[conman50]

Our son was 7 weeks old yesterday and I still can't figure out his sleeping patterns.

We have a 3 yr old son who was born 8 weeks premature. When he came home from the hospital, he was on a very strict feeding schedule of every 3 hrs. With our new son, he was a normal, healthy full-term baby so we didn't start out on a strict schedule - instead, we let him dictate when he wanted to eat. I think we are finding out that is not the way to go.

Here is my problem- he's a great eater and sleeper during the day. He eats 5 oz usually every 2-4 hrs and sleeps the biggest part of the day. We have been "putting him to bed" around 8 PM and he sleeps soundly until 1 AM (5 hrs). He eats and we put him back to bed and then he has been waking up every 1.5 - 2 hrs after that from 1-6 AM. My question is, how do I get him off of this crazy schedule? If he can sleep for 5 hrs from 8-1, why does he feel the need to wake up every 2 hrs after that? Oh yea, when he wakes up at night, he is still eating 5 oz each time.

I need my sleep back!

[echaos]

Ahhhh... sleepless nights... I remember them, but not fondly!!!!

Can you try keeping him up past 8 and start pushing him back that way?

Good luck!!

[mlbsands]

I am dying yo see what other may also suggest, I amgoing to be headed back to work (ok well I am working now, but from home) soon and we want to get him on a schedule as well.. he sleeps GREAT during the day.. but at night.. oh boy!!!! )

[spaypets]

My SIL and brother swore by the book Babywise when it came to feeding schedules. One thing they did was make sure their daughters never fell asleep while feeding to ensure that they got a full feeding. SIL would flick their feet to keep them awake. And she would keep them awake for a while during the the day after they ate.

Also, I think a mistake lots of parents make is rushing in at the first peep. Sometimes babies cry out but aren't entirely awake and going in wakes them up when they'd really be able to go back to sleep.

Good luck!

[roomformore]

My daughter had her days and nights mixed up when we first brought her home from hospital. I was still pretty sick so my Mom got her straightened out by trying to keep her awake during the day so she would sleep at night. Try keeping your baby awake during the day to get him "on schedule".

[conman50]

Thanks for all of the advice. I try to keep him awake for extended periods of time during the day - especially in the evenings. Noise doesn't bother him so it's very hard to find things to wake him. Cool washcloths on his head help to keep him awake during the last ounce of feedings, he doesn't seem ticklish so that doesn't work but flicking his feet make him made and that of course helps keep him awake.

Today I have had him on a very strict 3 hr feeding schedule but he has slept allot today so I am not sure it will help tonight or not. My goal is to wake him around 6 and keep him awake until 10 and then hopefully he will go down at 10 and sleep for at least 2 - 4 hour intervals. Since he's 7 weeks old, I would imagine that he will soon be sleeping through the night. My other son started sleeping all night at around 8 weeks and so have all of my friends kids.

Wish me luck.

[bkp]

I breastfed my babies, and with the first one I did not know any better so I tried to keep a schedule of some sort...about every three hours (sometimes more often). She never slept completely through the night what with teething and all.

With my second baby I realized that ten to twelve feedings per 24 hours was normal. I threw away any thought of scheduling except to feed her any time she wanted to eat during the day...sometimes during the late afternoon, early evening hours she was nursing constantly...or so it seemed. However, the benefit of this was that she slept through the night at about twelve weeks.

My advice would be to feed baby more often during the day. Baby sounds hungry to me...hence the frequent waking at night. Another thought...maybe baby just needs more cuddling with mom and dad at night and is getting lonely.

Hang in there...seven weeks is really early...go to sleep yourself when possible during the day...let everything else go that you possibly can let go.

I'm wondering about the "flicking" of babies feet. Owe. Let's have someone try it on us and see if we like it. I much prefer someone massaging my feet, and have always been able to stay awake during a foot massage.

[redhedded]

Hi conman, It is so hard to function on less than your usual sleep. First, I want to say, and no disrespect Spay, but BabyWise is extremely controversial. All hospitals in our area advise strongly against it and post lots of information about the dangers of following this practice. Babies know what they need and when they need it, and we allowed our baby to dictate her schedule, feeding and sleeping. Our peanut began sleeping through the night at the 8th-9th week; however prior to that, she did not sleep for more than 3 hours at a time. She was just more than 5 lbs when we brought her from the hospital and eating 1 oz every hour; this continued for three weeks. She gradually increased to 3 and 4 ounces per feeding. She would often fall asleep, not soundly, during feeding but continue her intake. During the first 4-5 weeks she did exactly what your son did - ate and slept during the day and awakened EVERY hour at night. We tried in vain to keep her active by going out, reading, listening to opera loudly; she slept through it all. Our wonderful pediatrician reminded us "that is parenthood" and to follow her schedule. Nap when she does; of course, if you have returned to work, it is not possible.

I bet soon enough he will sleep through the night. Have you tried ready to use formula; it takes much longer to digest than powdered formula that requires adding water. Therefore, sleep may last much longer. In the meantime, do you have someone that could come and stay with him just to give you a bit of rest time? Sending sleep filled wishes your way. . .

[roomformore]

I don't know how you feel about a pacifier but you could try that. If he is tryly hungry of course it wont work but if he is waking up every hour it is not because he is hungry is it? They gave both my kids a pacifier in the hospital nursery(even thought I had thought I was against it). I heard somewhere that it is comforting for them to get the extra "nursing" with a pacifier. My babies got up every 3-4 hour to feed until they were about 4 months or so. My husband would sometimes take a feeding so I could get some sleep.

