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some do, some don't. I'd reckon the majority don't, tbh, thinkning back to my post-natal threads Grannies look through rose tinted specs - don't pay tpp much attenton!
I am lying to my mother and MIL/ SIL etc to the extent of saying 'oh she's sleeping much better than she was, we are coping fine, of course if you'd like to cook dinner / make me a cup of tea / do my shopping it would be very helpful'
so putting a positive gloss on it rather than laying claim to 12 unbroken hours...
Well, apparently most babies no longer physically need a night feed after 6 months. Although as we all know, nobody's told them that. So even if you're going by the book, 5 months is still early..
Pelafina - I read something interesting the other day
The formula milk that became very popular in the 60s and 70s (i.e. when we were probably born and our mothers were bottle feeding us) was very different to the formula we have today. It was very difficult to digest and hence a lot of the babies slept through at an early age. I've even seen a picture of my sister-in-law at 7 weeks old being fed some sort of cereal with a spoon! This is why I think our own mothers are at risk of giving us the 3rd degree if our babies aren't sleeping through at an early age.
The new formula is much lighter and more similar to breast milk. So, whether you bf or ff it won't really make much of a difference in this day and age.
My DS is 12 weeks old and can't go for longer than 3 hours at night without waking up starving. Apparently babies have to be at least 3 months old and weigh at least 12-13lb before they can realistically sleep through (DS only weighs 11) - just goes to show you should take no notice of age, just weight, temperament etc. Some babies are just rubbish sleepers I guess!
My DD definately didn't sleep through at 5 months. IMHO if you baby wakes up crying for food in the night there is sod all you can do about it - except feed them
Just do the easist thing possible that will get you the maximum sleep and don't worry about the ol' "rod for your back" malarky. Babies will sleep throug when they are ready - go with the flow and just do anything you can to get your sleep in!
As for you mother - just tell her that he isn't sleeping. When she 'helpfully' gives you some advice - just say 'I tried that and it didn't work - infact it made things worse. However - if you want to have him for a couple of hours whilst I pop upsairs and have some kip - that would be lovely!!!'
Also, I know everyone says this, but all babies really are different.
DD1 still has difficult nights and she's 20m.. DD2 slept through the night (by which I mean a 10 hour stretch most nights) from about 8 weeks.
And although I was probably guilty of feeding DD1 to sleep one two many times which may have contributed to her sleep problem, I didn't do anything terribly different with DD2. She just likes sleeping!
My DD1 slept through the first time at 12 weeks on the EASY routine, (with dreamfeed at 11pm) and DD2 slept through the first time at 9 weeks using the same feeding routine. I do think there must be some logic that if babies have all their daily calories in the day, and are kept up during the day, with frequent (but short E.G 1 1/2 hours) naps then the night waking should be less.
With both of mine when I knew they were taking enough food in the day and doing the short naps thing then I used suger water for a few nights (warmed up, and with a bottle of milk on standby) to see how that worked. And for me it did!
But, I cannot clain that both DDs slept through EVERY night from 12 and 9 weeks. But, DD1 slept through every night from 4 months (I went back to work at 5 months and night waking was already a distant memory) and DD2 who is 13 weeks does occasionally wake about 3am, I pop the dummy in, and that is that til about 0630-0700.
With both of mine being under 2, I just don't think I could cope at all if I was still feeding in the night - shattered as it is!!
Clayhead, yes I appreciate that. I think though if a baby is in a routine they seem to be happier and it's easier for me to know what's wrong and quickly try and meet the LOs needs. The first time around I was not confident at all in my parenting skills so this was a godsent for me. Second time I've just used the same because it's what I know, and when perservered with for 9 weeks every day regardless it seems to have paid off (I am not suggesting you do, but some mums I have spoken to expect a routine to work within days - and I tell them - just doesnt work like that it takes MONTHS!!)
Gemy - I agree about the routines thing -if you feel confident in the amount your baby has had in the day, it is easier to leave them to settle themseleves at night. DS fed really well in the day, DD is another story, and I've never been quite sure that she's been getting enogh milk -we got into a bad pattern now when she wakes at night and is hard to settle. now she has a bottle at night, she drains 8 oz so I am more confident she is full - we leave her, even though she often cries on and off for quite a while. (I'll get flamed for saying that!)
Mine didn't sleep through the night once until she was 6-7 months old and even then it wasn't every night. Don't worry..the more I worried the more stressed I got which was pointless. He's only small..he'll get there.
