Friday, April 30, 2010

I need tips or advice on getting my baby to sleep longer at night..?

My baby just turned 1 month old. so far he is a really good baby. the only time he cries is when he wants to eat. even being wet doesn't seem to bother him. (before you jump to conclusions, I change him before every feed) occassionally he gets fussy/irritated/cries when he's trying to poop but once he poops, he is fine. he is currently on 3 oz. formula every 3 hours. sometimes he only makes it 2 1/2 hours %26amp; he's up crying for more food. sometimes he doesn't finish the 3 oz.


my question is: now that he's getting older, what can I do in the future to help him to start sleeping longer? I am a single mom, %26amp; I need to get more sleep at night, so I can be with him all day long.


I saw alot of mothers posting on here, saying they give their babies pacifiers to keep them alseep. But I wonder if my baby even needs a paci, since he usually goes right to sleep after he eats. however, it seems he always wants to eat... and it takes him an hour to finish a bottle, so I get no sleep.I need tips or advice on getting my baby to sleep longer at night..?
Hi Gavin's Mom,





Your son is still very young but I think the most important thing to start with is to get your baby into a good sleep routine.





I had massive problems with getting my 5 month old son to sleep. He would just lie awake and cry for hours, then when he finally went to sleep he would wake every hour or two hours through the night and cry again! Talk about pulling our hair out .... we were absolutely desperate for sleep!





It was a baby sleep audio program recommended by a friend that finally saved us. We followed the advice and began by creating a baby sleep routine which included bathtime, dimming of the lights, putting Josh into his crib, final nappy change and then lullabies. We also made recommended changes to his naps during the day and used some of the other recommended techniques. Within two weeks he was sleeping through the night most nights with just the odd night where he would just wake once!





If you want to take a look, the audio program is at http://www.babysleepsolution.com





Definitely start by creating a good baby sleep routine though and you could find that solves most of your baby sleep problems.





Good luck!I need tips or advice on getting my baby to sleep longer at night..?
Your baby sounds like mine - right down to not minding having a soiled diaper. She drinks anywhere from 3-5 ounces a feeding, usually only 3 during the night. It also takes mine close to an hour to go through her bottle. I usually give her 2 ounces, burp her, then give her another 2. Long process. There is nothing that we can do to get them to sleep longer, we just have to wait it out.
3 hours between feedings is totally normal at this age. He will sleep longer when he is ready.





There is no way to make him sleep longer, but it will come with time...there is a light at the end of the tunnel ;)





I saw my daughter go for longer nights around 8 weeks, but would still have spells of up every 2. Through the night is 5+ hours so you are well on your way.
Have you tried putting just a little bit of rice cereal in his formula bottle right before bed?
Sometimes there is not much you can do but wait for your baby's body to grow and mature a little more. My baby is over 6 months old now and has JUST NOW started sleeping 5 or 6 hours at a time in the evening. He goes to bed at 8pm and usually wakes up around 1am for food, then goes back to sleep until 6am. But up until this time he was eating consistently every 3 hours.





Not all babies are like this - you may have the baby that will ';sleep through the night'; when he is 2 or 3 months. It is a different experience for every mom and baby!





Not much you can do right now to extend your baby's sleep, because he is still so young and his body really does need to eat often. A pacifier will do a hungry baby no good - just frustrate him more!
I don't know.. (sorry, not a good answer)...but your baby sounds just like mine, except for the fact that he wakes up every TWO hours to eat - especially at night. Adding in the time it takes to feed him, change him, and before he'll let me put him back down to sleep, I get about 45-60 mintues of sleep before he is screaming again.





My baby will use a pacifier, but if he's not asleep yet and drops it, then he cries more. He won't go back to sleep right after eating.





But it shouldn't be taking your baby an hour to finish 3 oz. It should be 15/20 mintues tops if you are using formula. (According to my doctor at his last appt). Maybe you could get a larger nipple or something?





Good luck! I feel your sleep deprivation!
mine is the same way and he is also one month.. sometimes hes up every hour and a half.. hes not fussy either.. i dont give him a pacifiers unless i know for sure he isnt hungry and that just keeps him quiet for ten more minutes so thats no help to me.. i give my son a bath right before he goes to sleep around ten.. that helps him sleep 3 hours in a row at least.. otherwise i dont know what to tell you.. just letting you know your not alone
:o) I've been here and I relented and gave a paicifer. After 6 weeks I also replaced the normal formula (daytime) with formula for hungry babies just for her night feed and I had 8 hours immediately. Now she has her bottle at 9.30 and sleeps right through to 7. She is 3 months old now and this is when they are supposed to sleep longer. I think trying to get longer sleep at 1 month is a little amibitious but if you can get a formula for hungry babies try it - check with your GP though. Good luck and I don't envy you doing it alone. Stay strong!
well because baby is only about a month, you cant really do anything about it, you just kinna have to get him on your schedule. i noticed, if you go out during the day time, it kind of helps them to know the difference between night and day, and that night is nap time. it doesnt even need to be a long day out, just a little walk out or something.





secondly, when he gets older you can start feeding him solids which make them feel more full so theyll sleep longer. Living in hawaii we feed our babies poi, its like a hawaiian vegetable/fruit thats mashes up and we add water. my daughter falls into a deep sleep everynight.





go with your instincts, im not trying to tell you not to not listen to your doctor, jsut that you would know you baby more than anyone else =)
thats what breastfed babies do, they eat on the average, every 2 hours, you just have to hang in there until he/she is older and ready to sleep longer at night.





i just re-read and seen that hes on formula, it will still be a little bit before he sleeps much longer then that at night, babies have to eat often at that age, but, take heart it wont be long,and it will be worth it in the end.
you need a miracle blanket! they are an absolute miracle! you can order on online, they even have several on ebay. if you can keep your baby awake for about an hour before bedtime, play with him, give him a warm bath, and feed him a little more than normal. then swaddle him in a miracle blanket and put him to bed in the dark. my son is 3 months old now and has been sleeping through the night for the past 7 weeks. even before that he was sleeping at least 5 hours a night. the miracle blanket helps b'c your baby won't flail his arms and wake himself up. good luck, i know you must be exhausted.
All you can really do is wait for him to get bigger and older. It's very normal and common for newborns (and a one month old IS a newborn) to need to eat every 2-3 hours around the clock. They have tiny tummies, and can't hold much at one time.


As he gets bigger and older, he'll be able to eat more at each feeding, and go a bit longer.





The main thing to do right now is to try and make the night feeds easier and less disruptive. You might buy some of the ready-to-feed bottles that don't need to be refrigerated or warmed and can be kept right by your bed. Keep baby right by (or IN) your bed as well, and when he cries to eat, just pick him up, grab a bottle, and feed him while you doze in bed. When he's done, put him back in the bassinet and go back to sleep.

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