I sleep trained but baby still wakes at 530am to eat.

amother

Hotpink

Sun, Jul 17 2022, 1:23 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

usually she goes to sleep 7:30-8. yesterday, she ate after 9 and went to sleep then and still woke up at 5:30. my question is if it's about hunger or just what she's used to by now.

So she hasn't eaten in 8.5 hours. Of course she's hungry.
Please feed your baby when she wakes up. Sleep training doesn't mean starving your baby, it means your baby can fall asleep, and fall back asleep, on his/her own.
Your baby can't talk yet and can't tell you if she's in pain, or going through a growth spurt, or didn't get enough formula at daycare.

amother

Hotpink

Sun, Jul 17 2022, 1:33 pm

amother [ Amaryllis ] wrote:

I agree with you, ek22.
It’s a different personality. I need to be on a schedule with my baby and I work on my babies schedules from birth, practically.
My first was sleeping 12 hrs by 8 weeks. My second took until 6 months, because she wasn’t gaining well.
Yes, babies do get hungry, but you can train their brains to get hungry at times that are more convenient.
OP, babies sometimes start their day at 6 am. It’s annoying, but it’s within the realm of normal, not something you can work on. 5:30 am sounds like you’re almost there!!! I’m not a cruel and horrible parent, but when my baby was consistently waking up at 5:30, I sat next to her and rocked her back to sleep and didn’t feed her until 6 am. It wasn’t easy, but after a week, her brain learned to sleep until 6.
I don’t think you should let your baby scream from 5:30-6, but sit next to her and rock her, calm her, try to put her back to sleep. Maybe for a few days do it until 5:45, and then bump it up to 6. It’s not cruel. Babies need sleep and parents need to help them get on normal schedules.
To everyone else, it’s a personality thing. I know many moms are happy to nurse whenever their baby is crying. I’m not. I only feed when I suspect my baby is hungry (2-3 hours after the last feed). I was never the type of mom who sleeps with baby in bed and nurses the entire night.
If what you’re doing works for you, that’s great! No need to shame others who you can’t understand.

I'm not happy to breastsleep but if that's what my baby needs then I'll do it. I don't nurse if baby just nursed but if it's been over 1.5 hours and baby insists (after I've tried everything else) I'll assume there's something I don't know about and I nurse the baby. (Again, after I try cuddles, diaper, burp, toys, tatty, gas, etc.) I don't bedshare because it works for me. I bedshare because some babies won't sleep otherwise unless you are okay with letting them scream and scream, and I'm not going to Ferberize an infant, because that's just cruel. So when the gentler sleep training methods don't work on a specific infant I assume that baby needs more attention, more snuggles, more nursings, etc. I'd rather give it now and help baby's brain develop properly than deprive baby now and end up with a SN child later.
There is a growing body of evidence linking lack of oxytocin during pregnancy and infanthood to autism diagnoses later on. It's not clear if autistic children don't absorb/ process oxytocin well and therefore need higher levels, or if the lack is what triggers the genes responsible for autism to activate. But either way I don't care, it means baby needs higher doses of oxytocin and they certainly won't be getting that if I sleep train in a way that reduces oxytocin levels and raises cortisol levels, or if I ignore baby's needs or teach baby not to express needs. Babies don't cry if they don't need something.

kugelzlady

Mon, Jul 18 2022, 12:22 am

I would feed her when she wakes up at 5am, but then try to push back her next nap. So feed her right when she wakes up, but don’t put her right back to sleep. Treat it as the morning and keep her up for a few hours. Over time this will help her shift from waking at 5 to waking at 6 or even later.
And don’t let all these posts get to you. MANY babies at this age can go 12 hours without eating!
Of course when your daughter wakes up from a long stretch of sleep she’ll be hungry. You need to try to help her change the timing so it’s not the middle of the night for you!