Sleeping Through the Night - Prairie Grove,AR

My boys started sleeping thru the night around 3-4 months. But what helped them was I would put about 1/2 to 1 oz. of baby cereal in their bottle before I put them to sleep for the night.

unfortunatly babioes decide when they sleep and for how long. Like you said count your lucky stars that he sleeps those hours. Some parents like me have babies that don't start sleeping thru the night til they are a year or more.

I have a 28 day old baby boy ( he is # 6 for me) and he sleeps 3-4 hrs in a row at night and I feel so lucky. Good luck and good resting.

Actually most doctors will tell you that technically 6 hours is sleeping through the night. Be thankful you get that! I've known of babies who don't sleep through the night until after their first birthday and others, like your doctor's, who sleep through the night almost from birth. Keeping him up late or eliminating his nap will only cause more problems for both of you. To answer your actual question my little girl started consistantly sleeping for 8 hours at around 6 months old. I don't believe that gender makes a difference. Nothing's wrong with your baby he just needs to find his own schedule... you'll be fine! Good luck!!

Neither of mine were good sleepers. My oldest 3 still wakes up sometimes and wants to crawl in my bed. Needless to say I don't sleep more than 2 hours at a time between the two of them. My 5 month old I am lucky if I get 4 hours out of her at a time. My oldest was well over 9 months before she stopped wanting to eat in the middle of the night.

My second child, started having problems sleeping thru the night, mostly because he was hungry, and his bottle would be empty. Usually babies wake up for 2 reasons, hungry, or icky diaper. So, my boyfriend suggest putting rice cereal, in with his milk/formula, worked like a charm. If you make pretty thick, but still able to flow around, will take less time for him to get done with it, and WAY more filling then just formula or milk. Also in doing this, you'll use less milk or formula, thus saving money! =)

My usual measurements for it is, i put about, 2 ounces of milk in first, and about, 4-5 ounces of dry cereal, then the rest on top of milk. Shake good, then fill the left over gap with milk. You must try it, my son was driving me INSANE for 6 monthes until I tried this.

Every baby is different. After my daughter turned 6 months her pedi said that it wasn't nutionally necessary to feed her in the middle of the night. I gradually reduced the amount she would get in the middle of the night. (1st wk- 5oz bottle, 2nd wk- 4oz, 3rd wk 3oz, 4th wk 2oz and after that if she woke up I just rocked her back to sleep.) After I got her off the feedings, I then had the problem of her waking up for no reason. Some other mom suggested put multiple pacifiers in bed with the baby so she could find one at night. Also, after you consult with your pedi, I would get the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" Excellent read and gives plenty of great advice. I used to keep my daughter up late too thinking she would sleep through the night but that didn't work. The book suggests putting the baby down around 6:30 no later than 7pm. My daughter sleeps soundly through the night now and doesn't wake up. The book suggests putting the baby in the crib awake and let them teach themselves to go to sleep. I think my daughter cried for 1 hour the first night and the 2nd night she cried for 20 minutes. After that, she slept peacefully. While I was sleep training her, if she woke up in the night, I didn't go to her like I usually did. I let her put herself back to sleep. If you baby uses pacifiers put 4 or 5 in the crib. Good Luck.

After reading several of your responses, it didn't seem like anyone had responded back with a baby that does sleep through the night. Well, I'm here to say that it can happen. My daughter just turned 4 months and sleeps through the night. We typically put her down around 7pm and she'll sleep until about 6:30 or 7am. There are a few things that I can attribute my daughter's sleeping success. First, my mother in law gave me a book, "Babywise", that she swore by. I had glanced through it, but finally broke down and read it when I was having a hard time getting her to sleep for naps. She didn't know how to put herself to sleep without the breast or a pacifier. This book taught me how to help her put herself to sleep or back to sleep if she woke up in the middle of a nap or nighttime. I have to admit, it's hard. I couldn't do it at first without my husband. The book recommends not only a sleep schedule, but putting her down awake when she shows signs of sleepiness so that she can learn to soothe herself to sleep without the help of an aid. It was hard hearing her cry and I would let her cry for 10 minute periods before going in and comforting her and tucking her back in, but it works. My husband had to help me be strong because I wanted to run in and sweep her up when she'd cry. Eventually it got better, and now sleeping like an angel.
I would not recommend keeping him up, because I was told that a well rested baby sleeps better. When a baby is over stimulated it takes longer for a baby to get to sleep and will not sleep as long or as good. I know that it sounds backwards, but this works as well.
The last thing that I have to suggest is to put rice cereal in his bedtime bottle. I put a couple of teaspoons of rice cereal in her bottle before bed. (Remember to use a faster flowing nipple when you do this.) It helps to keep something in her belly to carry her through the night. By 4 months, your baby should be receiving enough nutrition during the day that he should not need to be waking up in the middle of the night for a feeding.
Well, I hope that some of this has been of help to you. Let me know if you have any questions. Good Luck and hope you get some sleep soon!!!
C.

First of all, every baby is totlly different so it isn't fair to compare your little one's sleeping patterns to those of others. It will just frustrate you. You don't say either way, but are you breastfeeding? I breastfed for the first 6 weeks but then switched to formula for a few different reasons. However, I found that he slept longer once we switched to formula. I don't know if this is because we gave he an ounce more in his bedtime bottle or because the formula was thicker or what. Now he was always a pretty good sleeper, so I don't know if the formula made a difference or if it was just a coincedence. The other thing we did was wake him to feed him right before we went to bed. He usually fell asleep around 8 and then beforeI went to bed at 10 or 11 I would "wake" him and give him a larger bottle and that helped him sleep longer in the morning.

