help me!

Kyrstin - posted on 11/09/2008

She actually is sleeping through the night according to my dr. Apparently doctors consider sleeping through the night at least 5 hrs. so she is on her way. As our babies get closer to 4 months my pediatrician said to pick up and comfort with touch but not to feed during the middle of the night. I'm waiting until 4 months to do this with our son. And my son is exactly the same except he goes down at 10 every night and wakes up at 4 almost every morning. You're right- it does kill you! When my friends who aren't moms say they are tired I always think wait til you have a baby to know what tired feels like!

Shannon - posted on 11/09/2008

I think this is pretty normal...my son did the same thing for a few weeks before he started sleeping through completely...so you're on the right track! one bit of advice is to let her fuss a little bit and see if she can get herself back to sleep, instead of going to get her right away. Also, if I stay up a bit later, I change his diaper before I go to bed...he doesn't wake up, and it is less likely to be an issue if he does wake up briefly during the night.

Dionne - posted on 11/09/2008

my daughter is 13 weeks and goes to bed inconsistanly between 6-9 pm and always wakes by 1 or 2 and then is up every hour or two after that until 730. Count your blessings you only have to wake up once! My first baby slept through the night completely at 10 weeks. Each baby is so different! But if anyone has a suggestion to get my baby to sleep through, by all means, I am welcoming suggestions!! HELP!

Julie - posted on 11/09/2008

That's what my daughter use to do. I'd put her down at 9 then she'd sleep until 3am then she'd go back down until like 6 or 7. Don't try to wake her for a feeding after you put her down. Just feed her at 3 and keep the room as dark as you can and don't talk to her only whisper if you have to. My daughter who's now 13 weeks sleeps from 8:30 to 7 or 8 straight through. When she's ready it will just happen. I also try to feed her 5 times for the day before bed. If you keep trying to wake them they'll just get use to waking up at that time always.

Melanie - posted on 11/08/2008

Our daughter is almost 14 weeks and she started sleeping through the night a couple of weeks ago (we are really lucky). Even so, she still sometimes wakes up before 7am some days. I think the best thing we ever did was start a routine for her really early on. We give her a bath at around 7pm, give her a bottle, read her a story and then put her in her crib. If she ever wakes up during the night we try and settle her but if she's hungry we only give her water. One thing you could try if you are still breastfeeding is to express a bottle before you go to bed and give her a dream time feed during the night (when you put the bottle in her mouth she should start sucking on it while she's still sleeping). If she's waking up at the same time every night it could be habit so try and wake up before this time and give her the dream feed before she wakes up. Every baby is different so none of this might work but I guess it doesn't hurt to try! Good luck, she'll get there.

Hannah - posted on 11/08/2008

My little man is almost 14 weeks and not sleeping through the night yet either so dont panic just try and get some rest during the day when she sleeps ( i know its exhausting and we often have so much to catch up on when they sleep during the day). My son is normally asleep by 7 pm and hen wakes around 3 for a feed and then can be awake anytime between 5.30 but lasted until 8 am this morning. I find it good to go to bed early so get some good sleep before he wakes at 3 am.
Han

Debbie - posted on 11/07/2008

try a warm bath just befor bed it helps too sometimes ,but eventually they will sleep through the nignt .

Sandy - posted on 11/07/2008

My son is 12 weeks old now and I took the job of mom very happily! I get a few 5 hour nights and I love them. I woke myself up the first few long nights to check on him because I was used to getting up. He lets me know when he's hungry. I feed him, he's happy and we both go back to sleep. I don't know how it would be if he wanted to play all night. I went through that when he was 5-6 weeks old, but that was thankfully short-lived. I am breastfeeding and the first bottle I tried to supplement with formula to give him the full feeling and sleep longer backfired with a very gassy baby that couldn't sleep. I haven't looked back on that one! I'm just letting 'the boss' run the show and am enjoying the sleep when I can get it.

It's just me, the dog, and the cat. The dog and cat aren't helpful with night feedings! I'm doing the best I can based on my son's cues. He's growing very well and I'm happy with that. These baby days won't last forever!

Shanna - posted on 11/06/2008

you could try giving her a pacifier instead of feeding her and see if she falls back asleep. During the night babies go back and forth between a deep sleep and light sleep. My daughter went through a phase of waking around that same time, but I could give her the pacifier and she would go back to sleep until around 6am and then wake up to eat. Now she wakes more around 5 or 6am and still goes back to bed until sometimes 9 or 10 after I feed her.

Melissa - posted on 11/06/2008

The way I got my son to understand days and nights is to expose him to as much natural sunlight during the day as possible and a relaxing night time routine.

