"sleeping the night" - realistic expectations

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Infants

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amother

Smokey

Thu, Apr 07 2016, 8:00 am

My baby slept the night, really truly slept for upwards of 7 hours, from very early on. Now, at 7 months, he is having trouble. He whimpers and cries to be fed at least twice every night, usually between 1-2am and again between 4-5am. This has been going on for several weeks already.

I never gave sleep training much thought before because it seemed to be happening naturally. Now nighttime is a disaster. He goes to sleep fairy easily most nights, but STAYING asleep just doesn't happen anymore. We put him to bed at around 8pm and he will sleep okay most nights until 1am.

What are realistic expectations for a 7-month old to "sleep the night?" What does that mean at this age? How many hours? How long can he go without eating? He is formula fed and eats solids (veggies) once a day.

More importantly, HOW do I do it??

scrltfr

Thu, Apr 07 2016, 8:26 am

Ask your doctor. If he's eating solids and formula he should probably not have to eat.

pesek zman

Thu, Apr 07 2016, 8:35 am

Agree with above ^^^

Baby may be waking but not because he's hungry. When my baby woke at that age I did not feed (your baby now may be waking out of of habit)

Is your baby teething? That was the enemy of sleep for us.

At that age a baby could/should be able to sleep 12 hours a night. If he wakes I'd offer water and he may decide it's not worth waking for. Alternately if he's teething and in pain you may have to give him something for the pain

gold21

Thu, Apr 07 2016, 8:54 am

Sounds pretty good to me...

Goes to sleep easily at 8 pm- wakes up briefly at 1 am and 4 am. Not too bad for a 7 month old. Im sure hes waking for a reason- maybe hes hungry, maybe hes thirsty, maybe hes getting plenty of nap time and isnt properly tired, maybe something is bothering him....

the world's best mom

Thu, Apr 07 2016, 10:38 am

That sounds like a dream to me. My kids have better nights when they sleep like yours does now, and worse nights when they nurse every hour or more. My kids never believed in the sleeping through the night thing. I am under the impression that they are normal, at least in that respect.

gold21

Thu, Apr 07 2016, 11:14 am

amother wrote:

By the way, how is a 7 month old getting up twice a night a "disaster"? Lets say the poor kid is hungry or something. Having a meal of veggies once a day is not very filling.

ohmygosh

Thu, Apr 07 2016, 1:03 pm

gold21 wrote:

By the way, how is a 7 month old getting up twice a night a "disaster"? Lets say the poor kid is hungry or something. Having a meal of veggies once a day is not very filling.

If he slept through the night since he was very small, I assume he can easily sleep through without being hungry. I am guessing he may be teething and he wakes up because it's bothering him, and once he's up, has a hard time falling back asleep.

amother

Smokey

Thu, Apr 07 2016, 1:03 pm

Maybe I didn't explain this correctly. He wakes up twice to eat and the rest of the night he wakes up literally every few minutes whimpering and crying after 1am. His only solid sleep times are from 8pm-1am. I know he is teething (doctor said several teeth are coming) but what can I do for him? Also why is that mainly a nighttime worry?

amother

Orange

Thu, Apr 07 2016, 2:25 pm

amother wrote:

What I personally remember of teething (assuming it feels more or less the same, whether it's baby teeth or wisdom teeth) is that it's not like a constant, sharp pain. It comes and goes, and it's a mild-to-moderate discomfort. Think of it like a bug bite- you probably don't notice the itch too badly during the day when you're distracted with other activities, but it may make it hard to fall asleep.

Sorry I can't help with the wakings- I don't know much about formula-fed babies' habits.

pesek zman

Thu, Apr 07 2016, 2:26 pm

Give Motrin or Tylenol for pain. We also like Camila. Teething is the enemy of sleep. Relieve him from his pain and he and you will sleep better

mha3484

Thu, Apr 07 2016, 2:28 pm

I found once my baby started to really sleep long stretches around 9 months old, if it was only teething motrin or tylenol worked like a charm.

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