Sleeping Through the Night at 10 Weeks

Sorry to tell you, but my son is 10 months old and still wakes to eat once a night, and usually wakes one other time for a pacifier. Not every child will sleep thru the night with a full tummy. They need to work out their individualized internal clock.

my son is 4months & is still waking up 2-3x a night as well.Pretty much every 3-4hrs he wakes up during the night. Although, he doesn't eat that much before I put him down for the night. I even tried cereal, feeding him with the spoon or putting a few spoonfuls in his bottle at night ( thinking it'll help him sleep better) It doesn't. I think he'll just develop his own sleep patterns & will start sleeping longer when he's ready..
It'll take some time, hang in there!!!

He is way too young to be trying to sleep train and to be sleeping through the night. Some babies will sleep 4-6 hours, but most will not. At 10 weeks, their bodies still require to eat every 2-3 hours. My son didn't sleep through the night until he was 12 months old. But, 10 weeks, is way too young.

During the day, I would advise baby wearing. It gives babies the comfort and security of mom and still gives you both hands free. I have the Moby Wrap (www.mobywrap.com).

he sounds pretty developmentally normal. He is too young to really sleep 6-8 hrs straight. that comes closer to 3-4 months. The book "Healthy Sleep Habits, happy baby" by Dr. Weisblut is great on all these issues. during the day, try to let him be awake no more than 2 hrs at a time, then pop him to sleep. the more rest he gets during the day, the better he will sleep at night. You may try swaddling him or putting in something more cozy - baby glider, amby bed (www.amby.com) or wearing him in a sling.

Read Babywise!!! It's wonderful & it should solve your sleep problems! I used it for my daughter & it took about 4 days to get her on track. It's a little restricting for the mother's schedule, but I have found that now that she is sleep trained you can deviate from the schedule.

I agree with whomever said you need to lower your expectations. It would be great for a baby to sleep through the night from the get go, but at 10 weeks a baby still needs to eat every few hours. Not getting enough sleep sucks, but honestly that's why they call the first three months after a baby is born the "fourth trimester." In time either you will adjust or your baby will naturally start sleeping longer.

hi, i dont have any suggestions just that i am in the same boat. my daughter is 11 weeks was sleeping great (waking once or 2 times a night) but now most nights of the week she is waking to eat even if just for a little. she too only sleeps in her swing during the day. i dont do anything accept meet her needs. it will smooth its self out sooner or later. good luck!

Every three hours isn't too bad for a 10 week old. My daughter woke up every 4 hours until she was 9 months old. Maybe try adding a little cereal to his bottle, that might help.

I have 4 children, sounds normal to me. Sounds like his growth spurt before 12 weeks, the rule is 12 pounds and 12 weeks=babies who sleep 6 hours a night, which is considered a full night sleep at 3
months old.
I would definitely NOT just let him nap in the swing, you must lay him down in the am and afternoon in his crib so as he gets older and grows out of the swing he knows how to put himself to sleep. The 2-5 minute rule at this age worked for me. After crying 2-5 minutes I would put a pacifier back in there mouth, would try 3 times, and then would pick them up, force them to stay awake another hour, and try again. This lasted less than a week and then they would cry for less than 2 minutes before they put themselves to sleep. You can usually tell when they are tired. There is no harm in letting them cry to sleep, it is called self soothing and is what has made my children the awesome sleepers they are now at 8(twins), 5, and 4 yo. they are happy kids, no trauma, and they rest 10-12 hours a night with NO drama. Good luck!

Your little boy is ONLY 10 weeks old. It's going to take just a bit longer to get him to sleep through the night. You might have better success just trying to get him on a schedule so at least the feedings and naps are consistent. I know it's hard but be patient...you and he will get there. As for the crying, I don't believe in crying it out but that's just me. I've always responded to my children's cries, no matter what time of day or night.

That's right on track! Untill 4 months their brains aren't mature enough to sleep long. Their tummies are tiny too. Make sure you are encouraging sleep at the right times. Check out Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, but skip the crying parts. It's great for understanding the sleep needs of a baby. Please do not use Babywise, I've heard of kids getting failure to thrive from that method. It can also interfere with breast feeding/milk supply, if you are breastfeeding. I do recommend swaddling. Kidoponomus and the miracle blanket are good choices. Keep the time at night quiet and dark. Don't bother changing the baby unless it's wet through, poopy, or has problems with diaper rash. If that is a problem check out one size up in a name brand diaper for nighttime. Hang in there. It's tough, but very normal.

