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Original poster

so when did your LO start sleeping through the night?

212 replies

maybelater · 28/12/2008 15:59

and how did you do it??

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juuule · 30/12/2008 09:16

Beforesunrise, I think you are spot on.

MrsSanta · 30/12/2008 09:19

DD 6 weeks, slept 8.30 - 9.30 every day, still lazy bones and in bed now age 7 (12 hours a night stil).
DS 4 weeks, only needs about 10.5 - 11 hours a night age 3 and has nap 45 mins during day.

Never woke them for dream feeds.

RachelG · 30/12/2008 09:29

3 years 4 months, and still waiting for that elusive "through the night" sleep experience!

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orangehead · 30/12/2008 09:35

They are no tricks, ds2 slept through at 2 weeks and no problems since. Ds2 I did exactly the same, was about 18 months but before he slept through he hardly slept at all and would just scream most of the night, so bad that the neighbours used to bang on the wall.
Hope you get some sleep soon

OblomovOYeFaithful · 30/12/2008 09:37

Can't believe how nasty this thread is.
Agree with CoteD.
As with all things, some children are always the exception to the rule. But lots of children sleep through. Quite early. And LOTS of children don't. and have REAl sleep issues.

But MANY, yes not ALL, but many, would benefit from some sort of sleep training.

Like i said in my previous post, the books recommended are very gentile, no crying involved. how can Anyone object to such techniques ?

domesticslattern · 30/12/2008 09:52

DD slept through sometimes from four months and regularly from 8 months, when we moved her to her own room and gave her a teddy. We haven't been driven to controlled crying but we always put her down to sleep awake, don't let her sleep in our bed as a matter of course and we leave it a minute or two to go to her when she cries (as she often self settles quickly- almost as though she was crying in her sleep). I also don't worry about daytime naps- she has them as and when. I think these things have helped us, with this particular baby, but I would never dictate to anyone else how to do it.

I still though expect to be woken a few times a week- anyone who smugly tells you that their baby always sleeps through is probably lying or about to get a big shock round the corner.

goldFAQinsenceandmyrrh · 30/12/2008 09:59

yes perhaps they could benefits from some sleep trainig, but if parents (and child/baby) are happy with things the way they are why should they?

wuglet · 30/12/2008 10:12

DD started sleeping through from around 6-7 months.

DS (BF, co-sleeps) was sleeping 7-7 from 5 weeks. I thought I must be the Queen Of Mums! (not that I had done anything different with him.) He is now 7 months and for the last 8 weeks he has not slept through. Hey ho.

Libralovesbiscuits1975 · 30/12/2008 10:18

Cote - what is this sleep training? Spill now please.

Pinkjennybellrock · 30/12/2008 10:22

DD is 19mo, still waiting...

beforesunrise · 30/12/2008 10:54

oblomov, who's nasty??

BucketsofReindeerPoo · 30/12/2008 10:55

People with 2yrs+ still waking, are they still feeding them in the night? Surely they can understand 'no drinks after bedtime'? After all you must know if they've had enough to at or drink throughout the day.

goldFAQinsenceandmyrrh · 30/12/2008 10:57

buckets - perhaps they're not "feeding" them - perhaps they're simply having a drink?

Lots of adults wake in the night for a bit of water......

IAmTheNewQueenOfMN · 30/12/2008 11:18

gecko is taking a drink from the boob when she wakes but that is just because sucking on the boob is what she wants for comfort and she will et milk when she does that

I just dont feel it is right to rob her of what has become her 'thing' her thing that m,akes the world a secure, warm place to be

and I would never want to break her
but the books listed by oblomov sound good

Olihan · 30/12/2008 11:26

Buckets, do you never wake in the night feeling thirsty? I keep a glass of water by my bed because I often need something to drink in the night.

My older 2 dcs have beakers of water by their beds which are often half empty by morning. DS2 is still a bit young and can't find his cup by himself.

I don't think you can make a blanket rule about no drinks after bedtime because it's not realistic. You try and go for 11 - 12 hours without a drink and see how you feel.

beforesunrise · 30/12/2008 11:35

to elaborate further. I think, in my experience, there are lots of things you can do to make your los sleep better, and i have done many of them and some things have made a difference (eg introducing a 'lovey', moving from cot to bed, bedtime routine etc etc). But, again in my experience, i think babies and children will 'sleep through' (which in my book doesnt necessarily mean not waking for 12 hours, but rather not needing assistance during night time hours, so they may wake up and go back to sleep by themselves) until they are developmentally ready and tehy will all hit this 'milestone' at different ages... some when they are weeks old, some when they are months or years old. and ALL children will continue to need their parents throughout their childhood for illness, bad dreams, bedwetting etc etc.

