How can I shift my baby's sleep pattern

Victoria - posted on 10/22/2009

I understand how you feel. If our boy wakes through the night, which is rare I am pleased to say, he will only go back to sleep for 1-3 hours. Recently, he has been going through the night, we bathe him every night around 9pm using Johnsons sleep aid bubbles (it's got a lavender smell to it), just letting him smile and coo while we gently massage the suds on him, then we give him a last feed and put him down. He rarely wakes until 7am or later. We have a humidifier in his room (we just moved to Vegas and the air is very dry), keep the ceiling fan on so he is not too hot, and have a machine with rain noises slowly filling the air. I think he sleeps so good at night because I have a good routine with him through the day. I worked out that he has been doing better when he has several naps through the day totaling no more than 3 - 3 1/2 hours of sleep, and over a 24 hour period has around 27 - 30 oz of milk. I think with all that combined, he goes to bed at night needing his long sleep, and he's had enough milk in his tummy to sustain him. I've heard to "never wake a sleeping baby", but I can tell you, it works for us to not let him nap too long through the day.

Sierra - posted on 10/21/2009

"Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" by Tracy Hogg is a great book with loads of advice about sleep schedule and other great tips.

Melissa - posted on 10/21/2009

I think what you are hearing is that this is pretty normal behavior :) Im experienced the same thing with my daughter who is now 3 months old. She now sleeps through the night. There are some older pediatricians who believe that if you put your baby on a strict schedule, for instance, 10,2 and 6 around the clock and only feed them at those times, they will eventually adjust and only need to eat at the specified times. I personally am an advocate of feedign whenever the baby signals that they are hungry as it fosters bonding, milk production and a whole slew of other perks. A breastfed baby really needs to eat every four hours and a formula fed baby every six, even at three months. I would recommend trying to shift the day schedule so that the longest period of time falls when you would like it to. It may mean getting up a little earlier or staying up a little later....the bright side is....they eventually learn to stay asleep longer!

Tammy - posted on 10/21/2009

My son was born 5/7/09, and usually goes to bed around 8 (gets really cranky if its much later than that) and wakes up between 2 and 4:30 for a feed. There have been exactly two nights where he hasn't gotton up at all so I had a great sleep! He usually gets up again at 6am. I don't mind, its all part of being a mummy. I know he's old enough not to really need a feed during the night but its the easiest way to get him back to sleep!

Aisling - posted on 10/21/2009

My son (13 weeks old) was doing great with just one night feed around 4am until 2 days ago . . . the last two nights he has woken up 3x a night! I feel like we have taken a step backwards . . . any suggestions? I worry that he is just waking up for company rather than needing to eat. Thanks

Alison - posted on 10/16/2009

glad to hear the book helped you Kylie :-)

Kylie - posted on 10/15/2009

I just started using "save our sleep" the past three days and my god what a difference!!!! Instead of waking every 2 hours at night, my bub wakes only once after her dream feed! Also settles heaps quicker! I love this book and wish i had of used it earlier but at least I have it now!!

Alison - posted on 10/09/2009

My baby was born on 30th July and was doing what you described until 2 days ago, instead of waking up at 4:30am she now is waking at about 6:30/6:45am...it might just be a case of waiting until you baby does this, hopefully not too long to go! I've been using the routines from 'Save Our Sleep' by Tizzie Hall (Australian Baby Whisperer), 3 other friends use them and suggested i try them too. She feeds at 7am, 1am, 3pm, around 6/6:30ish after her bath, bed at 7ish, dreamfeed at 10:30pm. I used to wake her to get her to feed enough at the dreamfeed time but now she can feed well enough without waking.

Sarah - posted on 10/09/2009

Our pediatrician said that Levi (born July 7th) is big enough to go through the night without a feeding. So.... I give him his last bottle around 11:00 or 11:30. Then if he wakes up in the night, I give him his pacifier and soothe him back to sleep..... without talking to him!!!! I've found that if I talk to him, he wants to play. So, then he goes back to sleep, and doesn't wake again until somewhere between 7 and 8 am. Also, I make sure that I don't talk much or play with him at his last feeding. That way, he knows that quiet time is sleep time. He's been sleeping all night since he was 8 weeks. So, this works for us!! Maybe I'm just blessed??



What is "dream feeds"?

Amber - posted on 10/09/2009

5 hours is considered sleeping through the night....odd huh? Yall are so lucky, my little girl thinks she need to eat ever 2 1/2 hours at night. Im so tired!

Kristina - posted on 10/08/2009

that is so crazy! my daughter--also born on july 24th--does the same thing. she goes to bed around 8 every night and either sleeps completely through the night or goes 5-6 hour stretches. and she'll get up around 630-7 with me before i go to work, then fall back asleep with daddy until about 9. then she eats about every 3 hours. i don't really think there's anyway to shift her sleeping. i love the schedule my baby is in, i think it works great. give her another month or two and she should be sleeping completely through the night. my daughter has done so multiple times already--it's sort of a tease!

good luck :)

Amber - posted on 10/07/2009

My son was born 7/24 too! Unfortunately there's not much you can do at this point. They need to eat pretty often and early morning is when almost all babies eat off and on frequently. When they get older they will be able to sleep for longer periods of time, but now those babies need to eat often to get the proper nutrients. They metabolize their food quickly so they need to eat a lot!

Chantal - posted on 10/06/2009

I have the exact same situation as all of you below and this my second little girl. She was born on 7/22/09 and goes to bed between 7-730 (her choice-not mine)-I feed her at 11ish (dreamfeed) and she usually wakes between 3 and 4 am. She sleeps quietly and perfectly between 7 and 3...after that she squirms and squeaks until 7-8 when she usually gets up! I have tried everything...now I just have moved her further away from me in her basinet with the hopes I can sleep through some of her squeaking! It's been 2 nights and is getting better...soon she'll have to go into her own crib!

Cynthia - posted on 10/04/2009

I try to keep my 2mnth old awake after feeding her at about 8pm by talking and playing and keep her up until i feed her at 1030 or 11 if she will wait that long. I make those last few hours last so that she is tired when she finally gets to go to bed she sleeps hard until about 9 am. oh i bottle feed now and i see a huge difference in how long it lasts in her system.

Megan - posted on 10/04/2009

I too have tried the 'dream feeds.' It doesn't do anything except add an extra feed! He still wakes up whenever he would without a dream feed.

Caitlin - posted on 10/01/2009

My daughter was born 7/24/09 and does the same thing, she goes to sleep around 8-9pm and gets up anywhere from 2-3am and then is up just about every hour to hour & half after that or till I get annoyed & get up with her at 6am and let her wiggle on her mat for about an hour, then we go back to bed till about 9am, if you find out anything let me know too... But it does sound common...

Kylie - posted on 10/01/2009

Hmmm no replies yet?? haha When you find out what works let me know because my bubba does pretty much the same! I have tried "dream feeds" but doesn't make any difference. Are you breast feeding? I think if you are it is normal for them to want to be fed more often than bottle fed bubs.