My 5 month old (born 8 weeks early but very healthy) doesn't sleep through all night yet. When can I expect him to? He was doing 6hr stretches when he was 3 month old and I had to wake him up to nurse. Now it's back to 3-4 hr stretches. Also, if he gets wide awake during his late night or early morning feedings it's impossible to get him to sleep again.He keeps kicking his legs non stop and giggling and cooing :)..Luckily he doesn't get cranky everytime, but we can't sleep when he is awake and playful like that.
He sleeps anywhere between 2-3 hrs in the morning and again 2-3 hours in the evening. is that enough for his day time sleeping? I am trying to make him sleep some more in the afternoon , but he doesn't want to.
Also, when he was little he used to sleep through all kinds of noises at home.We never tried to keep it very silent because we felt he would learn to sleep that way. But now, he wakes up easily like when the phone rings - all wide eyed and playful even if its just half an hour he slept. Is this just a phase? Do I really have to make sure he sleeps more or is it ok for him to sleep when he wants and as much as he wants? Any advice to tips to make him sleep better?
Breastfed babies RARELY sleep through the night until they wean completely - anywhere from 2 to 4 years old or more. Very long gaps between nursing sessions can impact your milk supply as well and nursing at night usually helps to retain your milk supply.
All children will eventually wean themselves and sleep through the night on their own, if given a chance. Remember that the infancy stage of a human is until they are EIGHT YEARS OLD.
He'll make his own schedule, but keep in mind that, had he been born on schedule, he'd only be 3 months old. A white noise machine is always a good idea, so you can go about your routine at naptimes. When he wakes to a noise, he doesn't know how long he's slept, so he's rarin' to go. At night, try to keep the stimulation at a minimum---swaddle him to restrict movement, no lights, no talking, no eye contact, just boobie. That way, he eats, but doesn't get too awake because you don't interact. Good luck.
There is a reason they say to let sleeping babies lay. By waking him up to feed you trained him to get up and feed at night, something my Ped said was no longer needed after the first few weeks. My son started sleeping through the night before 1 month old, and I was trying to wake him to feed, and the Doctor told M. to stop, and he has slept through the night ever since. Now that he has been trained to wake and eat at night, you have to re-train him to sleep at night instead. Start by trying to comfort him to sleep some of the time without food. It may be better to let dad do this if you are breast feeding so the breast will not be an option. Decide how many times each night you think he is really hungry, and how many times he just wants to eat or be held, and start from there. Both of my boys slept through the night by 3 months old because I never trained them to wake and eat, I just let them do what came naturally to them at night, which was sleep. Now, with your child being a preemie, it may need night nutrition longer than other babies, so talk to your doctor about if, and how often, night nutrition is really needed in your child's case.
he sounds pretty normal to M.. lots of babies sleep pretty good early on and then as they get around this age start wanting to eat more at night. And yeah after about 3 months they won't sleep through anything anymore. I got a sound machine for my babies. It makes a white noise sound so it blocks out all other sounds and helps them sleep better. once I got that you could ring my door bell, have a phone ring or a dog bark and it wouldn't wake my daughter at all. As for the waking at night. Just make sure you keep the room dark and just feeding him and put him back to bed. I promise it's a phase and as he gets older her will start sleeping better. And once he is around 6 months to a year you can try sleep training if you want but you have to wait until he is at least 6 months otherwise he isn't old enough to get it.
I say let him sleep whenever he wants and as often.
Maybe let him wake up on his own to feed.
Since you never made it quiet and now that's not working, I would make it very quiet now. Turn the ringer down on the phone, make sure the window isn't open if the garbage truck is coming etc. This will hopefully be a stage and will go back to the way it was but in the meantime...make it quiet.
I lilke Jen C.'s answer......let him wake up on his own to feed....my friend gave M. that advice and it was the best advice. :)
Maybe now try taking him for a walk to see if he falls asleep then carefully transitioning him to crib/play pen if he sleeps. He will sleep when he needs to but you are right in making it conducive to sleep.
Maybe try taking him for a drive if you can and if he falls asleep easily on the ride (I don't he won't depend on it as I have done this off and on w/my son).
Mine was a preemie by 4 weeks and I initially woke him to feed if he didn't wake up but he usually woke up. The few times he didn't.....I let him sleep because believe you M..........he let M. know when he was hungry.
At 3 months old you should not have to wake to feed. Babies make up for it during the day. Now you will have to help him learn to sleep all night. Don't expect it until he is about a year. All 3 of mine woke at night till they were a year or so old. I slowly tried to wean them off eating at night as that's the culprit. When you do feed him at night do you do it in total dark, without talking or making eye contact? Try not to stimulate him at all so he goes right back to sleep. Also if he is not crying, let him kick and coo himself back to sleep. Get a white noise machine or fans if it is keeping you up. Eventually he will learn to fall asleep on his own and get himself back to sleep if he wakes without your help.
