When will sleeping through the night FINALLY happen?!

[SleepyBearMama]

Hi all,
My little boy is 15 weeks now and in the last couple of weeks his sleeping and feeding as only just started to slightly improve.
Before he would wake every 1 or 1.5 hours round the clock to feed and would only take 2 or 2.5 ounces at a time. (He's always been FF, couldn't BF due to complicated birth.)
So after nearly being lost in the depths of sleep deprivation madness, finally, 2 weeks ago he managed to start having around 4 ounces at a time and going 2.5 - 3 hours between feeds (sometimes, if he's feeling kind) and then in the evenings he will sometimes sleep for a 3 hour stretch say between 7pm to 10pm, wake for a feed, then sleep again say 11pm to 2.30am/3am, wake for a feed then sleep something like 4am-6am.
So this is an improvement from how it was before but I still find myself desperately waiting on some kind of bedtime routine to be established as I'm constantly hearing stories from others about how their little ones began to sleep through for 10/11 hours straight from something like 8 weeks!
At what sort of age did your little ones begin to sleep for a heafty chunk without waking to feed? Is it maybe a little unrealistic to be hoping he'll do it now at 15 weeks, or is it possible it's round the corner and I'll finally get a decent nights sleep soon?!

A little more info in case this makes a difference:
He has reflux and a suspected milk intolerance although we are not getting very far with the paeds to treat it as he is gaining weight.. however this does mean he is very windy and vomits for up to 1.5 hours after a feed so I imagine this contributes to the lack of long sleep?
He also doesn't sleep much during the day no matter how hard I try (again I think it might be down to the constant feeling sick and being sick) so by mid afternoon he is overtired, wingey and irritable so then difficult to settle.
I have also tried to start some kind of routine - bathtime every 5/5.30pm, feed him as much as I can in the evenings, don't switch on lights or make too much noise during night time feeds.

Any advice or any glimmer of hope is greatly appreciated!

[CountryCaterpillar]

2 years fir child one. 3.5 years child 2 (but had sleep apnea).

Until about a year first woke 2 hourly, second woke 4 hourly/sometimes a bit more.

It got a lot easier at 2

[CountryCaterpillar]

15weeks is so little! I don't think many sleep through then do they?

[TheMysteriousJackelope]

My DC didn't sleep through until they were 12 months old.

At 15 weeks they were feeding roughly every 2.5 hours. They were not premature so it isn't as if they weren't as developed as the average 15 week old.

Things got much better once they started on solid food at six months old and when they started crawling. I think the combination of having larger stomachs and being more active meant they could sleep longer as they took in more food at a time and were more tired.

[Cakescakescakes]

The reflux will make a difference and probably delay his sleeping through. My refluxer woke once or twice till about 14 months. My other baby slept through - which I class as 8pm-6am from about 10 months.

It's a myth that bf and ff makes all the difference. I firmly believe that some babies are good sleepers and some are not and that there is only so much 'help' you can give.

Hang in there!

[lilydaisyrose]

My DD is 18w and nowhere near sleeping through! She goes down about 6pm then has the other boob about 7pm. She then wakes about 11pm and then a couple of times overnight and wakes about 7am. The nights don't really bother me, mainly because I latch her on then snooze!

[2014newme]

4 months for my twins

[Cakescakescakes]

And take it all with a MASSIVE pinch of salt about all these magic babies sleeping for 10 hours by 8 weeks. People exaggerate or forget...

Out of all of my friends only one had a baby like that. Her second work several times a night till he was 3. So swings and roundabouts :)

[2014newme]

One of mine had reflux too

[Cakescakescakes]

Woke not work

[Cinnamon12345]

My child didn't sleep through until she started school.... I put it down to the erratic nature of both mine and DH s jobs. Many nights spent at grandparents houses who let her sleep in with them.