Not getting a chance now to read the other responses, but thought I'd do a quick reply. For napping, I'd try swaddling him real tight so he can feel cozy from that instead of the swing ideally...working toward that so he doesn't have that crutch of the swing that he'll outgrow for falling asleep. Also, if you do a routine during the day, your baby will naturally sleep through the night sooner (mine both were by their own volition without any tears or anything by 10 weeks). The routine is feeding every 3 hours and placing down for a nap half way between feedings. At first, it means waking the baby for the feedings and making sure they are awake/alert after feedings (warm milk causes drowsiness, not sleepiness so it may take a little playing with to get them alert and then they are good to go for awake play time) until the baby is keeping you to the routine then waking up naturally on their own at times to eat and falling asleep quickly after laid down for nap. So the routine looks something like this:
6am wake and eat
7:30 laid down for nap
9am wake and eat
10:30 laid down to nap
12noon wake and eat
1:30 laid down to nap
3pm wake and eat
4:30 down to nap
6pm wake and eat
7:30 down to nap
9pm wake and eat
10pm final feeding and then down for the night
Feed in the night on demand until baby weans themself from this feeding.
Baby is then naturally responding to this is the feeding to drop as this is the time I am not encouraged to be up to eat, whereas the other times I am encouraged to eat all I want.
The time to know when to go to a four hour schedule is after your baby is sleeping through the night consistently and then after your baby starts to consistently need to be woken up for the feedings after going well on the routine of waking up naturally for the 3 hour feedings. Then the baby is telling you they are ready for a bit of an extended schedule so on to a 4 hour schedule, still going down for nap half way between feedings.
This kind of routine not only helps with sleeping through the night, it also helps for healthier sleep habits as the baby learns to sleep without a crutch to fall asleep and it helps healthy sleep as the baby is not OVERtired when going to sleep. By the time a baby shows signs of being tired like yawning or fussiness, they are over tired. So the routine helps you to keep them happier by allowing and encouraging the sleep they need!
Hope this helps! Best wishes to you!!

I used a book called _Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr Marc Weissbluth. I did have my kids cry it out but I really didn't start that until 3 months old. I think that the better sleep your baby gets during the day, the better he will sleep at night (sleep begets sleep), think of yourself as an example, as it is always harder to fall asleep when you are over tired. I would try to start forcing your child to become a crib sleeper in the day. Try to put him down before he gets tired, (look for signs of tiredness, and try to get him down before that), and then maybe if you are not ready to let him cry it out completely, let him cry for 10-15 minutes then go in and soothe and do it again until he sleeps. Most babies at 12 weeks are tired every 2 hours, so try to get him down for a nap no more than 2 hours from when he wakes.

At night, i would just try to extend his sleep times. If you put him down for bed and he wakes after 2 hours, try letting him cry for 15 minues before going in, and extend that time that you let him cry a little each night, so eventually he will get used to it and sleep longer.

It is a hard process but sleep training is totally worth it. Both of my kids are really great sleepers now, and slept through the night very early, but we had to work at it. In my opinion a couple weeks of hardship is worth the sleep that is so needed for your child's wellness and yours, too.

Good luck!!!

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer would be perfect for you. By Tracy Hogg

Hi Y.. I had a really horrid time with my first son you is almost 6. I am 32 weeks pregnant with my second (and last) son and this time i'm hoping things will be a little different. I have just read a book called "The no cry sleep solution" by elizabeth Pantley. Its a quick book to read (as im sure you don't have loads of spare time to be sat with a book right now) as only certain bits will apply to your situation, but i found a lot of it makes sense and i wished i had read it before my first child. Good look with it and i promise it won't last forever.
Regards K.

Y.,

it would be ideally wonderful if we could get babies to sleep all night at 10 weeks, and some babies do.... but most do not. Doctors consider them to be sleeping thru the night when they sleep from about midnight to 5 am without waking. thats only 5 hours.

so my advice is, lower your expectations and accept the fact that baby is waking at this age out of NECESSITY - this will make wakings easier to accept and be less stressful. My son would wake up 4 times a night at that age, and each waking was a minimum of 1 hour long. so between 9 pm and 530 am i lost 4 hours of sleep getting up with him - add that to being pregnant again and tired already... oy!

by 10 months i was getting up twice still for feeding and the other wakings i just gave him his pacifier (sometimes 5-6 times overnight.

Sleep deprivation sucks, but its part of motherhood... its too early to expect anything more from him. Talk it over with your doctor and see what she/he recommends in the way of sleeping expectations.

Hi Y.,

You've already received some good advise! I think that you really need to get him to sleep during the day without that swing!!! It's going to be really hard at first, but he'll get used to it. He's waking up at night, like all adults and kids do, but he's not able to get himself to fall back asleep. Someone already mentioned the book The Baby Whisperer! It great. All 3 of my kids slept through the night by 3 months old. You can start sleep training now, it'll be the best thing you do for your whole family! Good Luck!

