too.
November 17th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
David
Both my daughters, who are/were breastfed, starting sleeping through the night at about 3 months old.
The first thing I did that I think helped was to start keeping them up more during the day. Giving them two 1-2hr. naps each day. They would get the occasional “car nap” as well, but never for more than 30 min.
The second thing was putting them to bed early. I would start their bedtime routine around 7:30 in hopes of having them asleep by 8-8:15.
Good luck!!!
November 19th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Philip
6 months old was sleeping 7pm-7am.
Choose which feed to drop and be persistent he will cry but he will not go hungry in 3 hours.
If you want 11pm last feed don’t feed again until 5-6am so it is nearly morning.I know your pain but sometimes you have to grin and bear it.
Both my boys always sleep 12-13 hours without waking every night.
Persist it is worth it.
November 20th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Linda
My firstborn was sleeping through the night from the moment she was born. Seriously!! Now I have a 3 week old and he’s up every 3 hours and I can’t wait until he can sleep through the night!!
November 22nd, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Julio
I have a 5-month old. I suggest not cutting out a feeding. Usually babies wake because they are hungry. If you take out a feeding you could have a very unhappy baby. Don’t worry aobut your sleep as much as the baby. My 5 month old is usually asleep my 8:30 and sleeps exactly 4-hours, nurses both sides (if I don’t fall alseep with his) and sleeps for another 3-4 hours. When he wakes up, he eats because he is hungry.
The USA is very not baby-friendly. Most other countries, mom sleep with their children up through a year.
Hang in there, your baby will let you know when he wants to sleep longer. It just takes time.
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:45 am
Anthony
My daughter slept through the night at 8 wks. A good resource for me was a book called:
“On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep” by Ezzo and Bucknam.
– It really worked!
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Tommy
My daughter was 2 months old before she started sleeping through the night. From what i understood breastfeed babies usually feed more time closer together then babies that are bottle fed. When I learned this I started pumping my milk and feeding her though a bottle. Good luck.
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Jacqueline
My daughter was sleeping from 10pm-6am, by the time she was 9 weeks old. I was so grateful for that!!! She’s 7 months old, and now sleeps 14 hours of a night time.
I think the most important factor in getting her to sleep through the night was making sure that she got her quota of calories (milk) during the day, so she didn’t need any catch up feeds at night time. I used to also cluster feed, and try to give her as much as I could in the few hours before bed.
Also, sometimes if she was asleep before I was for the night, I would gently wake her, and give her a bottle. It meant I got a longer sleep in between times that she was hungry.
Also, during the night, it is often confused that a baby is hungry, when really he or she just wants ’something’, and they are happy to take a bottle. With my daughter, I started offering the dummy first whenever she woke up. If she settled back to sleep properly within the next few minutes, then great, if not, I got up and gave her a bottle. It worked a treat for me.
Whenever I fed my baby or changed her nappy at night time, I’d keep the lights on dim, wouldn’t talk to her or make eye contact, and keep the atmosphere as boring as possible, so that she knew that night was for sleeping.
There are also some good products, Johnsons is one I definetely recommend, that can help babies to sleep. Every night before bed I give my daughter a soothing massage with Johnsons lavender massage cream, dress her in her pj’s, give her a cuddle, and then wrap her, putting her down in her cot when she is still awake. I don’t hear from her again until morning.
Hope this helps!
November 24th, 2008 at 4:23 am
Dean
both of mine were sleeping through the night at about 3 months maybe and occasional bottle every once in a while during growth spurts. 7:30-6:00 i miss those days now they are both early birds and wake with the sun at 4:30 (yes that is the time it raises)
November 26th, 2008 at 3:03 am
Ronnie
Mine started sleeping through the night around 6 months. I was not nursing them as much and they were eating solid food more so I think they were full much longer then.
November 29th, 2008 at 4:05 am
Jason
My son was breastfed and he started sleeping through the night at 10 weeks. By sleeping through the night I mean from about 11pm to 5am or so. Basically…dropping just one feeding (my son chose to drop the feeding, not me).
I agree with Previous Poster about the book “On Becoming Babywise”. It is a fantastic book with great information and is an easy read. As far as I am concerned, it is a “must-read” for every parent. I, and all of my friends swear by the “babywise theories”.
We established a bedtime routine very early…around 2 months. I fed him, read a book and sang a song and then put him down for the night. We still follow the book and song routine and I have never had trouble getting him to go to bed. I think that has been the key to our bedtime success…he is now 2 years old and he still goes down without a fuss.
I wouldn’t suggest dropping a feeding…if your baby awakens during the night during the first few months it usually means he/she is hungry and needs to eat. Every baby is different and will sleep through the night when he or she is ready. Good luck!!!