Sleeping Through the Night - Nixa,MO

Her sleep pattern sounds pretty normal to me. She's only 3 months old, and is only waking 3 times! I think that is great! My 9 month old still wakes 3-4 times per night. I don't believe in letting the baby cry it out, so I have to accept it as is! They're only babies once, so cherish the moment. (even if you're exhausted) Good luck.

Is she just waking and looking for the pacifier or is she crying while doing it, I would say if she is just rustling looking for it and isnt crying, I would let her be, she will eventually go back to sleep.

A 3 month old that only wakes twice in the night would sound like HEAVEN to most Moms...lol. You will find that your little babe will be happier if you adjust to her schedule rather than hoping that she adjusts to yours. They grow and change so quickly..this will be a memory soon and you will be back to getting the amount of sleep that you want. When my first child was an infant (she has an infant of her own now) she was breastfed and she ate every 2 hours...24 hours a day until she was 6 months old!!! I looked at that time in the middle of the night as "our time"...I had a wonderful padded rocking chair that we would just cuddle up in and enjoy each other's company.I am not telling you that it was easy or that I ADORED getting up every two hours...and I am not telling you that I wasn't a zombie...from lack of sleep...but I survived and so can you!!! Good luck...kiss that little girl for me!!
R. Ann

I think her sleeping pattern sounds wonderful! I wouldn't change a thing! Many people don't realize this, but the medical definition of "sleeping through the night" at this age is only five hours... so it seems that your little one is doing well! This is only a short time in the span of life, you will get back to sleeping more someday! :-)

Good Luck!

That's actually a very good sleep patter for a 3 months old.
In the next few months she may be sleeping through the night. My daughter was 6 months maybe a little older before she slept all the way through the night. Sleep patterns will change from time to time, whether it's during teething time or illness, so enjoy her good sleep pattern now.
Take care,
V.

I agree that she is only 3 months old and her comfort should always come first. How tired can you really be? I get up 4-5 times from 10pm to 6 am and then I'm up for the day as I have kids that come in then. I have to let the kids out, take the puppy potty at least twice in the night when I'm already getting up, go to the bathroom myself, check on the other kids and sometimes I still have babies that need fed through the night. If I can sleep on 45 minutes to an hour and a half incriments and still be happy healthy and alive, you'll survive this time in your babies life. I've been at this 21 years and have learned it's all in the power of positive thinking.

Enjoy this little baby. She's going to grow up too darn fast and in a couple years you might even be wanting to do it again.

I'm sure it's really hard to have a first time baby in your mid 30's. After all, you've been pretty used to getting a decent nights sleep :) But you really will be happier if you just roll with it.

Suzi

Your baby's sleep pattern is within a norm. find good material at:
http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/sleep/sleep47m.html

I know 90% of people will scrutinize this suggestion but you may want to read BabyWise. (It's really a good book- most people just go by what they've HEARD and not actually read and therefore decide it's a terrible thing.) At any rate, my 6 week old is sleeping 7 hours now and my now two year old slept 8 hours when she was 6 weeks to the day, so something has to be working. :) You may just check it out and see if it works for you. I don't know about you but I LOVE my sleep and will read any book that can help get that back to normal as quickly as possible.

Babies wake up at night. A lot. And it usually goes on for quite some time. Expecting a 12 week old to sleep through the night is pretty ambitious and...unrealistic. And just so you won't be too disappointed later on...let me tell you that there will always be SOMETHING to wake up your child. It's not like they learn to sleep all night in infancy and that's it, you're home free. Later on there will be teething, bedwetting, nightmares, obsessive searching for toys, needing drinks, needing the potty, etc... It goes on and on. How about expecting a 12 YEAR old to sleep through the night? That's more likely.

If the paci wakings become more frequent and you feel they are getting out of control, just stop giving it. You'll probably have to listen to her cry for a few minutes, but she should get used to it quickly.

