Stupid question but will my ds one day just sleep through?!

[arthymum]

Pardon what might be a daft question (blame it on sleep deprivation!)...

My ds is 5 months old and ebf. The dreamfeed has never made any difference so we don't bother anymore. He goes to bed at 7.30 and now wakes usually once anytime between 1 and 5. A couple of times when he's woken on the early side we've settled him back to sleep and he's gone through to morning. I think he wakes mainly out of habit rather than hunger. But he's teething at the moment so I think he wants the comfort too (so he gets it).

Does this sound good/normal?! I seem to keep meeting mums with babies that sleep through from 12 weeks old - aaaarggh! Will it gradually get later until he no longer wakes or do I need to shush him and break the habit (when he's not teething etc.)?

Sorry to ramble on. It's not a major problem but as I didn't sleep properly whilst pregnant I would love just the idea that a good night's sleep could be coming my way soon... [hopeful icon]

Hi, i don't know the answer but I'm in a similar position, i'm not convinced DS is hungry but it's easier to feed him then we can both go back to sleep! I'm fed up of hearing about babies who have slept through practically from birth but then i guess one feed per night isn't too bad really. Will keep an eye on this thread and hope for some magic solution!

Still waiting at 20mo.

Most of mine were around 3yo when they reliably slept through. Sorry.

Mine still doesn't at very nearly 3, but yours is a far better sleeper at 5 months than he is at 35 months! (juuule, really? 3-ish? I live in hope)

No two babies are the same. Both mone were bf. DS1 has slept 7 - 7 everynight since he was about four months. DS2 on the other hand is a year old and quite frankly we go to bed each night not knowing what's in store!! He is much, much better than he was at 5 months though. Alas I think the days where I slept in until 7am are gone for the VERY forseeable future

My DS is the same as yours - 5.5 mo and the dreamfeed didn't make a difference. He normally wakes up 3/4 times in the night to feed so we co-sleep and I barely wake up - just enough to work out which is the correct boob and wave it at him. He latches on and guzzles and then (I assume) goes back to sleep - I'm asleep well before then.

So your one a night waking sounds great to me.

He sounds like he's doing quite well, at least compared to my dcs...I think many if not most babies wake in the night until they are quite a bit older (sorry!). One feed at 5 months sounds pretty good to me - ds was having about 5 at that age!

I fully appreciate the hell that is a broken night's sleep, especially when it's night after night after night. Even one night waking is tough when it's been going on for a while.

Both of mine got the sleeping through idea eventually - dd about 13 months, ds fairly recently at about 18 months. I don't think it was anything we did, they just sort of got the hang of it. And I could tell that it was because they were ready rather than anything else - we tried various techniques (gradual withdrawal etc) but if they got ill or we went away, we would be back to square one. The sign of a child who is ready to sleep through, I reckon, is one who can cope with disruption and go back to sleeping through without needing any help to do so.

He'll get there eventually. And you can reassure yourself (as I used to do) with the thought that if he doesn't, there'll come a time when he's old enough to go downstairs, get himself a glass of milk and watch tv if he wakes bored and hungry in the night...

sorry to bring bad news but mine was nearly 4 (yes four) when he first slept through the night.

i really really feel for you.
tis utter torture.

TBH it sounds good..my DD wakes as often as that at 2.3!

God I really think your little one is doing OK if he is only waking once a night at five months! My DS woke every 2/3 hours until he was about 8 months old ...I think it's hard to know if he will just learn to sleep through on his own - some babies seem to - or whether he'll need a little help. I'm inclined to think they often need a little help, but that's because my two were both terrible sleepers. (DS now sleeps 12 hours without waking, so there is some hope!)

You just don't want to get stuck in a terrible habit where he is waking for milk simply out of comfort rather than needing it. I think at this age though he may well still need it - once he's settled on solids it may be worth trying to cut out the feed and settle him back to sleep in other ways. Honestly though, I really think it's so normal for babies to wake up at night at this kind of age - I think those mums who say theirs are sleeping through are perhaps not always being entirely honest ...! None of the many mums babies' I know have slept through before at least 6 months.

Thanks everyone. I think we are doing pretty okay and although I suspect he is waking more out of habit/comfort than hunger, I am happy to let it continue and see what's happening a couple of months down the line, after solids etc.

I have been beyond exhausted today after another night of 5 hours sleep (my fault, not his, find it hard to get back to sleep when I've fed him - I used to be out like a light) but then he would give me a big gummy smile or blow a disgusting raspberry and I'd think, ah it's not soo bad...

Dont worry hopwfully for you it will be soon. ds is now 11 months and sleeps 7ish-8ish.

slack routine? feed - bath - feed - bed? At the same timne every night?

dream feeding worked for me. and when i needed a couple of hours i could express and leave for dp to do dream feed to allow me a couple of hours to catch up?

hth good luck and remember they are not babies for long!!

My DS was just the same at that age (on a good night) and he continued to wake for a feed in the night until about 7 months. At this point I was beginning to think 'Do I need to do something to break his feeding in the night habit?' when he suddenly slept through one night - bliss! This got more frequent and he's been sleeping 12-13hours ever since, apart from the very occasional glitch due to teething etc (good god, hope I haven't just jinxed myself!!!).

I know myself at the time that if someone could've just said 'by such a date he'll be sleeping through' I wouldn't have minded the night feeds, but of course no-one can! Just wanted to reassure you that you don't always have to 'do' anything to help them sleep through the night.

Thanks Ellibop! I think I instinctively know it's getting better but this week has been particularly sleep deprived and I've been feeling a bit deranged! And today I met another friend with a tiny 10 week old who is getting more sleep than me (because the dreamfeed works for them) - aaargh!

Well we have some visible pearlies under the gums at the moment and I have a baby currently gnawing on my knuckles so I think I can kiss goodnight to a good night's sleep tonight, lol!