What counts as sleeping through? Confused...

[Mrsfenchurch]

I am confused by what people mean by 'sleeping through'. My breastfed 9 week old usually sleeps from 10.30/11 until around 4 or 5am. My friend says he is 'sleeping through'. Whilst he sleeps sooo much more than DC1 at this age (or until over a year for that matter) I don't count it as sleeping through as I still do a night feed.... on another post I saw someone refer to their baby 'sleeping through the night' even though theft were waking them/doing a dream feed. But as baby was going straight back down considered they had never woken up. what do you class as sleeping through the night???

I consider sleeping through as actually sleeping through from bedtime to morning waking. If my child wakes in the night, I don't see how they've "slept though."

But lots of people seem to have arbitrary definitions, 5 hours is sleeping through, 8 hours is sleeping through.

It doesn't matter.

Everyone has different opinions (I think it's 10 plus hours uninterrupted sleep). Fact is, if it makes one mum feel better about her baby's sleep to define it as sleeping through then goid four for her.

Mums feeling better about their parenting can only be a good thing.

The problem only iccures with comparing and judging. Simple answer: don't compare. You judge whether your own child is sleeping through it not accordibg yo your own definition. If you need to.

Just don't compare to anyone else.

"...then goid four for her..."

Goodness, what's up with me?!

...then good for for her...

Thank you.yes I agree 100% about not comparing. I guess it's that understanding to that when some people say their child STTN at two weeks old etc etc that really you have to take it all with a pinch (bucketload) of salt!

Everyone looks at it differently. Most people I speal to count it as sleeping for about 5+hours x

Before 3 months, doing a stretch of 5 hours between 11-7
3-6 months doing 8 hours between 10-7
6 months + 11/12 hours without waking

Mrsfenchurch - my DC3 was sleeping throygh from 7 weeks old.

No pinch of salt needed. He went to sleep at 7pm and did not wake it feed or anything until 7am.

If you want to call sleeping through as 5 hours uninterrupted - he was doing that consistantly from his first day alive. I used to get two 6h blocks of sleep per night from him from the moment he was born.

This whole take it all with a pinch (bucketload) of salt thing is just as unhelpful as comparing in the first place.

Why assume mums are lying to each other? They are not.

Can we not work from the basis that we all support each other, be happy for each other, not compare and not feel diminished if compared?

Noone said anyone was lying to each other, it's the difference in definition that leads to confusion I think - hence my question.. and as answers have shown, If STTN means 12 hours to some but 5 hrs to others, plus at different ages etc it's hard to know

I should add (in relation to my last post) that I have four children. DC3 was sleeping 12h uninterrupted from before 2 months. None of my other three children were anywhere near this.

I have no reason to lie. I can't understand on what basis you think mums might benefit in any way by lying?

And yes I'm all for supporting each other too

Apparently sleeping through means midnight till 5am. Not sure where I read that.

DC1 and DC2 ignored that little snippet of information, but DC3 'slept through' from 5 weeks

although since he turned 11 months, he hasn't slept through since and has been an absolute nightmare for the last 7 months

Crossed post.

Sorry, I must have misunderstood what taking it with a pinch of salt meant.

You are right though - there's such a huge range of meaning in the phrase "sleeping through" that it isn't anything you can realistically compare from one oerson to the next, because there are such huge ranges of definitions.

Suffice to say some babies sleep 12h uninterrupted very young. Others don't. Some mums like to cekebrate the fact that they don't have to wake in their own night by using this phase. Others celebrate the fact that they have no extended wake ups by saying this phrase.

It's all good. "Sleeping through" is almost universally a celebrated phrase when a parent uses it about their own child. So I think, let that mum celebrate their own triumphs in sleep, whatever that is. It's not easy to compare using such subjective phrases, but that doesn't really matter very much.

So good for your friend if her dc is slerpubg through. It must be something she is pleased with.

I'd say sleeping through was sleeping from say 11pm till around 6 and no feeding in between. And you don't have to get up in the middle of your night's sleep to feed. Never thought I'd get to this point with DD but did eventually. Still haven't forgotten thought its a very long time ago.

11-12hrs sleep is what I count as sleeping through!

My hv classes sttn as 5 hours uninterrupted sleep.
My baby is in a phase of sleeping 7-12, 12-2, being awake for ?hours at 2, then finally waking for the day 7/730am. So technically she sleeps through the night as does a 5 hour stretch.
Personally I feel waking twice, the second time for up to 3 hours is very definitely NOT sttn.
I want a good 8-12 hour stretch please without waking, preferably not getting up till after 6am. We can all dream (or not )

I would say going to bed at 7 and waking between 6/7 - perhaps with a dream feed about 10/11. So they get at feed but don't technically wake up.

So it really is varied. Interesting that drinkyourmilk's** HV says 5 hrs counts as SSTN...

I think where I'm coming from due to being chronically sleep deprived from one or two waking a from 2 or 3 onwards.!(often after sleeping 7-3 or 3am - i.e. 5hrs) but still feeling like my DC1 was the only one not SSTN when in actual fact based on lots of people's definition she was (based on the 5hr definition at least!)... so I needn't to have felt so alone in having a 'poor sleeper' when she was likely pretty normal! This time I'm not going to worry, and will defo not start telling people he is already STTN just because he does a 5hr stint as I know how crap it can make other mums feel.