I have an 8 mo old girl and she is on the "petite" side at about 15 lb. She was 7lb 2oz at birth and she's very healthy, but she's small like my husband was (and everyone comments on how small she is...). She doesn't sleep through the night, and she's a light eater. I guess I'm just looking for other moms out there who have an infant who isn't a great sleeper. She still wakes up at least once each night to eat, sometimes twice. Any other moms out there as sleep deprived as me...still? :)
I just want to say thank you to all of you for your responses. It made me realize that I am not alone! So often I hear people say their babies were "sleeping through the night at 8 weeks", etc. -- and they're always offering up ways to get me into the sleep club (rice cereal in the bottle, cry it out, etc.). I've tried everything except letting her cry. I realized from your responses that this is perfectly normal, and in some cases, I have it pretty good with just 1-2 wakeups at night. Anyhow, thank you for your responses. This was my first time sending a request on mamasource and it was very helpful to hear back from so many mommies.
Take care, Ellen
I have a 24 pound 11 month old that wakes up at least three times a night to eat :)
(should make you feel better LOL)
I have a 120 pound 15 year old that wakes up at midnight to eat LOL
and then sleeps til 2pm :)
My son is also eight months and weighs 17 pds which is on the small side as well. He gets up about once to take a bottle and generally goes back to sleep. My doctor noted that my son is moving sooner than his peers, crawling/almost walking and perhaps that is affecting his weight. In addition, the doctor noted that he eats okay but that he will be a smaller boy and not to worry.
My first son did not sleep through the night for the first time until he was 9 1/2 months old. Some kids are just like that I guess. She'll come around soon.
Sounds like your daughter needs to eat as often as she will. Most infants awake during the night to eat at least once and sometimes more. This is normal and, with her small size, I sure wouldn't try to stretch out her feedings. She's waking up because she's hungry or she wants you to hold her or both. If she only wakes up once, I'd call her a great sleeper! Babies are a 24x7 deal!
My 3-year-old son started sleeping through the night at around 9-10 months old, about the time he started day care. My 8-month-old daughter does not sleep through the night, usually she wakes up 2-3 times wanting to nurse. Usually, she will nurse and go straight back to sleep. We co-sleep so it means I basically roll over, she latches on and I don't even really completely wake up.
However, sometimes she will be wide awake and want to play. When she's like this, I've found that about 10-15 minutes of baby yoga followed by a bit more nursing will put her right back to sleep. For baby yoga, I use the book Itsy Bitsy Yoga by Helen Garabedian.
I've also been doing some videos for a doctor who is researching mother-baby communication. She was telling me that about 15 minutes of intense communication/play time with mom will tire a baby out. And it seems to be true for me.
Good luck!
Nope! I have an 8 1/2 month old an almost 5 yr old and an almost 3 yr old. I havn't slept through the night in 5 years!!! Seriously my girls didn't start sleeping through the night until they were about 18 months old. As long as they eat and go right back to sleep I can handle that. I was actually woke up more by my 3 yr old last night than the infant. I am learning that it is all attitude. Some day I will get a full nights sleep but tonight is not that night!
Right there with you,my daughter was 8mo's old on the 5th and she still gets up almost every night, and my girl is a lettle on the hefty side. I was hoping it would be different with her than it was with my son. But, no, I'm still sleep deprived. I'm just use to it now , I gave up hope. And if she does sleep through the night we are up by 530am so it doesn't matter.
no my infant does not either
My daughter is 18 months old and still gets up at least once a night. She has slept through the night a handfull of times, but not until after she was a year old. Now she wakes up and needs a drink and her diaper changed, she has never been able to stand a wet diaper. I also want to let you know that her size has nothing to do with it, my daughter has never been petite, she was 10lb 2oz at birthand is almost 30lbs now.
My son started sleeping through the night at about 1 year.
He will occassionally get up at 4 or 5 to nurse and go back to sleep.
But for the longest time - he got up at 11 2 and then was up for the day at 5 am..
My daughter was smaller but slept through the night at about 7 months.
It really is developomental... they just gradually sleep better deeper adn do not wake up.. someday she will sleep There is really nothing you can do..
My first baby didn't sleep through the night until he was 18 months old. My second started sleeping through at 8 weeks! I didn't do anything differently, it just depends on the kid!
my son was about the same size, 16lbs at 8 months. He started sleeping through the night around 4 months. however, my daughter was 16 pounds at 12 months and didn't sleep through the night until she was 3. I don't know what the difference was, other than their sex!
My son is almost 3, And while he -can- sleep through the night, he often wakes up at least once for water, or whatnot. He was very tiny as well when he was born, and up until the last few months. The wakings will get shorter (hopefully!), and further between. Eventually you'll get a whole nights sleep, but in the meantime, stay strong!
My youngest is 16 months and also does not sleep through the night. It is probably my own fault, however. We live in a fairly large apartment, but we it's a loft style and therefore does not have full walls. If she is screaming then no one can sleep, I work from home so it's not a big issue for me, but my husband has to get up early for work, and there is also her older brother who is 3 1/2 and autistic. He goes to a special class every day, and has a lot of specialist appointments. I have tried to let her scream it out for 2 weeks, and it did nothing to help. My son also did not sleep through the night until he was 1 1/2. When he was diagnosed with Autism, I learned that very often that happens, however I am confident that my daughter is not Autistic, so I'm thinking it's either me or just my kids, lol. I give her a bit of milk and she goes back to sleep for a few hours...
