Sleeping through

[Jen]

I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without a
feed. DS will be 5 months in a week and currently he feeds at 6pm,
10.30pm, 3-4am and then 7am through the night, The advice seems to be that
if he doesn't sleep through by 6 months (say for 6 hours 11-5am or better)
then I need to see a health visitor. Why would this be a medical issue?
His weight is still in the 75th percentile (went down to 25th after birth,
so still gaining well) and he has all the requisite naps. Obviously it
would be fab if he slept through but I was wondering how much I should
worry for his health rather than my extra kip?

Thanks

Jeni and William (who rolled from front to back for the first time
yesterday - yay)

[Cocoamum]

Jen skrev:
> I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without a
> feed. DS will be 5 months in a week and currently he feeds at 6pm,
> 10.30pm, 3-4am and then 7am through the night, The advice seems to be that
> if he doesn't sleep through by 6 months (say for 6 hours 11-5am or better)
> then I need to see a health visitor. Why would this be a medical issue?
> His weight is still in the 75th percentile (went down to 25th after birth,
> so still gaining well) and he has all the requisite naps. Obviously it
> would be fab if he slept through but I was wondering how much I should
> worry for his health rather than my extra kip?
>
> Thanks
>
> Jeni and William (who rolled from front to back for the first time
> yesterday - yay)

Mine night nursed until 16 months when I stopped it.

He wanted a little snack until he was 3 (yo) at the time when we went to
bed. No wonder - so does his mom (I'm up each night to have a snack)

Tine, Denmark

[Sidheag McCormack]

Jen writes:

> I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without a
> feed.

Depends heavily on definition. If we use the "at least 5 hours" definition
of "through the night", then it first happened in the first week. If we use
a more exacting definition like "for at least 8 hours, starting before
midnight" then I think not until about 16 months, and then regularly within
weeks. (We had 6-8 hour sleep stretches starting at 1am a few times before
then, but for a lot of it he was in a "wake briefly every 60-90mins"
pattern.) That development was very quick when it came, but a long time
coming! DS was much later than average making this development, I think,
but never seemed to be sleep deprived, and I managed to work out a routine
that meant I got enough sleep too, so it was OK.

> DS will be 5 months in a week and currently he feeds at 6pm,
> 10.30pm, 3-4am and then 7am through the night, The advice seems to be
> that if he doesn't sleep through by 6 months (say for 6 hours 11-5am or
> better) then I need to see a health visitor.

Whose advice? that sounds like total rot to me. Quite a lot of babies sleep
through the night by 6 months, with or without sleep training, but quite a
lot don't, too.

> Why would this be a medical issue?

It wouldn't. If he's happy and you're happy, don't worry about it. If you
want advice on how to help him sleep longer, you'll get plenty of it
(conflicting!) here, but don't feel you have to for the sake of his health
unless there's actually a visible health problem.

Sidheag
DS Colin Oct 27 2003

[[email protected]]

Jen wrote:
> I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without a
> feed. DS will be 5 months in a week and currently he feeds at 6pm,
> 10.30pm, 3-4am and then 7am through the night, The advice seems to be that
> if he doesn't sleep through by 6 months (say for 6 hours 11-5am or better)
> then I need to see a health visitor. Why would this be a medical issue?
> His weight is still in the 75th percentile (went down to 25th after birth,
> so still gaining well) and he has all the requisite naps. Obviously it
> would be fab if he slept through but I was wondering how much I should
> worry for his health rather than my extra kip?

It's not a health issue unless you're sleep deprived. Mine nursed
about every 2.5 hours until shortly after turning two. :-) Now that
he's three, he *usually* only nurses twice a night...

