Mums of 12-hour a night babies how did you do it?

[EllaWt]

Just that really... my 6 months old is nowhere near that and I'm dreaming of a 7pm to 7am baby

Mostly luck/genetics/personality I think. I did also wonder whether her lack of adequate daytime sleep and the fact that she spent all day screaming her head off with gaps just to guzzle massive feeds might also have meant that she was very full and verrrrrry tired come nighttime which perhaps helped her sleep then too. Oh and a dummy, I think that's been a BIG part of her good sleep, and not jumping straight to milk if she woke in the night so it didn't become a habit. She stopped waking for a middle of the night feed by the time she was about 8 or 9 weeks old so when she did have occasions of waking in the night weeks/ months down the line I would only offer milk if I had already tried a number of other ways to resettle her, I'd avoid it where possible as I think a lot of babies/toddlers end up in habits where they wake a lot for milk that they don't really 'need' (from a nutritional point of view - I understand breastfeeding for comfort is different but I used a dummy for that, essentially). I guess I feel we did make decisions with sleep that hopefully helped encourage good sleep habits but clearly if she hadn't have wanted to sleep I bet we could have tried everything and she still wouldn't have, so I deffo think luck/personality/genetics is the biggest factor. DH has always been a good sleeper so she takes after him. I'm terrible otoh and was an absolute nightmare as a young child - I'm pregnant and I doubt we will get so lucky twice so we are bracing ourselves...

It's just luck; some babies are sleepers and some aren't! I know because I've had one od each and didn't do anything sifferent with them. Both breastfed, both bathed, lotioned and fed by 7pm but the first didn't sleep theough until 2 (also woyld not nap) and the second was sleeping through at 5 weeks plus lovely, regular naps.

If you are blesses with a sleeper, there are things that you can do to get them to sleep quicker - like rocking or white noise etc - but id yoy have a non-sleeper, the only thing that helps is time.

Tbh, you are better off spending your time and energy on coming up with a plan for how to manage the sleepless baby rather than trying to make them sleep more e.g taking the night in shifts with your partner / arranged lie-ins while your partner or a family member looks after the baby, have a family member stay over occasionally and look after the baby overnight (or take the baby for the night if you are comfortable with this), cosleeping at night/for daytime naps etc. If you are breastfeeding and baby won't take a bottle btw, your partner/babysitter can cupfeed or syringe feed the baby btw. Your sleep is important!

Good luck.

Just luck! I had a rough labour and first few days in hospital so the midwives told me to write down every feed/nappy/sleep (which I did religiously for 4 months!) but it actually really helped us figure out her natural routine and we just built on that. Shifting naps and bedtime gently. She's slept 9-5 from around 6 weeks then around 4 months 7-7. She's 2 now and still sleeps for 12 hrs and often asks to go to bed if she's tired and not napped.

Full disclaimer, she is our only child and I'm fully aware this might not happen again if I have another - I genuinely believe it's just who she is. My mum says I was the same!

I had one that did 12 hours a night from 6 weeks old, and one who slept in 45 minutes bursts till she was 18 months, and didn't sleep through the night till 3 and a half.

I did exactly the same stuff with both kids.

We loosely followed the Gina Ford routine. They both slept through from 8 weeks with a 7pm bedtime, lifted for a late feed at around 10pm until weaning was established, then back to bed until 7am.

If your 6 month old was / is sleeping 8pm - 7am you're lucky!
Mine only slept in 3 hour blocks for over 18 months.

I had a 12+ hour sleeper from 12 weeks. It was nothing I done she just slept right through one night and 4 years later still does. I just I got lucky I was a single parent to a newborn and 5 year old and for the first couple of months I was so sleep deprived, it makes me feel sick thinking back to that time. I think someone was looking down on me as I couldn't have coped with broken sleep much longer .

I really don't think there is anything you can do to encourage a baby to sleep through it isn't a skill and doesn't make any parent better or worse. When she had/has odd nights where she wouldn't sleep I was at a total loss what to do so would just lie there and hope she finally fell asleep.

It's not popular now but the Gina Ford contented baby book had both mine sleeping 12 hours by 3 months

It’s hugely down to good luck. I’ve got one who slept 12 hours from 6 months and still does now 6 years later. Other was the worst sleeper and still is now 4 years later. They had the same routine, it’s literally just down to their sleep pattern