[Shamoffour]

Dd1-7 weeks 7-7 with a dream feed at 11
Dd2- 6 months
Ds1-10 weeks 7-7 with a dream feed at 11
Ds2- 2.5 yrs and still waiting

[SleepyBearMama]

Well it has certainly made me feel a little better to hear that there are plenty of others with little ones not sleeping through!
I did think that 15 weeks is still very young to be sleeping for a long stretch without a feed, I think I just got a little concerned (and envious!) of all the stories of little ones sleeping from such young ages but you're probably right, take it all with a pinch of salt!

[savagehk]

erm... he was still having one feed a night at past 2 years of age... sleeping through probably consistently from about 2.5 although even then occasional wakeups and requiring comfort.

[teaandbiscuitsforme]

My DS is 15 weeks and nowhere near sleeping through! DD was 17 months when she first slept through so my expectations have changed a lot since those pre-baby days.

[SleepyBearMama]

Time to stock up on the coffee then I guess.
Just makes me wonder why there are all these sites (bounty ect) that send those monthly emails about your child's development and most mention sleeping at nights around 12 weeks, but clearly this isn't the case! Seems a bit mean to offer that expectation haha.

[teaandbiscuitsforme]

I've always thought that - what do they gain by putting that? There might be a few lucky ones that sleep through very early but there's no need to rub it in everybody else's faces!

[chloechloe]

He's still tiny! Parents of babies who sleep through at that age are just super lucky! DD1 started to sleep through at 11 months. DD2 is 4.5 months and feeds every two hours at night. Or every three if I'm lucky and every hour on a bad night.

[PastysPrincess]

Mine will be three soon and still doesn't sleep through. He hated sleep from a the day he was born.

[sycamore54321]

While sleeping through might not happen at this age, you are right to have expected to hope for at least one longer stint of more than three hours by this age. I had a very snacky baby too and my doctor advised trying the faster flow tears earlier than the manufacturer suggests, so we used size 2 teats at two months and size 4 at four months. It helped him take in more than an ounce or two and also prevented him getting tired and frustrated from prolonged and frequent sucking on the slower teats. I have no idea about reflux but could you mention this idea to your doctor and see if they approve? It might help him to have a fuller tummy and less tired sucking muscles.

Best wishes.

[LalaLeona]

Mine and a lot of friend's babies didn't sleep through until they were one. I'm sorry that's probably not what you wanted to hear!!

[Badgoushk]

My eldest slept through at 2.5 years.

My youngest at 18 months still wakes several times a night. She hasn't ever slept through yet.

[Sunnie1984]

"They" class sleeping through the night at 6 hours. So if bedtime is 6pm, and they don't wake again until after midnight, technically that is sleepjng through.

Even if you get a good sleeper, it's only temporary. My first child slept 7pm-7am from 9 weeks, then hit the four month sleep regression and learned to crawl by 6 months, so slept like crap for those two months.

Not many babies sleep through at 15 weeks.

As you are formula feeding can you split the shift?

One of us goes to bed at 8pm, the other one goes once the baby is in bed and is on night feeds until 4am when we swap out.

That way one of you gets a full 8 hours and the other one gets a solid chunk of sleep from 4am until the day starts.

It keeps us sane! 😜

[FATEdestiny]

He also doesn't sleep much during the day

That is probably a large contributing factor to not sleeping larger chunks. Over tiredness makes for restless sleep.

Aim for 60-90 minutes awake time max.

Try a dummy. Try naps in something that moves (bouncer, for example).

[SleepyBearMama]

Although the news of being awake for up to another 2 years isn't exactly music to my ears, at least hearing all this means I can stop expecting it to happen! All these responses do make me wonder if some of my friends have been telling fibs about their little ones sleeping so amazingly!

• I would love the idea of split shifts but partner works long hours so trying to wake him up to share a feed is like trying to wake the dead - but that could be an entirely new thread so I'll leave it there.
  

Thanks for your replies everyone!

[Orangebird69]

18mo and counting here.