How do I get my 5 week old to sleep longer?

Bernadette - posted on 08/30/2011

I agree with Kaitlyn - not necessarily with cluster feeding (I'm not even sure what that is) but in that Amy has asked for suggestions, so that's what people are giving. As she said, Kaitlyn simply gave one that hadn't been suggested yet, and it worked for her. It is always worth hearing what has worked for various people, as you can give them all a go and see what works for you. That's why I suggested the "dream feeds" which I do with my son, and I have definitely found that this works for us because he wasn't sleeping for long before we started it, and he sleeps all night now. Don't knock other people's suggestions, when that is what has been asked for!

Kaitlyn - posted on 08/30/2011

@Ania - well I guess the rest of us should all just not offer any advice because you "know what you are talking about!" I'm glad YOU think I did absolutely nothing and merely got "lucky" but you are sadly mistaken. Cluster feeding does work, but as with anything, not for EVERY baby. It was merely a different idea than the others previously presented and certainly one that is not unfounded. I certainly do not think any of my statements do/did make the poster feel like she is doing something wrong. If that was YOUR take on them, well then that is YOUR problem and you may want to re-read them a little closer. They were simply suggestions and my experiences with what I tried. Call me lucky if you want, but that is your take on something you obviously know nothing about, therefore you cannot claim to "know what you are talking about!"" Sorry, don't mean any disrespect so please don't take it that way.

Janet - posted on 08/29/2011

I didn't believe in a lot of things before I had my first. Now, I just go with it, and whatever works, works. I'm due with my second, and dh already knows that he gets the air mattress and baby and I get the bed for however long it takes (4 months last time). He works on heavy machinery, so I want to make sure that we all get sleep. Once I realized that my son would not sleep well in the beginning without me, we found a routine that worked well, and I felt a million times better. I never napped in the day as I was sleeping well enough at night.

Ania - posted on 08/29/2011

Kaitlyn believe me you got lucky if your babies slept 8h at 6 weeks. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but you haven't done anything, your babies just slept, so please do not make this woman feel like she is doing something wrong when her baby wakes up every 2 hours. Your kids put you on a convienient for you schedule, and her baby just doesn't and that is what it is. I felt like an unfit mother when my child didn't sleep when I herad advices from women like you. I know you mean well, but every baby is different and some just sleep for a short period of time

Ania - posted on 08/29/2011

Kaitlyn believe me you got lucky if your babies slept 8h at 6 weeks. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but you haven't done anything, your babies just slept, so please do not make this woman feel like she is doing something wrong when her baby wakes up every 2 hours. Your kids put you on a convienient for you schedule, and her baby just doesn't and that is what it is. I felt like an unfit mother when my child didn't sleep when I herad advices from women like you. I know you mean well, but every baby is different and some just sleep for a short period of time

Ania - posted on 08/29/2011

It is normal behavior. Your baby is just born this way. The sooner you accept it the less frustrated you will be. I know what I'm talking about believe me. I was obsessed with my baby sleeping longer at night, for naps and I did everything and nothing worked until he turned 12 months and started sleeping at night and had longer naps. Some babies take longer to learn how to sleep, plus at 5 weeks your baby is reacting perectly normal by waking up so often. The only thing I can suggest is to co- sleep, thats what I did and learn how to BF on the side laying down, it saves a lot o energy at night. It won't last forever it will get better.

Kelly - posted on 08/29/2011

I think it all depends on the baby. My son was up every 2-3 hours to nurse too but my daughter is not quite 2 weeks old and nurses at 9:30 and then sleeps til 3 or 4 a.m. I will say that all my kids started sleeping better when they have a bath right before bed. Every night my hubby gets his time to bond with our daughter then at 9:15 we give her a bath and then I nurse her and put her to bed. We also have quite music going all night for her. This is the same routine we have used on all of our kids and it has always worked well for us. After a week or so they are so used to the routine that bedtime is always easy! Good luck!

Amy - posted on 08/28/2011

Thank you everyone for the advice. I am strictly against co-sleeping. I don't believe in that. I wanna try to get him on a schedule. The past 2 nights I have been waking him up before i go to bed to nurse him and that seems to help some. I got 2 three hour sleeps from him and his doctor said to put him to bed drowsy, but partially awake so he can learn to sooth himself to sleep. That works too because sometimes he will wake in the middle of the night, make some noise and then he is back asleep.

Gemma - posted on 08/28/2011

Breast milk can be digested in an early as 1 hour so infortunatly your little is most likely is actually hungry and NEEDS to feed. But the good news us this dosnt last forever and usually settles down by around the 10th week. I nearly went round the twist until my baby stopped feeding as frequently. My savour was my mother who would hold bub while I sat and ate my tea in peace as bub would feed off and on from 4 till 7 at night. And taking naps during the day is also a life saver. Hang in there girl your doing an amazing thing for your baby and we promise it will get easier once your milk supply is fully established at around 8 to 12 weeks maximum you should see a chAnge in feedings pattern good luck :)

Kaitlyn - posted on 08/28/2011

Are you feeding him on demand or are you trying to put/keep him on a schedule? Schedules don't really work for breastfeeding because you never know just how much they are getting at each feed. Feeding on demand needs to happen and do not allow him to fall asleep while nursing. You have to wake him up if he falls asleep, especially in the first few minutes, to ensure he is filling himself up. Cluster feeding during the day worked well for both my 2 kids. Both of them were sleeping at least 8 hours a night by 6 weeks old. He may not be filling himself up beffore he falls asleep which is why he is waking every 2 hours. Some babies are good at "snack" eating rather than fully feeding and with breastfeeding, you just can't know exactly how much he is taking in. Good luck and just remember it won't last forever!!

