How many times a night does your baby wake at night for a feeding?

Megan - posted on 01/07/2012

We are still struggling with this as well. Finally a week ago we gave in and started using a graduated extinction approach. We still sit by the door where we can see our little guy so we can make sure that he's alright, but we don't go in until we have reached a set amount of time. I know a lot of people don't agree with cio approaches and that is fine, but so far it has been a pretty big success. The first night he fussed for about 5 minutes and then fell asleep and slept for 5 hours. This is a huge deal since the most we have gotten out of him in the last almost 3 months is 2 hours. We'll see if we can keep it up.

Megan - posted on 01/07/2012

usually every 3 months they go through a groth spurt which makes them wake alot during the night my son did this at 4weeks and 3 mths sleep when bub does so you can get the rest you need

Megan - posted on 01/07/2012

Hoe is everyone doing with this? We are still struggling, but started the pick up/put down three nights ago. H e is now only feeding twice a night, but I still have to go to him four times and comfort him back to sleep. Last night we had one five hour stretch, but then every two again. How are all the rest of you doing?

Megan - posted on 12/30/2011

I hate to have anyone else going through this-but it also feels good to know that i am not alone! My little guy has been waking up again every 2-3 hours to eat for a while now- it actually got worse when we started solids! Eek- I am SO tired! No advice, unfortunately, but awake with all of you....

Daniela - posted on 12/06/2011

my daughter sleeps through the night and has for months lol but when my daughter does that arch her back thing i put her in her crib with her pacifier and turn her mobile on with the lights off and let her fall asleep on her own, it works every time!! i know that when she does that it means shes tired and doesnt want to be held... but the whole weaning thing has never made any sense to me at all, your baby does whats natural to them, thats why i never put sophia on a schedule. so obviously you daughter is hungry and wants to eat...

Tracy - posted on 11/27/2011

My little one did the same as yours, Megan, for over two months. Two hours at a time was a good night! For the last three days (and hopefully continuing, knock on wood) he has begun sleeping longer and longer. The last two nights he's done a four-hour stretch!!! Of course, I am now so used to waking up every hour or less that I haven't slept for four hours... lol :) I lay there wondering if I should check on him to make sure nothing's wrong - it seems so strange for him to still be asleep! ;)

Megan - posted on 11/26/2011

I'm glad I'm not alone in this. My son has been doing the same thing since he turned 4 months old a month ago. It's gotten so bad that we hope to get 2 hours of sleep out of him at a time. On the worst of nights we can expect him to get up over 10 times. I stopped counting once at 13. I just hope that whatever is going on ends soon. I feel like a walking zombie most days.

Amanda - posted on 11/26/2011

He usually gets a feeding at 9:30-10 (which he's mostly asleep during) then wakes up around 1 or 2 for a bottle and goes back down and then again around 5.

Jamies Mom - posted on 11/25/2011

oops, i meant *my son ... (5.5 months)

Jamies Mom - posted on 11/25/2011

my was up for one feeding around 3 am then slept until 8:30, last week, he slept through all week, but then was more hungry during the day so I started him on rice cereal, he eats less then 1 tsp a day and also has an extra bottle, but he's wide awake all night, in a good mood, since i started the rice!!! Im not giving him rice today to see if it makes a difference tonight. I've never had complaints about his nights, he's usually a good sleeper!

Brandy - posted on 11/25/2011

I have the SAME issue lately... but with her wanting the boob!

Amanda - posted on 11/25/2011

She may be going through a growth spurt and that's why she's eating more frequently.

Gillian - posted on 11/25/2011

you mite have to feed her porridge, my son did it untill i fed him and now he sleep through

Erin - posted on 11/21/2011

LOL girl i used to sleep til 10am everyday! i own my own spa so i would purposely start booking my first client of the day at noon jus so that i could sleep til 10....now im in bed asleep every damn night at 7:45 WTH!!!! lol

Kate - posted on 11/21/2011

Oh thank God it's not just me!

My daughter has been waking up every 2-3 hours for the last few days, and like you I'm shattered... I've also got a 2.5yr old son who has dropped his day sleep, so it's not even like I can catch up during the day =(

I'm reading a book called "Save Our Sleep" by Tizzie Hall, that seems to have some good information, but I couldn't honestly tell you much as my memory retention is as shattered as my sleep pattern =( I do know however that I've had friends with babies that were total nightmares when it came to sleeps that followed the advice in the book who now have dream babies, so fingers crossed it works.

I might give the pu/pd a go too if all else fails... I just don't want another baby that doesn't sleep through until 16mths, I think it'd kill me!

What I do find ironic though is just how well I am functioning, given that I'm usually only running on 5hrs maximum sleep... I remember a time pre-babies when 5hrs was only a nap (mind you I also remember being able to get drunk on a Saturday night and sleep in past 7am on the Sunday :P)

I hope everyone's babies sleep well tonight :)

Erin - posted on 11/19/2011

i did pu/pd from 11:24 til 1:19 last night and i had to pick her up 31 times before she settled herself to sleep...Yaaaaaaaawn

Shilpa - posted on 11/18/2011

Well, mine does wake up twice too. I think its a good idea to have 'Daddy' take on charge at night. They are really good at rocking the baby back to sleep. Baby's gets cranky when mama's around....