Hell, I climbed into my mum's bed after a particularly nasty breakup when i was 25!!!

Lilybeto · 30/12/2008 11:35

my charge is 2.5. She wakes on average between 7 and 9 times a night. She will not sleep for more than 3 hours max and all she wants to do is sleep in her mums bed.

katiechops · 30/12/2008 12:01

From about 7 weeks DD slept from 8pm - 7am, but I woke her up for a feed before I went to bed at 11pm up until she was about 5 months (not sure that she really needed it, but didn't want to chance dropping the feed!).

She's now 2.3 years and sleeps from about 7.30pm until I wake her up at about 7.30am. At weekends when I don't have to be at work, she often goes until about 8.30am or 9am - bliss!

Since she was about 6 months old I think we've only been woken up at night by her about 5 or 6 times.

I didn't follow any kind of sleep training program, as I saw how stressed out some friends got following routines from books, although looking back I suppose that we used controlled crying to some extent.

I'm actually quite scared that if we have another child they won't be as good at sleeping and I'll really struggle.

BucketsofReindeerPoo · 30/12/2008 12:28

Yes but I'm a grownup without a 24hr carer making me eat and drink everything I need in the day. If I'm thirsty in the night it's because I haven't drunk enough in the day (life gets in the way.) My DD has an eggcup of water by her bed but I'm pretty sure she only drinks it when she wakes up in the morning. It's just part of the rules in our house as once out of nappies, it seems v unwise to have drinks after a certain hour. And if one is asleep for 12hrs one is obviously not thirsty.

Do you give them the boob before they actually cry? Or do you worry about their grumbling noises waking others up? I'm guessing that's what sleep training means, not leaving babies to cry, just giving them the chance to grumble themselves back to sleep (or just a cuddle/rock back to sleep.)

goldFAQinsenceandmyrrh · 30/12/2008 12:30

well 2 of my children are now old enough to not only say when they're thirsty in the day, but also go and get a drink. DS1 is pretty poor at it (he barely drink anything) and is limited on drinks at night because of his bed wetting.

However, DS2 drinks like a fish in the day, but still occasionaly wakes up in the night, gets himself a drink and goes back to sleep (he's just turned 5).

christywhisty · 30/12/2008 13:19

I always thought restricting drinks cause bedwetting problems because it makes the urine stronger and irritates the bladder making the need to go worse.

Mine took a cup of drink to bed but they never drank it in the night, just before they slept. Neither DH or I ever wake up thirsty in the night, to be honest I think it's a bit odd if we needed to.
As I said previously both mine slept for at least 8 hours from 3 months, so they obviously didn't need a drink in the middle of the night

HSMM · 30/12/2008 13:30

My DD 9 doesn't sleep through the night still .... but I don't have to get up any more. She can sort herself out. I still hear her prowling around sometimes though.

BucketsofReindeerPoo · 30/12/2008 13:33

Well yes restricting drinks all day will do that but the smaller the bladder the quicker the 'flushing through' process.

goldFAQinsenceandmyrrh · 30/12/2008 13:35

yes they're supposed to drink plenty in the day to expand the bladder so it holds more, but then not at night otherwise it can still fill up and make them wet the bed.

Oddly DS2 (the one that occasionaly gets up for a drink in the night) is by FAR the best of my sleepers, having slept through from the earliest age, and sleeping the longest out of any of them.

clarabell16 · 30/12/2008 13:56

13 weeks and 4 days, dd was up every hour before that, and then just started to sleep through, after i woke her once at 10pm as she looked like she had a red bum on the 7ish feed and wanted to air her bum, and she slept til half 7 ish the next morning. have woken her ever since at 10, although now it is more of a dream feed as she doesnt really wake up. will stop this once solids are established at about 7 months, shes now 5 months. waking her at ten and her sleeping through might have been a coincidence (sp?) but didnt want to test the theory. DD was large born, and nearly 3 weeks over, and a great feeder during the day,and always sucks her thumb to go to sleep so think that may have something to do with it. she hasnt been ill, or really started teething in earnest so ive got it all to come!!