--
C, mama to three year old nursling

[Clisby]

Jen wrote:
> I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without a
> feed. DS will be 5 months in a week and currently he feeds at 6pm,
> 10.30pm, 3-4am and then 7am through the night, The advice seems to be that
> if he doesn't sleep through by 6 months (say for 6 hours 11-5am or better)
> then I need to see a health visitor. Why would this be a medical issue?
> His weight is still in the 75th percentile (went down to 25th after birth,
> so still gaining well) and he has all the requisite naps. Obviously it
> would be fab if he slept through but I was wondering how much I should
> worry for his health rather than my extra kip?
>
> Thanks
>
> Jeni and William (who rolled from front to back for the first time
> yesterday - yay)

Mine were sleeping a 5-6 hour stretch at night by the time they were 6-8
weeks old. Plenty of babies don't, though - I don't see this as a
medical issue if your son is doing fine.

Clisby

[Sue]

"Jen" > wrote in message
. ..
> I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without a
> feed. DS will be 5 months in a week and currently he feeds at 6pm,
> 10.30pm, 3-4am and then 7am through the night, The advice seems to be that
> if he doesn't sleep through by 6 months (say for 6 hours 11-5am or better)
> then I need to see a health visitor. Why would this be a medical issue?
> His weight is still in the 75th percentile (went down to 25th after birth,
> so still gaining well) and he has all the requisite naps. Obviously it
> would be fab if he slept through but I was wondering how much I should
> worry for his health rather than my extra kip?

DD1 started sleeping through the night reliably at 8 months. I cannot
remember for sure with the other two girls. However, they slept at least 4-5
hours straight at night and did from an early age. I just don't think there
is going to be any hard and fast rules about this sleep issue and if someone
is telling you that there is a problem with a baby of 6 months not sleeping
through, is someone that I probably would not put a whole lot of trust in.
Each baby is different and will do things at different rates. Having said
that, I do happen to think that some parents make the sleep issue more
harder for them by all the stuff that they do, but that is not for me to
decide if that is right or wrong.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

[Nikki]

Jen wrote:
> I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without
> a feed. DS will be 5 months in a week and currently he feeds at 6pm,
> 10.30pm, 3-4am and then 7am through the night, The advice seems to be
> that if he doesn't sleep through by 6 months (say for 6 hours 11-5am
> or better) then I need to see a health visitor. Why would this be a
> medical issue? His weight is still in the 75th percentile (went down
> to 25th after birth, so still gaining well) and he has all the
> requisite naps. Obviously it would be fab if he slept through but I
> was wondering how much I should worry for his health rather than my
> extra kip?
>
> Thanks
>
> Jeni and William (who rolled from front to back for the first time
> yesterday - yay)

Mine ended night feeds at around 18 months when I weaned them off it. They
were perfectly fine and healthy, the night feeds wasn't a health concern at
all.


--
Nikki
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
EDD 4/06

[Cuddlefish]

Jen wrote:
> I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without a
> feed. DS will be 5 months in a week and currently he feeds at 6pm,
> 10.30pm, 3-4am and then 7am through the night, The advice seems to be that
> if he doesn't sleep through by 6 months (say for 6 hours 11-5am or better)
> then I need to see a health visitor. Why would this be a medical issue?
> His weight is still in the 75th percentile (went down to 25th after birth,
> so still gaining well) and he has all the requisite naps. Obviously it
> would be fab if he slept through but I was wondering how much I should
> worry for his health rather than my extra kip?
>
> Thanks
>
> Jeni and William (who rolled from front to back for the first time
> yesterday - yay)

My DS has been sleeping through to 6am since 3 months old, no matter
what time he goes to sleep [mostly around 10pm]. It changed when he was
placed next to me to sleep, rather than in the same bed. Sometimes I'd
awake at 3am to find him suckling at my body looking for a nipple...

My health nurse says that by 6 months of age only like 1 in 8 babies
sleep through the night. I doubt it is a concern.