Erin - posted on 11/18/2011

Xiana is doing much better! I've started her on this routine called "pick up put down" that i read about in a book called "The Baby Whisperer" .......basically it teaches her the skill of soothing herself to sleep or back to sleep in the middle of the night..... what i do for naps and bedtime / middle of the night is put her down while shes still drowsy but not asleep, shes gonna start crying because this is different and not the usual way shes used to fallin asleep (its usually on me or in my bed)....so as soon as she starts to cry i pick her up and tell her "its ok mommys right here its time to do night-night"....then the second she stops crying i put her back down and keep a hand on her belly / chest so she can feel my presence...as soon as she starts crying i pick her up and say the same thing...the second she stops i put her back down, again with my hand on her belly / chest so that she can feel my presence and softly say "its ok mommys right here its time for nigh-night...the maximum number of pick ups ive had to do so far is 43 before she settled herself to sleep....the first evening i did it she went to bed at 7:30 then woke at 10:30, thats too early for a bottle so i did pu/pd (pick up put down) and only had to pick her up n put her down with my hand on her chest 3 times and she settled herself back to sleep then woke at 2am, i fed her a 5oz bubba and she went right back to sleep until 6am....the next day i did the same for her naps and she took two 1 & 1/2 hour naps and i only had to pu/pd 13 times the first nap then 4 times the second nap... she usually only sleeps for 20/30 min cat naps all day so i am soooo happy!!!
It takes alot of work and you'll be tired the first week or so until your little one gets the hang of it but its soo worth it! you have to be consistent and not give up =)
Oh, and the book says that if when you pick up your little one and they are arching their back and pushin you away or pointing their legs down straight then you should just put them down with a hand on their chest/belly and try a pick up again in 20/30 seconds or so because it is not use to struggle with the baby.
i really hope this helps you ladies because it has helped me a great deal! im not gonna lie she was up at 3am last night and i did pu/pd 35 times but she settled herself to sleep that last time until 7:30am...the number of pu/pd will get less an less over the days/maybe couple of weeks as they learn to soothe themselves and eventually you wont have to pu/pd, you just be able to lay a hand on their chest/belly and say "its ok mommys right here" and the sound of your voice along with the weight of your hand will settle them.
good luck ladies! =)

Barbara - posted on 11/18/2011

When a baby is wanting to eat, the baby is hungry~ at this age they aren't manipulating you, they have a need and need you to fill it.
My son went from nursing at 9pm and then sleeping 2am nursing and then going back to sleep until 6am to 9pm,midnight, 2am, 5am, 7am, 9am and then a nice "long" break until shortly after lunch. He also went from weighing 16 pounds to 19 pounds in two weeks We are now back to 9pm, 2am, 6am

Laura - posted on 11/18/2011

Ehhh... mine is up several times a night still, though once he nurses for a few minutes he's right back to sleep. (Sometimes we just fall back to sleep together while he's on.) I can hear him stirring and moving and it seems like he's always got gas or something waking him up! Maybe I'll dose him with some gripe water right before bed to see if it helps. At this point, my daughter was up maybe once a night, so I'd just love for him to follow suit! Oddly enough, I'm not that tired. Can your body just get used to only sleeping 5 or so hours a night? (Says the girl who used to need 9 or be a zombie!)

Janine - posted on 11/17/2011

So glad to hear others are going through some 'nighttime' troubles right now. My little girl was sleeping throughout the night quite a while ago - but now wakes up quite often throughout the night. I had chalked it up to her getting too big for her bassinet (as we are still under reno mode to make a new bedroom for her big brother so she can move into his room). But...sounds like although the bassinet could be the problem - seems to be a 'thing' for this age and I should just ride it out.....growing, teeth, more hungry, etc. Thank you!

Jamies Mom - posted on 11/17/2011

Also, she could be going through a growth spurt and if so, it should be back to normal in no time.

Jamies Mom - posted on 11/17/2011

I find naps help alot. If Jamie get's 2 good naps in during the day, and we start bath bottle bed around 7, he usually has a good night. If he misses a nap or stays up later, he doest have a good sleep. A good/normal night for us is waking up once between 2-4 to eat then he sleep until 7:30. i dont believe in CIO either, but if he's just whining/babling I will just leave him be, and he usually goes back to sleep, but when he cries/screems I go see. When Jamie;s fussy while trying to rock him to sleep, I just let him skwirm and wiggle but i still caddle him and rock and sing and eventually he gives up and falls asleep. I hope you little one gets passed this because we all know its not fun getting up multiple times a night!

Tiffany - posted on 11/16/2011

Erin, i don't find your opinion offensive. Ever mother has to make a decisions that are best for themselves and their family. Hopefully you are never forced with that decision yourself and from that experience, I have learned what not to do with my second baby to put us in the same situation.

Erin - posted on 11/16/2011

Im not judging you at all so Tiffany please dont take this as offensive but i could never let my baby lay there alone and cry by herself...thats absolutely horrible! Babies dont cry on purpose to piss us off or to manipulate us...they cry because they need us and to just ignore your child when shes scared, hungry, wet, lonely and needs the love of her mother is absurd! just sayin

Tiffany - posted on 11/16/2011

My ODD did the same from 4-6 months. We finally had to let her CIO. It was horrible and I hated it, but it worked! Now with my new DD, she usually wakes at 2 and again at 5 then is up at 7:30. If she wakes before 2, I will let her cry, just so we don't get into the habit. She puts herself back to sleep within 10 mins.

Theda - posted on 11/15/2011

Do you have someone else to get up with her ? I found the best thing to do (especially if you can't stand to hear her cry-it-out) is to have someone else "Daddy" go in and soothe her and put her to bed. They know if Mommy is there they get to feed.

My second daughter was just like your daughter and that was how we stopped that habit.

Good Luck !

Tracy - posted on 11/14/2011

Sadly, I didn't get any good advice. He thinks it's because of Isaac's cold, even though I told him it precedes the cold...

Tracy - posted on 11/14/2011

My guy has not slept more than two hours in over a month. I, too, am trying to find a way to deal with it, and having no luck. He sees the doctor today and I am going to ask about it. I will let you know if I get any good advice :)