A.,

Babies can sleep through the night by 4 months. There are factors - sickness, premature birth, personality, etc. but it can be done. My 3 kids all slept through the night (10-12 hour stretch) when they were between 6 weeks and 2 months old. Most babies have to be trained to do that though. If you are the one to put them to sleep and put them back to sleep when they wake up, it can take much longer.

There are lots of good sleep books out there. "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and "Happiest Baby on the Block" are popular and "The No Cry Sleep Solution" is an option if you don't like letting your baby cry.

We just put our babies in their bed awake when it was time to go to bed and let them cry themselves to sleep. I learned that the older they are, the harder it is. We tried it with our first baby at 6 weeks of age and it took a week of crying. First night took an hour. Our second baby learned at 4 weeks to put himself to sleep and it took him 3 days. With our third, I made him put himself to sleep when he was still in the hospital (woke him up after nursing.) He never cried more than a few seconds before going to sleep and even that much was rare.

Don't let him fall asleep in the car, the swing or while eating. I know that is hard for you because it is such a quick fix at the moment. But you pay for it later.

Babies are going to wake up at the end of sleep cycles during the night no matter what. If you want them to "sleep through the night" they need to learn to put themselves right back to sleep instead of calling to you for assistance. The longer you wait the harder it is. They get much more stubborn as they get older and can eventually climb out of the crib or bed and will try to come and get you. Your best shot is to teach them while your child can't do anything but lay there. When they can move around they can keep themselves awake for much longer periods of time.

Don't worry if people give you are hard time about letting your child cry it out. It won't damage them. The most common compliment I get about my children is how confident, independent and well adjusted they are. And they have all cried themselves to sleep and never have slept in my bed.

Best of luck,
S.

Hi!

My daughter (now almost 3) didn't sleep through the night until she was 16 months old. She woke up every 1 1/2 or so. It was a nightmare. We tried several things and finally found a system that worked like a charm for us. I would recommend the book, "Sleeping Through the Night", by Jodi Mindell. It was a system with a "heart". We were not into allowing her to scream for hours on end. We're about to start the same sleep training with our 5-month-old son, who's also a lousy sleeper, but not as bad as his sister was!

Good luck, and hang in there!

my 4 kids were never good sleepers that young, either. He will still need that feeding after 6 hours probably a few more months. Their tummies are still small, and they're too little for food(except cereal, maybe veggies), so tey're hungry frequently. 6 hrs for a 4 month old sounds good to me! also, feed him cereal 3 times a day, and when he's about 6 or 7 months, feed him cereal and baby foods 4 times a day. My son wanted to nurse all the time, and his dr. asked how many times a day he ate baby food, I said 2, morning and evening, and he said 4 times a day was needed. So try a later cereal feeding a little while before bedtime. No cereal in the bottle, though, that doesn't work. Also, do not let a 4 month old "cry it out". They are too young, and that what mothers are here for, to soothe and comfort our babies. I never let my kids cry, I wouldn't be able to sleep if I knew my baby was crying for me, mine went to sleep being nursed or drinking their bottle, then when they got older by singing, rocking or holding them. my children are 2,4,6, and 10 now and sleep just fine. we are very close and they feel secure, knowing if they need me, I'm here. You can't spoil a 4 month old. Enjoy him, they grow up too fast! good luck!

You're actually lucky to have six continuous hours. But I have never gone along with waking them up to feed them. I believe babies know when they're hungry, and they'll certainly let you know. I breastfed at first but she was up every single hour, so I switched to formula and until she was about a year and a half, she slept through the night and waking up once (but not until she was three months old, before that it was several times). People tell you babies sleep about 16 hours a day, well a lot of that is during the actual day! I certainly found that out the hard way.

I dont know if it's the male/female thing, but my daughter started sleeping through the night almost immediately. I dont think my son slept at all untill he was a year old! Just kidding, but he was around a year when he slept throught the night, he wanted to eat also.

I have a seven month old baby boy. He is my life but he still doesn't sleep through the night. He will wake up for the bottle. He will drink an ounce or two and go back to sleep. I don't know if it is a boy thing or not.

mine started sleping throught the night right b4 1 yrs old(christmas day, i called it my gift from her) little did i know she would never take a nap again, careful what you wish for

Hello A.,

My three month old son, just now started sleeping through the night. Here is a routine that me and my husband do every night that seems to work. At 9pm we give our son a bath witht he baby bed time bath, and then we feed him a 60z bottle with two tablespoons of rice. Then i Put him in his swing and watch T.V. In about 30min he is sound asleep. I then move him to his bed where he has a humidifier and he sleeps till like 8am all the time.

Usally in the daytime i let Him nap no more than two hours at a time. i wake him up and play with him and if he goes to slep again i let him sleep for a bit then wake him up again. I only let him sleep longer than two hours when it is time for bed.

Hope this helps.

I am an Infant Sleep Trainer and I can teach your baby to sleep all night long (10-12 hours) without crying it out. I can either come to your home or send you my sleep training program and consult with you online. You can view my website at www.NannyForNewborns.com and email me or send me a private message on here if you're interested in exploring this further.

Good luck,
L.