Melissa - posted on 11/06/2008

My suggestion is to try a routine. My routine is bath at 7:30, massage with some lavender oil (relaxing smell, Johnson sells this), bottle of breastmilk or formula at 8:00 and story in a dimly lit room and then bed. I also mix my son's nighttime bottle with a tablespoon of starter rice cereal (pablum). It's ok for a 3 month old to have some pablum. The reason a baby wakes in the night is because they are hungry, the routine will make your daughter realize that it is night time and bed time. If you are breastfeeding try a bottle just at night time (you can pump and feed her the breastmilk mixed with rice cereal) then you can see how much she is eating and make sure she eats enough to keep her full through the night. At your daughter's age she should be eating between 4 and 8 ounces. Hope this helps.

Nicole - posted on 11/05/2008

aubrey had her days and nights mixed up too. ii cut her day time naps down by alot. it was tough because al she wanted to do was sleep but it worked

Michelle - posted on 11/05/2008

My twin daughters will be 12 weeks old tomorrow. And have not even shown a sign of sleeping at night. They wont sleep in their bassinets or crib. The only way they will remotely even sleep for a little bit is in their vibrating bouncy chairs. They have their days and nights mixed up an di cannot figure out for the life of me how to fix that!

Sarah - posted on 11/05/2008

This is how it can cause allergies and asthma as well as obesity.

http://www.drgreene.com/21_861.html

Hope it helps, I am not trying to be a buster, it is just not good for the baby!

Molly - posted on 11/05/2008

How does rice cereal cause allergies and asthma? Its just rice, for petes sake.

Molly - posted on 11/05/2008

Thats actually 6 hours that she is asleep, and at her age I don't think you can expect her to go for longer than that without eating. If I were you, I'd consider myself lucky, go to sleep when she does, and get a solid 6 hours of sleep yourself before she wakes back up. That is probably more sleep than most moms with 10 week olds are getting.

Alayne - posted on 11/05/2008

So sorry that you are having so much trouble. My son is 11 weeks and I breast fed for the first month and then had to switch to formula. He is sleeping through the night. My doctor had suggested trying to keep him awake more often during the day...more playtime, cutting naps short by 1/2 hour, etc. After I started that he definitely started sleeping better at night. I also think the suggestion to try and feed a little more at the last night feeding is good...just be careful not to overdo it or you'll wind up with a wet baby who has spit up all over themself after being put down. :)

Emily - posted on 11/05/2008

My boy is 3 months now and does exactly the same as your girl. He wakes around 3am unless I wake him myself and feed him at 11pm. I have been told that if I make sure he gets the majority of his 37oz (daily formula allowance) during the day he is much more likely to start sleeping through the night, so I have started to give him an extra oz in each of his feeds now to see how that goes. 3am feeds are a killer, but it does mean I can get a good stretch of sleep myself between 9pm and 3am. I have noticed that if I do feed him at 3am, I'm also feeding him again at 6am so I'm not really getting many more hours sleep out of him. I'm going to try waking him at 11pm for a few nights to see if topping him up helps. I get told different things from different people but I'm trying to follow the routines planned out by Gina Ford in her books. She advises that the 3am feeds should be the first to be dropped and that the 11pm feeds are the last to be dropped. Babies should eventully sleep through when they are weaned but thats still months off and I don't really want to wish his time! Try topping you baby up with more during the day & let me know how you get on.

Julie - posted on 11/05/2008

My daughter is 3 months old and started sleeping through the night about 3 weeks ago. I'm breastfeeding, not using formula or anything else. Before that I was up at least 1-2 times a night. One night I woke up at 3am and she was still sleeping I couldn't believe it! It just happens when they're ready. She know sleeps from 9 to 8. Believe me I never thought it would happen. Try to pump her up as much as you can with feedings during the day in hopes that she won't need as much in the night. Good luck.

Bridgette - posted on 11/05/2008

I don't have a spouse either.. I have two kids.. one 3 yr old and a 3 month old. I'm sure you will do alright!

Nicole - posted on 11/05/2008

ii dont have a spouse im single lol i'll survive this though

Bridgette - posted on 11/05/2008

She's only 10 weeks so it's pretty normal for them to do that. It really just depends on your baby. Some friends I have had their babies sleeping through the night at 2 months.. I didn't get mine to do that until about 6 months! haha. The biggest suggestion would be to sleep when she sleeps if you can! =]

Katherine - posted on 11/05/2008

I feel your pain! Try alternating three days on three days off with your spouse. It helps you to catch up with your much needed sleep!

Sarah - posted on 11/05/2008

I know you would never intentionally hurt your child but there are proven studies that suggest that watching television at this age is dangerous to the mind of a small baby as well as giving your child rice cereal. Giving children rice cereal too early can cause allergies as well as asthma... as tempting as it is for the sake of getting more sleep, it is not worth it. It will get better and your baby will sleep better at night, all you need to do is give it a little time.

Nicole - posted on 11/05/2008

its just shows how much she loves you!

