Question about getting baby to sleep through the night...?

KC

2010-01-04 07:30:50 UTC

"I know the more ounces she eats during the day, the less she'll need at night"

No, very incorrect. Give her the same amount of oz during the night as you during the day.

"I was just wondering when I should let her cry for a while to make sure she's actually hungry, because I don't want her to get used to me feeding her at night every time she cries"

She's a newborn, she needs feeding on demand. Check her other needs first - dirty nappy, needs winding, just wants a cuddle - if none of these pacify her, feed her.

And as for the sleeping through the night - society is VERY unrealistic when it comes to this. Your son was very unusual (in a nice way) in that he slept through the night. My daughter turns a year old next week and she still wakes up at night to eat. You can't do anything to help her sleep through the night, she will do when she's ready. She's nowhere near old enough for solids, but it's also a myth that they help babies sleep through the night (just for future reference).

?

2010-01-06 07:44:19 UTC

Babies do not usually start to consolidate their sleep at night until about 12 weeks (3 months). This is because it takes that long for them to establish their circadian rhythms (night and day). You can help this by maximizing exposure to natural daylight during the daytime and minimising exposure to artificial lights in the evening. At approximately 12 weeks your baby should be starting to sleep for up to 6 hours at at a time at night. Your question about leaving her for a little while is perfectly valid. Babies wake up several times a night as they end one sleep cycle and enter another. Often a baby will stir and cry a little and if left undisturbed will quickly go back to sleep again. If you react too quickly, you can cause a problem when there was none. I am not suggesting that you ignore her if her cries escalate or she sounds distressed. Just that if possible, you wait a minute or two to see if this is just a natural night waking. Sometimes a simple hand on her and a shushing noise is all that's needed. At this age, you should feed her when she wakes up and shows signs of hunger. As time goes on, you need to make a judgement based upon how long since her last feed and if she sounds and behaves as if she is hungry. If she can easily go 5 hours during the day without a feed (and is more than 12 weeks old), then you don't need to feed her if she wakes up after 3 hours sleep at night. Many anxious parents (myself included) have created an unecessary sleep prop by rushing to their baby with a bottle in hand at the first sign of a whimper.

Please feel free to pay me a visit if you have more questions: http://toddlersleepingsolutions.com

anonymous

2010-01-04 06:57:35 UTC

Babies don't have the ability to get into bad habits until about 6 months of age, can can they be "trained" younger than 6 months.... You should never let them "cry it out" before then. If she is crying, she needs something.

Once they get to about 6 months, then you can start worrying about training habbits.

And you are incorrect about feeding more during the day so they will eat less at night. This is simply not true. They can only handle so much food at a time, once they digest that food, they need more... 4-5 hours is exactly what you should expect feeding more or less will not change that.

Candylaine

2010-01-04 06:58:41 UTC

All of my children were different. My firs would sleep like a champ. My second however, would wake up every 2 hours to feed. He really didn't start sleeping all night until he was 14 months. Every baby is different. You can't base your parenting on everybody else. I understand the need for advice for general things but questions on how much your baby is eating or sleeping is really for the birds. My 2nd child only took 3oz every feeding verse my 4th baby took 5oz every 2 hours. She was just a little ham. She slept all night from day one. I considered myself blessed because my friend on the other hand who also just had a baby was getting the blues from her newborn. Like I said it depends on the baby. It is normal for babies to want to eat through the night. It don't matter if you fed them enough through the day or not. Trust me if he doesn't want to eat he will not take the bottle or the breast.

?

2010-01-04 07:24:18 UTC

"I know the more ounces she eats during the day, the less she'll need at night but around how many oz during the day at each feeding would she eat for her not to need to eat at night?"

This is *wrong*!! Some days she will eat a lot both day and night, some days she will eat a little both day and night. How much she eats during the day has nothing to do with how often she'll wake at night.

anonymous

2010-01-04 06:55:25 UTC

where did u hear most babies sleep thourgh the night before 3months?

I read form a number of different sources that the average baby starts sleeping thorugh the night around 6 months of age

my daughter didnt sleep more than 8 hours straight untill 11months! took nearly a whole year and ive heard alot of other peoples babies took that long....at 6 weeks she was up every 3 hours to feed through the night

i think youve jsut heard from the lucky parents in this case lol, babies are all different, they do things in their own time..if you want to start cry it out methods none of these are suggested for babies under 6 months of age..personally i jsut fed on demand until she settled into her routine, i believe tending to a babies needs, however much i tried to get her to eat during the day she would still wake up at night, jsut feed on demand and in time she will naturally fall into routine :)

Canadian Snowgirl

2010-01-04 07:34:23 UTC

I disagree with just about everything you said.

