12 week old DS sleeping 8 hours from 7pm = confused

[matana]

My 12 week old DS is a good sleeper, but doesn't seem to have a 'routine' at night. The only thing that seems to be becoming consistent is that he sleeps from 7/8pm for a long stretch of five or six hours. Now i'm not complaining, i realise i'm lucky, but i'm confused about what 'sleeping through' is. Last night he slept solidly for 8 hours from 7.30pm, waking at 3.30am, then having a period of wakefulness and chattering (a little annoying at 3.30am!) before going back to sleep until 7.30am. He has never really had a 10/11pm feed (except when he was a newborn and demanded one) and when i have tried to force it (dream feeding etc) to make the 6 hour stretch be a bit more beneficial for my own sleep it just seems to make him unsettled and doesn't work. So i decided to go with him and see if he finds his own way - it works with everything else with him as he really is an easy baby.

My question is, when people say 'sleeping through' do they mean from 10/11pm, or from 'bedtime' at 7/8pm? Has anyone else got a baby who skips 11pm and is this normal or not?

He was an 8 pound baby, is BF, putting on weight perfectly and is content. Should i be waking him or allowing him to sleep for 8 hours at night? I don't know if he's too young to be going that long without a feed.

Sorry for all the questions!

It doesn't matter a stuffing shitsock what other people call "sleeping through" - you have a situation there that some parents of 5 year olds would kill for.

I was also extremely lucky with dcs sleeping.

Enjoy your wonderful dc and stop reading too many books!

When I said my DCs were sleeping through, I meant going from their last feed at 10 to at least 6am the next day (the earliest I would call morning).

As for what's normal, some babies sleep all night from a few weeks old, others take months and months. All of which is normal.

He's fine to go 8 hours without a feed, btw. He'll let you know if he is hungry.

Oh but your child IS sleeping through, 12 weeks and sleeping 5hrs straight, that is wonderful, just enjoy him sleeping that long and get some sleep too, and yes stop reading those books:o , you have a very normal child who sleeps..good luck

Yes I don't think it matters whether people would define it as 'sleeping through'.

I defined sleeping through as me not having to get out of bed in the night, ie from dreamfeed at 10.30 until at least 6. I was lucky, mine did it from 12 weeks and 10 weeks respectively.

lol - believe it or not i ditched the books several weeks ago when i realised my DS will not be forced into a routine by his silly mummy!

It's just that everywhere i look, and everyone i speak to (friends, family with babies etc) i'm told their last feed is at 10/11pm and then they go till 6/7am, pretty much without exception.

I guess i just have a 'unique' little boy, which is no bad thing.

If he was hungry at 10pm he would roar the house down.

If not, he won't.

He sounds as though he's thriving.

Congratulate yourself - you are doing a brilliant job.

These days Mums are made to feel terrible because their child does not conform to some book or report. I'm afraid that is all bollocks designed to make us panic and buy more books and keep "experts" in jobs.

Ride with the tide and go with the flow.

You're not alone, my DD who is 13 weeks does the same. Is exhausted by 8pm and fast asleep, normally sleeps until 3ish (sometimes 2, sometimes 4) then has a feed and sleeps the rest of the night until 7/8 am (on a good night, that is). Although it means that my sleep is broken it seems to be her natural rhythm and she has been doing this for about 5or 6 weeks now. Agree with others, if your DS was hungry you would know about it!

It doesn't matter - just expect baby's "routine" to change frequently in the first few months. They will seem to settle into a routine only to change it a few days or weeks later. This is normal! Just go with the flow. My LO "slept through" from 6 weeks old, but that was actually only 6-7 hours from about 11pm to start with, then there was a period of going to sleep earlier at around 9pm but waking once at about 2am for an hour long feed with a further 4 hours sleep afterwards. Finally she settled on a long 10+ hour sleep from around 8pm to 6:30 or 7am and is still doing this at 5.5 months, but I expect this to change again as she gets older.

Your son sounds exactly like my daughter! She is nearly 14 weeks now - but for the last 3 weeks or so she has been going down awake in her crib around 7.30 and then sleeping until anywhere between 1.30 and 4am for a feed. She then usually goes down until somewhere between 6 and 8am depending on when her feed was.
We tried giving a dreamfeed one night, but it was impossible to rouse her, we finally got the bottle in her mouth but she simply was not interested in sucking at all, so we just go with her flow now, feed her when she wakes (although the amount she is taking at that feed seems to be reducing gradually), and thank our lucky stars that at least for the time being we have no difficulty getting her into her crib!
I'm sure that we could well be in a false sense of security - I am under no illusion that it could all change!

Both my babies did this.

I tried waking for a feed at 10pm so they would go through till 7am, but it didn't work, so I just went with the flow.

Many years on they are still fabulous sleepers, and now I have to wake them up at 7 or 8 or even 9am.

Thank your lucky stars and keep your mouth shut (other parents will think you are boasting!)

Don't worry, when is tummy gets bigger at some point he won't even wake at 3am anymore. My dd (17 weeks now) is very similar, always has a 6-9h stretch starting around 7pm and then another 3-6h after that. Sounds like you don't need to change a thing.

I would kill for this...

Thanks - all very reassuring, i'll stop worrying! I think i am blessed with him