Aa
No Sleeping, Ugh!
When do babies start sleeping more through the night? My son Cole, is 7 weeks old and is seriously up every 2 hours, and he dont even sleep during the day anymore. How is this? I thought babies needed sleep. Im so exhausted, im doing this pretty much by myself, I live with my mom and she sees how tired and exhausted I am and never once offers to help me. I love my son and dont mean to sound like im complaining, but im just so exhausted. Between the 1-2 hours of sleep I can get a night on the weekdays, and working all night at the bar on the weekends, and then coming home and only getting like 20 minutes of sleep, is really killing me. and everyone keeps telling me oh you have to sleep when he does. well for one, he NEVER sleeps. he crashes for like 5 minutes at a time, or when I dont do anything cause i know hes gonna be up any second, hell sleep for a couple hours. and I cant sleep cause i have so much stuff to do. I have a couple friends that have a baby around Coles age and they are sleeping through the night already. What gives?
What are your sleeping arrangements? During the day when he is napping, where is he napping? During the night when he wakes, are you making sure he stays in the complete dark? I have so many questions, but your posts are really vague on sleeping conditions.
My son is 8wks now and I am exclusively breast feeding. He sleeps with us in our bed and it's really working great for both of us. In the early weeks it was terrible with him in his bassinett as he was waking up every hour and I was in really bad shape after delivery with around 20stitches moving and sitting was like sitting on a hacksaw.
The nurse recommended I try feeding him laying down.. and voila!! I just nurse him in bed and some times I wake up to find my son latched on him self and feeding. But just to make sure he gets a quality feeding, I nurse sitting down twice a night and that is when he usually wake up and cry. If doesn't cry I wake him up after 5hrs.
Ammanda.. I hear your pain. My MIL is visiting and she only wants to go shopping and watch TV. It's very hurtful when they do that and I can imagine how hard it is for you. May be a friend who is reliable to take the baby for a few hours so that you can have some quality sleep?
The nurse recommended I try feeding him laying down.. and voila!! I just nurse him in bed and some times I wake up to find my son latched on him self and feeding. But just to make sure he gets a quality feeding, I nurse sitting down twice a night and that is when he usually wake up and cry. If doesn't cry I wake him up after 5hrs.
Ammanda.. I hear your pain. My MIL is visiting and she only wants to go shopping and watch TV. It's very hurtful when they do that and I can imagine how hard it is for you. May be a friend who is reliable to take the baby for a few hours so that you can have some quality sleep?
My niece is a week old and wakes up once in the night and sleeps all the time, but im pretty sure she will make up for it later on in life... Every bubby is different. He might sleep better later on when he gets older my brother is the other way round, slept loads when he was little now wont go to bed at all... and he is 3. Everyone if different.
Can you ask your mum to help you!
x
Can you ask your mum to help you!
x
My son is 18 months old and he pretty much sleeps through the night, except when he's sick, but he's had an ear infection since April.. so he's WAY off schedule lately. He has surgery scheduled for next week to get tubes.. ANYWAY.. I think you have already received a lot of great advice, but I just wanted to add that all children are different as are their needs, and this includes sleep.. I also wanted to say if your friends are telling you their 7 week old newborns are sleeping through the night, I can almost guarantee they are LYING.. Typically, babies don't sleep through the night (5-8 hours) until they are AT MINIMUM of 6 months.
My baby is 3 months old and sometiems she sleeps through the whole night, sometimes she wakes up every 2 hours, or every 4 hours. You never know! Try to give her a warm bath before putting her to bed.
I hope everything will get better for you in the near future. I know what its like to be alone with a new born because i was with my second one. I can say i started to give my boys rice cereal by spoon at night around 12 weeks. Not alot to where they were over fed but like a table spoon of cereal and maybe a 4oz bottle and they were out for like 6 hours. With my youngest he was getting rice cereal in his bottle at 2 weeks because of his acid reflux. Which was given by doctor orders using enifmil ar, just so no one gets mad here. I wish you the best and feel free to message me with any questions.
