When did your baby start sleeping through the nigh

[moonstone523]

Good stories only please. Just kidding. But I'd love each of you to say something awesome like 6weeks and you'll be getting some real shut eye again.

[jen812]

D started sleeping from 8:30-7:15 at exactly 3 months. Before that, he would only wake up once for a feeding starting around 8 weeks at 4am. That was tolerable.

There was a time period of about 2 weeks (about 2 weeks ago) when he'd wake up for a feeding around 1. That stopped & he's back STTN again. Although, now he's rolling from back to front & waking himself up once in a while because he's stuck.

Maybe I'm just used to it now, but some days I really consider dropping him off at daycare, calling in sick & going back home to sleep.

[sara76]

At around 2 months she started giving me 2 good 6 hour stretches. And maybe around 4 months (I think? I wonder if I wrote it in her book) she stopped with the wake up. We've had a couple rough patches like when she started standing, but for the most part once you finally get my little night owl to bed she stays there. Forget naps though. No ones perfect.

[mrschelseap09]

I want to say that Lila was 5 or 6 weeks. She would sometimes wake up once to be fed but she stopped waking up multiple times a night. I remember feeling like I was actually getting rest around then. She didn't actually start sleeping through the whole night, consistently, until around 9mos. It gets easier

[amellis2]

The girls consistently sttn at 6 months, BUT they were only waking up for one feeding. Are you rooming in? Is Sammy close to you at night?

[jennifer8080]

Kennedy was 3 weeks. Caleb has done it randomly, but he's been up multiple times lately. I guess I'm just. Used to it. Oh, and I pop a boob in his mouth and goto sleep.

[moonstone523]

Sammy is in our room in a bassinet. She is close enough but not in our bed. I sometimes bring her in after her 4:30 feeding because she thinks it's time to get up for the day. I don't actually sleep well though with her in the bed as I'm constantly afraid she is suffocating.

Jenn, I can pop a boob in and sorta doze but I can't fall back asleep. That "something is rapidly sucking my boob" feeling keeps me awake. Oh man. H is never going to be allowed to touch again. LOL.

It's tolerable now, but I wake up every morning thinking, "how can I get back to my routine when I go back to work without being a total mess?"

[etteyam]

With DD1, it was at 9 months WITH sleep training. DD2 did it earlier at 7 months. Probably not the answer you're looking for. That's why my day never goes w/o coffee...up to now since they both wake up at 5 am

[sara76]

Moon do you drink coffee? If not maybe start?



Don't worry you will get sleep. Well Sammy will. What you choose to do with that time she spends snoozing away is up to you. There are some nights after I put A in her crib for the night when I walk directly to my bed and get in and close my eyes. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Then there are the nights when I think "that was a pretty crazy day. Time to be me for a little bit" and I stay up too late watching crappy tv and doing laundry and cant even blame the baby when she wakes up 12 hours later and I've only been sleeping for 4. Then I swear that "tonight I'm going to bed when she does. I can't wait until bedtime" and when she goes to bed it takes me 2-5 hours to unwind. I assume this part is preparation for the sleep we will miss when they're teenagers and out all night.

Regardless, we are women and we are moms and we always figure it out. I take my coffee black.

[mrsjenrn]

Zoe started STTN at 6 weeks. There is hope! When I say STTN I mean she slept for 6 hour stretches at a time without waking up to nurse at all. We have been really lucky with her in the night time sleep department. We never did any major sleep training. I am terrified that this next kid will be a nonsleeper!

Naps were a whole other story....she was over 9 months before she became a decent napper!

[mrsmew]

Ellie started sleeping 6 hour stretches by about 4-6 weeks. By 4 months she would be in bed by 8:30-9 and sleep till 6 or 7 (then go back to sleep after a quick meal sometimes, which was glorious). Now at 6 months she's in bed at 7-7:30 and sleeps till 5:30-6:30. She has always been a good night sleeper.

It will get better!!!!

[tashaandsage]

Beckett woke multiple times to nurse until he was a year old. He'd typically go right back to sleep afterwards, but pretty much never went decently long stretches. I weaned him at 12 months and he slept through the night from then on. Guess he just liked nighttime snacking.

Maisy was sleeping 1O-12 hours from 8 weeks on.

I'm convinced that because I was so spoiled from Maisy that this next one will hate sleep.

[moonstone523]

So what does sleep training involve?

I'll survive. I do not drink coffee and don't want to start. We will see. I do nap sometimes during the day with her. And getting up at 530 is fine if she goes for a solid 6 hour stretch I could adjust.

Okay. A day at a time. She is a sweet girl.

[amellis2]

I wouldn't worry about what to do when you go back to work just yet. When are you going back?

Sleep training involves, for most people (who usually use the Ferber-also referred to as Cry It Out/CIO method, but there are other methods) Placing baby in crib and when she cries, you make sure she is ok, and settle her down. You go longer and longer periods in between settling her down. Eventually, they say, baby will learn to settle down on her own. She'll cry for a little while, then go back to sleep. Sometimes, she'll wake up, then settle down without crying. It is not suggested for babies younger than 4-6 months old.