[orphanagemom]

Hi,
I nursed my 3 bio kids until they were a year old. My oldest woke up the first night or two, but I was so tired I just laid next to him and held a pacifier in his mouth. I was only going to do it for a minute, so I could wake up a bit, but he fell back to sleep, and from that day on he has slept through the night (without a pacifier)! He is now 10 years old. My other two took about 3-4 weeks until they slept through the night. I have always believed a good schedule is what a baby/child needs. It gives them guidelines, and gives them the reassurance that they know what they need is and will always be there. However, you do need to realize that sometimes that schedule will change, especially when they are on a growing spurt, and are a little extra hungry for a few days, or weeks. Good luck!
Jen

[bkp]

One other thought about babies sleeping at night:

There is a thread on this forum about the family bed. It might be worth checking out.

Several parents commenting on how well they sleep and their babies too. It always worked in my family, and none of my children still sleep with me...in fact, my "baby" is an independent career woman who is getting married this fall.

Cuddling an infant through the night is a good way for everyone to get much needed rest in the early weeks.

[orphanagemom]

I have heard a lot of people that like the family bed thing, but my story on it has a very bad ending. My moms Aunt and Uncle did that, and her Uncle was kind of a heavy person, and one night the baby rolled into his big tummy (he didn't feel the baby against him enough to wake up), and suffocated to death. Just a thought.
Jen

[tlc4kidz]

I want to know what y'all are doing right??? We have had 9 babies (including our 2 bios) and our last fosterdaughter did not start sleeping through the night until she was 13 months old....I got one month of sleep and her baby brother joined us and is still getting up (but only once) at 3 1/2 months old. I have been getting up for almost 3 years straight now.....and working part time as a pediatric nurse, and YES I am a bit nutty.

I have to admit though...those middle of the night feedings are the snuggliest

Oh, and I would also caution against Babywise.....or at very least check out the concerns.

[Sarah0518]

Here is what has worked best for our ds so far. He is 8 weeks today, so he is similar age to your son.

At first he liked to eat every 3 hours, now it is usually every 4 hours. One night a few weeks ago he woke at 2 hours crying that he was hungry. I was amazed when he drank the whole bottle faster than normal. Especially considering he is normally a very lazy eater. He had me up every 1-2 hours the rest of the night! In morning, I realized what I had done. A full feeding so close after the other overfilled his belly so he didn't sleep as well. It also stretched his tummy, making him feel hungry sooner. Now if he insists he is hungry sooner than 3 hours, he gets a smaller bottle. Enough to make his tummy happy without overdoing it.

2 weeks ago he started showing signs of being ready to move from 4 oz to 5 oz (with a lazy eater it is so hard to tell!). Certain times of day he seems to eat heavier than others. Those times he gets now 5 oz. At the others he is still getting 4 oz, and it can be hard to get all of that in. It averages out to being about every other bottle that he gets 5 oz. I was doing the every other bottle being 5 oz overnight too for the first week. He switched back to 3 hours overnight, just as he had starting to sleep consistantly for 4. This week I switched to 4 oz only overnight and 5 oz when I get up in the morning. We are now back to 4 hours and 2 of the nights he managed for 5 hours.

Also, when he sleeps more during the day it seems to be more of a stuggle overnight. Keep encouraging your son to stay awake for longer periods in the day. Eventually he will start switching his longer sleep pattern to night.

Also, my ds has decided this week that sleep is overrated and already is showing signs of cutting out naps (never has slept as much as most). As a baby he still needs the naps, but refuses to give in. The sleepier he gets, the more stubborn and fussier he gets. He is also getting harder to put down at night. Thank goodness, he does so well overnight after that. I hate pacifers, but during the day it is the only way we can now help him relax enough to give in to the sleepy monster. Quiet rooms or rocking him no longer work. He immediately realizes what we are up to and goes into full blown tantrum mode.

Also, I just bought a mobile for overnite in his room. Paid the extra for one with lights (his bouncy chair has lites and it sometimes can sooth him to sleep). After a feeding, if he shows signs of being sleepy but is resisting completely going back to sleep, I use it to distract him in relaxing again into sleep. Have only had it a few days, but so far so good.

[pingaa3]

I highly recommend the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. Remember that once your child reaches about 11lbs (@6-8 wks) they tend to start sleeping longer.

My girlfriend recommended the book and I followed it religiously. Our little one has been sleeping from 6-7pm to 5-7am every night since about 8 weeks because I used the methods in this book.

For the first four months during the day Lily was fed loosely every four hours and was put to sleep within 1.5-2 hours after waking. taking 1-2 hour naps. Sometimes in the first two months she had a hard time napping for longer than 1 hour so the turn around time for napping was much shorter with more naps and less night time sleep.

Her schedule now at four months is as follows: Awake 5:30-7am
Feed upon awakening, Nap approx 7:30-9am Feed at 10am, Nap approx 11:30-2 Feed at 2pm, Nap 3:30-5, Bathe and Feed 5-6pm Put down for the night between 6pm and 7pm. If she is not asleep when I put her down I turn on her mobile and reset it until she falls asleep. If for some reason she wakes up at night I check her for safety, reset the mobile and walk away. She is able to soothe herself to sleep and/or stay asleep once in crib.

Using the Weissbluth methods I know what to expect at each stage of brain development and how to adjust her naps accordingly.

Our neighbors have a two year old and he still doesn't sleep through the night, but the friend who gave me the weissbluth book has had her baby boy sleeping through since 2 months also.

Try checking it out from the library to see what you think. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Sleeping Soundly for Two Months Now,
Lily's Mom