Night sleeping and feeding

[Iggy2000]

Hi all, looking for some tips and advice. I have been doing a night time routine with my 9 week old DD for 4 weeks now and I can't get her to go more than 4 hours without a feed, which with the feed, winding and nappy change time means she sleeps for about 3 hours max (mostly less than this). I am at my whits end, just hoping for about 5 - 6 hours stretch of sleep a night. Thanks xx

I know this isn’t what you want to hear but that’s very normal; my DC were only going 3 hours between feeds at that age so 4 hours is pretty good. The only thing I’d say is that by 9 weeks unless she’s pooed then I wouldn’t necessarily change her nappy at every feed.

She's sleeping 3 hour stretches at 9 weeks old? I'm really sorry to say but that's amazing and I wouldn't expect too much more at this stage..

Sorry to bear bad news, a 5-6 hour stretch is not going to happen at this age.
If you are bf you could express and get your partner to fed at midnight. If you went to bed at 9pm you would potentially be able to sleep until 3am.
I always changed the nappy before feeding unfortunately there’s no avoiding the winding afterwards.

Sorry I know it’s so hard, but like others have said this is totally normal! I second the idea of giving your partner (if you have one) a bottle of expressed milk, I would go to bed when he finished cluster feeding around half 9/10, my DH would keep him downstairs, do bottle at about half 12, wind and pop him in the cot next to me and he’d sleeping until about 3 so I’d get about 5/6 hours, at that age my little boy would also not go back in his cot after about 3am so that stretch was all I got! It was really hard but it does get better.

Another poster here to say it's extremely normal! I definitely wasn't getting a 4 hour stretch when my DD was 9 weeks! 😬. Try to relax into it and go with the flow and try to stop wishing it would change (I know that's hard when you're knackered) because it WILL get better and they will start sleeping longer when they are able to.

Hey!
Just echoing pp really!
3 hour stretches at 9 weeks is amazing!
It's so hard, it really is you can't prepare for the lack of sleep but it does honestly get easier.
12 week mark I noticed a massive difference in my LO and he started going 4 hours and it was heaven!
Also remember you don't always have to change a nappy through the night unless it's soiled. Of course if it's really heavy change it otherwise if it seems fine just leave it.
If it needs changed do it before a feed when she'll be more awake.
Over the shoulder for night time burping so it's a cuddle aswell so easier to get back over.

As above, it won't happen yet. Their stomach's are tiny, so they will get hungry and wake up. Frequent waking this young is also nature's way of keeping them safe. If you bf, look at safe cosleeping - worked well for ds and I, neither of us barely woke in the night for feeds.

It’s far too early. Please go back to the NHS advice and feed your baby on demand. 9 weeks is far too early for any kind of sleep training.

Lol no it’s little and often at this age. Mines 8 months and We only occasionally get 5/6 hours now. Last night she was up was every hour. My first didn’t sleep through until she was about 18 months

That’s really normal at 9 weeks. It’s so hard, but you just have to hang in there. Mine started doing longer stretches at around 12 weeks (then it all went to shit again at 4 months)

Normal 🙈

I got a few weeks of 8 hours around 12 weeks then bask to square 1! She’s 21 weeks now and she’s up every 3-4 hours again !!

Mine did really big stretches at that age - like 6-8 hours. I thought it was sorted. Then the regression hit and she still doesn't sleep through at 4 (though did for a year at one stage).

Anything goes with sleep with babies and toddlers. 3 hours isn't really long, but it's still pretty good, and a lot of babies will be doing less than that for a very long time.

I think you've just got to roll with it and enjoy any good night's you get, and appreciate that the bad ones will pass, regressions will come and go, and periods of good sleep may alternate with the bad, but eventually you'll ride it through.

I don't have any advise apart from you just have to ride it out, even though I understand it is so so hard when you're really tired. My ds is 13 months and I still struggle. He regularly still has a bottle throughout the night (comfort obviously not hunger) or for me to put his dummy in (sometimes multiple times) and he has a cold at the moment so last night we where up from 1am to 5am straight.

It will get easier. But no one can tell you when! It's all down to your baby. And it's exhausting but you will get through it! If you have any help available take it whenever you can Xx

Please don't try and push a 9 week old to go 4 hours between feeds if they're not ready to do this, all the advice is to feed on demand at this age.

YABVU

What did you expect being a mother to a newborn would be like?!

I'm afraid this is normal. Most babies will still wake every 3 or so hours for feeds.

Like others though, if there's no poo, don't change the nappy. You can size up for night time if you need to.

I think many first time mums aren't aware of the reality of sleep in babies/young children - I definitely wasn't! I knew the first few weeks would be tough and was mentally prepared for that but didn't realise it would probably be years before I would get an uninterrupted nights sleep again 🤣😭 my DS was waking 1-2 hourly at that age for feeds and even now at 16 months he is still up once or twice on a good night. Last night he went to bed at 7.30pm and was up from 12.30-2.30 and then I was in with him regularly from 5.30 until he woke again at 7.30am as he was very unsettled with a cold. So I got around 4 or 5 hours total sleep in 2 parts. That is not a great night though, but we've also had far worse.

Just have to roll with it. You get used to the lack of sleep, and coffee and concealer will be your new best friends!

Hello! This is totally do-able at 9 weeks!
2 hour wake window before bedtime which includes mini feed at start of wake window - playtime, bath, moisturise then formula feed before settling - good luck!

@G02cg1

Hello! This is totally do-able at 9 weeks! 2 hour wake window before bedtime which includes mini feed at start of wake window - playtime, bath, moisturise then formula feed before settling - good luck!

Yep, absolutely doable if you ignore the baby's needs.