Getting My 2 Month Old to Sleep During the Night

In my opinion, you can't. They still need to eat more often than that at this age, especially if they are breastfed. They are just too little to eat enough at one time to get them through the whole night.

I used the book "Baby Wise" for my now 4 1/2 month old. He is sleeping now 11 hrs. at night. But again, this is fairly rare, he is just a good little sleeper. Take the book with a grain of salt (it is not how they state it for every kid), but it certainly helped.

I can understand that you want to get a full night sleep but your little guy is much too young to sleep through the night. Most pediatricians do not recommend sleep training until they are at least 6 months old. Remember sleeping through the night for an infant is only 5 hours not the 10-12 hours we expect. At this age, he still needs to eat frequently and wants the warmth and cuddles from you. Give it to him. There is nothing wrong with spoiling him at this age. Enjoy this age because before you know it he will be sleeping for 10 hours straight and you will look back at this time and miss those late night cuddles .

Good luck!

He's still young so it may be hard to get him to sleep. We lucked out and our daughter just started sleeping on her own around 2 months. But at that time we had switched from breast milk to formula...so she was formula fed and would get a bottle right before bed. I assume she was full enough to last through the night. So I guess it depends on whether he is formula fed or breastfed.

Also, when he makes the slightest noise do you get up immediately. I didn't let my daughter cry-it-out of course at that age...but if she woke up and was just cooing...I let her coo and didn't go get her. She usually would go back to sleep in minutes.

When your baby wakes up in the middle of the night have only a dim light just enough to see to feed him and change him. Don't talk to him. Be very quiet and he should go right back to sleep after eating. Also try not picking him up right away when he awakes to see if he will fall back to sleep. He might just need a pacifier to suck on and not really need to eat again. Also keep him awake more during the day time and make sure he is getting enough to eat during the day. You may need to supplement the last nursing of the day with formula if your milk is low during that time.

I agree with Barbara J. I don't really think you can "teach" a 2 month old to sleep through the night. They still have small stomachs that simply can't hold the volume needed to get them through the night. Every kid is different, but the standard as indicated by the American Academy of Pediatrics in this link:

http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/s...

My son was sleeping through the night at 10 weeks. What worked for us was a schedule (I know, sooo many people on here don't agree). We used the basics of Babywise and followed the wake, eat, play, sleep schedule. This really worked for us. I would also wake him up right before we went to sleep and feed and have an abbreviated wake time. Otherwise, he would sleep really well for about 5 hours, and we weren't getting that same 5 hour block because of our later bedtime. As he was able to sleep through the night, we moved his bedtime back more and more.

That's a challenge.....and he's still young, I know you aren't being up most of the time at this point. Is he hungry when he wakes up? Does he just want attention? How long before he goes back to sleep and how often does he wake up? He's a little young for cereal.....although my son was a big boy and starving, so I added just a tiny bit of baby cereal to his bottle and got a bigger nipple. That worked for me until he started needing more. But I would talk to your doctor before doing that. He's still pretty small and some kids don't sleep all night through until they are 4-6 months old......Good luck, I hope you get naps!

A 2 month old can't be expected to sleep through the night. Their physiology is different from an adult's. They need intermittent sleep and need to eat every 2-4 hours. Only by 5-12 months are most babies ready to sleep longer periods. And if he is breast feeding he may night wake for a lot longer. Society lets parents think that their babies should and can sleep through the night. Some parents get lucky, but it isn't the norm and should not be expected. Sleep training a baby this young is not what a baby needs either. It will impact their brain development and teach them that the world is not a caring and safe place - thus wiring their brains that way. Going to your baby when they wake and attending to their needs teaches them that they are safe. They grow fast. Don't worry. The sleep deprivation goes away and they will finally sleep - and so will you!

He is still an infant and wakes because he is hungry. The secret is getting him to back to sleep as soon as possible. One of the biggest things you can do is feed, burp and change his diaper in the dark or as dark as you can, with no conversation during the middle of the night. Get a nightlight.

He will have minimal stimulation and this will help him fall right back to sleep..

The other thing I noticed is that the cold baby wipes, would totally wake up our daughter when you put them on her bottom, so we purchased a wipe warmer and it changed our lives.

Quite simply, you can't. You might find that you both get more (and better) sleep if your son sleeps in the bed with you.

