Can a 12-week old sleep too long at night?!

[louisdog]

This is going to sound like I am quite crazy asking this rather than just enjoying it but I am an anxious first-time mum...

My baby is 12 weeks old tomorrow, and weighs 12lbs, she is bottle fed.

Two or three weeks ago she started "sleeping through" from say 11 or 12 until 5 or 6 or which was brilliant.

The last three nights though she has slept from 11pm until 830, when I have actually got up and fed her before she cried for food. (She was awake and smiled at me when she saw me.) Is she sleeping too long? Seems like an awfully long time to go without walking up, is it normal and I am just lucky?! She is fine in herself and feeding really well in the day, happy, smiley and active.

Any advice please, is this ok? Sorry to ask such a daft question!

(Baby sleeps in a bedside cot next to me, btw.)

Thanks!

[PollyDolly88]

Hi, this thread popped up as I have been having the same dilemma with my 8 week old son (bottle fed). My son has always been a very good sleeper (from birth) and two nights ago we decided to move his bedtime earlier to 6.30pm as he was screaming the house down and obviously extremely overtired by his normal 7.30-8pm bedtime. He was a lot calmer and happy to self settle in his cot after a 5oz bottle. He uses a dummy so we regularly use this to soothe him back to sleep (I know some people may not agree but it works for us!) so when he stirs in the night I always give the dummy a chance to settle him for a minute or so before we jump up to grab a bottle. After a slight stir from him we noticed we were getting him up, changing his nappy, feeding him without him even opening his eyes or crying which sounds crazy so after much research we decided to try just leaving him two nights ago to "let us know when he's hungry". He feeds every 2 - 2.5 hours in the day (4-5oz) and good weight (already in 3-6 months clothes!!!) I've read a lot about "babies will let you know" etc so I felt confident that he would, but after a restless night of stirring that came and went (no crying or even close to it!) my usually happy, alert boy woke up the grumpiest baby ever!! He was irritable, overall sleepy and his morning nappy was no way near as wet as it should have been. So last night, I WOKE HIM up at 12pm as all my mummy instincts told me so, and he nailed a whole 5oz bottle all the time fast asleep with his eyes closed and went straight back down in the cot. He stirred again at 5am and I did the same. His nappy was as wet as expected this morning but just wanted to say that NOT every baby will tell you or cry in the night for food (my son obviously loves his sleep!!) the only mistake I made this morning was me trying to change his very wet nappy at 5am for fear of nappy rash/leakage as it had been on very long but he was absolutely fine and if I had left him then he would have carried on sleeping another hour I reckon :( (highly recommend co-op nappies btw!!) hope this helps any mummies of daddies out there looking for advice/ideas xxx

[weeblueberry]

DD1 slept through from 6 weeks and for ages I routinely 'woke' her to feed her at midnight until one day DP suggested we leave her and see if it made a difference. It didn't and she slept from 9-9 from then on in until she moved slightly from 7-7 which was amazing.

DD2 is 12 weeks and goes from 10-3 then has a second feed at about 530 then sleeps til 7. Not as good but given that she drops back off immediately I can't really complain

[gloria2088]

my 12 week old sleeps 11-5 but hoping that when he goes on to solids things will improve as he is a v hungry baby...

[Robinsonjam]

You are soo lucky! Just enjoy it xx

[ch1134]

So glad you're enjoying it retrohippy. I was only joking! My ds was such an easy baby but woke regularly for feeds. Never a problem going back down though. Still, it took 11 months until he finally started sleeping through without waking. That was tiring!

[RetroHippy]

And that is why I don't brag about the fact that DS (11 weeks/6 adjusted) sleeps All. The. Time. Or is awake and alert and delightful. He's just super chilled. From birth he's slept from 11pm to 6am with two or three hourly wake-ups for a quick feed and straight back down. We're now going from 8pm to 9am with four hourly feeds. Just make the most of it :) I can't wait till he properly sleeps through.

[ch1134]

I hate you all!

[omama]

My ds did 7-7 at 13 weeks. DD however, is technically 'sleeping through' but is doing her long stretch from bedtime feed at 6.30pm to anywhere from 12-2am, then we are up again at 5-6am most nights. She is 15 weeks (12 adjusted).

So I say enjoy!!!

Pembers who has told you to wake your dd at night to feed and for what reason? Unless there is a bloody good reason, I would be inclined to leave her to wake if/when she is ready.