Thank you ladies. I kinda new all this but just wanted some positive feedback. I dont mind doing all thi, like I hope ya'll dont think im complaining. I love my son dearly and i wanted him, he was planned so ya i knew this came with it. i was just trying to get some ideas on others, i know i shouldnt compare, just like all pregnancies are different, so are children. I do get frustrated when he wakes up and is screaming every 2 hours, but i make him a bottle sit on the couch and look at him, and hes always got the cutest look on him while he stares right into my eyes. lol. It is hard doing it alone though. and no my mom wont help me, i asked her to watch him the other day cause i was with my friends for the first time, and she said i had to be back at 1am cause she enjoys her sleep. wth what kind of grandma is that. its sad, cause my child is her 4th gandhcild so shes over it. well excuse me I didnt have kids really young like my sisters. you know. but thanks again ladies
my DD is 7 months and is by no means sleeping through the night she is still up every 3-4 hours at best and stays up for 2 hours from 1am-3am and then is up for the day at 5am(going to bed at 9pm) so i feel your pain..i dont think my DD with be sleeping anything better anytime soon she has horrible acid reflux and laryngomalacia so my situation is not like yours but it comes with being a mom!
HeatherLF- it's really not so bad. The advantages of breastfeeding mean that your baby can literally lay next to you while you both sleep and they nurse. And if your baby will sleep at night you do not have to wake them to eat every 2 hours. The only time you should wake them to eat is during the day if it is going longer than 3 hours (for newborns). I co-sleep (my baby sleeps in bed with us) and I get better sleep than other moms even though my baby does wake me to nurse. It's not for everyone but wanted to give you some positive experience. And just wait- you might be the lucky mom with a baby who does sleep through the night early on like my Abigail! ;-) Don't fret about it. It's amazing what mommas are capable of, with sleep or without!
My 8 month old still does not sleep through the night. The only child of mine that slept through the night at that age was my Abigail and that was just because of her personality. She'd go to her crib fully awake and fall asleep on her own and wake up when the sun came up. It was heaven.
BUT... her older and younger sisters were not like that whatsoever. Elaina was a year old before she was more consistent and even then she'd get up in the middle of the night and come to my bed. And Zoë, of course, is still waking me as well. It's not as bad for me because she sleeps in bed with me so I can nurse her and sleep at the same time.
My advice to you- don't compare baby to others. Each child is different and has specific needs. Some need more physical contact with their mother than others. I don't know what sleep-in means anymore. I haven't gotten to do that in 5+ years unless I am dying of the flu.
Hang in there! Cherish these moments. Soon they'll be a teenager and you'll be begging for tips on how to get them up! LOL!
BUT... her older and younger sisters were not like that whatsoever. Elaina was a year old before she was more consistent and even then she'd get up in the middle of the night and come to my bed. And Zoë, of course, is still waking me as well. It's not as bad for me because she sleeps in bed with me so I can nurse her and sleep at the same time.
My advice to you- don't compare baby to others. Each child is different and has specific needs. Some need more physical contact with their mother than others. I don't know what sleep-in means anymore. I haven't gotten to do that in 5+ years unless I am dying of the flu.
Hang in there! Cherish these moments. Soon they'll be a teenager and you'll be begging for tips on how to get them up! LOL!
Well, mine didnt sleep through the night until around age 3... And my second son age 4!!! I have a friend her son is 2 and is still not sleeping through the night. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but some kids just dont sleep through the night, good luck.
I used to be like you - I couldn't nap during the day at all, or else I just felt worse! It's amazing what having 2 kids will do to you, though: now I'd give anything for a nap ;-) And I'm lucky, because both of my kids USUALLY sleep through...but it's just that when they're up during the day, it's high energy (especially with the nearly 4 year old), there's no down time.
You can do it.....The first few months can be tough until your little one settles into more of a routine (and some catch on quicker than others do!) but it does pass and things do get easier. Plus you just get used to running on less sleep because you have to.
Oh, and not all babies have their nights and days mixed up, even at the very beginning. Neither one of my sons was a "sleep all day, be awake all night" baby, so yours might not be either :-)
You can do it.....The first few months can be tough until your little one settles into more of a routine (and some catch on quicker than others do!) but it does pass and things do get easier. Plus you just get used to running on less sleep because you have to.
Oh, and not all babies have their nights and days mixed up, even at the very beginning. Neither one of my sons was a "sleep all day, be awake all night" baby, so yours might not be either :-)
I am not a mom yet, so I really don't know what it is like to go through this yet. But, I am more worried about this than labor. I will be breastfeeding too, so I am expecting to be awake every two hours at the least. Even not pregnant, I am not myself when I don't get my sleep. My mom always jokes that since I was little if I am tired the whole world seems to be coming to an end (everything seems worse and I am super dramatic..lol normally I have a very happy persona), and if I nap still as an adult I wake up crabbier...LOL.
So, I am really worried about being emotionally stable while being so tired. I am hoping it doesn't cause me depression and I can stay happy for the baby.
