Sleeping Through the Night...

Relax H.,
I have two daughters, and I have learned, that when they are hungry, they will let you know and continue to let you know until they are satisfied. My daughters both began to sleep through the night when they were that young and they are very healthy girls. If she wakes up to eat, and she takes the binky and goes to sleep, do not worry you are not starving her, if she does not want the binky, then she is hungry and just give her the bottle. She is used to waking and eating, and even if she is not hungry, she will keep the routine of waking in the middle of the night until she learns that she does not need to wake unless she is hungry. Hopefully now you are getting a restful night, take what sleep you can get, every stage in their childhood brings new challenges and new questions.

mine didn't start sleepign through the night until at least a year , to have one sleeping at 2.5 months is pretty unusual. I would give her a bottle at the first waking , then you prob wotn have to get up in another couple of hrs again to give her the binki. at 2.5 months its along time to go with out eating. You gotta remember she is a growing baby and needs the night feedings to do all that growing.

My baby is 6 months old and still takes a small bottle once a night. She only takes 2 or 3 oz then she goes right back out. Maybe you should try that and you wouldn't have to to get up at 4 to give a binky.

Hi H., I have 3 children, 13, 7 and 2. They all started "sleeping thru the night" at about 3-4 months old. But by sleeping thru the night I mean a bottle about 11:00-11:30 and sleeping until about 5:30 or 6:00. I think that if she is going to sleep at 9:00 and waking at 2:00 you should feed her then. 9:00 - 5:30 or 6:00 is too long for a child this age to go without a bottle. I am all for a schedule, but I do think that 2 1/2 months is a too young to go almost 9 hours without being fed. I know how important it is to have them sleep thru the night...and it will happen...but at this age, I do think that the feeding schedule should be baby led. I think your routine is wonderful. Keep that up, but I would either start it later...maybe give her a bottle at 10:30...or keep it the same, but give her a bottle when she wakes at 2:00. Good luck!

Hi H.,
I've read through a lot of your responses and I'm a bit suprised at how many people are dolling out strong advice about feeding your baby when they know virtually nothing about her health, weight, whether she's thriving or not and whether or not you are breast feeding. Only your pediatrician is truly qualified to answer that question with you. Your pediatrician knows what you are feeding her, and knows whether or not she's underweight, doing well, etc. Mamasource is a great resource for mommies, but there are some things you should call your pediatrician about. All babies are different- my son was a "snacker" - who wanted to eat frequently. If I ever had a doubt- I let him eat- if he wasn't hungry, he refused- but that's just my son and your daughter might be different.
Good Luck!

No, you are not starving your baby. She's right on time for sleeping through the night and it sounds like you're doing all the right things! My little boy started sleeping through the night right at 2 months. There will be times when they have growth spurts and demand milk in the middle of the night but you'll know because the binky will not pacify her. Keep up the good work!

We are taught to feed at night until the baby reaches at least eleven pounds. My child development course is several years old. Look at your baby's growth graph in peditrician's office to make sure she stays in the normal range.

I agree with Laura. At 2 1/2 months that is a long time for her to go withiut eating. I would offer the same advice, either start the routine later or wake her for a bottle around 1-12, that would aleviate her waking at 2. And after a few times you woulldn't have to wake her she will automatically wake on her own for her feeding.

No,your not starving her. Your teaching her to to sleep and at the perfect age too. I think your doing an excellent job. Schedule is soo important - your baby is going to be much happier because she is going to know what to expect. My first child, I didn't try to give a schedule to and he still has a hard time going to sleep and is a big night owl. My second son I started on a schedule as soon as I could (I can't remember how early he slept through the night, but it was in the early months) and it was just wonderful. He was the happiest baby and knew when he was tired. Later on when I would go to put him in his crib he would just smile at me and then cuddle up. Such a difference from the first who would scream if I would attempt to put him in his crib awake. He's 8 now and I can still see that he knows when his body is tired and will just go and lie down to sleep. You won't ever have to go through those horrible night time battles during the toddler ages because she will already know what to expect. I think what your doing for your daughter is a little gift that will stay with her through life. So many of us have problems with sleep and I truly do believe that it is something learned early in life. Good job!

You're not starving her. Enjoy your sleep!!! If you give her a bottle in the middle of the night she will begin to automatically wake up and want a bottle. But if she is eating and drinking 5 to 6 bottles during the day she is so fine!