[squizita]

Mine was a bit like this but got HUNGRY about 18 weeks. Well, 3 feeds a night and sleeps immediately after each one ... so not hellish.
With the wakes though she sleeps 12 hr a night 7-7 - so take out an hour (3 Ã? 20 min feeds) that's still hefty sleep! Mind you she only naps 3 x 30 min by day (though that's still pretty much the 12-14 hr average).

[Pembers74]

I have a 12 lb, 15 week old who we wake up to feed and then she doesn't properly sleep after. We do this because health workers said to. She is bottle fed and takes a bottle at 6.30pm sleep by half 7. Woken at 2 to feed and then that is about it as far as sleep is concerned. People keep telling me I shouldn't leave her longer. Could I extend it a bit each night?

[Hyperballad]

That sounds dreamy! I'm jealous!!

[OTTMummA]

DD is 13 weeks and has slept through since 4 weeks not that i tell people that often, the handful of times i have i got this look or this one

[RunnerHasbeen]

You are lucky - I was too, and sleeping didn't regress until we started weaning and even then was back to huge sleeps after a few weeks (she just wasn't eating enough calories in the day when it was mostly fruit she could manage, it was simply a 10.30pm feed and back to sleep not serious regression). DD is 10m now and sleeps 12h at night and 3.5 in naps each day.

I think she is happier and more active than the babies I know who don't sleep well, but obviously I am a little biased anyway! If I am in a group of mummies complaining about sleep, I do keep quiet, so you might not here the good stories as much as the bad ones.

I'm impressed you didn't wake up in a panic in the middle of the night to check on her, it took me a few weeks to kick that habit and just enjoy it!

[Loislane78]

Livin' the dream louis enjoy! :)

[catus]

It sounds absolutely lovely. Enjoy that good night sleep feeling!

[blacktreaclecat]

I wondered this too when DS who is 18 weeks (4 weeks early) went 8-7 the other day. He is doing it every night at the moment.
Just enjoy, he is obviously getting enough milk during the day.

[minesapintofwine]

Don't feel daft I asked the same question at 12 weeks here on mumsnet!!! It is fine and it is nice enjoy those lie-ins bet you thought it would never happen!

[Dogsmom]

According to my parents I used to sleep around 18 hours a day, the only time i was awake was when they disturbed me to feed me, visitors used to come and cuddle me, I'd be taken out to the shops and slept through it all.

I'm now in my 30's and still love to sleep, I'm keeping everything crossed my own daughther who is due in spring will take after me

[louisdog]

Ooh I remember you from the July 2012 thread SparklyGothKat! Glad your LO is a good sleeper.

Thanks Nelly it's great to hear yours didn't regress, I shall enjoy my baby's long overnight sleeps and try not to feel too guilty!

[NellyTheElephant]

As others have said, it's totally fine. My DD1 slept 7-7 from around 8 weeks, DD2 from around 10 weeks and DS from around 12 weeks, all were BF. They didn't regress.

[SparklyGothKat]

My 21 week old sleeps through the night from 7-7. She started about 15 weeks she was 6 weeks prem. I'm loving having having a sleeping baby. All my others didn't sleep through till about a year old.

[louisdog]

Thanks for all the replies, it's so great to hear! I feel really daft asking the question but I worry so! And you do seem to only hear about the bad sleepers. I am sure my LO will regress sleepwise but I am so thrilled to just relax and enjoy this for however long it lasts.

[Arcticwaffle]

2 of my 3 slept longer than this by this age, they were mega-sleepers, and they were always fine.

You tend not to hear about the good sleepers (or people don't believe it), it was only after my first baby slept through the night at 1 day old that I heard that actually about 10% of babies do this.

enjoy it! my amazing sleeping baby dd1 is still one of the most chilled out easygoing children, aged 12 now.

[QTPie]

God no - it is fine: if she s hungry, she will tell you so! ;)

By 12 weeks DS slept from about 9pm (whenever he finished his last feed) until 6am ish (he was BFd). As lomg as they are healthy and putting in good weight, then no worries at all - enjoy it :)

[ArtyJennie]

Yup tis fine. My dd2 is 8weeks and sleeps 11pm- 7ish since last week. (touch wood it lasts!) I'm intending to gradually put her to bed earlier each night. This worked well with dd1 who slept 7am-7pm by 4months. I am also bottle feeding.