Lise - posted on 08/28/2011

We co-sleep for it, too...

Esther - posted on 08/28/2011

Yeah, my solution is cosleeping. How ELSE do you get any sleep with a newborn in the house? He NEEDS to wake that often, it's one of the ways that bf protects against SIDS. GL!

Bernadette - posted on 08/28/2011

Always wake him up for a feed right before you go to bed. I have been doing this with my son since he was about the same age, because otherwise he'd wake up for a feed as soon as I'd dropped off. And then he'd promptly fall asleep and forget to keep feeding anyway and subsequently wake up again. And again. It's funny, he'd always fall asleep on the job and forget to keep feeding and, no matter what, I would not be able to wake him up to keep going. Somehow though, when I get him out of his bed and put him in bed with me to feed, he will not really wake up but latch on anyway, in his sleep, and will feed until he's done. Don't know why. I have heard this refered to as "dream feeding" and it seems to work. He is now four and a half months old, and more often than not he is sleeping from about 11pm (when I wake him for his feed) until 7am. Before I started doing this, he was only feeding for a few minutes and then would wake up a very short time later for another one, and do this all night long. I never EVER go to sleep without getting him up for a feed anymore, and it has done wonders! I didn't really do this with my daughter, and she didn't stop waking for night feeds until she weaned at 17 months. It's definitely worth a try!

Jennifer - posted on 08/27/2011

Ha, ha! If you find a way, let the rest of us in on it. I barely remember the first 4 months of my daughter's life. I had both my kids in my bed as babies. Once I gave up on changing my daughter's diapers and trying to be awake during night feeds, it got a lot better. Unfortunately, my boobs hung lower with my son, and it was harder to find a good position :P Nap whenever you can, and ignore anyone who suggests that you should do anything (like housework) that is not strictly necessary. I have seen a pdf on the web of a book called, "Go the F--- to Sleep". I would laugh harder, but don't want to piss myself. It is written by Adam Mansbach, and now that my son is nearly 5, and sleeps through the night occasionally, I might have enough energy to go buy a copy.

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 08/27/2011

The problem I see with stretching feedings is that you will spend all that time trying to soothe a screaming, hungry baby when you could just feed him back to sleep. You will end up spending more time awake by trying to make him wait. Keep nursing on demand, research safe co-sleeping if you're interested in that and know that it will get better!

Beth - posted on 08/27/2011

It might be that he really needs to nurse every 2 hours but at 5 weeks they should be able to have at least a couple of stretches of at least 3 hours. Maybe after 2 hours and he starts fussing try EVERYTHING else possible to strtch even another 1/2 hour by then he will be even more empty and eat more therefore filling his tank and stayinf satiated longer. Worked for my 3.

Barbara - posted on 08/27/2011

One thing you can try is to make sure your little one is full. My 2 year old would nurse for about 15 minutes and fall asleep and so it would go every 2 hours. Then my Mom suggested waking him up to make sure he was done eating. First night we did it he slept 4 hours.

Julie - posted on 08/27/2011

Totally normal! Babies tummy is only the size of a golf ball. Newborns are designed to wake often for many biological reasons. Co-sleeping is very helpful if you have learned to nurse lying down. Mom gets sooooo much more sleep and baby sleeps much better too. giving baby formula or anything else by bottle to get them to sleep longer does more harm than good, and really doesn't work anyway.

Sally - posted on 08/27/2011

You wait until he is old enough to go longer between feedings. Newborns have tiny tummies and mommy milk digests fast.
The easiest way to get sleep with a newborn is to take it to bed with you. With practice, neither of you will need to fully wake while he eats.
The modern western bed can be a smothering or falling hazard, but that is easy to fix and cosleeping (especially when used to make nursing easier) lowers your SIDS risk.
Good luck

Angie - posted on 08/27/2011

This is pretty normal for that age. It will get better. Do you have a copy of the No Cry Sleep Solution? It has good tips on gentle ways to get your baby to sleep more at night. When your baby wakes up for a night-time feeding, keep things as boring as possible. Keep the lights dim, don't talk. Set up something comfortable for yourself. I have a pretty comfy "nest" on my couch for night-time feedings where I can doze a little bit. That helps a lot. It will get better, I promise!

Teresa - posted on 08/27/2011

As tiring as it is.... your baby is normal. Go to bed as early as you can and nap when he naps (whenever possible)... or at least rest.

Hang in there! This stage does not last forever!!

Sarah - posted on 08/27/2011

Agree with the previous posts. My 2 year old nursed every 2 hours day and night for the first 4 months and then started longer stretches. Also remember that 5-6weeks is usually a growth spurt so it could get better in a few weeks.

Ella - posted on 08/27/2011

I'm afraid what Janet says is right, please don't listen to anyone that says giving your baby formula will make them sleep longer, it is a myth. It will get longer and this part will be a distant memory! Try and nap during the day and co-sleep so you don't have to get out of bed. Co-sleeping is very safe if done properly, if you look it up you can find the info you need to do it safely. I found the mantra "this too shall pass" helped me get through the hardest times and the bigger they get the more cute and rewarding they become.

Janet - posted on 08/27/2011

That's kind of what they are supposed to do. My way of coping was to co-sleep, or to have the bassinet right beside the bed so I didn't have to really be getting up all the time. As their stomach grows it will hold more and take longer between feedings.