Hi H.. My 2 1/2 year old son has been sleeping through the night since 8 weeks. At that time I would shove the paci back in his mouth every once in a while (maybe 1 time a night at MOST). I haven't taken the paci away yet, but by this age, your daughter should have long been putting it back in herself. You absolutely are not starving her, she's just probably used to the attention that she gets during the night. If you stopped cold turkey, she will probably get past it, but be prepared for quite a few nights of crying. Be strong!

H.,

You are not starving your child. If she was really hungry, then she would not go back to sleep, not even with the pacifier. She will soon get use to this routine and sleep even more soundly. (ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY) My daughter slept through the night at two weeks, never takingn a night bottle, but when she was 11 months old,she had to have surgery, and because the nurses awoke her up in the middle of the night, she began wanting a bottle or sippy cup in the night again. A week at home and we she was fine again. HAng in there, she will sleep soundly and she will not starve!

H.,
My name is M., I have a 2yr old son.
He started sleeping all night at 3 months old
About that time I started wheat careal in the morning and befor bed time. I gave it to him with a spoon I my self never put it in his bottel. If that works for you try it the only reson the say not to put the careal in the bottel is it starts bad habit my son did well with taking it from a spoon your doughter may too. Hope this help good luck!
M.

I don't think so...I am guessing your baby is about 10 weeks old? My first slept through the night at 6 weeks, and my second at 14 weeks.I think it depends on the child. Some moms disagree, but I think most babies can learn to sleep through the night by around three months - some earlier, some later. The fact that your daughter is going back to sleep with the paci is a sign that maybe she doesn't need to eat but just wants to be soothed. I think if a baby is truly hungry s/he won't go back to sleep but will fuss longer. I'd say if she fusses for a while, she may need food but if she drifts back off with the paci,you may be lucky enough to have a good night sleeper! When she learns to put her own paci in, then you are loving it!

My son who is 5 months old is also addicted to his binky. In my experience-if the baby takes the binky -he is not hungry.if he is really hungry he would cry inspite of the binky.My son does the same throughout the night since abt 2 1/2 months old .So I don't think u are starving ur baby .

It sounds like you've gotten your baby on a great schedule. Both of my children were sleeping 9p-6a by 8 weeks. I just made sure to feed a lot during the day (I was nursing and would feed every 2.5 hours). If she is gaining weight and doing well, you have no worries.

H.,

2 1/2 months is exactly when my son started sleeping through the night and it was actually because of our pediatricians suggestion. I don't think you are starving her at all. I think she is just trying to adjust to sleeping through the night. Keep it up and trust me you will be very thankful down the road. My son is 2 now and has been sleeping through the night ever since.

Take care,
S.

H.,
No you are not starving your daughter, if she were truly hungry the binky would not work. A child that young is used to the sucking motion, many times you will find them putting their fingers in their mouth, and are very often very easy to latch on for nursing. You are doing just fine, when she is truly hungry you will surely know it!
It is truly a smart thing to have a schedule for her - there are many mothers that do not do that and end up stressed out.

I don't think you're starving her H.. I think she is still in the adjustment stages. My daughter was actually an anomoly because she slept thru the night at about 2 weeks. Keep up the routine and you'll notice that in a few weeks she'll even stop waking for the binky. Good luck and congrats on your beautiful blessing from God.

No, you are not starving your daughter.:)My daughter is 15 months and she has been sleeping through the night since about 2 months old. The first thing I want to say is, their sleeping patterns can change, I just think it's part of the growing process. Keeping them on a schedule will help keep everything in sync. Sometimes a cold or an event can get them off course, sometimes they just test you. Stick to it! Every now and then my daughter will wake up in the middle of the night crying. I'll get her the first time, but after that I let her cry herself back to sleep then I check on her to make sure she's not too hot or too cold, etc. I nurse my daughter right before bed (8:30-9:00) and she nurses when she wakes (6:00-6:30). I hope this was helpful...many blessings.

Hi H.! I know it's exciting when baby finally starts sleeping through the night! Yippee!! I had my 3 kids on a schedule and right around the 8-10 week mark was when they started sleeping through the night. However, if they woke up, I'd go ahead and feed them (I was nursing, and it was almost a relief at first when they did wake up and want to eat!) I'm no expert, but I'd say that by 2.5 months she's physically able to sleep 7-8 hours continuously. Maybe get her that 8pm bottle a little closer to 9 or 10 and she'll be able to make it through the night.
Good luck!!

What a good mom you are to be so concerned about your daughter's wellbeing. You are not starving your daughter! My daughter slept through the night at 5 weeks, going from 11 pm at 6 am. By the time she was your daughter's age, she would go to bed at 10 pm and wake up at 8 am. Children that age should be able to go 10+ hours at night without eating. If she were really hungry, she would let you know. Children are good at that. Also if she is gaining weight well, then you know she is not starving.