I first discovered mumsnet after a barrage of comments from well meaning friends about why my 5 month old wasn't sleeping more than 6 hours at a time. Came on here convinced I had a baby with a sleep problem and that I was a crap mother who hadn't 'taught' her baby to sleep properly.... only to discover that I had othing of the sort. Some sleep through earlier than others. I think the comment about weight is a good one, my DD finally started sleeping 8-10 hours when she got to about 13lb which was about 2 weeks after she started on solids. It's really hard and at 5 months I was thinking of giving up breastfeeding as various people had told me she'd sleep better if she were on formula and I was so desperate for a night of unbroken sleep I was contemplating it. REALLY glad that we stuck with it cos she suddenly got the idea and started sleeping 7pm-5.30am at about 5 and a half months. Best of luck, hope it improves soon.
Gemy, you're very lucky! I tried the EASY routine from the BW and made sure I tanked up my DS in the evening and fed him at least 3 hourly through the day. Seemed logical to me. I also give him the dreamfeed at around 10.30pm. However, he still wakes at 2am and 5am hungry!! Btw, he's 12 weeks.
ooh didn't mean to suggest that by giving FF I was trying to get her to go through - I've stopped breast feeding as she was only on the breast for 3-4 moiutes at a time, and because I am going back to work (shifts) in less than a month.
Sorry shrinking if that looked like I was making a comment about you
Really wasn't meant personally, just had a BIL who told me if I FF then my DD would have slept through from 6 weeks (ha!). V sorry if you thought I was critisizing (sp??)
Pelafina, 8 hours sounds to me like a very long time for a 5 month old to sleep - not saying some babies don't do it, obviously they do, but I would have been if either of mine had managed that. At 5 months, it was every 3 hours like clockwork for both of them, despite immaculate Gina-style daytime routines. DD started sleeping through at 11 months and was pretty reliable after that. DS still isn't sleeping through at 10 months though he has pulled a blinder a couple of times in recent weeks and gone from 7pm to 5am, which is, by his standards, highly impressive. But then last night he woke at 11pm, 2.30am and 5.30am. And didn't go back to sleep at 5.30. Sleep schmeep. (Why is there no yawning face icon on MN? Surely some mistake...)
My mother is alo another one for the "but why won't he sleep?" line of questioning. As if I wouldn't do something about it if I knew the answer to that...
So it's not always possible to ensure they get all their calories in the day.
ds (15 weeks) fights most daytime feeds at the moment and I'm certainly not going to try and force him! It's a combination of sore gums from teething and general curiousity about everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) going on around him.
If he hasn't eaten enough in the day, he wakes in the night because he's hungry. Always finds it easier to eat then...
So if I decided to give him water or not feed him or something at the moment he would either scream the place down or starve.
Sometimes I think you just have to go with what they are trying to tell you they need, obv a routine worked for Gemy, and many others I'm sure, but a routine is defintely dependent on your lo being prepared to eat at the 'right' time - I think if you haven't experienced a baby refusing feeds this is hard to understand but it is totally beyond a parent's control, and quite upsetting...
My DS was a fantastic sleeper a that age, he slept through from about 2 months and everyone hated us
Now at nearly 3 he's a terrible sleeper, refuses to go to bed, gets up in the night and larks about, wakes early etc.
From my extensive researches I can conclude... it's got nothing to do with anything. They just do what they do... just keep trying and a change will come along - perhaps you'll have a great sleeper at 3.
I've learned to ignore what my mum says since having DS too.
Humans tend to remember happy times better than not so great times... your MIL's baby parenting was done a few decades ago so perhaps she has forgotten the times her babies didn't sleep through. I get 0 sympathy from my MIL for allowing my 13 month old to BF at night (and co-sleep) so I just don't talk about it - we also avoid discussing how she left her babies to cry at the end of the garden for hours! Some things are better left unspoken with MILs
Give your baby a better night’s sleep with a Natural Mat . 100% natural and made by hand in Devon, The Natural Mat Company mattresses are proven to help babies sleep better. FREE Cotton Waffle Blankets with all Mumsnet orders. Find out more at Natural Mat
if either of mine had managed that. At 5 months, it was every 3 hours like clockwork for both of them, despite immaculate Gina-style daytime routines. DD started sleeping through at 11 months and was pretty reliable after that. DS still isn't sleeping through at 10 months though he has pulled a blinder a couple of times in recent weeks and gone from 7pm to 5am, which is, by his standards, highly impressive. But then last night he woke at 11pm, 2.30am and 5.30am. And didn't go back to sleep at 5.30. Sleep schmeep. (Why is there no yawning face icon on MN? Surely some mistake...)