This must be your first baby. 2 months of age is still in the 'sleep depravation' window for Mom and Dad. Making sure that he's fed well, burped out, dry and swaddled when you but him down for the evening will help. A late night feeding around 10-11 pm and then him waking up around 5-6 am is considered sleeping through the night. At 2 months, babies have a pretty big growth spurt and they get hungrier and made need to be fed.

I just told a friend who has a new baby about 3 months old now, that using a rice roll or pad works well too. Babies like to to sleep on your chest, your body heat is soothing, especially if their belly is bothering them. So I had a rice pad, which is nothing more than a small pillow filled with uncooked rice, that could be popped into the microwave for about 60-90 seconds and it got warm, like a heating pad. I would put that in the bassinet or crib and my baby would lay on it. They were so happy and slept so sound.

You can make your own pad, use flannel or even a light weight polar fleece. If you make it with a heavy weight of cotton first and then make little pillow cases for it it out of the flannel or fleece it will be easy to keep clean.

This is a great tool, especially if your baby doesn't like to be swaddled, wanting to kick and move during their slumbers.

It takes time. These sleepless nights are just a precursor or training days for us as parents, because will find ourselves not being able to sleep when they get older as teenagers, we'll be waiting up for them, to make sure that they got home okay. :o)

I have a lot of experience with babies, but I am not an expert. Your baby will sleep through the night eventually. The Dr. I take my children to says not to push sleep until 3 mo. of age. My 11mo old is just starting to sleep through the night. That does not mean your 2 mo old has to stay up throughout the night till he is that age. I have 9 children so far and every one of them has been a different age of my sanity.

Those saying he is too young are right, sorry. But my new daughter sleeps more at night I believe because I feed her every 2 hours (start to start) during the day . And I just go to bed early so I get a little more sleep. It's some of the adjustments we need to make. Also it is a bad idea to ever let your baby "cry it out." There is scientific evidence that it does neurological and emotional damage by rewiring the bran and overdeveloping the part of the brain that is in a state of fear. I've seen ads in the free magazine "Metro Parent" for a sleep coach, if you think there are some abnormal sleep problems in the future. Good luck, and sleep whenever you can!

My sons were both sleeping through the night by 1 month old. My doctor assured me that night feedings were unnecessary after the first 10 days of life. Here is what I did: I would put them to bed in their own space at the same time each night, while they were still awake and with full bellies. If they fussed I set a timer and waited 5 minutes before going in to comfort them with out picking them up, only rubbing gently and singing/talking to them. Once they were calm I would leave, and if they started fussing I would wait another 5 minutes. In all their time as babies I only had to go in once 3 or 4 times, and I never had to go back twice, they always managed to self sooth and go to sleep in under the 5 minutes. Once they learn to go to sleep on their own, they apply that to night wakings. If my sons woke at night I would wait 5 minutes before going in (assuming they were not screaming like something was really wrong). They always self soothed before the 5 minutes was up.

They would still wake early while young for the first feeding, but they consistently slept from 8 until 3 from 1 month, and as they aged that 3 am feeding moved back to 5, and buy 5 months once they were having solids, 6 or 6:30 became the norm. Good luck

Sorry but you can't. 2 month olds are not supposed to sleep through the night. I know it is VERY EXHAUSTING to get up and feed the baby but your baby is just not developmentally supposed to sleep through the night. There are a few babies that do but they are really the rare exceptions. Most babies this age are growing so incredibly fast that they need to eat and are also not able to self soothe when they wake up and they need you to help put them back to sleep with love. Be Patient soon the baby will be big enough (after 6 months you MIGHT get 6 hours straight and it will feel like heaven) Enjoy your baby while you can, sleep while the baby sleeps during the day. If you have to work then make your spouse take turns with you waking up with the baby so you can get some relief.

I was very successful at getting my breastfed son to sleep through the night 7-8hrs by 6 weeks old and 8-10hrs by 10 weeks. The trick is schedule, schedule, schedule. Feed them, play with them, nap, Repeat. (Feed them every 3 hours during the day even if it means waking them up at 3 hours.) At night, give them a "top off" feeding right before you go to bed, make sure they are burped really well. Also, a baby crying does not mean they are hungry. They could need a diaper change, they may be gassy, they may be bored. The last thing is to lay them down awake and let them fall asleep on their own - this teaches them to self soothe and babies can learn this safely as a newborn without harm to their neurological development. (this is also the hardest part for the parent because it is so nice to snuggle a sleeping baby). If baby is having a hard time self soothing, try soothing them without picking them up - patting their back, rubbing their head, etc.