Dara - posted on 11/05/2008

Well I will have to give that a try for sure! Even when her dad comes home for a weekend, she knows its not me and cries when he holds her, which means I have to do all of the work even when he is home! Babies are so smart!

Nicole - posted on 11/05/2008

i always said i wouldn't spoil her. but i can't help it. she wants to be held all the time to. try and put cartoons on and put her in the swing for a couple minutes each day. i tried that and now she will watch playhouse disney for a half an hour by herself on a blanket on the floor.

Dara - posted on 11/05/2008

My boyfriend works on the road and is only home every three weeks so I'm the only one taking care of our daughter and the only one to get up with her in the middle of the night. Also, she wants to be held 24/7 and cries when I put her down, then smiles and coos when I pick her up again! Spoiled little gal! I just try to stay positive when she gets up in the middle of the night. This phase doesn't last long and before you know it, she will be sleeping through the night.

Denise - posted on 11/05/2008

Oh My, all by yourself has to be hard! I commend your commitment Girl!

I am the only one that gets up with the infant but my Hubby gets up with the 2 1/2 year old who wakes up at 5am every day. I hope you can find some help if possible!

Hang in there! It will get better!

Nicole - posted on 11/05/2008

its good to know im not the only one. im strugglinnnn big time doing it all on my own =( but i know it'll be worth iiit

Denise - posted on 11/05/2008

Just be dilligent...it will be the best in the end. Kids need and crave structure...rountines are the best thing you can do for them.

Waking up once in the night, tho still exhausting, is really very good for this age. I have a friend who's 5 month old still gets up 3 x a night!

Nicole - posted on 11/05/2008

im not as lucky as moost moms; aubrey cries alot. she doesn't like her criib at night. i try to get her on a routine but shes so unpredicable.

Denise - posted on 11/05/2008

Have you tried to bump up the amount of that last bottle before bed?

I usually try to give my son his last one as close to bed time (8pm) as I can...if it ends up being 7 or earlier than I keep him downstairs with us because he doesn't sleep as soundly and I can wake him for a 9:00pm feeding and he will last till about 4 or 5 am

Nicole - posted on 11/05/2008

her last feeding can range from 7pm-9pm. i try to wake her up around 11 to get some food in her tummy but she wont wake up for anything; shes a deep sleeper. last night she wanted to play but usually she goes back to sleep within the hour and wants to play if a feeding is anywhere from 5am on. so the only time i can get her back to sleep is when she wakes up at three. she usually eats five ounces in all her feeding and feeds about every 31/2 hours during the day.

Amanda - posted on 11/05/2008

my daughter is the same age as yours and she does amazing in her crib.. she may not sleep the entire time, however she just looks around when awake and doesn't cry at all.. i think it is important to have a routine that u follow..she has a bath at 7pm each night than a story, a feeding and than into the crib (no lights on) and i go and get a smiling happy baby at 6am each day....hope u find what works for you

Denise - posted on 11/05/2008

I was going to say try to wake her up but if she's that difficult to come out of sleep I don't know what to tell you. What time is her last feeding before 9pm? My 3 month old is down to one feeding and it can range anywhere from midnight to 4 or 5am when he wakes up, but he's only up for about 1/2 hour. Is your daughter up for a long time after a feeding? Are you having trouble getting back to sleep?

Dara - posted on 11/05/2008

The doctor told me to wait until she was four months as well. The reason we tried it was because everyone I asked had fed it to their babies when they were much younger. My mom started me when I was four weeks old and my boyfriend's mom started him at four days old. So, based on that we made the decision to try it. I know alot of mom's wouldn't do it, but Daisy was never satisfied with her bottles and now I can tell she is really full after her night bottle. Just put a tiny amount in with the formula and see if she tolerates it well. She'll let you know if she has a stomach ache, and then you know she's just not ready.

Nicole - posted on 11/05/2008

i was going to put rice cereal in a bottle but the doctor told me to not do it till 4 months. and he said to not put it in a bottle. should i try it any way? becuz i see it worked for your daughter.

Dara - posted on 11/05/2008

My daughter is ten weeks as well. We started puting rice cereal in her night bottle a few nights ago. Last night she slept from 9pm until 5am, which was good enough for me because at least we are getting closer. Before that she would always wake up at 2am.

Bridgette - posted on 11/05/2008

my daughter is 11 weeks and sleeps from about 8-3am then wakes, eats and wants to play for an hour then goes back to sleep from about 4-730 or 8, some nights shes up 3 or 4 times and wide awake at 6. trying to get a routine is right now is useless, the world revolves around her right now so i'm at her mercy.

Melissa - posted on 11/05/2008

Dont worry so much. Feed her when she wakes up. If you are nursing and cant wait pump at night between feedings.
You are luckier than me. M daughter is 12 weeks tomorrow and is up every 2-3 hrs to eat at night! When she is ready she will sleep the night!