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Is Your Baby Sleeping Through the Night?
May 12, 2009 at 12:14 PM by Cafe Melisa - Comments (23)
Photo by kellygurl87
Hi, everyone! It's Cafe Melisa stopping by for a visit....
I was pretty lucky. Both of my babies started sleeping through the night around six or seven weeks. Not reliably, not every night -- but they did it once or twice and then we knew they could.
Especially with the first baby, getting several hours of uninterrupted sleep just felt like the most amazing gift.
And -- no surprise here -- lots of tired CafeMoms are talking about their babies sleeping through the night (or not).
I came across a post from a mom in Answers asking other moms at what point their babies started making it through the night. She said her daughter was actually in the middle of a nice, long nighttime sleep as she was writing the post, and the mom was happy about it, but also a little freaked out that something might be wrong -- she kept hopping up every few minutes to check on the baby.
According to the Mayo Clinic, many babies will sleep for a stretch of up to five hours during the night by about three months of age. And by six months, stretches of nine to 12 hours are possible.
Here are some tips on getting there sooner rather than later.
-- Encourage lots of baby activity (talking, singing, playing) during the day.
-- Monitor naps -- Regular snoozes are important, but marathon naps may leave baby wide awake at bedtime.
-- Set a consistent bedtime routine with bathing, singing, or reading -- Soon baby will associate these things with zzz's.
-- Put baby to bed sleepy but awake -- This will help him associate bed with the process of falling asleep.
-- Consider using a pacifier to help baby settle down -- pacifiers may even help reduce the risk of SIDS.
-- Expect him to stir -- and to be noisy! Sometimes a little fussing means he's settling down. Unless you think he's hungry or needs a change, it's OK to give him a minute to see what happens.
Remember, all babies are different -- some sleep easily early on, others don't.
Is your baby sleeping through the night? When did he start, and what got you over the hump?
FILED UNDER: sleep
Comments:
mine did last night. and he is almost 3 months
My son was 11 1/2 weeks old the first time he slept for an extended amount of time without a feeding. He was one month when he slept from 12-7 with only one wake up. And, RanaAurora is right.
Excuse me,but do NOT frighten ANY mother for saying something that might work for her without causing harm to the child...I am speaking of the comment about putting cereal in a baby's bottle at a young age. My youngest daughter was getting cereal in her bottle BEFORE 4 weeks,DOCTOR'S ORDERS!! She was not satisfied,constantly hungry,etc.(which includes the not sleeping well.)
Before you answer something,please make sure you back it up....and make sure it is what ALLLL doctors recommend doing/not doing. Thank you.
Edit*
My daughter has NEVER had issues from early addition of cereal to bottles...AND it helped her,NOT harmed her.
When I was in the hospital recovering from my c-sec I received the book 'On Becoming Baby Wise' by Gary Ezzo from my MIL. I read it cover to cover in no time, I applied the methods in the book and had both kids sleep thru the night at the 3 month mark. I really recommend this book to new moms - it's a life saver and you will all be happier!
My baby just started last week ALL night , and is only 4 1/2 months! I am so happy. I did nothing special, just a little tiny bit of bedtime routine (a story and the other 2 kids going to bed before her, her reflux meds, pajamas, then one more nursing session)
I don't care what works for other parents but personally I live in fear of solids because gas from cereal always makes my kids sleep poorly for like 2-4 weeks after- whether I introduce it at 4 months or 5. This one won't be earlier than 6 months or we can skip and go straight to Real Food (fruit & veg) and hope she keeps sleeping.
my oldest slept through the night starting at 3 months and my 1 yr old started at 4 months. he has acid reflux but as soon as he could turn himself over and would sleep on his stomach he has been the best sleeper.
my daughter slept through the night since 3 weeks old. my 10 month old son has just had his 8th night in a row.
My son has been sleeping 10 - 12 hrs straight through the night since he was 2 months old. He's almost 7 months now and still have NO complaints! He just got 2 teeth!!!
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According to the Mayo Clinic, many babies will sleep for a stretch of up to five hours during the night by about three months of age.
Can I wave this around on a GIANT poster please so people stop trying to give a 4 week old cereal in a bottle to make them sleep longer, even though it's been proven to NOT work and cause intestinal issues?
Sleeping through the night is a gradual process that happens over an extended period of time, and is something each child will do when THEY are ready. Processes to try to force them to do something they're not emotionally or even possibly physically ready for are detrimental - always - even if you do manage to get the result you were trying for.
I dont' remember when my son did, because there's different definitions. Some people think the 5 hours, some people think 10. It didn't matter to me as long as we were both happy and rested the next day,
RanaAurora May. 12, 2009 at 12:30 PM