(We've never done CIO, so I can only tell you what I have learned from The bump and google.)

Peronally, I do not feel like sleep training is compatible with BF, but that is just me. Others might do it just fine. Also, please take into account that we practice Attachment Parenting/Peaceful Parenting which advise against sleep training for the most part (whatever works for your family, though, works for your family.)

[lovethesun]

DS started sleeping throught the night a week before I went back to work, he was 3 months old. He was sleeping pretty good stretches though so it wasnt all that bad.

From the day we got home I would set an alarm every 2 hours so I would remember to get up and feed him. After a week it was making me crazy. I was getting up and he was still sleeping. My mom finally said to stop setting the alarm and just let him wake me up. Sure enough he did but it was not every 2 hours. The beginning is hard but you will get in a groove. I tried to nap in the afternoon when he would go down for a nap. Some days I did good and others I did not nap at all as there was stuff around the house that needed to be done.

[jennifer8080]

Oct 19, 2012 9:08:18 GMT -5 amellis2 said:

I wouldn't worry about what to do when you go back to work just yet. When are you going back?

Sleep training involves, for most people (who usually use the Ferber-also referred to as Cry It Out/CIO method, but there are other methods) Placing baby in crib and when she cries, you make sure she is ok, and settle her down. You go longer and longer periods in between settling her down. Eventually, they say, baby will learn to settle down on her own. She'll cry for a little while, then go back to sleep. Sometimes, she'll wake up, then settle down without crying. It is not suggested for babies younger than 4-6 months old.

(We've never done CIO, so I can only tell you what I have learned from The bump and google.)

Peronally, I do not feel like sleep training is compatible with BF, but that is just me. Others might do it just fine. Also, please take into account that we practice Attachment Parenting/Peaceful Parenting which advise against sleep training for the most part (whatever works for your family, though, works for your family.)

Ditto. Sleep training before your supply is well established could really mess with it I think.Plus at this age they just don't understand. It will get better, I promise. Plus you get used to functioning on not much sleep.

[sara76]

I think sleep training (Ferber, CIO) is cray cray before 3 months. I think it's too much to ask a brand new baby to do what's convenient for us. To each their own, of course, but to me I think the first 3 months should be spent working together with your baby to come up with a compromise. Sure, keep the days day (active and light) and the nights nights (dim lights, little stimulation and minimum eye contact during night feedings) but this is your time home full time with that sweet girl. You'll never get it back, and it goes by fast. If you aren't tired you aren't doing it right, IMHO.

That being said, you obviously need sleep to function and care for a baby right. So the book I gave you teaches you about "how" babies sleep so you can better understand the cycles and how their bodies work and adjust. Then there are samples and charts you can use to track and find patterns. But for me, once I finally got through the first half of the book and figured out how sleep works and how to get her down in the first place I just didn't need the tracking. By then we had night time figured out. The first time I sat in front of the monitor and watched her wake up and put herself back to sleep all by herself I was sad that she didn't need me, and also ecstatic that a whole new world of stress free night times opened up for us.

I've become such a babbler. But I'll go on for more bc she's sleeping on me right now. So...

Things that worked ...
When you nurse during the day keep something between you. A lovie. I've tried different things during different stages. Then put it in with her when you out her down. She'll smell you and feel safe. Now we have 2 of her fav blankets. She sleeps with one and I sleep with the other. They're interchangeable. (Although she clearly favors one now). When I give her that blanket I can tell if she's tired because she grabs it and puts it to her face and cuddles and the rest is just calming and timing.

Bedtime routine. Bath. Light play. Pjs. Walk around and say goodnight to everything. "Goodnight kitchen. Goodnight living room. Goodnight hall. Goodnight door. Goodnight teddy bear. Etc.". This gets her ready for her long sleep.

White noise!!! We have this lady bug that plays music or sounds for 20 minutes. That worked ok. The sounds equal sleep to her. But that white noise mp3 that I linked to in here a few months back CHANGED our LIVES. Maybe it's a coincidence, but seriously. Put that ish on a continuous loop and never.turn.it.off. Ever. I couldn't be more serious.

We've definitely had tears at night sometimes. There will always be a milestone or a cold that will sneak up on you. But babies really do like to sleep. You'll see:)

[moonstone523]

We will not do CIO so no sleep training for us. Ha. She is very consistent at night waking every 3 hours.

[sara76]

Oct 19, 2012 13:46:12 GMT -5 moonstone523 said:

We will not do CIO so no sleep training for us. Ha. She is very consistent at night waking every 3 hours.

CIO isn't the only training method. It's just the first one that comes to people's minds. There are other methods that don't include letting the baby cry. The No Cry Sleep Solution is one of them, it's a very gentle type of sleep training. You respond to the babies cries immediately with this method and thankfully it worked for us. It hurts my body to hear mine cry. But it's not going to work for Sammy yet because she's still teeny tiny and is legit hungry. She's growing super fast. I read one time that if the baby grew for 4 years at the rate they grow the first year by age 5 they would be 600 pounds. Or something like that.

