Sleeping through the night

mckayleesmom wrote: I was just wondering if I should be concerned or not so Ill ask you guys. For the last week or so Mckaylee has been waking up less at night. Tuesday and wednesday night she only woke up once at 4:00 which was a long time for her especially since I had put her to bed earlier then usual. Then last night she slept the whole night. Well as much as it was nice to get that sleep cause I wasn't feeling good yesterday I am still wondering if it is good for her to be sleeping through the night already. She is only a month old. When I was in the hospital the nurse said to wake her up for her feedings, but when I told my mom that she told me specifically "don't you dare wake her up, because she will let you know if she is hungry and if she is asleep she must need it". My mom is the mother of 5 so I know that is what she did with us and we turned out fine, but I still am worried about her being hungry. But then again when Mckaylee is asleep, she is asleep and she won't wake up, even with rubbing her feet, wet clothes and every other trick to wake her up. So should i be concerned? Just wondering.

maliksmommy replied: My opinion is No, don't wake her up. I agree with your mom she will let you know when she is hungry. I was always told never wake a sleeping baby.

mckayleesmom replied: thanks, I just wanted some other opinions cause my mom is that women that is set in her ways and she is right about everything, and usually I agree with her, but after you have your own baby you wonder if it is right or if it was just what worked for her.

MomToMany replied:
I'd say, since she's only 1 month old, she *might* be ready to sleep through the night. Some babies do it sooner than others. But go with your instinct; if you think she needs to eat, then she probably should . If you're still not sure, go ahead and wake her up. Some babies sleep so hard that it's really hard for them to wake up when they're hungry. I woke Hannah up every 2 1/2 hours for the first 2 months, but that's me. Just go ahead and do what you think is right!

MommyToAshley replied: I woke Ashley up for the first month or two as well... I was also told to do so. She was a large baby at birth and had to have her glucose tested every two hours before she could leave the hospital. I was told it was important to wake her up because babies that young don't always know what they are feeling is hunger or they are sound sleepers and don't wake up when hungry. Since then, I have heard the opposite advice...don't ever wake a sleeping baby. It seems, just like everything else, there are two different opinions and you have to go with your gut. As a first time Mom, I would get so frustrated that all the experts had opposing views...LOL. I wasn't sure what to do so I errored on the side of waking her up to feed her.

Kaitlin'smom replied: I am the opsite, I did not wake her to feed. I was told she will let me know when she is hungry, and she did. For the first couple months she would wake up about ever 2-3 hours on her own, and when she went longer I would worry about her being hungry but I never woke her up. She would also fall asleep alot while nursing sometimes after 5 min. I heard things on both side of that one you should keep them awake to nurse(or feed) at least 15 min, and som ewould say 5 min was okay. Its so hard to knwo what to do, just listen to your instincs and you will be fine. HTH!

ediep replied: I am also a first time mom, but I would say if she eats frequently during the day, then I wouldn't wake her at night. I would wake her by 6 or 7am if she isn't up yet. You could always check with her ped, just to be sure

ediep replied: ps- I am jealous...Jason didn't sleep through the night until he was 5 months old and he still occasionally wakes up crying.....he is 8 months

msjennbug replied: my son slept through the night at one month.
he was a big guy (10#8oz at birth) and a GOOD nurser. He would cluster feed in the late afternoon/early evening. I felt like all I did was nurse him at that time. Then he started sleeping through the night. I, too, contemplated waking him up to make him eat.

Well, at 6wks he went through a growth spurt and was again waking at night to nurse. After a few days of that he began sleeping through the night again.

He's 18months old now and since his initial beginning to sleep through the night at one month old he's gone through spurts of waking again - growth spurts, teeth, sick and then gone right back into sleeping through the night again.

At one month, if she's eating well through the day (on her cue), then I'd let her sleep. I'm sure once that next growth spurt kicks in, if she needs more nurishment, she'll be waking you up again enjoy the rest while you can.

