Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

16 week old baby never slept through

45 replies

pamelat · 10/09/2010 20:31

DS is 16.5 weeks.

Was breastfed for 14, 2 hourly ish - always woke 2 and 5am for feeds

Switched to formula at week 14 for a week and pattern continued

Switched to hungry baby on advice of HV and pharmacist (he is 18lbs!! born at 7.5 lbs so large weight gain) and he still wakes but now it can be any time, always at least twice.

He feeds at one of the wakings but this week we have tried to offer water, dummy, resettling at the other wakings and its going horribly wrong .....

Last night he woke at 330am wide awake, happy, not hungry (having drank 7oz at 1am) and just wanted to play ... until 530am

We have toddler who then woke at 630am so this is not something which is do-able long term

His days roughly go like this.

7am feed
9am sleep for 30 mins
10am feed
1145 sleep (unfortunatey he usually wakes after 30 mins, sometimes I can persuade him to go back but others he is just awake)
Between 1145 and 2pm regardless its "quiet time" which unfortunately means a lot of dummy/walking right now.
230pm feed
awake, happy
4pm sleep for 30 mins
515pm feed, bath, feed
6pm ready for bed
10pm dream feed
nights - anything ......

Any tips???

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

nickytwotimes · 12/09/2010 19:40

hi pam.
ds2is 15 weeks and up several times a night.

Original poster

pamelat · 12/09/2010 19:46

I just find it really odd that he wakes up (not hungry) but just awake and shouting. Until a week or so ago he woke to feed but would go straight back to sleep. Surely he must now be really really tired ... ?

OP posts:

PacificDogwood · 12/09/2010 20:42

Here may be the answer to your question

It will pass, honest, but when? Who knows?. Count yourself lucky with your first baby. I am currently trying to be patient with DS4 (6 months) aka The Amazing Non-Sleeping Baby - and that's day and night, gah!

MamaLeMay · 12/09/2010 20:54

Hello...... I'm just going to whisper that my 2yr old and my 14 week old boys have both slept through from between 6-8 weeks and the only thing that I can maybe suggest is a nice relaxing bubblebath with lavender before bedtime.....? Also my youngest son sometimes stirs if he has kicked his covers off? Maybe one if those gro bags would help if that could be one of the reasons for waking?

TrinityIsAHappyRhino · 12/09/2010 20:56

reality check, its normal

my gecko who doesn't sleep through and she is 3 and a half is however a freak

GoldenGreen · 12/09/2010 21:09

dd also 16.5 weeks and no pattern other than she usually falls asleep at 10pm - random night wakings after that - I've gone with it so far but it's starting to get me down. At one point she did seem to be getting a pattern of one feed at 4am but then we went away for 2 weeks and it all went wrong.

She's gone to sleep tonight at 7.15 instead of the usual 10pm (she used to cluster feed in the evenings but doesn't do this so much anymore) so I'm going to see what happens.

One of my friends has a 12 week old who is currently doing 11 HOURS every night and am so jealous!

Ds had one night waking at this age and then he slept through at 24 weeks for the first time - however he didn't repeat the sleeping through regularly until he was 2! So am resigned to no sleep for a long time...

pooka · 12/09/2010 21:16

DD - slept through at 10 months. Stopped having night feeds at 6 months though.

DS1 - slept through at 7 months. Stopped night feeds at about 6 months.

DS2 - is 12 months. Have just stopped night feeds. Was co-sleeping and feeding maybe twice a night. Now in own room and wakes once a night.

Night wakings are really really normal. Some babies sleep through earlier than others, but is just as likely that some that do, then stop at some point. From my post-natal group about 7 years ago with dd, 2 babies slept through at about 12 weeks. But then started waking at night at about 6 months (teeth?). Other babies were about 6 months. But in general none of the babies regularly slept through until nearer the 9 month mark. INcidentally, the 2 babies that slept through earliest were breastfed. DD was pretty reliable once she did sleep through, but still had a 3 month phase when she was about 2 of waking at least once a night for comfort.

NoahAndTheWhale · 12/09/2010 21:21

DS started sleeping through at about 10 weeks.

So when I had DD I thought she might be similar. Bit sadly no. She started sleeping through sometimes around 2 and was good sleeper by the time she was 3.

I did everything the same or not knowingly different but it just was different with a different child.

ClimberChick · 13/09/2010 05:41

Pam - 14 weeks not bad at all.

