sleeping through the night-when does it happen??

[poonchi]

i have a 4.5 month old. she was exclusively breast fed until 2 weeks ago. have started trying to introduce bottle and hoping to give one at night so she sleeps through. last night took bottle first time at 7.30pm ish (7oz) slept by about 9pm but woke again at 12.15am and had braest feed. then woke around 7am which is ok. what time should last bottle be-she doesnt take it in her sleep yet so difficult to do dream feed at 10pm. what age should she sleep through by and how. we also have nigts when she is awake from 4-5am playing after a breast feed. she is not weaned yet.

any advise on how to sleep through-thanks!!

It differs massively I'm afraid. Your DD sounds totally normal and pretty calm at nights TBH.

My DC started sleeping through at 2 1/4 years and 14 months, respectively.

It really does depend on the child. My eldest two slept through from aroun five months, but dd3 (now 3 years old) still wakes through the night wanting a drink.

My DS was 16mo.
Friends DC we anywhere between 6 weeks (!!!) and 2.2 years.

You DD does sound normal, and 4.5 months is a classic age for growth spurts and frquent night waking, sorry

Oh yes, my oldest (now 2.8) still wakes for water in the night, not every night but certainly regularly. I don't really count that as not sleeping through TBH, there's no real fuss or crying...

I'm 32 and still wake at night for a drink / the loo / unexplained reasons, babies and children are humans too

DD slept through regularly from 12 months.

19 mo DS has slept through 4 times this year, not that I am counting

DD was 16 weeks. DS2 was about 10 months ish.

DS1 devil child is still waking repeatedly, it was 8 times last night and he is 3.5

Blimey. What a lot of horror mongers we are!

4.5 months is a typical age for a growth spurt and associated sleep disturbance. TBH it'd probably be easier to give her a dream feed from the breast than a bottle. It doesn't sound like the formula is helping her sleep, a bottle of EBM would almost certainly have te same effect.

Oh, and the idea that weaning helps with sleep is almost certainly a myth, many many babies actually sleep worse once weaning is started. First foods are almost always less calorie dense than milk...

Feel your pain suwoo :( DD3 was the same last night. Some nights are better than others, but after having two great sleeps it's a shock to the system.

Great sleepers

Of course, sleeping through the night a few times doesn't mean it will go on happening. Apparently at 6 months, 50% of babies who were previously sleeping through start waking at night again.

My 7 m.o. slept through for a few nights when he was around 3.5 months old, but hasn't since. Now he wakes every 2 hours. Starting solids definitely made him worse.

Info on the 4 month sleep regression here, here, here and here.