[amellis2]

Oct 19, 2012 13:58:07 GMT -5 sara76 said:

Oct 19, 2012 13:46:12 GMT -5 moonstone523 said:

We will not do CIO so no sleep training for us. Ha. She is very consistent at night waking every 3 hours.

CIO isn't the only training method. It's just the first one that comes to people's minds. There are other methods that don't include letting the baby cry. The No Cry Sleep Solution is one of them, it's a very gentle type of sleep training. You respond to the babies cries immediately with this method and thankfully it worked for us. It hurts my body to hear mine cry. But it's not going to work for Sammy yet because she's still teeny tiny and is legit hungry. She's growing super fast. I read one time that if the baby grew for 4 years at the rate they grow the first year by age 5 they would be 600 pounds. Or something like that.

That was the other one I was thinking of and I couldn't get the name of it, so I just wrote, "and others." I think Happiest Baby on the block by Dr. Karp might be another one.

[sara76]

Oct 19, 2012 14:08:57 GMT -5 amellis2 said:

Oct 19, 2012 13:58:07 GMT -5 sara76 said:

CIO isn't the only training method. It's just the first one that comes to people's minds. There are other methods that don't include letting the baby cry. The No Cry Sleep Solution is one of them, it's a very gentle type of sleep training. You respond to the babies cries immediately with this method and thankfully it worked for us. It hurts my body to hear mine cry. But it's not going to work for Sammy yet because she's still teeny tiny and is legit hungry. She's growing super fast. I read one time that if the baby grew for 4 years at the rate they grow the first year by age 5 they would be 600 pounds. Or something like that.

That was the other one I was thinking of and I couldn't get the name of it, so I just wrote, "and others." I think Happiest Baby on the block by Dr. Karp might be another one.

I have that book too. For us-major fail. Amelia acted like you were trying yo kill her with the swaddle. Just shows that everybody has their own way. I did find parts of it interesting though, but I heard there is a 10 minute video that says everything the book does. That could never hurt to watch I bet.

[sara76]

I think we didn't think of The No-Cry Solution and Happiest Baby as training because I know when I think of training I think blood sweat and tears, not rainbows and unicorns. But ultimately they are still training. Just gentle ones and for when the baby is ready, generally around 3 months old.

[mskateb]

14 months was the first time it happened.

Honestly, and probably because it's retrospect, it wasn't that horrible. Mostly she woke during the night, nursed, and fell right back to sleep. It was easiest for me to keep her next to me, and after being at work all day, that was OK with me. There were some nights when she woke because of who knows what, and when it was harder to calm her and get her back to sleep, well, those are the nights I don't remember fondly.

But she was always a good eater.

[sara76]

Oct 19, 2012 15:08:22 GMT -5 mskateb said:

14 months was the first time it happened.

Honestly, and probably because it's retrospect, it wasn't that horrible. Mostly she woke during the night, nursed, and fell right back to sleep. It was easiest for me to keep her next to me, and after being at work all day, that was OK with me. There were some nights when she woke because of who knows what, and when it was harder to calm her and get her back to sleep, well, those are the nights I don't remember fondly.

But she was always a good eater.

Oh that's why yours is so cute then!

[dvroxy]

Maddie was STTN at 6 weeks. She sleeps from 8:30ish until about 5:00. We have followed "Happiest Baby on the Block" with both girls with great success. I definitely recommend.

[moonstone523]

I'm reading the book you got me Sara, but I'm constantly getting interrupted. Ha. I foresee leisurely reading ending for a few years.

[moonstone523]

Oct 19, 2012 15:43:08 GMT -5 dvroxy said:

Maddie was STTN at 6 weeks. She sleeps from 8:30ish until about 5:00. We have followed "Happiest Baby on the Block" with both girls with great success. I definitely recommend.

So we "follow" happiest baby somewhat too. And by follow I mean we swaddle Sammy, football hold her to calm her and try the swing ( which she doesnt like). We haven't given her a paci and I don't know if we will and the other one we haven't tried.

Question tho --- how does all this help her sttn?

[sara76]

The secret to getting them to STTN is getting them to self soothe so when they wake up during their natural cycles they are able to put themselves back to sleep. So I'm not sure if Happiest Baby necessarily does that but No Cry Solution gets you to where you can put them down very drowsy and they put themselves to sleep, developing their skilz. (Yes skilz).

[babybchbum]

The smell of my helped. Keep her swaddle blanket between you all while nursing or even under your shirt during the day. The smell of you may help her, but she is at a time when she needs to be eating and sleeping equally. I promise sleep will come and your body will begin to function much better with less sleep.

[kimandross]

Q slept through the night for the first time at 9 months and it wasn't at all consistent until he was 18 months. I was able to put him down drowsy pretty early though.

Although I was awakened at 5:30 this morning to "Someone come help me. I peed my bed." Sleeping through the night is a relative term, right?