How early would you 'allow' a baby to sleep through?

[TheUnmentioned]

DD is 6 weeks, she had a feed last night at 740am and then 2am and then 7am. She didnt actually go to sleep until 10pm though.

with ds he slept 11-6 at this age (but then it all went horrendously, horrendously wrong!!) but it was because he was exhausted and not full of milk - he ended up getting dehydrated and was underweight (I had asked HV for advice numerous times, she said to leave him).

Would you let a very young baby sleep through? the reason I ask is that I was getting a bit worried last night when she went so long between feeds and dh said I was the only person in the world who wouldnt just be grateful - am I?

She also has a cold so that'll be affecting things Im sure.

[TheUnmentioned]

740pm

[Danthe4th]

My first slept 6 till 6 at 8 weeks but she used to have a huge feed before bed. I think it would depend on how much milk they were getting during the day, mine were bottle fed so i could see how much they were getting.

[ByThePowerOfGreyskull]

when DS1 was 6 weeks he stopped having a 3am feed so we went from 12-4.30 instead of 12-3am
then week on week that grew and by 12 weeks he was sleeping 10 hours a night

I would not be worried by the 2-7 slot, but I would be happy to know if she had a big feed when she woke up?

[Honeybee79]

I was wondering this too. My DS will be 4 weeks tomorrow and last night he slept from 11.45pm through to 6.50am. I wasn't very worried because he fed so much before going to sleep in the evening, plus he was just shy of 10lb at birth and now even bigger!

[Fennel]

My dd1 first slept through the night at 1 day old, 9+ hours solid. I hadn't expected it (and everyone hates me for it), and I worried about whether I should wake her, but I didn't, and from then on she often slept right through, and by 4 weeks went 12 hours most nights.

She used to feed a LOT in the daytime to make up.

From what I coud tell, if you have a big healthy baby, there isn't a problem with them sleeping through. Enjoy it. I did, though all the ante-natal mums hated me. dd3 was similar.

[winnybella]

I think after the first few weeks, as long as the baby eats lots during the day, produces lots of wet nappies and gains weight as expected, I would count my blessing if I had a baby that can go through a few hours stretch.

[notyummy]

It depends on whether they are getting a lot during the day and putting on weight I think.

Dd was EBF, and slept 11pm to at least 3 30-4am from birth. At 4 weeks this was probably 1030pm until until around 4 30 am. She would go 1030pm to 6 30am from about 9 weeks I think. BUT - she fed a LOT during the day and piled the weight on, so i knew she was ingesting plenty. If her weight gain is OK, then I don't think I would be worried about that sleep pattern - perhaps you are more prone to worry because of your experience with DS? (Understandably!)

[Orissiah]

My DD "slept through the night" at 12 weeks - by this I mean, we put her down to sleep at 7pm, woke her to feed her a bottle at 11pm after which she slept through to around 7am. Around 7 or 8 months old she started to get very grumpy with us for waking her at 11pm so we dropped this feed, stopped waking her and she started sleeping straight through from 7pm to around 6.30/7am. By this point she was on three 8 oz bottles a day (spaced around naps and bedtime) and three solid meals a day.

[Orissiah]

Sorry, I didn't properly answer your question: By 6 weeks my DD was feeding at 6.45pm then straight to sleep for 7pm; we woke her at 10.30 or 11pm and fed her (if she didn't wake up herself - generally not); then she woke around 3.30am on her own and we fed her then she went back to sleep usually to 7am but sometimes 6am. Around 9 weeks she started pushing back the 3.30am feed - waking up later and later to 4.30 then 5.30 then 6am until at 12 weeks she made it to 7am. But throughout her life upto 7 months we always woke her around 11pm for a feed.

By 12 weeks she was getting enough milk during the day and gaining weight well (though she's always been a petite child and on the lowest percentile) so that helped her sleep through. But as I said, she was always woken to feed before we went to bed so who knows what her natural routine would have been like.

[GuyFawkesIsMyLoveSlave]

If they were feeding well and gaining weight I would let them sleep through from whatever age they tried it. I have a general mantra of "Never Wake A Sleeping Baby" but then I appreciate that I have been lucky to always have good feeders and not need to worry about what they were taking in (also have never had a baby who has tried sleeping through at a young age, except that DS did it once at 8 weeks and then never again for months and months).

[TheUnmentioned]

Thanks and sorry for not replying sooner!

Dd was 9lb 4oz at birth and is now approx 12 1/2 lbs so she's gaining weight well. Yesterday (midnight to midnight) she had 33 oz but she did sick up an entire feed so not as mcuh as it sounds, the day before I think she had about 25oz or so.

my experience with ds definitely makes me prone to worry. he was ebf though whereas dd is mix fed but mostly formula so I know what she's had, she can be pretty refluxy and sicky though so sometimes you dont know how much she's kept hold of!

I think i'll just let her follow her natural pattern - no doubt after me posting this she will be awake all night tonight!!

I think its just a shock as I was prepared for her to be a nightmare sleeper!

[TheUnmentioned]

Ps thats how much formula she's had obv dont know about the breast milk amounts but she usually has between 2 and 5 short feeds.