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Getting baby to sleep through the night?

I really can't wait until Jack starts sleeping through. I'm absolutely shattered having to get up with him during the night. He's 12 weeks on Monday and I was praying by this stage he'd be sleeping through, but he's not :\(

I shouldn't complain as he only wakes up once, but I'm still shattered as I have him all day by myself while hubby is at work and he's really hard work as he never really sleeps, he'll have maybe 20 mins but that's about it, no matter how hard I try to get him to sleep, although in the afternoon he'll sometimes have 2 hours but this is rare.

Jack gets fed at 10.30pm after his bath and then goes to bed straight away and he'll wake up at 4.30am for another bottle then back to sleep until 7.30am where I try and keep him until 8am for his feed. He then feeds every 3-3.5 hours, but he only takes between 3.5 - 4ozs and refuses to take anymore as he spits it out.

How's everyone else doing and do you have a routine? If I put him down any earlier than 10.30, he just screams and sometimes will sleep for about 20 minutes and wakes back up again. I hear so many people saying they have put LO down at 7.30 and that's them until next morning but I just can't see Jack doing this - EVER lol.

Have tried bringing his feed forward by 15 minutes every night and making his last feed about 9pm but he still only sleeps the 6 hours and after his bottle is back up in 3 hours so still waking.

C xx

Replies

  • Sorry to say I cant help but I couldve written your post. My boys are also 12 weeks on Monday and go to bed at 10.30pm. I cant put them down any earlier. Hubby also works 8am till 10pm so im also on my own and they only sleep 20min stints during the day. I offer them 5oz every 3 hours, but they often only take 3-4. They wake anywhere between 3am and 5am, then every 3hrs after that.

    I cant help but I can sympathise as im exhausted!!

    Gemma, Ryan and Alfie 11 + 6
  • The only advice i can offer is to really try and get bedtime to be earlier. I read quite a few books on baby sleep a few weeks back when i was trying to get lo to sleep through the night and they pretty much all said about an early bedtime.

    Keeping a baby up later doesn't help them sleep longer infact it can have the opposite effect.

    My lo is now 5.5 months and has only been sleeping through regularly for about a month. Before that he would wake only once in the night but he needed that feed. After reading the baby whisperer i decided to tackle daytime naps and get him to sleep better during the day. This very quickly had a knock on effect with the night and within just a few days he was sleeping through. He now goes to bed at 7pm, has a dreamfeed at 10.30pm then sleeps through til 7.30am. A few weeks ago i never thought this would happen but you will get there in the end.

    The other thing i did before he slept through was wake him at 7am (controversial i know to wake a sleeping baby!) as he would feed at about 4-5am then sleep through til 8-9 but would struggle to settle at 7pm again that night.

    Hang on in there, this stage doesn't last forever and i do remember between 3-4 months the chronic tiredness really got to me but it does get better x
  • Gemma I can totally sympathise with you hun and you must have it much worse than me with having to look after 2 little ones. It's just so tiring and getting up at 7.30 with him and not getting a nap in the day until you go to bed again after he goes down is draining.

    katstar - how do you do a dreamfeed? My wee one just refuses to suck the teat when he's asleep as sometimes he's that tired he falls asleep having his bottle but promptly wakes up about 20 mins later. Is there a knack to it? xx
  • I had the same problem intially. I used to have to wake him (kind of defeats the point of a dreamfeed but got him used to feeding then!) sometimes even strip him off a little. If he stopped sucking because he had fallen asleep i would turn the light on and talk to him until he woke again. After about a week he would suck as soon as the bottle touched his lips. He now takes 9oz without even opening his eyes!!!

    The other thing i would say is to really try and encourage daytime naps. I started by just getting lo to sleep whatever that took...sleeping on me/in the car or out for a walk in buggy. Once he was used to sleeping (i went for morning nap/afternoon nap and a catnap at 5ish) i then started getting him to sleep in cot and then the nights got better.
  • Michael did not sleep through till he was about 17 weeks. From about 3 months he woke up once during the night, he went to bed at 7 and his next feed could be anywhere between 2 and 4. He than went back to sleep for a few hours, but often one of us had to get up at 6.30. We just went to bed at 10 latest and got our sleep that way, rather than staying up late and wanting to sleep longer. For the first few months I was even going to bed at 9.

    At 4 months he surprised us by not waking till 6.45. Since that time he is sleeping through most nights, there are nights he is not doing it. For us it doesn't matter what time we put him down, he wakes up at exactly the same time. Yesterday he went to bed at 7.30 and woke up at 3 for a feed, the day before he went to bed at 6.30 and slept till 7.30 in the morning. So we tend not to keep him up longer than 7, most nights he is in before that.
  • Sounds really normal to me - my first didn't sleep through until she was 9 mths and rarely slept in the day time! The sleep deprevation was mad - remember its just a phase and will pass - eventually!! image
  • Just to echo katstar's comments - my LO goes to bed at 7pm and he now sleeps through til 6am (with a dreamfeed at 11-11.30).
    my LO is now 15 weeks and I have found that ever since he started going to bed at 7pm (since he was 10 weeks) its made a huge impact - even if he wakes at 4am during a growth spurt it doesnt feed as bad as I've had a few hours of time to myself or with hubby to chill out - or go to bed earlier to catch up on sleep!


    A tip my midwife gave me in the early days (while breastfeeding but it also works for bottle-feeding) if LO falls asleep during a feed either gently tickle LO's feet or tickle under their chin - it helps to wake them enough to continue sucking.


    Also, I find that going out in the fresh air during the day helps LO sleep. Mine also has 20 minute power naps (with the exception of 2 hours if we go out for a walk or drive)
  • I can sympathise ladies! It does get easier even if your lo doesn't end up sleeping through till later on though (oliver still wakes several times a night at 7 months!)

    I would just try and catch a rest whenever you can, even if it means putting lo somewhere safe to lay quietly while you can have a quick cat nap.
  • Thanks for all your replies. Kat, can you please explain how to do a dreamfeed? Do I pick him up and feed him as normal? What about burping, do I need to burp him as normal? Sorry if these are stupid questions xx
  • Apologies for late reply...didn't see it!

    I just gently pick him up from cot. I use a muslin instead of a bib as it is less faff. Then place the bottle on his bottom lip and he usually opens and sucks. I give him the whole bottle without winding unless he stops. I then put him on my shoulder and enjoy a nice sleepy cuddle for 10 mins. I rarely get a burp as he is so relaxed. I then put him back in cot as usual.

    Hope this helps x
  • Thanks hun, I'm definitely going to try this with him and see how I go. He's at his Grans tonight so me and OH get a wee night to ourselves xx
  • Hey guys,

    I'm so glad I found this post as my LO is 10 wks today and we too have never had a full night's sleep. So exhausted, but will take in all these tips. The wierd thing is though, even though we try to give Chalie bottle at 7pm then put him in cot, if I feed at 11 he wakes up at 3, but for a couple of nights we didn;t wake him for feed/try to give dreamfeed (he always seems to wake!) and just let him wake naturally and he woke at 2:30. Not sure what is best to do really. But didn;t want to read and run as we're going through the same, still waiting for that one night where he sleeps through! xx
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