Estabslishing a Routine...

[SummerC]

Hi all,

I'm a first time mum, so please forgive me if my question sounds completely stupid...

My daughter is 8 weeks old and has been sleeping through the night (11-7) for almost two weeks now. For the past 3 nights we have been putting her to bed at 7pm. I wake her at 11pm for her feed and then it's straight back to sleep. She then sleeps through until 7am. My friends keep talking about the day when she sleeps from 7-7 but how do I know when she is ready for that? How do I know when to take away the 11pm feed and let her sleep through?

I'm sorry if it sounds like a stupid question. I'm still learning.

Does your dd have weight gain probs? If she is a healthy weight, no probs, you could just leave her to sleep. She'll soon wake you up if she gets hungry in the night. 8 weeks sounds v young to sleep 12 hrs, but she might surprise you. Personally, I really don't think it matters tuppence if babies 'go' 12 hours at 8 weeks or 3 yrs, buit that's just me!

[waves at wineisthewaytomyheart - I'm not stalking you, honest ]

Here!

You're doing really really well.

If you stop the 11pm feed, she might wake up in the middle of the night.
You can always try.

PS: I would not risk that. Wait a bit. I think the 4 months mark is more reasonnable.

But just to add a cautionary note - you may find that as she grows she will wake more often - please do't be disappointed or think you're doing something wrong if she does. It's quite unusual for such a little baby to sleep so long( !) so it nay not last.

Thank you so much for all your advice! I'm not in any rush to take away the 11pm feed, I'm still just overjoyed at sleeping from 11-7 each night!

She is a good eater and has gained loads of weight. The HV said she set a record at baby clinic last week. She was 7lbs 8oz at birth and (as of last wednesday) she was 11lbs 4oz. I don't think we have any problems with weight gain.

We'll carry on as we are for another 6-8 weeks and around 4 months I'll try a night without the 11pm feed and see what she does.

Thanks again for your help. I sometimes feel like I don't know what I'm doing. But as a first time mum, I guess that's normal, right?

x

Hi Summer! Wow, you are doing brilliantly. We all muddle along cos our babies are their own little people and it takes a while to get to know them!

I had a similar experience with my DD, thankfully, based loosely on the Baby Whisperer's suggestions. I found she dropped the 11pm feed herself at around 6 and a half months, after she'd started on solids. She just didn't want to be woken up any more so we left her and that was that. You could try around four months and see how it goes - I think it's about getting enough calories in during the day, really, and your DD will soon tell you if she still needs that 'dream feed'.

Good luck, and you know where we are - there's no such thing as a stupid question on mumsnet!

xx

Thanks the both of you.