So, do not worry, and be thankful your daughter sleeps through the night.

Hi H.,
I think she's probably a little too young to go that long without a bottle. When my son was that age, I used to feed him around 8PM and then my husband would feed him again at 11PM (even if it meant waking him to do this) Then he would usually be able to last until about 5AM. I think you probably need one more feed in that time period for a few more months. And, if you have to wake up to put the binky back in, might as well satisfy her. Good luck!

I definitely do not think you are starving your daughter through out the night. It's mostly a habit. My doctor told me when we had this feeling that if everytime I woke up he gave me a chocolate bar then wouldn't I continue to wake up expecting it. That made sense to me. They associate waking up with something good and it becomes a habit. My girls both were sleeping through the night by the time they were a year old. The first one was around 10 months and the second one was about 3 to 4 months old. Then my third started sleeping through the night around 5 months.

I don't think you are starving her. If she were starving, a binky would not satisfy and her go back to sleep. 2 of mine were 6 weeks old and 1 was 2 weeks old. She will probably take a little time to get used to routine. You are doing a great job.

Hi H.,
First off, wow, you are one lucky mama. At 2.5 months, I would think that she would need some milk - most people would recommend feeding her atleast every 4 hours still, but if she's sleeping until 2am, that's probably fine, but I would go give her some milk at this point when she fusses...it most likely is due to hunger. You're doing great and the fact that you are asking this means that you already probably knew the answer. Enjoy these quiet nighttime moments when you have each other all to yourselves- even if you don't believe this now, it really goes by sooo quickly.

H., wow can I remember those days!! No, you are not starving her. You are training her to sleep through the night. If she was hungry there is no way a pacifier would stop her from crying for food. There will be growth spurts too where she won't be pacified with a pacifier. So live it up that she is allowing you to rest. It is usually short lived, unless you are lucky and have a baby girl who is a sleeper. Good luck. Remember, she will let you know when the pacifier is not enough!

Hey there! My son is now 11 weeks old and he actually began sleeping around 10 hours a night around 8-9 weeks old. He is sporadic at times but almost always goes anywhere from 8-10 hours of sleep at one time at night (from 9-6/7am). I have been following the advice of some nurses and I also started the bathtime routine which is supposed to relax them and gets them to understand bed time vs. nap time. The thing I think it most important is to make sure you are feeding your baby as much as you can during the day so she is getting enough calories in her during the day and can therefore go longer at night without them.

Also, when my son was waking up at night the pacifier would only work for a few minutes because when he was hungry he was going to cry until he got to eat:) If your daughter is going back to sleep then it definitely sounds like she is just trying to break the habit of waking up. Be happy you have a good sleeper at such a young age! I have friends with 7-8month olds that are still having trouble sleeping through the night!

No.. You're doing GREAT!!!! If she was hungry, the pacifier
wouldn't hold her through the hours.
She is probably waking out of habit not hunger.
Keep up the good work..
Doula P.

Based on my experience, I would guess that she is not "starving" when she wakes up at 2 because she is then able to sleep for another 2-4 hours. Even after they were sleeping through the night, my kids would occasionally wake up genuinely hungry -- growth spurt, didn't eat a good supper, who knows? When my kids woke up really hungry, they might settle down and try to go back to sleep at first, but we would be up every half hour or so until I finally got a clue and fed them. It just took time to figure it out, and I didn't get it right every time, but you're not going to starve her. Best of luck.

V. (stay-at-home mom of twin 3 year olds and a 16 month old)

Hi H. K.

I used a book called THE SLEEP EASY SOLUTION BY JENNIFER WALBURGUR AND JILL SPIVACK. They also wrote a book called "Sleepy Planet". We absolutely loved this book since it gives you all kinds of interesting tips on how to get your baby down to sleep and what may be interupting your child's sleep (ie soft music, the room not being dark enough, a binkey). And, best of all, it actually worked on getting our very resistant baby out of our bed and into his own. :)

Additionally, they do say that you shouldn'd really begin sleep training your baby until the baby is 15 pounds or 5 months old and that you should always let your child's doctor know that your going to stop the night feeding just in case the doctor has some concerns.

Anyway,I hope that this helped and that you have a great day!!!

Take care,
M.

H.,
She isn't starving. However if you feel she is still hungry you may want to check with your doctor to see if you can start giving her cereal. Also what type bottles do you use I found that Playtex drop ins are great bottles to use. I used them with all of my kids and never had any problems. You might also want to try the Johnson and Johnson night time bath. Good Luck..

