Help! Advice on Getting 2.5 Month Old to Sleep!

i started all 3 of my babies onn rice cereal before bed time, and they slept through the night from 6 weeks. J. L.

Hi there - my baby went through the same thing. I felt like I should be able to "make" her sleep longer by feeding her more at certain times, giving her a bath at different strategic times, etc. but nothing worked! It was very stressful.
I thought I needed to take action to make things change and felt like somehow I wasn't a proactive enough parent. BUT, eventually I just decided to follow her lead - just letting her set the schedule and feeding amounts.
Now, she's 15 weeks and starting to sleep through the night - but she did it all herself, not from my scheduling. (She just started demanding more food, more frequently during the day . . .now she sleeps from about 9:30 p.m. to 4 or 5 a.m.)
Soooo, while I am definitely not an expert here, I am thinking your little boy should outgrow his current sleeping pattern. Just hang in there!

At that age, my son took many naps that were short. And waking up about 3 times at night. then it was 2 times and then one time at night until he was about 5 months old and he slept through the night. It sounds like you are doing all you can but if he isn't taking long naps, that might be the problem. (I found that the better my guy slept during the day the better he did at night). You might want to get your son on a nap schedule, on in the morning and one in the afternoon. My baby was up at 7, 10am nap and then another nap around 2pm then he was in bed around 7 or 8). That worked for me And if your son is eating plenty that might be a help.
The other thing you might want to do is give your baby less milk if he wakes up at night. He might be just programed to wake up to eat.
Good luck

I second what Susan said. Every child is different. My daughter slept through the night (10 pm to 6 am) by the time she was 2 1/2 months old. My son (who is 5 1/2 months old) is still not sleeping through the night. Fortunately he typically only wakes up 1 time, but trust me, I sympathize with you. I can't feel rested for the life of me. But really, he is his own little self and when he is ready to sleep longer than he will, but until then I am going to enjoy and love him. I remember someone else was posting about infants sleeping through the night and they so kindly pointed out that time goes by so fast, and the kids grow up all too quickly, that the fact that they don't sleep through the night and keep you up for the first few months (or few years) of their life is nothing in comparison to the rest of your life and their life so enjoy it, before too long, they will be grown up and moving out. Good luck.

3 hour stretches sound great to me! LOL

You've gotten some great advice already so I won't repeat what has already been said, but in case you were tempted to take one posters advice and give your baby rice cereal in a bottle, please read the following first!

http://www.drgreene.com/21_561.html

N.,
I feel your pain. I have a 9 week old daughter and I am exhausted. This is my third child and there isn't really anything you can do. I tried the bedtime routine, I tried to wake her up before I go to bed to feed her but then she just wakes up and wont go back to sleep. I am having problems with not only waking up to much 2 or 3 times a night but she will take a late nap and not want to go to sleep until 11:00pm or so. Your baby is normal and you can't really make him sleep through the night. He is still so little it is just hard for the mommies. I personally can't wait I feel like a walking zombie but I know that it will pass. My two boys are 3 and 5 years old and they sleep beautifully through the night. Hang in there I know it will get better for us eventually.

When my babies were his age/weight (I think they were about the same weight at his age), I am pretty sure they were taking about 6 oz at each feeding, so I think your caregivers may be right. When you give him the bottle, try putting a little more in there and see what he does. If he finishes it and acts like he could keep going - give him more, or give him 1/2 oz more the next time. The advice I followed was "never let them drain a bottle" - ideally, if he is getting enough, he will stop before the bottle is empty. Soon you will figure out what he typically needs at each feeding and there won't be much wasted. When you're breastfeeding, I'm sure he is getting enough, even though you can't know exactly how much he is getting. But I'm sure he stops when he is satisfied, so you know he is getting enough.

As for nightime sleep, I learned that it is linked to consistent, sufficient feedings during the day. By feeding at consistent intervals throughout the day, it helps their metabolism stabilize and then they are able to sleep better at night. This does not mean that you keep to a rigid schedule to the point of starving your baby, but you feed the baby at regular intervals whether he is notifying you that he is hungry or not. If it should be time for a feeding and he is not interested at all, then you know that he can go a little longer and you space them apart appropriately. This is the advice that I followed with my babies and they began to sleep through the night all on their own, no "training" was necessary. Every baby is different, absolutely, but there are similarities, and every baby needs sufficient nutrition throughout the day in order to sleep well at night.