Congrats on your new baby! I don't want to discourage you at all, but my little boy woke up every 2-3 hours until he was about 6 months old. It really depends on the baby and what their pattern is, so try not to get discouraged. It's tiring and hard at times, but it's just a temporary thing! He sleeps beautifully now, and we're all well rested now!

This is completely normal and not a problem. Don't keep score so much; catch sleep when you can. He's still very small and regular, "normal" sleep patterns are some time off. Enjoy the ride and stop counting hours - that'll just make you feel sorry for yourself. You don't have to let him cry, either. Carry him around when he wants to be. He's a BABY!! We've all done it. It's not an imposition on your life; it's part of your life right now. Stop comparing life with a new baby with your life before. It'll never be the same again, but that's not bad, just different.

I am also a big fan of "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Weissbluth and for sure, at 10 weeks, you should still be meeting your child's needs and your child's schedule vs. trying any sort of sleep training, etc. I'm right there with you, my girl is 6 weeks old and the 2-3 hour drill is extremely tiring, but I get thru it by repeating that "it won't last forever!" My pediatrician also told me that once they reach 12 pounds in weight, their stomachs start to become big enough to go for longer periods of time between feedings. This was absolutely true with my first child. Hang in there! Find some way to enjoy the peaceful time you get to share with your baby in the wee hours of the night!

Don't listen to THOSE friends whose child slept 6 hours at 2 - 3 months. I have found there aren't as many as you think! You're doing great - just make sure YOU are getting enough rest! Now is not the time to be a Super-Mommy. If in a month or so...he still as the same sleeping pattern, you may want to add a bit of cereal to his evening bottle. Congratulations on your new addition.

Congrats on your son. That's great for 10 weeks old. I know it is hard, but hang in there. I have heaard of the kids that sleep through almost immediately, but mine never really did:) Although, by four months my daughter would sleep one 6 hour stretch,(8-2 am) the up every two to three to eat. My son on the other hand was about 6 weeks early, and had a lot of ear troubles so he slept in the co-sleeper until he was too big, and then with me. I never could just let a little baby like that cry it out. I found it very difficult. Now as my kids got bigger we would let them cry a little longer, and a little longer. Hope this helps, your doing great, and just hang in, it gets better.

He may be going through growth-spurt. You can check the website baby center to see when growth spurts occur. I am a mother of a 2month and since she was 2 weeks old she sleeps from 3-7hrs. One thing I learned is to not have much stimuli when she wakes up for feeding around 3am. I have a dimmer on her light and first thing I do is change her diaper, then give her a bottle. I don't talk to her at all or give her eye contact. After bottle, I hold her for 10-15min in rocker with lights off and then put her in crib before she is fully asleep. She falls asleep in 1-5min. If she wakes up in 3hrs, than I just put her plug in her mouth and will get another 1-2hrs from her before next feed. Sorry so long.

When he sleeps in the swing, how long is he sleeping? It almost sounds like he is not totally satisfied or not bundled tight enough (which is what I found with my girls). Because they woke up, then they would nurse (are you mursing or bottle-feeding?). It is hard to hear them cry, but maybe just needs to be swaddled, not offered food, wrapped tighter and put back to bed. I didn't offer my girls a feeding once I figured out they were using that more for comfort than anything - realized their nuk, being held and wrapped tighter and put back down worked. I started getting close to 6 hours at a time. I hope that helps a little. Too early to consider cereal in the bottle.

You mention formula???? At 10 weeks he could be eating solids. Have you started feeding him solid food yet? If you haven't he won't sleep any longer than three to four hours. He will just get too hungry. He will need some solid food for his tummy to work on in order sleep longer.

i'm an idiot.....for some reason I saw 10 weeks but I was thinking 10 months. I'm going to claim pregnancy brain even though I had mine three weeks ago and the fact I have four other children distracting me all the time.

You can't give a 10 week old solids. What a dope. He's normal. three hours is good for that age. I don't anticipate many sleep much longer at that point. You will just have to keep doing what you are doing and try to rest when you can.

As you can tell from my original response I'm not getting much rest myself. An hour in the chair and then an hour in the bed and that's the way it goes all night. I'm tired.

Hey Y.,

The only advise I can give you is to make sure you are waking your baby during the day, if he is sleeping, when it is time for him to eat. I know everyone tells you not to do that but according to the book "BabyWise" it works and it does. Both my son and my daughter were sleeping through the night at 2 months. I think the reason it works is because their little bellies are full and they don't need that extra feeding at night. Hope this helps...good luck!!