My 6 month DD is nowhere near sleeping through, we're still every 2 hours in fact (except today from 6pm to 10pm, not that helps me).
Anyway I digress, it all sounds normal, remember we're in the majority and others feel compelled to exaggerate for fear of being judged. Remember it's nothing to do with you. I'm not even attempting to change it, as clearly there's a lot going on with her body and mind atm.

mollycuddles · 13/09/2010 05:51

Pam - I'm with you and sk. And she never sleeps for any decent time in the day either. And getting her into her cot. Ha. Some chance. I don't post about it because I expect it and I find clock watching makes me feel worse. My ds never slept day or night either. It is normal. It will pass. Maybe try to just accept it and go with the flow more?

mathanxiety · 13/09/2010 06:06

When you say 'ready for bed' at 6 pm, what do you mean? Is he sleepy and nodding off? If so, then he is sleeping quite a bit if his initial period of sleep is only interrupted by a dreamfeed at 10 and then he's awake during the small hours of the morning. He's effectively maybe going for 4 solid hours (6-10) and then another 3 or so until 1 or 2? It's just that his sleeping time and the time you want him to sleep are not coinciding.

It's probably crazy to suggest that you try to sleep at the same time as him, but I wonder if you tried to keep him awake a bit longer in the early evening, maybe pushed back the bath to a later time, and then woke him preemptively just a bit before his normal feeding time about 4 hours after he falls asleep, then keep on doing this, pushing the sleep time a bit later each night until his 7 or 8 hours with the dreamfeed in the middle starts later and later, and his normal sleep and awake times match yours better?

This might all end up driving you even crazier than the current state of affairs though. I've never experienced any of the wonderful sleeping patterns so beloved of the experts who write baby manuals with mine. The worst of them never slept in the day and woke at night until she was about 3.

amyboo · 13/09/2010 10:02

DS (5.5 months) often wakes in the night wanting to play, squeal etc. He was bf till 4 months, and has been bottle fed since (I had to go back to work) and I weaned him at 4.5 months. He will now sleep through, with a dream feed at 10.30pm, from 7pm-6am. He'll still sometimes wake wanting to play, etc, although sometimes he'll just want his dummy and then go abck to sleep.

FWIW, he only started managing to sleep like this 2 weeks ago... Until then he was still waking once in the night for a feed, and often another time wanting to play.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that your DS sounds quite normal. I ignore people who tell me their xx slept through at xx weeks.

Original poster

pamelat · 15/09/2010 09:11

Quick update. Last night he woke just once at 4am for feed and back to sleep ...

My DD followed this pattern and within 2 to 3 weeks was sleeping through ... fingers crossed.

The amount of you that have told me it is normal/relatively good is quite depressing

Night wakings for feeds are fine but to play seem a bit odd

Like the article on sleep regression, all makes sense.

Lets hope the one waking for feed continues ....

OP posts:

seeker · 15/09/2010 09:18

He wakes up because he's a baby. Do whatever it takes to bget him pact to sleep - that is probably either milk or taking him into bed with you.

It won't last forever - do whatever provides the most sleep for the most people.

pandapuss · 15/09/2010 12:32

my ds has started to wake multiple times during the night, he used to sleep from 12pm till 6am but gone are those days, i offer him the bottle and breast but i think often hes just feeding for the comfort, he will sleep in bed with me but when i try to put him down he wakes again. im begining to realise from what everyone else is saying that this is something im just going to have to live with, hopefully it will pass....soon.

yumziemumzielol · 15/09/2010 12:40

Hi,

Similar story...15wks he feeds every two & half hours religiously at night just started to miss his 11pm feed & can still wake a few times. Ive not tried water as yet - when do you give this & is it only an oz or two??? May give that a bash...when he wakes through the night I just dont chat have little interaction...though cuddle him back to sleep after feed, but I feel your pain this play at night is little frustrating, if only they could tell the time lol!

pookamoo · 15/09/2010 12:42

Sorry I'm sure this won't be of any comfort, but my DD was 13 months old by the time she slept through for the whole night. I can tell you the exact date!

pleasechange · 15/09/2010 12:44

Erm - I have a 2yo who has 'slept through' (until 6am) once, ever, in his life

Sympathies for now, but at 16w I shouldn't worry too much!

Original poster

pamelat · 15/09/2010 18:52

Just a ponder. Last night he had calpol before bed because of his immunisations and now I am wondering whether to give it every night whether he is waking with teething pains?

Obviously I wouldnt give calpol all the time but has made me wonder whether the pain relief helped him, little sausage.

OP posts:

RuByMaMa · 17/09/2010 22:28

i never tried to force my dd to "sleep through" and in the last 3 weeks she has surprised us by doing it herself (7.30-6.30/7). maybe i'm being naive as she's my first, but i kind of feel that most babies will do it when they're ready and in the meantime, all you can do is encourage them to sleep (ie. keep lighting dim, don't play with them etc). my dd was still waking every 3 hours up until 3 weeks ago and then one night we put her to bed at 7.30 and i woke at 6.30 next morning to her babbling away in her cot (she's 8 months)... i think that because she's now crawling and a bit more physically active she's actually tiring herself out more...

Flip

1 2