Why would you expect a 4wk old to sleep through the night?

[Clary]

Chatting to a 2nd-time parent colleague about how the new baby is doing, OK he says, but we're trying to get her to sleep through now. She's 4 wks.

I expressed surprise. He meant sleeping 11pm to 6am (not really sleeping through then) but even so. Apparently the thing to do if the baby wakes at 3am or whatever is to give her water so she stops wanting the milk. Is this a good idea at 4 wks?

And why would you have a baby at all if you weren't prepared to give up a few weeks/months of nights to deal with them waking? Mine are good sleepers but they still wake me now and then - and when they were tiny babies (and 4 wks is tiny isn't it?) I was fine with them waking me.

Oh well, now tell me I'm being judgemental! I was quite at the water thing tho - are you not supposed to feed a tiny baby milk whenever they need it? (It's a while since I looked after one, but still....)

Completely misinformed and yes,giving water is bloody dangerous.

milk ! not water ! babies are hungry and have tiny stomachs, unreasonable and stupid, frankly to expect a baby to sleep though before they are ready. cannot force teh issue....

i actually enjoyed the 2am feed, it was all lovely and quiet, and we;d sit and cuddle and feed and just 'be' in the peace and quiet

yes, you feel like crapola for a while, but hey ! occupational hazard of parenthood!

well yes, easy to judge but they're probably knackered and desperate, aren't they? Those 6 weeks or so are horrendous sleepwise, I used to count the number of MINUTES sleep I got!

Huh?? What? Trying to get them to sleep through at 4 weeks?? Nutter! Stupid bugger.

Sorry, of course...each to their own, but .I always believed if a babe was waking at that age that they needed milk, guess it might be different if not BFing though? still, .

WTF???
4 weeks old??

jeeeez, some people!

Even when bottle feeding you don't give water to very samll babies unless it's exceptionally hot and they are dehydrating. I am really at this. I'd want to shake him senseless

Yeah Moomin I felt like that too but managed to bite my tongue and say oh really?

ot really my business and of course rantothehills she will be knackered etc etc. But it's not as if she's at work, eh?

I mean, I always felt that when on mat leave I was just there for the baby and everything else could go hang. It's a bit different if you have to be sparkling in your 8.30am morning meeting.

I think it would be fair to say to them that as far as you understood it, babies needed feeding in the night at that age otherwise they don't get enough calories.

Agree with the others. Water milk only at 4 weeks old! My baby is 17 weeks and doesn't sleep 11-6 and never has, he rarely goes more then 3 hours at night still.

lulamama - I know what you mean. I am now complaining that I miss feeding her in the night as dp has been doing night wakings for last few days (and she has slept sometimes too.) What an ideeeott I am - never bloody happy! I am really but I miss feeding her in the night (once) Just like I let ONE car out when I'm driving. Its only fair

4 weeks far to young to be stressing about sleeping through IMHO (plenty of time for that.) I mainly worried if she was breathing at that time.

i feel quite horrifed for the poor little thing

It doesn't bode well for the poor thing's future if they are so ignorant or uncaring of her needs at 4 weeks FGS

jesus christ, thats ridiculous! am shocked that the hv hasnt said anything to them about it. sleep thru the night at 4w, tbh i'll be lucky if ds is sleeping thru at 4m!

I'm currently looking at 4 years.....

barking

have they been Listeining To Gurus?

the water thing might be worth trying at 6mo ish but certainly not before

Ridiculous!

sorry meant 4y not 4m

EEEK!

I haven't even had my baby yet (6 weeks to go!) and would consider myself fairly ignorant of all things new baby but this sounds pretty harsh. Poor little thing

i keep coming back to this thinking "god...that poor baby"

its unbelieveable !

Because of 'gurus' at baby shows? I started a thread on the breast and bottle feeding topic today about it.

I think the world is going mad personally.

What utter rubbish to think a 4 wk old baby should be sleeping through. God our society worries me at times.

this sounds like one of those tactics proposed in silly parenting books I seem to remember reading it somewhere.

Ah, maybe they just don't know.
When the midwife came round to us the day after we brought dd home, and asked us if we had any questions, dh said, 'Yes, how do we get her to sleep through the night?'
MW was a bit

well, I still reckon the poor bastard wass just talking bollocks through being sleep deprived whilst making the huge adjustment to being a parent, give him a break!

holy fuckaroli
I know sme babies do go through early but jaysus.
DS2 is 7 wks and sleeps fab he is just starting to go 10.30-5am an he is a very good sized lad
I was blessed and happy at a 3hr night stretch at 4 wks and am shocked and thrilled that ds2 sleeps so well at 7wks...
I nightfed ds1 up to 15 mths and was happy about it.