"My son didn't sleep through the night until he was 3 months old and I've just heard other people say most of their babies slept through the night a lot sooner". that is insane. 3 months is very early to be sleeping through the night, 6 months is early to be sleeping through the night. Maybe those people are the ones who formula feed or let their newborns cry themselves to sleep and then brag that their baby sleeps through the night. Babies are not supposed to sleep through the night, it's a natural protection against SIDS.

"I was just wondering when I should let her cry for a while to make sure she's actually hungry, because I don't want her to get used to me feeding her at night every time she cries". How about never?? I am very against letting babies cry by themselves alone in a dark room. And even proponents of CIO would never advise you to let a 6 week old baby cry. You are her mother, do your job and feed her. My 6 and a half month old still nurses every 3 hours night and day.

"Do babies just learn how to sleep longer without eating or do i have to train her?". Just a word of caution about so-called "sleep training". Sleep training is nothing but various ways of ignoring your baby and letting them cry for varying lenghts of time. If you don't want the inconvenience of having your sleep interrupted at night then perhaps you should have thought twice about havng children.

"Just curious about what other people did". Personally, I feed my babies when they wake at night hungry.

"How manyoz during the day at each feeding would she eat for her not to need to eat at night?". THere is no set amount. She will sleep through the night when she is ready. That may be next week or it may be two years from now.

My story? My firsrt baby woke every 1-2 hours all night EVERY night for the first three months. I did my job as a parent and fed her when she woke up. By 4 months she was sleeping much longer stretches and by 6 months she was sleeping from 7pm til 7am. I did nothing to "sleep train" her, she did it on her own without us letting her cry ever.

My second baby, as I said, slept great until she reached 3 months. She is now 6 and a half months and still wakes every 3 hours to nurse. She has double pneumonia right now and has been feeding every 2 hours because she didn't eat for a few days. I will not sleep train her, at least not yet. I will see where we are at when she is one year and go from there. Right now, she clearly needs to eat at night so I feed her.

123

2010-01-04 06:52:54 UTC

no, newborns should not be sleeping through the night. they're supposed to wake often, her stomach is only so big. be thankful your son slept through at 3 months and let your daughter do it when she's ready -- she'll do it when she's READY. if you let her cry it out at 6 weeks of age, it's not going to teach her anything. she cries because she needs things, not because she's manipulating you. she's hungry. she should be fed on demand and she should be allowed to sleep when she wants to and wake when she wants to. don't ignore her needs, she'll tell you when she's ready.

you wouldn't put her alone in a room and expect her to know how to feed herself or change her diaper, so don't leave her alone to figure out how to self-soothe and put herself to sleep. it's not a skill babies are born with and they figure it out on their own time.

" I've just heard other people say most of their babies slept through the night a lot sooner. "

this is so untrue. most one year olds do not sleep through the night, it's EXTREMELY rare for a newborn to do so. my 11 month old is still up every 2 or 3 hours.

"ecause I don't want her to get used to me feeding her at night every time she cries (cause it could just be a dirty diaper or she got startled awake)."

then check her diaper before you feed her and tend to her other needs first. check her diaper, check to make sure she's not too hot or too cold, and remember that some babies start teething early or she could be getting sick or she could just want to be held and cuddled, or she could be scared...there's lots of reasons babies cry other than being hungry or poopy. tend to your child's needs, she's only so young once and you're trying to build up your trust with her. if she cries, she needs to know that you, her mother and caretaker, will be there for her.

Pippin

2010-01-04 07:11:19 UTC

You cannot make your baby sleep the night, and you shouldn't try. If your older baby 'slept the night' at 3 months, he was unsusual -- that's quite early to sleep all night.

4-5 hours at night is GREAT for a 5 week old .. and really IS 'sleeping the night' for a young baby -- 5 hours is the definition of 'sleeping the night.'

Her tummy is the size of her fist and she needs to eat often day AND night to get enough food to grow and thrive.

Your friends either have VERY unsual babies, or they are lying to you, or they are abusing them by leaving them to scream with hunger until the babies give up in despair.

Your baby will sleep thought when SHE is ready (probably not until 5-8 months or so), and you can't possibly teach her to not be hungry by leaving her to cry.

anonymous

2014-09-25 16:28:02 UTC

If you want to put your baby to sleep in 20 seconds you must get the "Instant Baby Sleep" MP3 sound track. Here is their official web-site: http://www.instantbabysleep.net

The sound track gently produces energy over the full human hearing spectrum with an embedded pulse that gently eases the brain to the Alpha state well known for drowsiness and sleep induction.

Alexia

2010-01-04 07:13:39 UTC

Girl, believe me you are very lucky if you can have 5 hours of sleep in a row if you are breast feeding your baby and is less than 3 months old...just relax and enjoy your baby...they grow so fast. =)

?

2016-09-23 05:38:06 UTC

For an little one, gripe water helped alot. If the nostril is blocked, attempt to uncover inhaled decongestant. In common, attempt to prepare snoozing instances so the little one may also be worn out and sleepy at night time.