to ask what helped your baby sleep through?

[TrinitySquirrel]

I know it's generally a development leap thing. But I'm getting a bit bitter about everyone else's babies (in my friends) sleeping through from 4/6/12/20/whatever weeks.

We've gone through a mild hell of between 20 minute to 4hourly sleeps for the past 8 months and it's making me so tired now I'm getting physically sick. The most he will sleep is 3-4hrs at a time during the night, then wakes up for a feed (formula) and goes right back to sleep. The same times generally every night. He is definitely hungry because he demolishes 7oz and all hell breaks loose if there is any less, then sleeps for another 3-4hrs. Or 2hrs if he soaks through.

How can I get him to take more in the day so he takes less at night so we can night wean him? He's on two solids meals a day with a few snacks and 4 or 5 7oz bottles plus 2 at night. We did get him up to 8oz bottles but as he's started solids he seems to have reduced his intake naturally.

6am - Bottle (crying for)
Sleeps again until somewhere between 8am and 9.30am - wakes up happy and babbly!
10am - Bottle with some thick porridge or toast to play with more than eat as never that hungry first thing
1pm - Lunch Solids + Water (eats all of it)
3.30pm - Bottle
6.30pm - Dinner Solids & Water (eats all of it)
8.30pm - Bed time bottle then sleeps for a few hours
11.30pm - Bottle (cry
2am - Bottle
6am - Bottle
Repeat

I'm not sure why there's so many posts saying people lie about their children sleeping?! What would you possibly gain from lying?

I have a 7-wk old baby that sleeps from midnight-7.30am and has done 6ish hrs from being 2wks old. Nothing I have done has facilitated this, it's just absolute sheer luck (and possibly genetics as according to my mother I did exactly the same).
I could however write a book about all the other things I've struggled with including colic/reflux and crippling anxiety. So no, I don't lie about him sleeping just to try and look like supermum as I'm far from that!

Co-sleeping.

I co-sleep with my 5 month old and he’s still up about three times a night.

With my first son we co-slept from when he was 4 months old until he was 9 months old and he also woke up constantly through the night. He only STTN when I put him in a cot in his own room and did some sleep training.

Neither of my co-sleeping babies slept through.

Hi- I’m not surprised you’re exhausted. My DD started sleeping through around 7 and a half months. She was on around 5/6 bottles a day plus solids (finger foods etc) as well as BF twice a day. Prior to sleeping well she would nap for around half an hour a time, maybe three times a day then by 7 she was majorly cranky so we’d put her down for the night but she would wake at least every three hours and we could only get her down by feeding her or rocking her for a very long time. Exhausting.
We started a strict routine of bath and lullabies and bottle & made sure that she never left the bedroom she’d understand that’s where she had to be at night. And then we used controlled crying. I know many people don’t like it but I was confident she could physically sleep she just needed to make the connection between how tired she was and how to fix it. CC really worked and we were lucky it worked quickly. Within less than a week she was only waking once in the night to feed and her naps were vastly improved. Within a few weeks she was sleeping through from 7:30-6:00 like a dream. I hope our story helps you and wish you lots of luck; it’s really gruelling. You will get there x

Thank you dragongirl! I'm going to try this tonight

LittleLions

Why?

If co-sleeping works for everyone, why stop at 3 month?

don’t know why but when folk talk about cosleeping with baby it gives me the shudder

That's a shame because it's one of the most natural things going

Cosleeping is lovely but if you want a sleeper don’t be tempted- pop them in the cot and let them learn to self settle

I doubt my DS who's slept through from Day 1 and now goes over 13 hours a night at 9 weeks, would've/would sleep so well if I shoved him in his own bed. So not necessarily true.

Everyone I know who allows their children to cry out/control crying etc etc, has always claimed sleep deprivation and down right exhaustion.

I think there's a good reason babies generally seem to sleep better when in their mother's bed. And dare I say that reason is because it's the most natural way?

Small babies aren't spoilt or clever enough to clock on how to play you. I think they feel most secure by our side's. And to me that's what matters most

According to the Lullaby or whatever it's called trust, co-sleeping isn't as safe as having the child in a separate space.

Then again, the countries with the lowest SIDS rate have the highest co-sleeping rates!

Just my opinion though.

And I for one am not interested in hearing how babies who were cuddled to sleep up to the age of two are now fantastic sleepers at 6/7/8/9 - so they bloody should be!

Well this is because people who don't agree with co-sleeping often say "they will still be in your bed at 6/7/8/9, so co-sleepers are simply countering that.

If you like co-sleeping (as we did), it can be a lovely thing and have a toddler of 2 and a half sleeping with you is not seen as a burden but a lovely close bond-building family experience.

I love co sleeping because I'm inherently lazy and couldn't imagine getting out of bed multiple times a night but I do miss hugging my husband to get to sleep.
I look forward to this "developmental milestone" when she can sleep through the night though.

In a way, I feel a little bit robbed.

My DS has slept through 10 hours plus from birth and it feels like seeing him grow up so quickly is more painful because I'm fully awake and alert of how quickly he's growing

@sandy seriously. Count yourself very lucky. Sleep deprivation is the most insanity inducing experience I've ever had!

I had a huge first baby who needed lots of food/milk. At 3 months we realised he was miserable doing on demand and so changed to a strict routine and all of a sudden he was such a happy baby. His sleeping went from dreadful to amazing overnight. So for him it was a combination of v strict naps during the day and v strict feed times. And bed no later than 7pm. He slept through then by 4 months. At 8 months old he was having two naps a day. So he’d get up at 7am. Nap for half an hour to an hour at 9.30. Then nap for 2-3 hours at 12 noon. No other naps.
Daytime Napping was key to good night sleeping for us! It worked for baby two as well.

Hello, i have an 8 month old who kept waking in the night I thought was because he was hungry when he is now on 3 meals a day. I spoke to a health visitor friend who explained to me that he is waking & eating that milk offered rather than needing it because that what he needs as a sleep cue. I was feeding him right before bed (now has milk downstairs) & no milk in night. It took him a good couple of weeks of being strong not giving him milk & also tackling other difficult habits ie not rocking but putting him down awake & got to work on his self settling but he is now sleeping through some nights & has gone 21 nights without milk& still ok! He has had big strops in the night & it's not easy but has been worth it to get to this point! Hope that helps

This made me laugh! Thank you for sharing this! As a sleep deprived mum for more than 5 months (already not sleeping in pregnancy) I've read so many forums and I understood there's no magic formula. Just survive and hope she will sleep through the night one day!

I meant this link
stolensleep.com/2018/01/11/a-beginners-guide-to-mum-forums/ that another mum posted. Really funny!