Sleep question

greenbeanqueen · June 2014

So C will go to bed between 8:30-9:30 and I am putting her down drowsy. She sleeps fairly well but is still waking 2-3 times between 9pm and 7am to eat. She is EBF and I was wondering at what point will she start sleeping longer? I have kind of waited to do any type of sleep training until we could get her out of th PnP and into her crib. We have started some solids but at this point she is playing with them more than eating them. I don't mind getting up to feed her but would like it if she could sleep a little longer. Suggestions?

spin25 · June 2014

Can you move her to her crib now? I don't have any big advice other than I read The Sleepeasy Solution (I have not implemented it though) and they have a plan about how to cut out night feedings. IMO it is hard to tell when they are really hungry during the night and when they are waking to eat out of habit.

good luck.

greenbeanqueen · June 2014

spin25 said:

Can you move her to her crib now? I don't have any big advice other than I read The Sleepeasy Solution (I have not implemented it though) and they have a plan about how to cut out night feedings. IMO it is hard to tell when they are really hungry during the night and when they are waking to eat out of habit. good luck.

I can't put her in a crib because we don't have it yet. We are moving into a bigger apt at the end of the month and she will have her own room. We are getting it then.

Thanks for the book suggestion, I'll have to look at that.

MRads · June 2014

B woke 2-3 times for 8 months and then 1-2 months till 10.5 months. No suggestions. Just going to pass the coffee. Some babies just take longer to get to the point where you are able to sleep long stretches. You could sleep train, but I know people who have sleep trained and their baby still wakes up.

pb&fluff · June 2014

MRads said:

B woke 2-3 times for 8 months and then 1-2 months till 10.5 months. No suggestions. Just going to pass the coffee. Some babies just take longer to get to the point where you are able to sleep long stretches. You could sleep train, but I know people who have sleep trained and their baby still wakes up.

Pretty much this. P didn't start STTN reliably until about 11 months. About the last 2 months of it, he always woke up once to eat. We did CIO at 8.5 months after many other attempts at sleep training, and even after he learned to go to sleep on his own, he still did wake up once a night. He would still take a full 8oz bottle in the MOTN, so we knew he was actually hungry. Your LO is only 5 months, she probably needs the extra feedings. Just keep with what you're doing and let her cut it out naturally. If she's just taking a few sips and then done, then you know it's time to stop. But if she's doing a full feeding, it seems she needs it.

carcrashheart · June 2014

DS didn't STTN until we did sleep training/CIO at exactly 9 months old (it took 3 days and he has STTN ever since. if he wakes we know something is up). we weren't comfortable with doing it sooner than that, that was just us. our pedi at the time mentioned at his 6 month appt that his waking up could be a psychological need and we weren't ready to interfere in case that was the situation. prior to that i did try some various things to see if it would help him sleep-mostly in what i fed him at dinner time. i was making his baby food at the time and did some mixes of broccoli + quinoa or spinach + quinoa, but it didn't really work. that was how we began to recognize that he was going to bed full and not waking because he was hungry but out of habit.

5 months is still a bit young, so i would expect 1-2 wake ups during the night, possibly 3. though DS was going to sleep at 7:30pm by that age. 5 months seems a little young to be giving solids, but that's a different debate/topic. i wouldn't expect any of that to do anything because it's an age where they are still too young to grasp the connection that solid food will fill their belly and fulfill their hunger.

the best advice i can give is to not read any literature about what age babies should/might/will start STTN at or going longer stretches. it isn't applicable since every baby is different. i remember reading the BS that formula = STTN. DS was a FF baby and it took sleep training to achieve STTN. in fact, by the time we decided to do CIO he was actually beginning to wake earlier, which was starting to result in 3 wake ups. so he was starting to sleep shorter stretches. it was the regressing that put us over the edge.

Venti29 · June 2014

We started sleep training at 6ish months, took 3-4 days. Like pp, if they wake up in the middle of the night it's because something Is wrong/off. Once they only took an OZ in the middle of the night, I knew they were waking up for comfort and habit, not to actually eat. I'd wait until your crib comes in. I'd also throw in a routine... Bath, pj's, lavender lotion, bottle, bed. Works for us. Good luck!!

caseyandlizzie · June 2014

W is 8.5 months and we started sleep training shortly after we transitioned him from the rnp to his crib. Before sleep training he eas waking up 2-3 times a night to nurse, now he's up once a night just a few times a week. I probably wouldn't start a new sleep routine unt you have the crib since you'll just have to do it all over again to get her used to the new bed. Also, sleep training in his crib for us was rough for about 5 nights, and naps took a but longer, but now he goes down without a fight for the most part. Good luck!

lindsayandjamie · June 2014

I think this thread is a good example of how every babe is different. DS was not an awesome sleeper if I tried to let him cry it out, so sleep training was never really an option for us. He always slept longer and better when he went down with a full tummy, drowsy but not asleep, and calm. He woke up 1-2 times a night to nurse until he was 11 months, but sometimes more often (up to 4-5x).

At 11 months, he magically just slept through the night and began sleeping from 7pm-5:30am without needing to eat. He eventually, within a few months, stretched it to 7 or 8am.

All that to say, it will get better, and I agree that having a routine will make bedtime easier long term (although I know that isn't your actual concern right now). We have a flexible routine, but it is predictable, so he knows the signs that mean its time for bed (jammies, blanky, sound machine, book, light out, song, tuck in, sleeping).

botanicalbliss · June 2014

G is over a year and still doesn't STTN. We've tried sleep training, and it's helped get him down to 2 wake ups, but yeah, no, I still get up to feed him 2x per night at least.

NotMrsSmith11 · June 2014

You could try nursing her more frequently during the day, even encouraging cluster feeding just before bed. It also helped us to try soothing him a bit in his bed before offering the boob to see if he was really hungry or just needed help going back to sleep. A was in the magic sleepsuit at that age because we had dropped the swaddle but he still tended to startle awake. If he woke up, we would try patting or rubbing him, jiggling the PnP, and offering the paci. If that didn't work after a few minutes I would nurse. He gradually stopped needing the MOTN feed by about 6 months. We're lucky, though, because like PP said a lot of babies take longer.

greenbeanqueen · June 2014

You guys have made me feel a lot better. Everyone keeps telling me their pedi said that you need to wean night feedings at their 6mo appointments. She just seems so hungry when she wakes up and she goes right back to sleep after eating. Its just so tiring still getting up so much to BF. I am going to try getting her to nurse longer at night right before bed and see if that helps.

Thanks for the tips. All babies really are different.

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