My son is now 3 and he sleeps very well, bedtime lasts 5 minutes tops and has always been a breeze with no crying or fussing because he doesn't need us to help him fall asleep.

You can get your baby to sleep through the night at this age and it will help them to learn self soothing techniques and a schedule because that is how life is: scheduled. If they aren't used to a schedule and they don't have self soothing techniques than it is a whole new learning process and a rude awakening when they turn 2 and find out they really aren't in charge. Good Luck!

What do you mean by most of the night? I have no experience with BF babies , all mine were formula fed and they can go longer between feeds and start sleeping through the night sooner , but at 2 months mine were not sleeping all night. At that age they would have a feed around 7/8pm , I would then put them down awake in the crib in the bedroom , they would then wake again around 11pm for another feed and then another between 3&4am. You need to give it a few more weeks before that 3/4am feed will stretch out to 5 maybe 6am.

If you are struggling with the lack of sleep you could try what myself and my husband used to do , I would go to bed around 9/9.30pm and he would stay up and do the 11pm feed and then go to bed , I would do the 3/4am feed , by that point I'd had a good chunk of sleep which makes you feel so much better.

He is too young, sorry but its true! The baby is the one in control right now and you have to deal with it. My youngest still doesn't sleep through the night every night and she is 5 months. Keep the baby up till you go to bed, lay him down when you go to sleep. Take naps when you can or go to bed early. Do not force your baby to sleep through the night. He wakes up bc he is hungry and he needs that food. Wait till he is between 6-8 months to start to worry about that. My pedi told me I just needed to follow their schedual and when my oldest turned 6 months he told me to try and get her to sleep through the night. I can not picture a 2 month old sleeping through the night. Good luck!

If your 2-month-od is sleeping 5 consecutive hours then that is considered sleeping through the night.

he is only a newborn. Babies wake, they cry, many reasons and just them being a baby.
Feed on-demand, 24/7. Make sure if breastfeeding, you have adequate supply of milk, if not baby will always be hungry and not be happy nor sleep well.
Make sure he is latching on properly, otherwise he will not be getting enough intake, which means baby is always hungry.
Make sure he is napping. Newborns nap a lot. They need to.
Know his cues for hungry and sleepiness.

A baby or child, will take time to sleep "all" night. For a baby, "sleeping through the night" means sleeping in 5-6 hour stretches. A newborn has many things that are still developing... their digestive system, their sense of night and day, their temperature control is not even developed yet, they need to "bond" with Mommy too and need comforting, even smells/textures/temperatures/gas/hunger/growth-spurts, can affect them.

And, at each age-juncture, their sleep patterns vary. It is also developmental based. No baby... sleeps the SAME way all their life... nor toddlers, nor big kids. There are always "phases" and various things which can cause tweaks in their sleep. So, we as parents, have to adjust for that.

A baby waking, will go on and on. He is too young for "methods" to make him sleep. At this wee age, they need comforting and feedings.

A great book is: "what to expect the first year" which you can find at most bookstores or online.

all the best,
Susan

Sleep is so very precious to us mothers... it is so difficult to adjust to getting no more than 3 straight hours of sleep with a newborn/baby. When I was sleep-deprived, I became very depressed, so I understand how that need for sleep is very important.

But your son is only 2 months old, and to expect him to sleep most of the night is completely unrealistic. We can't put our need for sleep above the needs of our newborns. At 2 months old, he still needs to wake up to eat during the night. If we allow them to cry it out, or stuff them full of food before bed (which would be VERY bad for their not-yet fully-developed GI tracts) then we are doing them a great disservice in order to get sleep.

Please just hang in there... if you're nursing, you can co-sleep while you nurse.... good luck...

Don't expect that to happen until he's four or five months old. Sorry but he will want to eat more often than that. When he is about four months old he will start on solids. He can't do that yet so don't try! (He could choke and that would be bad!) So, you have to get up and feed him and change him and then rock him (swaddling sometimes helps (where you completely wrap the baby up except for his little head and rock him to sleep. But he will only sleep for a couple of hours at a time until his body can go longer without food. Two months old is too young to be trying to "sleep train" Just get up and feed him. If you are getting overwhelmed then you need to ask for help from someone who can take care of him while you get some rest. There are nurseries and hotlines, maybe his dad can help? You aren't going to get a two month old to sleep most of the night ..not for at least a month, and probably not for two or three.