With the naps, it is very common for babies to have difficulty taking long naps. This was the case with both of my babies and this is what I learned. Babies go through sleep cycles every 30-45 minutes (they gradually lengthen as you get older). Many times, a baby (or an adult) will wake while passing through sleep cycles and have difficulty getting back to sleep. My second baby had particular difficulty with this. It was no trouble at night, but during the day he had a terrible time getting back to sleep when passing through sleep cycles. I eventually had to let him cry to get through it (if I went to him, that only got him more awake and that made it impossible to get back to sleep, and he was so tired!). It only took a few weeks and then he was able to take longer naps (1 1/2 to 2 hours) without interruption and he woke up happy. I'm not saying this is what you need to do with your baby, but this is what worked with mine.

I would suggest an earlier bedtime for him. Unless the "nightime" period of sleep lasts well into the morning and that schedule works for you. When my babies were this age, the bedtime goal was between 7 and 8 pm (as they got a little older, a firm 7 pm bedtime was perfect). Then I would wake him and feed him a couple/few hours later, then go to bed myself. If you can get to bed right after feeding him, your chances are greater for a longer period of sleep before he needs to be fed again. I learned this "trick" with my first baby when he was a few months old and it was the end of feedings through the night for him. I put him to bed around 7 or 8, fed him at about 10 or 11, then I went to bed, and he would sleep until about 7 am. What a dream to get a full night's sleep! I kept up that routine until he was about 5 months old and then I stopped waking him for that late night feeding, and he just slept right through until morning from that point on! Since it worked so well with my first, I tried it with my second baby from birth. I tried to have him in bed by about 8 pm in the beginning. Then I would wake him and feed him around 11, then I would go to bed. He usually woke up for another feeding around 3 am, then he would sleep until about 6 am(gradually that got a little later and bedtime got a little earlier). Then he stopped waking up for that 3 am feeding when he was about 3 weeks old and he would sleep right through until morning! Now that is exceptional. I never expected him to be able to sleep through the night that early on, but I was blessed, for sure!

The need for feedings through the night is definitely an "age thing," but I think that regular good feeding during the day will help him develop the ability to sleep better at night. That is the advice that I followed and it was true with my babies.

This is just my experience and I'm sorry it is so long. But if my experience can help you, then I am very glad. I hope this helps!

Gosh... babies are always 'EXPECTED" to sleep through the night... no matter how young. And if they don't.... it's viewed as "not good" and a problem. But for whom?

All I know is, yes, there are methods to aide the baby in sleeping....but, the bottom line is each baby is different... and some will simply NOT sleep through the night, much less at only 10 weeks old. At this age, they are barely used to "our" world... and their night-time/daytime adaptations are still occurring and their whole development as well.

There are children who even at 2 years old DO NOT sleep through the night, no matter what method is used. THIS is also common. To "make" a baby this young sleep longer, to me... is, just expecting too much too soon. (yes, I know there are some who say their baby sleeps ALL night... but you can't compare each baby). I find, that at this young an age, an INFANT, is just doing what they need to do... and all they know is survival and feeding and needing comforting.

It is NORMAL for an infant to wake every few hours... "sleeping through the night" for a baby means sleeping at least 6 hours straight. It is not by 'adult' parameters or expectations. And each baby is different.

PLEASE.... what your baby is doing is completely normal... although not convenient and tiring for the Parent. But, in no time, your baby will be all grown and you will miss that.

A baby this young will not have a "pattern" or routine down pat... much less be predictable. In time... when he gets older you can start a routine for him... but not now. At this age, everything is "on demand." That is what they need. AND during any growth spurt or developmental changes or teething periods.... their sleeping pattern will change again and again.

There are so many reasons why or why not a baby sleeps well or longer or not long enough, and sometimes there is just no reason at all. He is too young to be expected of these things. Just my opinion.

I feel your frustration... I went through that with 2 children... my oldest being 5 yrs. and my youngest being 24 months....Both breastfed. But even at their age... there are just some nights when they wake up during the middle of the night....it's okay. Even adults don't sleep perfectly every night.

In time, your baby will get more regular... and when he's older, you can try sleep "training" methods for him, although that is a personal choice.

Take care,
Susan

Hi N.,

What are his sleep patterns at school? Ask that they try to keep him awake a little longer between naps if possible, maybe that will help him sleep longer through the night. Our son was 4 months when he started sleeping through, but we eventually just had to let him start crying it out. The spans between became longer and finally success!

Good luck!

-Char