Keeping Baby Awake

At your babies age he is gowing so fast he needs those feedings, Remember all kids are differant.If you really need sleep then get a good friend or family member to watch the baby for you over night or part of a day that you can relax and get some sleep.Tired Mommy's need a break.Grand parents work wonderful for this.It won't last forever and you will be thankful for all the extra time alone with the baby in the end.Just don't let yourself get cranky.Your body is still adjusting to giving birth so get yourself some free time.

Sounds like you are doing the right things, may just take time. Be sure to sleep in daytime when the kids are napping. One more month can make a big difference. Hang in there.

I would say that for 6 weeks this behavior sounds normal. Perhaps instead of offering him the rest of his bottle so soon after he took only part of it wait til he is really hungry again. I think even puting him off an hour might encourage him to eat more at one time. Cluster feeding in the evening can be effective in helping him sleep a bit longer through the night. Just try to avoid this during the day. Good luck!

I also agree with others that cereal is not the best idea at this point, it might be harder for him to digest and actually could backfire on you.

Roberta C makes a very good point about skin-to-skin contact. Babies need this time of bonding. So, since you are feeding a bottle, strip your baby down to a diaper and position him as if he were going to nurse and either remove your shirt or lift it so that his skin is against yours. If you have a free hand, tickle his feet or hands, rub/scratch (gently) his back, play with his ears or rub his head. These things can help stimulate him enough to continue to eat. And, keep in mind, if he is still sucking while he is asleep, he's probably still getting some of the contents of the bottle.

I would strongly recommend not giving him cereal in his bottle. He is too young for that. Babies' tummies are not prepared to process food until around the 6 month mark. Babies should not be fed to induce sleep. You said he is waking about every 2-3 hours for a feeding? This is totally normal. Babies at his age should be doing just that.

And, you're doing a great job by reminding yourself that all babies are different. Keep it up! Each baby has his/her own habits, behaviors and schedules. My daughter slept several hours at a time by 6 weeks. So did my son. But, they both started waking more frequently, especially when they were experiencing a growth spurt.

Getting a bedtime routine is helpful too. Warm bath, massage, a story/song and feeding in the dark is a great way to help Baby begin to understand bedtime is near. And, when he wakes in the middle of the night to eat, don't talk and feed him in the dark again so that he will begin to understand that it's OK that he eats, but then it's back to bed. If he sleeps in your room, you can try placing him in bed next to you and feeding him his bottle and putting him back in his bed once he falls asleep.

I hope you find something that works for you and your family. I know exactly how you feel when it comes to lack of sleep. My kids are 2 years and 6 months. I sleep whenever I can, lol.

God bless,
A.

You might try dressing him a bit cooler than usual when you feed him, and feed him sitting up on your lap, rather than cuddling him close to you. This may reduce the sleepiness. You don't mention how much your little guy weighs. I don't expect longer stretches of sleep at night until baby weighs at least ten pounds. The usual time to introduce solids is four to six months, by the way. Your little guy is probably not ready to digest the cereal yet. Good luck with the sleep deprivation issue. Don't forget to ask for help so you can sleep when you need to . Hope this helps.

When breast feeding I would feed my daughter on one side then I changed her which woke her up then I fed her on the other side. My girl fed ever 2 hours for months, I napped every chance I got, then again she's my only one. You can try undressing your baby so he stays cool, is he's warm and snuggly he's going to sleep. You can also "bug" your baby, tickle his feet, lightly pinch him, just enough to stimulate him not hurt him. He might just be an every 3 hour feeder. If he's a bottle fed baby maybe you and your hubby can trade off nights, one night he has baby duty the next night you have it. Raising children is a full time job too so he can't complain (if he does make him have the kids all day one weekend, he'll learn quick.).

I hope this helps.

M.,

I don'twant to sound disrespectful, but if your first was sleeping through the night at six weeks, you were very, very lucky. I only have one child, but I know each child is very different. I nursed my son, and he never slept for more than an hour at a time for the first month. My only advice is sleep when the baby sleeps (much easier said than done), and if he is still not sleeping through the night at four months, let him cry to sleep. It sounds really mean, but it works and I wish I had done it much sooner. My son was 10 months old when we finally let him cry to sleep. He slept for 10 hours the first night, and 12 thereafter. To that point he had not slept more that 4 hours in a row!!!
Good luck and don't be shy about asking for help from friends and family.

Every baby indeed is different. My 9 month old is a pig!!!! Always has been. He was eating about 4 ounces every 3 hours when he was 6 weeks old too. He would try to fall asleep in the middle of a bottle, but I would just annoy him enough that he would eventually finish it. Then if he was hungry 30 minutes later I would make him wait a while so that when I did give him his bottle he would really eat it. It really worked for us. But it didn't help with the night feedings. He was up 1-2 times a night for the first 4 months of his life. He didn't start sleeping through the night until he was about 8 months old. Try to make his last bottle of the night a big one! And make sure he eats it all!! Good luck!! I truly understand. I'm sleeping for the first time in so long! Don't forget how amazing a little cat nap can be!!

Well... it sounds to me like you are doing a great job. He is eating when he's hungry. Babies are great at eating when they are hungry. I breastfed my kiddos so I never really knew how much they took in anyway. Let his output be your guide. As long as he has plenty of wet and dirty diapers, I wouldn't sweat the ounces. My concern is the cereal. His little system is not developed enough to tolerate that yet. It will sit in his body and not digest properly. If I were you I'd loose it until your pediatrician gives you the ok on it. Most start somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-6 months. If you have stripped him down, tickled his feet, bounced him around a few minutes before each feeding, then just do the best you can. He'll wake up when he's good and hungry. I look for a good growth spurt to happen in a week or two. You may notice a big difference then. He'll need more to grow. Just offer what he'll take, and if he is awake and still hungry, give him more. Babies his age typically feed every 2-4 hours. Hang in there... I know this time is really tough. This too shall pass all too soon. Enjoy !