Jacqueline

[Jen]

On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 08:58:35 -0500, Sue wrote:

> "Jen" > wrote in message
> . ..
>> I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without a
>> feed. DS will be 5 months in a week and currently he feeds at 6pm,
>> 10.30pm, 3-4am and then 7am through the night, The advice seems to be that
>> if he doesn't sleep through by 6 months (say for 6 hours 11-5am or better)
>> then I need to see a health visitor. Why would this be a medical issue?
>> His weight is still in the 75th percentile (went down to 25th after birth,
>> so still gaining well) and he has all the requisite naps. Obviously it
>> would be fab if he slept through but I was wondering how much I should
>> worry for his health rather than my extra kip?
>
> DD1 started sleeping through the night reliably at 8 months. I cannot
> remember for sure with the other two girls. However, they slept at least 4-5
> hours straight at night and did from an early age.

He was doing this until he fed more when he had a cold and a 4 month
growth spurt. I think maybe his night wakings (not for a feed, just
crying) might have affected his feeding pattern.

I just don't think there
> is going to be any hard and fast rules about this sleep issue and if someone
> is telling you that there is a problem with a baby of 6 months not sleeping
> through, is someone that I probably would not put a whole lot of trust in.

I've had a look and it says in the Kaz Cooke book
"If you are not getting a longer period of sleep of 5 or 6 hours by the
time your baby is 6 months old, ask your health visitor or call one of the
parent services for help with adjusting your routine".

The booklet from the hospital also says your baby will sill need one night
feed when 3-4 months, which would hint they shouldn't need one after then.


> Each baby is different and will do things at different rates. Having
> said that, I do happen to think that some parents make the sleep issue
> more harder for them by all the stuff that they do, but that is not for
> me to decide if that is right or wrong.

That depends on the reason they are doing it I guess. We had to do stuff
to help William to sleep as it was clear he was suffering. He just stopped
nursing to sleep but wasn't happy in his basket so was just not getting to
sleep for naps. The difference in him is clear when he is tired. When he
hasn't had enough sleep the night before his naps suffer and vice versa.
All I want is a happy baby and doing stuff is the only way to get there.
Obviously I would love to get more sleep (my pj's say 'I love my Bed'!;))
but I don't intend to CIO or CC to get it at his detriment. OTOH if there
is something I can do that will help him reduce his night wakings without
him suffering then I'm willing to give it a try. But with the feeding
thing then if he needs to eat at 3am he will:).

Cheers

Jeni

[Patagonia]

"Jen" > wrote in message
. ..
> On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 08:58:35 -0500, Sue wrote:
>
>> "Jen" > wrote in message
>> . ..
>>> I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without a
>>> feed. DS will be 5 months in a week and currently he feeds at 6pm,
>>> 10.30pm, 3-4am and then 7am through the night, The advice seems to be
>>> that
>>> if he doesn't sleep through by 6 months (say for 6 hours 11-5am or
>>> better)
>>> then I need to see a health visitor. Why would this be a medical issue?
>>> His weight is still in the 75th percentile (went down to 25th after
>>> birth,
>>> so still gaining well) and he has all the requisite naps. Obviously it
>>> would be fab if he slept through but I was wondering how much I should
>>> worry for his health rather than my extra kip?
>>
>> DD1 started sleeping through the night reliably at 8 months. I cannot
>> remember for sure with the other two girls. However, they slept at least
>> 4-5
>> hours straight at night and did from an early age.
>
> He was doing this until he fed more when he had a cold and a 4 month
> growth spurt. I think maybe his night wakings (not for a feed, just
> crying) might have affected his feeding pattern.
>
> I just don't think there
>> is going to be any hard and fast rules about this sleep issue and if
>> someone
>> is telling you that there is a problem with a baby of 6 months not
>> sleeping
>> through, is someone that I probably would not put a whole lot of trust
>> in.
>
> I've had a look and it says in the Kaz Cooke book
> "If you are not getting a longer period of sleep of 5 or 6 hours by the
> time your baby is 6 months old, ask your health visitor or call one of the
> parent services for help with adjusting your routine".
>
> The booklet from the hospital also says your baby will sill need one night
> feed when 3-4 months, which would hint they shouldn't need one after then.
>
>
>> Each baby is different and will do things at different rates. Having
>> said that, I do happen to think that some parents make the sleep issue
>> more harder for them by all the stuff that they do, but that is not for
>> me to decide if that is right or wrong.
>
> That depends on the reason they are doing it I guess. We had to do stuff
> to help William to sleep as it was clear he was suffering. He just stopped
> nursing to sleep but wasn't happy in his basket so was just not getting to
> sleep for naps. The difference in him is clear when he is tired. When he
> hasn't had enough sleep the night before his naps suffer and vice versa.
> All I want is a happy baby and doing stuff is the only way to get there.
> Obviously I would love to get more sleep (my pj's say 'I love my Bed'!;))
> but I don't intend to CIO or CC to get it at his detriment. OTOH if there
> is something I can do that will help him reduce his night wakings without
> him suffering then I'm willing to give it a try. But with the feeding
> thing then if he needs to eat at 3am he will:).