Is she in the room with you, or down the hall? nursing or formula feeding? those affect whether or not sleeping through is good/normal/worrisome/etc.

btw, out of my other babies the two formula fed babies began sleeping through around two weeks and the other two breastfed babes were six-eight months old.

jenn

supermom replied: My first slept thru the night at two weeks (I was very lucky!) and I wouldn't wake her if she seems "normal" in all other respects......Is she still "happy" and "playful" (as much as a one month old can be) when she's awake? If so, I don't think I'd worry too much and let her sleep - HTH

Hillbilly Housewife replied: If yo ucan believe it, Zach slept through his first night in the hospital when he was born. He slept from 9pm to 3am, then was up for about 3 minutes and went back to sleep until 6am.

Unfortunately, I was in a semi-private room, and the other woman's baby didn't shut up the whole night!

After his first week, he generally only woke up every 4 or 5 hours.

MomofTay&Sam replied: Sam was sleeping all night at 4-5 weeks. I didnt dare wake him and he was/is a big baby. He still sleeps all night from 11-almost 8 without a sound. (6 1/2months old) When we brought him home he ate every 3 hours like clockwork. I was in the hospital for his first 2 weeks of his life so I think he was pretty confused about all the new people feeding him. I wanted to nurse so bad but it just was not right for us. I think it is best to let the little one sleep. Your doc would be able to answer better. Enjoy the quite and get some rest!!!

mckayleesmom replied: Mckaylee is almost 6lbs, and she is breastfed and I supplement a couple feedings at night cause she sleeps better at night on formula for some reason..She is still a happy baby and she has been eating alot more at night, mainly cause I think she just wants to cuddle, so as long as she is happy and gaining then Im going to let her sleep. Thank you all for your opinions, its nice to have different points of view.

Heather replied: I really wish I could help but we are still getting up several times a night with Alison!! And she is 10.5 months...SIGH. So I think you should wide because you are one lucky momma!!! I am sure she will let you know if she is hungry!! Good luck with it and hopefully it continues for you!!!

MamaMartie replied: I would say don't wake ehr up. if she is that alseep that you reallky can't wake her than let her be. I think if she was hungrey she'd wake up. The other day I was looking through our other daughter's baby journal, and she started sleeping at longer stretches at 4 weeks. I was looking b/c Hannah had been up all night and I was looking for a ray of hope.

Seriously, count your blessings and let her sleep. It probably won't be consistant, meaning for the the next month or 2 when she hits growth spurts she'll get up, but this is a good start.

msjennbug replied: that's why she's sleeping, then. the formula. and it works b/c it doesnt digest as well/quickly as breastmilk would.

BUT, right now you're milk supply is being set. YOU need to be feeding her at night for YOUR sake. The early sleeping through, due to formula, will effect your supply. This effect may not show up for a few months though.

It's funny how it all works out, but not nursing her NOW can cause supply problems even as late as six months old. Most dry up completely around four months from making their babies sleep through starting at 2wk, 4wk, 6wks.

If she's sleeping through, perhaps you should consider waking at least once to pump in the night.

mckayleesmom replied: It is wierd that you bring that up cause for the last 2 days I have been not giving her the formula and breastfeeding her and she stays up all night screaming, so I don't know what to do, she didn't go to be till almost 5:00 this morning. I was so frustrated I was talking to my dh about switching her to formula. But then my mom told me to try baby cereal in with pumped breast milk at night, but how old do they have to be for cereal? I thought they had to be around 3 months. My mom said that is what she had to do with some of us ( there is 5 of us) to get us to sleep at night cause we were hungrier at night. I don't know what to do.

Schnoogly replied: JMHO but cereal isn't a good idea until at least 4 months--their digestive systems aren't mature enough yet and you might just make it worse!

Iain is bf'ed and supplemented and we have gone through periods of lots of night waking, then just a little. he didn't sleep through the night until almost 5 months though (9pm-5am) and has only done it twice.

Don't know what else to recommend, except I would skip the cereal for now.

Here is a link on night waking that might help

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070300.asp

Schnoogly replied: Just wondering if she might also be having a growth spurt? This is common around 3 & 6 weeks. She will be hungry all night long.

What I would do is just take her into your bed, and nurse, nurse, nurse (side lying is easiest). Are you sure hunger is the problem? Does she fuss when eating during the day?

Around 3 weeks was when Iain turned into demon baby--before that (well after he came home from surgery) he slept in his crib all the time. Then he had to be held 24/7 and became very colicky and fussy. Don't want to jinx you but your baby might be entering a colicky stage

Steph