How did you get your breastfed bub to sleep through the night?
DS is almost 10 months old and doesn't look like sleeping through any time soon He's never slept through the night EVER since birth.
Generally he has a feed at about 6-7pm before bed, then another at about 9.30-10pm before I go to bed, another at about 2am and then another at about 5-6am.
Up until now I've been pretty happy to just go with the flow and follow his lead, but at 10 months I seriously don't think he needs to be fed so often overnight!
I'm returning to work in a few weeks and while I generally don't feel too tired, I really think the time has come for us to both be getting more sleep than we are.
I know it's common for babies to feed overnight but I know plenty that don't too, especially at his age - so what am I doing wrong? I can't help but feel that me feeding him is encouraging his waking. I dropped DDs night feeds much earlier than this and she was sleeping through the night 12-13 hours solid by about 8-9 months.
Has anyone else found themselves in this predicament and managed to get bub to sleep through without ccing?
Co-sleeping is not the answer for us, DH is a smoker () a very heavy sleeper and I just don't sleep while DS is in bed with us anyway.
Tiahna Has been sleeping through the night since 3 weeks but wasnt sleeping much during the day... She'd only have 10-15 min cat naps... feeding every 2 hours. She had a few days of waking again but noticed the more day sleep she got the less overnight sleep she needed. I find if she has a big sleep at about 10-12/1 pm then she has a smaller sleep at 3.30-5 then we start dinner, baths, play and booby then play while we eat dinner then booby and both kids to bed at 8-8.30. this way she'll sleep til 6.30-7am. maybe 1 wake up at about 4am but not usually... She still feeds every 2 hours like clock work though. if she's asleep she'll have 3 hours tops mostly only 2 hours though. So 2 2 hour sleeps and maybe a few cat naps thats it
I find it hard to sleep with my girls in the bed too, my DH is a heavy sleeper and likes to move. We have a kitten and she cops it enough as it is.
My kids are nearly 3 and 1 and a half and really dont sleep solid either. My DD1 is almost doing it, only wakes about once a night and my DD2 does too atm but it changes all the time.
My DD2 was bf till 15 months and always had a night feed. She still started waking at night when she weaned and I'd give her some yoghurt........She still wakes for it now.
I dont do CC or anything like that, I know my kids will start to sleep thru by age 4 so I'm not too fussed.
We did it early. At 4 months i basically refused DD a over night BF.
She would have one at 9pm and then i wouldnt feed her until 6am
It took a week or 2 of her waking and screaming for it - she was in a routine of times too!
WOKE AT 4AM without fail every night for her feed!
and i would just say no, rock her to sleep or get DH to and then when it was daylight she got her BF.
It was a long transition but she has been sleeping through since
Thanks PP - I think I know that is the answer and is pretty much what I did with DD but I'm just really, really dreading it. I am happy to feed him at 10pm and again at 5/6am but I really want him to stop waking so often through the middle of the night. How long did it take before she started sleeping through? Was it just a week or two or did she still wake at 4am after that?
Aphrael - I guess the problem is I AM fussed by the thought of not getting a full nights sleep until he turns 4!
It's not only the sleep, I want my evenings back. I find I'm really reluctant to go out of an evening and leave him with DH because I know at some point he'll want to be fed.
Man this sucks...
Last edited by Willow; August 25th, 2008 at 04:00 PM.
Willow - it was a good week - give or take a few days.
DH and i decided it was what we had to do and agreed it was going to be long nights but best in the long run.
They get in such a routine. when he realises if he wakes there will be no milk then eventually he will give up. And DD would take up to an hour to resettle without the feed.
Willow, no advice just letting you know that all 3 of my children rarely slept through at 10 months either. I was happy to give BF's as needed... but I wasn't working. Sometimes I don't know how working mums do it!
Willow, I did a similar thing to PP with DD at 7 months. I stopped feeding her overnight and just sat rocking her back to sleep when she woke at 3am. DP and I took turns at this and it took 3 nights for her to not wake so ours was a bit quicker. It did require both of us to be strong and work through it with her but it was 3 nights of sitting up for over an hour to get her back to sleep until she stopped waking.
How did you get your breastfed bub to sleep through the night?
He's never slept through the night EVER since birth.
) a very heavy sleeper and I just don't sleep while DS is in bed with us anyway.
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I find if she has a big sleep at about 10-12/1 pm then she has a smaller sleep at 3.30-5 then we start dinner, baths, play and booby then play while we eat dinner then booby and both kids to bed at 8-8.30. this way she'll sleep til 6.30-7am. maybe 1 wake up at about 4am but not usually... She still feeds every 2 hours like clock work though. if she's asleep she'll have 3 hours tops mostly only 2 hours though. So 2 2 hour sleeps and maybe a few cat naps thats it
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