I have been doing lots of reading and hear the first 2-3 months you just have to tough it out because their tummies are so tiny and need to expand to keep hunger at bay... like the other ladies mentioned almost impossible for them to develop a routine with that going on. I have been told and have been reading that after two months you can start trying to differentiate night and day for the baby. During the day keep everything bright and noisy while they nap and have it be somewhere different than night time.... like the living room. At night time keep everything dark/dim, just wake up to feed change with minimal activity. This way they can learn the difference and start developing a night/day pattern.
Hope you can get some sleep soon. Could you just ask your mom to help for maybe one day a week? For maybe 5 hours so you can catch up a little?
So, I am really worried about being emotionally stable while being so tired. I am hoping it doesn't cause me depression and I can stay happy for the baby.
I have been doing lots of reading and hear the first 2-3 months you just have to tough it out because their tummies are so tiny and need to expand to keep hunger at bay... like the other ladies mentioned almost impossible for them to develop a routine with that going on. I have been told and have been reading that after two months you can start trying to differentiate night and day for the baby. During the day keep everything bright and noisy while they nap and have it be somewhere different than night time.... like the living room. At night time keep everything dark/dim, just wake up to feed change with minimal activity. This way they can learn the difference and start developing a night/day pattern.
Hope you can get some sleep soon. Could you just ask your mom to help for maybe one day a week? For maybe 5 hours so you can catch up a little?
I'm sorry to hear you're going through this - but, unfortunately, it's all part of the mom "package"....whether we like it or not ;-)
My oldest son started sleeping through (and by "sleeping through" I mean the WHOLE night) at 5 months old - with some help from me! He was still getting up for a middle of the night snack but wasn't into it, so I figured it was more than a habit than anything else. I started letting him cry it out for awhile - by the end of the week that I started that, he was sleeping through. But I by no means advocate doing that with a baby as small as Cole - at 7 weeks, he's still essentially a newborn and very likely still needs to eat more frequently....his little tummy probably can't make it all night without something to eat.
My second son is now 5 months old and has been consistently sleeping through (from 8pm to about 8am) for the last month (hooray!) He was quicker to pick this up than his big brother. He'd gone through the entire night here and there starting from when he was 2 weeks old. Whenever he'd get up, I'd feed him (he's breastfed). Anyway....after he'd gone for couple of nights without getting up, I decided that I'd try not feeding him the next time he did get up, just to see what would happen. When I tried that - I just went into his room and put his blankets back on (he'd kicked them off), gave him back his little blanket bear and turned his Winnie the Pooh musical mobile back on.....and he went right back to sleep until morning!!
I know that these first few weeks are hard, especially when it's your first child. No one and nothing can ever prepare you for what it's going to be like - you just need to live it...and learn as you go. And I'm learning that each child is different, too, even when they're brothers: some things that worked for me the last time with my oldest son don't work with my youngest one.
Hang in there....it DOES get easier :-))
My oldest son started sleeping through (and by "sleeping through" I mean the WHOLE night) at 5 months old - with some help from me! He was still getting up for a middle of the night snack but wasn't into it, so I figured it was more than a habit than anything else. I started letting him cry it out for awhile - by the end of the week that I started that, he was sleeping through. But I by no means advocate doing that with a baby as small as Cole - at 7 weeks, he's still essentially a newborn and very likely still needs to eat more frequently....his little tummy probably can't make it all night without something to eat.
My second son is now 5 months old and has been consistently sleeping through (from 8pm to about 8am) for the last month (hooray!) He was quicker to pick this up than his big brother. He'd gone through the entire night here and there starting from when he was 2 weeks old. Whenever he'd get up, I'd feed him (he's breastfed). Anyway....after he'd gone for couple of nights without getting up, I decided that I'd try not feeding him the next time he did get up, just to see what would happen. When I tried that - I just went into his room and put his blankets back on (he'd kicked them off), gave him back his little blanket bear and turned his Winnie the Pooh musical mobile back on.....and he went right back to sleep until morning!!
I know that these first few weeks are hard, especially when it's your first child. No one and nothing can ever prepare you for what it's going to be like - you just need to live it...and learn as you go. And I'm learning that each child is different, too, even when they're brothers: some things that worked for me the last time with my oldest son don't work with my youngest one.