If you wanted to, you could try what DH and I did with ds when he was 6
months. At that point, he was waking 2x a night to eat. We decided to try
letting dh get up with ds to see if he could comfort him back to sleep. If
ds was *really* crying, or if dh couldn't calm him quickly (in 10-15 min),
then I'd go nurse him. Otherwise, dh would calm him back to sleep. We
targeted the ~1am feeding first, and ds stopped waking up after about 2
weeks. Then we went for the ~5am feeding, and that took about 2 weeks to
fade out, too. I figured if it didn't work, we weren't ignoring ds while
trying, and I'd be feeding him relatively quickly, too. But if it did work,
and he'd go back to sleep with comforting rather than food, then all the
better for us.

But - if you don't care about waking up and your child needs it, then don't
worry if he keeps waking.

[Chookie]

In article >,
Jen > wrote:

> I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without a
> feed. DS will be 5 months in a week and currently he feeds at 6pm,
> 10.30pm, 3-4am and then 7am through the night, The advice seems to be that
> if he doesn't sleep through by 6 months (say for 6 hours 11-5am or better)
> then I need to see a health visitor. Why would this be a medical issue?

I imagine that there are kids out there who are malnourished (from watered
down formula, or mother refusing to feed on demand) and are waking through the
night, and your health system is tryng to pick them up.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"In Melbourne there is plenty of vigour and eagerness, but there is
nothing worth being eager or vigorous about."
Francis Adams, The Australians, 1893.

[Jen]

On Sat, 03 Dec 2005 18:27:56 +1100, Chookie wrote:

> In article >,
> Jen > wrote:
>
>> I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without a
>> feed. DS will be 5 months in a week and currently he feeds at 6pm,
>> 10.30pm, 3-4am and then 7am through the night, The advice seems to be that
>> if he doesn't sleep through by 6 months (say for 6 hours 11-5am or better)
>> then I need to see a health visitor. Why would this be a medical issue?
>
> I imagine that there are kids out there who are malnourished (from watered
> down formula, or mother refusing to feed on demand) and are waking through the
> night, and your health system is tryng to pick them up.

I never thought of it like that, thanks for the insight.

Jeni

[Jen]

On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 21:10:01 -0500, Patagonia wrote:

> If you wanted to, you could try what DH and I did with ds when he was 6
> months. At that point, he was waking 2x a night to eat. We decided to try
> letting dh get up with ds to see if he could comfort him back to sleep. If
> ds was *really* crying, or if dh couldn't calm him quickly (in 10-15 min),
> then I'd go nurse him. Otherwise, dh would calm him back to sleep. We
> targeted the ~1am feeding first, and ds stopped waking up after about 2
> weeks. Then we went for the ~5am feeding, and that took about 2 weeks to
> fade out, too. I figured if it didn't work, we weren't ignoring ds while
> trying, and I'd be feeding him relatively quickly, too. But if it did work,
> and he'd go back to sleep with comforting rather than food, then all the
> better for us.
>
> But - if you don't care about waking up and your child needs it, then don't
> worry if he keeps waking.

