My daughter is almost 12 weeks old and she started sleeping through the night about 2 weeks ago, but that only lasted 2 weeks. Now she is back to waking up every 5 hours or so. I've tried to feed her more before bedtime with rice cereal so that she will stay asleep longer, but that just doesn't seem to help. And no matter what i do with her during the day she will not go to bed for the night before 11pm. I have no idea what to do next to get her to go to bed 2 hours earlier. Help!

Lai - posted on 11/28/2008

There are books out there that say it's normal so don't worry! Swaddle her and slowly reduce her feeding intake. I don't know how it works if you are breatfeed but if you are formula feeding; give her her normal amount to drink the first few nights then reduce another oz. for the next few nights and so on until she'll get the idea not to wake to feed at night anymore.

Natalie - posted on 11/26/2008

i find that a nice warm bath an bottle afterwards works for me ,and gradually there bedtime routine falls into place, all depends on the baby really, every childs different, me an my partner turn down the lights an the Tv making it quieter and we also have this teddy which plays soothing lullabuys to help her drift off which goes in her cot with her, she is 3 1/2 months and she settles at 10pm every night but it has got earlier as it use to be 11.30 and she wakes for 7- 7.30 she use to wake up for a night feed between 3 an 4am but now she doesn't she will sleep right through and only really wake when she needs changing x

Heidi - posted on 11/20/2008

There is a common misconception that feeding babies cereal should increase the amount of time they sleep. Now, I've had my daughter on cereal since she was 8 weeks old so I am not against feeding them solids before the 6 months mark but doing so to get them to sleep longer is not a great idea. My daughter will be 3 months next week and has been sleeping 10-12 hours for 2 weeks (occasionally she will wake up once in the night but not very often). Because this may be a growth spurt I do give her a bottle when she wakes up but she often doesn't even finish it which tells me she doesn't really need it. Hang in there. Your baby will sleep through the night when she is ready to do so. I know it can be hard waiting and trust me I know how frustrating it is once you get a taste of that full nights sleep but you can't force these things. Good luck!

Crystal - posted on 11/19/2008

I know this is going to sound a little mean but my daughter was doing the same thing and we were up till 11 when she decided to go to bed everynight..so I started a routine every night with rice cereal, and a bath and a extra feeding...and she goes to bed at 9...and at first she would cry but you have to let her cry she needs to learn your routine...it took about 10 days and she was sleepin by 9:15 it is nice....dont let her cry long tho maybe about 10 minutes tops at a time but she needs to learn and it will all work out...its always hard to let them cry tho

Sandy - posted on 11/07/2008

My son is 12 weeks old now and I am happy for those 5 hour nights!! They don't happen every night though. I believe that they only ask for what they need at this point so as moms we need to honour that. My son doesn't really wake up fully, but grumbles at times during the night. I feed him at these times and he sleeps soundly again for another good stretch. I nap in the morning when he does (I'm lucky this way!) so some days I feel like I got 8 hours. During his recent growth spurt, I was up feeding every 2 to 3 hours again, just like when he came home. Those couple of days and nights were tiring, but didn't last. Be aware feeding cereal and supplementing formula (for breastfed babies) as their undeveloped digestive tracts may give you problems with gas. A gassy baby is a fussy baby and you'll get even less rest.

Charissa - posted on 11/07/2008

my son is 10 wks old and im lucky if i get 3 hours of sleep! when he does sleep longer it is when he is in his swing which had sounds like waves crashing. babies enjoy that sort of "white noise" it reminds them of being in the womb. maybe that why my son enjoys the vacuum so much! but i would try one of those cds with calming sounds like waves to soothe her at night and swaddling her also! if that doesnt work i always take him for a car ride and he passes out and i just let him sleep in his car seat until his next feeding and i usually can have at least 5 hours! so your lucky you get 5 hours!

Alicia - posted on 11/07/2008

I think you should be proud that she is sleeping 5 hours at a time. My girl is three months and wakes up every 3 hours. But the best advice is not to do anything to make them more awake like turning on lights, talking to them or picking them up (Unless she is crying). After 5 hours though, she is probably just hungary... try feeding her than putting her back to sleep. Just do what feels right for you and your baby.

Molly - posted on 11/05/2008

I have a Sleep Sheep in my sons cradle, which makes soothing sounds for him for 45 minutes or so. This seems to calm him down and keep him asleep. Also the one thing that seemed to make all the difference is that he finally took a pacifier. I know these are controvertial, but my little guy wouldn't fall asleep without one. I think the bath at bedtime is a great idea too. Seems to soothe them to sleep.

Maria - posted on 11/05/2008

We had feeding/weight issues in the early weeks so Im still a bit paranoid and I dont let him go longer than 3 or 4 hours without a feed during the day (which probably helps him distinguish night and day) and I wrap him and put him to bed after 1-2hours of being awake during the day (so he doesnt get over-tired and delirious). I also started reheating his bottles during his feeds (fuss pot wont drink it unless its warm!!!) and bingo if he eats well during the day he seems happy to sleep thru the night!!! there are exceptions however...last few days have been hot he was woken a lil earlier and sometimes he doesnt go straight to sleep after the last feed... but it keeps life interesting...lol

GOOD LUCK!!! and try not to STRESS babies pick up on that!!!!

Natalie - posted on 11/03/2008

My son is almost 12 weeks old and he has been sleeping all through the night since he was about 3 weeks old. I usually wrap him up in a swaddler and he doesnt budge. We feed him at 10 and put him down by 11 and he sleeps until 6, or 7, sometimes even 8 in the morning.But i've noticed on nights that i don't wrap him up he wakes up a LOT earlier. I would be miserable if i didn't have the swaddler. The brand is HALO and its called the sleep sack swaddle. you can order one off of www.halosleep.com. the fleece sleep sack swaddle comes in a xxs,xs, and small. the small size fits 0-6 months and its $29.95. i hope this helps you! it has definately helped me and my husband

Debi - posted on 11/03/2008

You could try wearing her out with a bath before bed, let her kick her legs for a long time. My little one for the first time slept from 9 until 5. I have no idea why..it could of been the cold weather. I was the one who kept waking up at 1 and 3am, but it was still nice to not have to feed.

Debbie - posted on 11/03/2008

same here...my son was doing 7-9 hour stretches and is now back to 2-4 hours...I'm thinking it is a growth spurt. the books seem to suggest they go through one at 3 months, so it is around now. Good news is they also all say the spurt only lasts up to 72 hours, so relief should be right around the corner!

Kimberly - posted on 11/03/2008

I have 1 about the same age, going thru same, I just started to feed her at 9 now and wrap her for the night, it seems to be working, so far