Hang in there....it DOES get easier :-))
My step son is 19 months and usually a few times a week he'll wake up at 2 am or so after going to bed at 8. who knows why but he does. Especially if he's teething or sick. When my husband and I first got married, he was 10 months and definitely not sleeping through the night, up usually atleast once, We've just gotten him to the point where he will sleep 8pm to 6:30-7am. My brothers were how losingmymind says her were, my mom said i was really easy slept through the night really young and then with my brothers 9-11 years later they were all over the place. middle brother didnt start sleeping through the night till he was about one and my twin brothers was a bit of a hassle because they would keep waking eachother up and they were about the same age as my step son when they started sleeping through the night.
every baby is different, and i agree with ashelen, don't worry about the household chores as much, you need your rest, sleep when he does during the nap, even if its only a half an hour.
every baby is different, and i agree with ashelen, don't worry about the household chores as much, you need your rest, sleep when he does during the nap, even if its only a half an hour.
It really depends on the kid. My first slept through the night practically from the start. My 2nd didn't until she was 5!! My Third started about 3-4 months and my 4th around 8-9 months.
Conner will be 2 in October and still wakes up every 4 hours....I try to let him cry it out, but my goodness that kid has got some lungs. I have no choice but to get up and make him a cuppy of milk, as he shares the bedroom with his 2 older brothers.
Yeah I was about to add what WifeofAnt said..."sleeping through the night" is the baby sleeping at 5 hour stretches. MOST babies do this by 6 months, but some babies (especially breast-fed babies because they tend to feed more often, and babies who eat certain formulas) may fluctuate between "sleeping through the night" and waking up every few hours until they're closer to 7 or 8 months.
Kahlan started "sleeping through the night" at about 2 months, so 8wks...and before that she would only sleep in 3 hour stretches. By 6 months she was sleeping from 9PM to 9AM and only waking up 2 to 3 times, so there is hope.
But unfortunately it's true...it's part of the territory and I know that doesn't help to hear right now when you're so exhausted but you knew it wouldn't be easy and you can totally lick this girl, just don't think about it and DON'T pay attention to how little sleep you're getting..you'll drive yourself crazy that way.
STOP doing things while he's napping. I don't care how dirty your dishes or clothes get, or how much dirt piles up on your floor...when he goes down, YOU go down. if you're not at work then when he's asleep you should be trying to be, and this will help you until he starts sleeping for longer stretches.
question...do your friends whose babies Cole's age who say they "sleep through the night" give their babies benedryl? Because I came to find that a lot of parents who said their kids were sleeping all night at that age were actually drugging their babies, although they didn't look at it that way, and it's NOT safe because, well you shouldn't drug your baby ANYWAY, but the baby needs to be up every few hours to eat until his stomach is big enough to sustain him for longer...but I'm just wondering because I heard that a lot too and then found out that those parents with the "all-night" newborns were using meds to force them to sleep.
hang in there hon I promise he'll start sleeping longer soon...but seriously, stop doing stuff when he's napping. just take care of yourself, you'll catch up on everything at some point.
Kahlan started "sleeping through the night" at about 2 months, so 8wks...and before that she would only sleep in 3 hour stretches. By 6 months she was sleeping from 9PM to 9AM and only waking up 2 to 3 times, so there is hope.
But unfortunately it's true...it's part of the territory and I know that doesn't help to hear right now when you're so exhausted but you knew it wouldn't be easy and you can totally lick this girl, just don't think about it and DON'T pay attention to how little sleep you're getting..you'll drive yourself crazy that way.
STOP doing things while he's napping. I don't care how dirty your dishes or clothes get, or how much dirt piles up on your floor...when he goes down, YOU go down. if you're not at work then when he's asleep you should be trying to be, and this will help you until he starts sleeping for longer stretches.
question...do your friends whose babies Cole's age who say they "sleep through the night" give their babies benedryl? Because I came to find that a lot of parents who said their kids were sleeping all night at that age were actually drugging their babies, although they didn't look at it that way, and it's NOT safe because, well you shouldn't drug your baby ANYWAY, but the baby needs to be up every few hours to eat until his stomach is big enough to sustain him for longer...but I'm just wondering because I heard that a lot too and then found out that those parents with the "all-night" newborns were using meds to force them to sleep.
hang in there hon I promise he'll start sleeping longer soon...but seriously, stop doing stuff when he's napping. just take care of yourself, you'll catch up on everything at some point.
By the way the the official definition of 'sleeping through the night' is 5 hours. 8 PM to 3 AM, while not through the entire night fulfills the 5 hour requirement for 'STTN' (which should not be expected for a small baby). Some children won't sleep longer than 7-8 hours for years and the new parent's dream of 8 AM to 8 PM is a fantasy that should be saved for when your child is a teenager.
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