L.

Pacifers are not good it gives the kids gas.Just think about you with a gum in your mouth.Milk and water do not do nothing for those babys she probably need or want some more food, because when they pee it all comes out. When my kids was younger I would make custard this is just to thicken the milk a little so they can have a full stomach.They all slept through the night because they was full.

My son, who is now 3 1/2, started sleeping thru the night at 5 weeks. But I was giving him cereal at his 9pm feeding, about 2 tsps. I know the doctors don't recommend it at such an early age but it was a necessity for us. I was single mom at the time, working full time and we needed to sleep. I increased his formula thru the day and he had cereal in the morning and again at bedtime. It did not hurt him, he is flourishing and eats me out of house and home now. I cannot tell you if your baby is hungry, only you know her moods and her needs. Good Luck, C.

If your daughter is going back to sleep then she is not starving. If she were she would continue to cry and the pacifier wouldn't be enough. You are doing the right thing. I have three daughters and think that you can't start setting boundries and schedules too soon. Children like to know what is expected. It comforts them and helps them feel secure. Keep up the good work!

Both of my kids were sleeping through the night by 2 months and I was nursing them too. I thinks she is fine especially if the binki is making her happy during the night. Otherwise she would be spitting it out and scream her little head off till you gave her a bottle. It is normal for them to wake themselves too, she still has the startle reflex she had as a newborn, just not as often. You've got her on a great schedule and I'd keep it up!!

S.

My now 5 month old starting sleeping through the night at about the same age (2-3 months). But then quit again after about 3 months and has just started back sleeping through the night. But she is strictly breast-fed, which probably makes a difference. But if your baby is really hungry, i'm sure she'd wake up and you would not be able to pacify her without feeding her. Count your blessings and get some sleep! If she's really hungry, she'll let you know!

My son started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks. I don't think she's waking up hungry, she just hasn't got used to soothing herself back to sleep. If she is hungry, she'll definitely let you know!

My daughter is now 2.5 years old. She was probably 9 months old when she started sleeping through the night. I read (and doctors have told me) that if your baby is crying in the middle of the night and you console her, she will continue to cry in the middle of the night out of habit that you will console her. I was given the advice to make sure she's okay when she wakes (by checking on the baby monitor or sneak a peek without her noticing you), then let her cry herself back to sleep. It's difficult as a parent to let your child cry, but what happens is she learns to console herself and when she continues to wake in the night she will just put herself back to sleep. Personally, I can't let my child cry for more than 45 minutes. That's my limit and that's also what I've read from doctors to let them cry up to 45 minutes (they usually fall asleep within 10 - 15 minutes though). You'll need to actually time yourself from going into the room, because 10 minutes feel more like 40!
This is the book that helped me... http://www.amazon.com/Sleeping-Through-Night-Revised-Todd...
Good Luck!
H.

Oh absolutely not, you are not starving your daughter. If she were hungry she wouldn't go back to sleep when you give her the pacifier. Not to worry, baby's won't starve themselves.

K.

Mine didn't sleep that long until probaby 4 mos. But I say, if it's working, do it. If she was really hungry, I doubt a binky would soothe her.

No way are you starving her, if she was hungry she wouldn't accept the pacifier. Waking up is a habit of comfort. Two of my four slept through the night within two weeks of coming home from the hospital. You are doing great. Stick to your schedule.

My daughters began sleeping through the night at 4 weeks and the other at 6 weeks. If she was starving she would cry until you fed her. So I would not worry about that. What would happen if you didn't give her the paci? Would she continue to cry or would she cry herself back to sleep? I am not sure if you have even tried this. I am only saying this because she might continue to wake up in the night if she knows she will get something. Another thing you could try is pushing her last bottle back a bit to maybe 9:30 or 10. That might help her to stay fuller longer. At 2 1/2 months she should be able to sleep 8 hours so you are going to just have to try a few things to see of that helps her to get through the night without waking up. Hope this helps..

H., sounds like you are doing great. I had my son sleeping 12 hours a night at 10 wks and my daughter made that milestone at 14 wks. I like them to be ten pounds before I sleep train thru the night. Also, I start the bedtime routine earlier (like 6pm) get them down by 7pm and then do a dream feed (in the dark while they are sleeping) at about 10pm. I dropped the dreamfeed when they were not waking and taking any ounces. If a paci will soothe your baby then she is probably not hungry. Just make sure that she is gaining weight well.