Also, you might want to read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. This book explains normal sleep patterns as children grow up, so you know what to expect, what is normal, and how to fix problems. It's not a child-rearing philosophy or a force-your-baby-into-your-schedule book. It's just the scientific reality of baby sleep.

"The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Plantely. Wonderful book, wonderful information, wonderful help!!!!! Good luck,
K.

I can totally relate. My 8 month old had this exact same problem when she was that age. She probably woke up about as much as your baby does now. You daughter will grow out of it eventually. Our baby now sleeps all through night and still has her pacifier. Now she finds it herself and puts it back in. I think you should just continue with what you are doing. I don't know anything that would make this problem any easier, but it she should start waking up less and less as she gets older and learns how to find her pacifier on her own. Good Luck!

I am sure you will get a lot of different opinons and advice on this. I have an 11 month old daughter and i can remember those nights so well. Time flies so i can't really remember if she can actually pick up a pacifier on her own yet (probably not) but to this day i have about 8 pacifiers in my daughters crib so she can always find one if she wakes up and it prevent sme from having to go in there. Its up to you what to do about the 3:00 feeding since she really isn't eating that much. My pediatrician told me that at 3 months old-a baby is ok nutitionally to go all night without eating. Meaning- its not like when they are newborn and they need to eat during the night for nutrition. So-he told me if i wanted to and could handle it i could try the Ferber method and let her cry it out for a little bit (it is really realyl hard- but is so woth it in the end) because then it just becomes habit to eat in the middle of the night- not neccesarily because they are really hungry. I know its still hard and you are getting tired and ready for some good night's sleep but - she is right around the corner from sleeping all night so - Good Luck!

My daughter is 11 weeks, has been sleeping 9 to 9 for 3 weeks now. At first she would want her paci (just like yours) now she doesn't. I just always gave her that instead of feeding her. If she was actually hungry, she would spit it out and want it repeatedly (you could really tell if she was actually hungry). If yours is only eating 1-2 oz, she probably isn't really hungry (but you are mommy, you would know best). Try just keeping on with the paci. 4 days of not eating at night and she stopped wanting the paci in the middle of the night. Good luck to you.

Get rid of it immediately. My son was the only one with a pacifier and it was the biggest mistake of our lives. Everytime he had a cold, our lives were miserable because he couldn't breathe with it in his mouth. Everytime we went on vacation, it would get lost. Our girls were thumb suckers and we had no issues, we are the only country in the world that encourages pacis.

Good luck,
D.

Good Morning Wendy & Drew, If your only having to get up to replace a paci God has Blessed you!! She will sleep through the night in time, but right now dear heart you have got it good.

Our 9 mo old grandson, was never a night sleeper until about 3 months ago. Gen would put him down like you around 7-8 he would be up at 11, up again at 2, up at 5. Right now he will move around a little but not wake completely up most nights. He is teething again so he is waking up a little more often once again.

If your little Angel is wanting a paci only at 1, you are indeed truely blessed.

K. Nana of 5

One of my sons started sleeping all night at 3 months. I think babies have different systems like us. So they won't all be the same. If you go in there when you hear a wimper they will wake up all night long for years. :)

Hi Wendy,

I've read all the advices that you got and no one suggested placing 2 or 3 pacifiers into the crib with her. That's what we did with our youngest. We left 2 within reach for her and one in the corner so in the middle of the night if she couldn't find it and I had to wake up and help her, at least I knew where one was! That helped alot. All babies are different, my first didn't use a paci or sucked his thumb. My second used the paci until he was about 1 and got sick and couldn't use it. Then when he was over being sick, he didn't want it anymore! Our baby LOVED her binky until she was over 2 years old!! She had 3 with her at all times and everytime she lost one we wouldn't replace it. Good luck and I hope that helps. Babies have their own schedule and will eventually adapt to yours.

D.

count your blessings for what you have at this time. Keep reading these for days and weeks and you will see your blessing. God Bless.