sleeping through the night

[Mads1]

Sorry, i have another question!!

How do you get babies to sleep through the night? Where do I start? DD is 8 weeks old.
I'm thinking of giving formula at her 10.30/11pm feed to see if this helps - have a thread on this too!!

I didn't do anything, she did it herself!

They'll do it when they're ready - giving formula won't help, IMO (though there are people who will tell you it will!).

It can make breastfed babies very unsettled and uncomfy in their tummies (wind, harder to digest than breastmilk), so you might end up with less sleep!

Mads1 - I have had 5 and although they all varied in the ages at which they slept through, the one thing that I stuck with was the routine at bedtime religiously. Right from birth they had a bath, story, bottle/breastfeed then bed in the cot every single night without fail. I can honestly say that by 5-6 months they all slept soundly through the night more often than not.

i realise that babies vary greatly... but for the most part, an 8 week old will still need a feed in the night.

As soon as your dd is ready, she'll do it (as hunkermunker has already said)

My son is mixed fed and still does not sleep through the night always, sometimes he does and other times he does not, he too is 8 weeks old

My ds is 8.5 mths old and still doesnt sleep through the night, all babes are different and will do this when they are ready, hopefully for your sake your babe is sooner rather than later though.

8 wks is too early to expect miracles. However, you can start laying the foundations now. The best advice for getting a baby into good sleeping habits is to get your dd used to going to sleep on her own: ie, put her down full and drowsy rather than cuddling her to sleep. According to various sleep experts, this is the single most important factor in creating a 'good sleeper'

Blimey - give it time! The poor thing only has a tummy the size of a walnut and needs to feed regularly. Also, night time feeds boost your milk production and are a necessary part of bf. My 7 month ds still wakes sometimes - IMHO you can't hurry these things and your db will do it when she's ready. Good luck!

Thank you one and all.
I guess the general consensus is that it is still too early!!

I know all babes are different and so I was just wondering what the age range was.

DD is starting to sleep from 11pm to 4am - on rare occasions till 5am which I know is fantastic. She has always slept 5-6 hours in the night since birth. I wanted to know if there was any ways of stretching this to 6/7am. But as you've all said, I shall wait for it to happen.

She's doing really, really well. She sounds like my dd actually. And yes, when they are like this they will get there sooner rather than later, I think. But there will be blips - nights when they suddenly are hungry and wake up twice. Don't panic, it is just a blip. I bet she'll sleep through nearly every night by four months.

Blimey 5 to 6 hours already you are so lucky!

My dd is one and has never, I repeat never slept through. She wakes at least twice. In fact she has only recently started sleeping a 5 or 6 hour stretch.

My friend has a two year old who slept through for about a fortnight at about 4 months old then stopped again.

latest research over here reckons that BF babies may still need fed 1 or 2 times a night until they are 1 year old.

ds didnt respond to anything i tried im afraid! he did himself at about 6 months!