Getting a Baby to Sleep Longer Through the Night.

Have you tried swaddling? I used the "Miracle Blanket" (found at www.miracleblanket.com) for my second - what a difference!!!! Hope this helps. K.

I agree with Allison!

One thing that helps me get the gas out of my son is to lay him on his back, and slowly push his legs into his stomach. It seems to work out the bubbles.

M.,
If you are breast feeding the gas my be cased by something you are eating. Stay away from things like brocolli and peanut butter and other foods that will be case gas for you and the baby. For the gas, I know that there are drops that you can by to ease gas discomfort.

As for the sleep issue, if this continues to be a problem, you may want to consider a night bottle. Breast milk only stays with the baby for a few hours while formula will stay with him for possibly six hours. Just an idea! Hang in there, and try to work in a nap when you can.

Honestly, for a good breastfeeding relationship, waking every three hours is totally normal for this age. Don't let people tell you differently. "Sleep scheduling" is not recommended for newborns, nor is it good for breastfeeding. If breastfeeding is important to you, feed on demand. Babies also go through growth spurts at 3, 6, 9 weeks and 3, 6, and 9 months (or anywhere around there!). He may be trying to get your supply up for that, and grow some more. He's the age for it. Adding cereal to his diet right now is NOT recommended. The American Academy of Pediatrics says you should wait until 6 months. Cereal in the bottle at night making them sleep longer is a major myth anyway. As for the gas, they say bicycling the legs and pumping the legs helps that.

Do you swaddle him? Swaddling tightly may help him feel more comforted and allow him to sleep longer instead of seeking comfort from you. He's only been in this rough world for 7 weeks, and he was cramped and comfy inside you for 40! I used the SwaddleMe and it worked well for us. But I say if he needs to eat (which, at 7 weeks, is totally normal) or needs comfort, give it. I know it's hard. I have an infant and a 2 year old, but at this age he needs to know you're there when he needs you - whether grown ups think he needs you or not! If you feed him before he's totally awake, he will go back to sleep much easier too.

I give my baby anti-gas drops at every feeding and that seems to help her a lot. We also found out that she was lactose intolerant and have been using a soy-based formula since she was two weeks old (Simulac Soy Formula Advanced; comes in a maroon container). As far as your baby sleeping through the night, I started feeding my daughter baby food with cereal at four months and this helped her sleep up to ten hours each night. Plus, I made sure that her last feeding took place around eight every evening. Good luck!

Mylicon is great for gas.Also you might try substituting a bottle at night it might help him stay full longer.This helped me a lot.Also I did the oppisite of what most people will tell you.Insted of moving my baby out of my room i moved him in my bed.Now this is purely a personal choice and doesnt work for everyone.My baby slept longer and when he did wake up I didnt have to get up to feed him.I would just do the sidelaying position where you lay on your side and let your baby nurse.Now this may not work for you but for me it was great.My son is now 6 months and sleeps all night in his own room.He sleeps about 10 hrs a night.I had zero problems with the transition from our bed to his crib in his room.Also those teddy bears that make the womb noises are great.YOu can get them at walmart or babies r us.Good luck and hang in there it will end soon.

My son had/has (now to a lesser degree) colic/a lot of gassiness. As others have suggested, try laying him on his back and rotating his legs like he's riding a bike. We have found that Mylicon has been a saving grace. It is symethicone (which is like Gas-X for us), which is what has worked the best for us. You are probably already doing this, but let him nurse until he's full/quits/falls asleep, just be sure to try to burp him afterwards. Some people pat and some rub to get the burps out, but I found that a mixture of the two work for us. Good luck.

Excellent, wonderful advice from Heather H! I agree, 100%, with every word.

This is normal sleep behavior for a breastfed newborn. The average baby does not consistently sleep through the night until 12 months or so. Try the swaddling technique suggested by several people; please do not introduce cereal at this point, as the current recommendation is to wait until 6 months to introduce ANY solids.

As to the gas, consider eliminating dairy from your diet, as the proteins are passed through your milk and bothers some babies. Be sure to eliminate all dairy, both hidden and obvious for 2 weeks before you decide if it's the culprit.

Have you considered co-sleeping? It takes some getting used to, but, with practice baby can sleep with you in your bed. When he wakes, you can latch him back on and dose back off. There are safe ways and unsafe ways to co-sleep, so please do the research should you choose to try it.

Read "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" by Tracy Hogg. It will solve ALL your problems!

It sounds like he may be having a growth spurt. After a few days to a week he will probably get back to his "normal" pattern again...until the next spurt.

I have four little ones (the oldest will be 5 the end of January) so I know how important sleep is. However, babies do go through growth spurts. My baby (9 months) was up every 1-2 hours during her last growth spurt. And since my cycles have not yet returned I am more then happy to help delay it by frequent nursings. It happens for such a short time before she starts sleeping well again. I sleep train her by letting her fuss a little before picking her up. Often she'll go right back to sleep.

S.

I can't eat cheese or it gives my baby bad gas.

Here is what our pediatrician suggested right away - MOVE the BABY to his/her own room. He said we were probably waking to his every noise unnecessarily. Also, Gripe Water did the trick for my son for gas; it seemed to work better than Mylicon, at least for us.

Watch the dairy products you eat but also do you swaddle him? We didn't at first but when we started, it helped so much and makes them feel secure and stops the hands flying out and frightening them like they do with their reflexes.

you could try putting cereal in his bottle at bed time.
maybe he's waking up because he's hungry
I have 5 kids and not a one of them ever slept through the night until about a yr old..
but my children are add & adhd so they just have alot of energy
my twins are 10 now and they don't go to sleep until around 2:00 am but they have always done this, and I can't get them to stop

Hi M.,
I agree, it sounds like a growing spurt. Try putting an extra feeding in during the day. You'll have to feed more often during the day for a while but hopefully you'll get more sleep during the night. For gas, I would burp more often than you are doing during feedings and try some infant gas drops that you can get at the drug store. It helps and is harmless since none of it is digested but helps to break up the air bubbles.
C.

You may try to put a couple of the baby anti-gas drops in each of the bottles you feed him. One of the boys I babysit did this. It worked WONDERFUL!!!

Your diet may be contributing to his gas. I couldn't eat broccoli while breastfeeding my second.

You may want to record everything you eat in a food log to determine what it is you are eating that is causing his gas.