Oh, and my 2 are above average for height and weight(in fact, my son is in the 107(!) percentile for height.) Hope this helps?
We have a son, almost 11 months, who is probably just over 15 1/2 lbs now. He has also been small and we also get the same comments from everyone when we're out and about (everyone guesses he is A LOT younger than he actually is). He still gets up once a night about every 3rd night, so yes, my sleep is a also a bit deprived :-) From talking with other moms out there, it's really normal for infants to have erratic sleep schedules even as they get older. I have spoken to moms of 2 or 3 yr old toddlers who still get up periodically at night to nurse. I guess it doesn't help our sleep deprivation, but makes me feel better knowing that other people don't have babies that 'sleep through the night' :-)
Hi yeah I'm right there with you, my baby is 7 1/2 months, and now that she is teething I'm up about every 3-4 hours again. I used to get a wonderful 6 hours! :) Ahhh the good ol days... I know it will change as soon as she is old enough and is on all solids, but it seems like I've been doing this forever.
Good Luck and God Bless
K. SAHM of 3
My older daughter never slept through the night as a baby. (She did not start sleeping through the night until around 4 years old.) She did start sleeping better though once we put her on her stomach to sleep (She could roll over unassisted). Check with your pediatrician to see if it would be safe for your daughter at this point, if she is not already sleeping in a position of her choice.
Good luck!
My daughter was also on the very small side, and it wasn't until 8 months that she started sleeping through the night... from 7pm to 7am. I know, sounds like heaven, right? I breastfed her until she was almost 6 months, then switched to formula. At 8 months, I started putting rice cereal in her bottle at night only (even though I swore I would NEVER do that), and she immediately started sleeping through the night. She also started taking 2 naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and that's the schedule she's been on since then. She's 14.5 months old now. Anyway, I hope that helps! Good luck!
I am right there with you! My daughter is almost 11months & still has issues getting through the night. It catches up with me here & there but for the most part I am getting used to it. My daughter is also a light eater & is very petite (only about 18lbs right now). I find if we can play a lot before bed she seems to be more tired & sleeps better but otherwise I have not figured it out.
My four year old did not sleep through the night (six consecutive hours) until he was a year and a half. Waking during the night is annoying however it is a good sign. Infants who can wake themselves during the night have a lesser chance of SIDS. Also "light sleepers" have fewer night time accidents when potty training. It's hard but stick through it. Don't try to make your child conform to "textbook" reccommendations. Don;t waste your time and energy trying to force her to sleep because eventually it will come. Hang in there and try and take naps!! Good Luck!
Hi Ellen,
My daughter will be 1 year on August 27th. She was 6lbs 8oz at birth ... and is still on the small side of the percentile chart. (although we did hit the 50% mark in height at 10 months) I'm not sure if I would say she is a light eater... she doesn't eat a great deal of solids and breastmilk is still her primary source of calories.
Anyway... she too does not sleep through the night. She wakes up typically twice a night and wants to eat. We're having a good night if she goes 5 hours straight with no waking. She is EXTREMELY active. Always has been since birth. It is as if she sees sleep as an interruption in her scheduled program! ha ha ha
So yes... I'm sleep deprived. I COULD get more sleep IF I went to bed when my daughter did. But that would mean I wouldn't get dinner, no time for laundry and picking up the hosue and NO time alone with hubby. So, that's not an option. I've tried cutting out naps and all that... she still wakes up at her normal time and is just crabby the next day because she didn't get enough sleep.
I think some babies are just like this. A friend of mine has a son who loves to sleep. He's 2.5 and will take a 3 hour nap and go to bed no problems and sleeps straight through. He was a good sleeper as an infant. Their daughter was totally different. They did nothing different with the two. Some kids just sleep better then others I think. I try to embrace my daughters active curiosity and zest for life. She is definetely an active participant in life... not a wall flower. So, I try to embrace her unique character ... even though there ARE days where I just want more sleep!!!!
yup. I am with you. 10 month just started to sleep better, i am 5 months pregnant with number 4 so there are very few nights i sleep all night.
oh thats so hard. my 20 month old still wakes up at least 2x a night and shes weaned! shes always been a poor sleeper and yes, i'm still severely sleep deprived. i have no advise since nothing has worked to change this habit (including crying it out which was just a month of heartbreak every night with no change), and we've tried it all! but you have my sympathy and support. i hope it gets better!
My daughter is also on the smaller side (25th to 50th percentile) and she starting sleeping through the night at 6 months. She cut out the 1-2 night nursings on her own at that time. We did sleep training using Ferber at about 5 months but for bedtime only. When she woke at night I nursed her but like I said she cut those out on her own about a month later
I have big babies with big appetites and they still don't sleep through the night until between 8mos and 20months! It really just depends on the kid...meet their needs and they will eventually out grow the need to wake to eat. But I totally feel the pain :-) Good thing it's only once per night...by 2nd born was still waking 3-4x's per night at 18months, he was the one who finally started sleeping through about 2-3x's a week at 20months and sleeping through consistently around 26months.