The trouble is I don't really know whether he does need it as it's a feed
I tend to drop off to myself (never thought I'd fall asleep upright in a
chair!) so I don't always keep track of how much he is actually eating.
Before all the wakings/cold etc. he easily went 5-6 hours or even more
occasionally so I do wonder if he does need it. At the moment it's not a
problem and who knows, it might all change when he starts solids. But your
method above is something I'll keep in mind for later. Certainly by a year
I'd like not be feeding in the night as I'll be back at work.

Thanks

Jeni

[[email protected]]

Jen wrote:

> The trouble is I don't really know whether he does need it as it's a feed
> I tend to drop off to myself (never thought I'd fall asleep upright in a
> chair!) so I don't always keep track of how much he is actually eating.
> Before all the wakings/cold etc. he easily went 5-6 hours or even more
> occasionally so I do wonder if he does need it. At the moment it's not a
> problem and who knows, it might all change when he starts solids. But your
> method above is something I'll keep in mind for later. Certainly by a year
> I'd like not be feeding in the night as I'll be back at work.

I don't think of nursing as just about the calories, though -- he might
want the comfort, or the contact. But then, I coslept, so I slept
right through night nursings, and mine was very explicit about wanting
a nurse, not Daddy, for years. You'll have to experiment. :-)

--
C, mama to three year old nursling

[[email protected]]

Sue wrote:
> "Jen" > wrote in message
> . ..

> DD1 started sleeping through the night reliably at 8 months. I cannot
> remember for sure with the other two girls. However, they slept at least 4-5
> hours straight at night and did from an early age. I just don't think there
> is going to be any hard and fast rules about this sleep issue and if someone
> is telling you that there is a problem with a baby of 6 months not sleeping
> through, is someone that I probably would not put a whole lot of trust in.
> Each baby is different and will do things at different rates.

Totally agree with this. My mom's first baby (me) slept through 12
hour stretches by 4 months, went to sleep fairly late (8 or 9 pm), and
took long naps. Her second wouldn't nap much by comparison and
generally fell asleep around 5 pm, waking twice or three times a night
until she was four. Her third wouldn't sleep much at all unless she
was cuddled on another body and still wakes several times a night,
talks in her sleep, and sleepwalks -- at the age of 23. Her fourth
would sleep anywhere, anytime.

My DS reminds both my mom and me of my mom's third baby... (groan)

--
C, mama to three year old nursling

[Patagonia]

"Jen" > wrote in message
.. .
> On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 21:10:01 -0500, Patagonia wrote:
>
>> If you wanted to, you could try what DH and I did with ds when he was 6
>> months. At that point, he was waking 2x a night to eat. We decided to
>> try
>> letting dh get up with ds to see if he could comfort him back to sleep.
>> If
>> ds was *really* crying, or if dh couldn't calm him quickly (in 10-15
>> min),
>> then I'd go nurse him. Otherwise, dh would calm him back to sleep. We
>> targeted the ~1am feeding first, and ds stopped waking up after about 2
>> weeks. Then we went for the ~5am feeding, and that took about 2 weeks to
>> fade out, too. I figured if it didn't work, we weren't ignoring ds while
>> trying, and I'd be feeding him relatively quickly, too. But if it did
>> work,
>> and he'd go back to sleep with comforting rather than food, then all the
>> better for us.
>>
>> But - if you don't care about waking up and your child needs it, then
>> don't
>> worry if he keeps waking.
>
> The trouble is I don't really know whether he does need it as it's a feed
> I tend to drop off to myself (never thought I'd fall asleep upright in a
> chair!) so I don't always keep track of how much he is actually eating.

Well, if you try this method, you'll get an idea of whether or not he needs
it, whether for calories or for comfort. If he needs it, then he will not
be comforted by dad, and you will continue the feeding. If he just wants
some comfort one way or the other, then dad will do just as well. If it's
habit, then by shaking things up a bit, you can break the habit in a couple
weeks' time. So you could start trying it now, and if he protests, wait
another couple of months and try again. Or just wait - it all depends on
what you feel is right for you and your family.

> Before all the wakings/cold etc. he easily went 5-6 hours or even more
> occasionally so I do wonder if he does need it. At the moment it's not a
> problem and who knows, it might all change when he starts solids. But your
> method above is something I'll keep in mind for later. Certainly by a year
> I'd like not be feeding in the night as I'll be back at work.
>
> Thanks
>
> Jeni
>

[Cheryl]

On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 12:23:16 GMT, Jen > wrote:

>I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without a
>feed. DS will be 5 months in a week and currently he feeds at 6pm,
>10.30pm, 3-4am and then 7am through the night, The advice seems to be that
>if he doesn't sleep through by 6 months (say for 6 hours 11-5am or better)
>then I need to see a health visitor. Why would this be a medical issue?
>His weight is still in the 75th percentile (went down to 25th after birth,
>so still gaining well) and he has all the requisite naps. Obviously it
>would be fab if he slept through but I was wondering how much I should
>worry for his health rather than my extra kip?
>
Out of 4 babies I think I've only had one that slept all night by 6
months - and she was a freakishly good sleeper pretty much as soon as
we discharged from hospital. I know #2 and #4 were/are still nursing
at least once or twice a night at 10 months, #1 I think was sleeping
more than 6 hours by 8 months. And just as another data point, all
these children were in rooms away from me (sharing, mostly, with other
children) by the time they were 4 or 5 months old. So it's not like I
was waking them by being restless.

Cheryl
Mum to Shrimp, Thud, Mischief and Chickie (born in Feb 05, who is
still waking at around 11pm and sometime between 4 and 5am nearly
every night)

[[email protected]]

Jen > writes:
: I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without a
: feed.

Let see, at about 3 1/2 yo. Clara and Niel both!

Larry

[xkatx]

"Jen" > wrote in message
. ..
>I was wondering at what age your baby slept through the night without a
> feed. DS will be 5 months in a week and currently he feeds at 6pm,
> 10.30pm, 3-4am and then 7am through the night, The advice seems to be that
> if he doesn't sleep through by 6 months (say for 6 hours 11-5am or better)
> then I need to see a health visitor. Why would this be a medical issue?
> His weight is still in the 75th percentile (went down to 25th after birth,
> so still gaining well) and he has all the requisite naps. Obviously it
> would be fab if he slept through but I was wondering how much I should
> worry for his health rather than my extra kip?
>
> Thanks
>
> Jeni and William (who rolled from front to back for the first time
> yesterday - yay)

DD was 4 months on the 4th of this month, and she's been sleeping through
the night for a long time...
First night home, she slept 6 hours (from around midnight until around 6am)
and slept 5-7 hours every night until she was about a month or so old. She
then went to about 8 or so hours at night when she was just over a month
old, and she did that until she was about 2 and a half months old. Since
she was around 2.5 months old, she's been sleeping all night. She goes to
be around 9-9:30 and at 7:30 DH goes to work and doesn't drive, so I change
DD's diaper, put her in her car seat, drive DH to work, come home and put
her back in her bed or lay down with her in our bed and she wakes up in the
morning to eat around 9:30 or so. It's been real nice, since she's the
total opposite of her older brother, who was up feeding every 4 hours at
night until he was about 5 months old!
DD is right on target for her weight and height and she's healthy... She's
been on baby cereal (didn't like the rice so we tried her on the oatmeal
kind) about 2 weeks ago, and I just introduced her to peas the other day -
which she hates! She was sleeping all night without getting up to eat, then
the nurse said she was playing catch-up during the day by drinking about 8oz
of milk every hour nearly! (that's when we tried her on the pablum to fill
her up a bit)