I know that getting up at night is stressful. You are absolutely right. Every baby is different. My first was sleeping through the night at 2 months as well... my second... nine months! It is a bit more challenging with 2, but if you can set aside a time in the afternoon where you all lay down. SLEEP!!! By all means!! A couple of other suggestions, since he's bottle fed, trade shifts with your husband. It's both of your responsibility. Remember.. mommy hood is a full time job. You need your rest to do it well, just like he needs his rest to go to work. Also, if there is a close family member who could give you a little reprieve. I think the quiet time to rest would do you wonders! If all else fails, try the last one I myself have resorted to on a few desperate occasions. I have never been much of a fan of my children being glued to the television, but SPROUT has become my very best friend on days when I have not slept. I will put the baby down for his morning nap, and my 3 year old will cuddle up on the couch with me and have "preschool" time while I rest my eyes . Not ideal... but ya do what ya gotta do. I can't complain, he knows his ABCs :) Sometimes that little rejuvenation time, even though I am not asleep, is enough to get me by. Best wishes and sweet dreams!

Ime, most babies that age eat more often than every 3-4 hours.
Have you tried feeding him more often during the day (every 2 hours, say)? That way he gets his fill during the day, and might be able to go slightly longer at night. But really, every 3-4 hours sounds spot on for a 6 week old.

Hi M....
I have been through this 5 times and will be going through it for the 6th time in a few weeks. I learned over the years not to "demand" feed. Your baby will not starve if you set a schedule and stick to it. I am not saying that you can not waiver on that schedule by a half hour or so but to be constantly feeding a baby is very tough, especially when you have other children in the house that need attention as well. With my daughter, who is now 3, never got fed in the middle of the night and by the time she was 3 or 4 weeks old she was sleeping all night long. I had read on the internet AND discussed it with my peditrician, that a baby only eats in the middle of the night because they THINK they need to because we feed them when they wake up and they THINK they are hungry because of this. (I hope that made sense, LOL) So my advice is that you set a schedule to every 3 or 4 hours, stick to that schedule, maybe try to spoon feed him some cereal about 1/2 hour before his last bottle at night and put him to bed. It isn't easy to resist feeding in the middle of the night but it does pay off! GOOD LUCK!!

i know how u feel, i have twins that were like that they would eat a little then sleep a little,then get up to eat more. i also tried the cereal but they didnt take to it well. they started sleeping 10 to 7 at about 8 wks but u are right every chid is different...my firt dose not sleep through the night yet and he is three.

You can not seriously expect you 6 week old to sleep through the night at 6 weeks old. He sounds perfectly normal with eating every 3 to 4 hours. I guess my advice is to realize that you have a normal baby and not to expect much more for his age.

I'd try to undress him and tickle his feet a little to get him to eat more in the middle of the night. Also, I second the book Healthy Sleep, Happy Child. Good luck!

M., you and your hubby are blessed to have 2 healthy angels! You are right, every baby is different, so expecting your 2nd one to do things your 1st one did at this age isn't realistic where this subject is concerned. I have 4 children ranging in age from 7 to 30. What I've learned over the years is that feeding cereal too early can cause problems vs. getting them to sleep longer. Their digestive systems are not ready for it, ask your pediatrician and they'll probably agree. Try rubbing the baby's cheek when you are feeding him to keep his sucking reflex working. Also, try not wrapping the baby in a blanket until feeding time is over. When a baby is too warm and snuggly, that tends to make them fall asleep quickly as well. Sleeping for 3 hours at a time is more the norm for this age. Your 1st child was more the exception if they slept through the night at this age. The key is consistency and the sleeping through the night will follow with time. Try to stick to a routine at night - bathe the baby, feed them, wrap them in a blanket after feeding, even try putting a little cap on his head at nighttme when you put him down. Most heat escapes from the head and some babies wake because they get cold. Wrapping him in a blanket will help keep him from moving around too much and startling himself, thus waking him up. These are all just a few things I did and my last son slept consistently and by the time I was ready to go back to work when he was around 3 months old, he was sleeping through the night. By the way, all my children slept through the night at different ages. Good luck, but by all means, stop the cereal feeding, it's not good for his tummy yet.

First of all - adding cereal to a bottle is usually strongly recommended against - and from what I understand there is nothing to prove that this will make a baby sleep longer as you already mentioned, so I would drop that. That being said 6 weeks is still very young and they are still unpredictable at this age. My first was sleeping through the night the first day home from the hospital, my second didn't really until she was 6 months old. Maybe you could try to adjust your timing during the daytime feedings so that you feed him a little bit after he wakes up, rather than when he is ready to sleep. Gently scratching his back through his clothing usually stimulates them a little and helps them wake up. It's possible that he's having another growth spurt and is just extra hungry/extra sleepy.

Hi M.,
I don't know if this will help but when my first child was born he was a preemie and we went through the same thing with falling asleep while eating then wanting to eat soon after. The doctor told us to not hold him close while he was eating I held him on my legs and unwrapped him from any blankets. I am unsure as far as the feeding amount itself as I don't know the weight of your child. If he is normal weight for his age I would bump up the amount if you can get him to stay awake long enough.
Hope this helps somewhat.

The cereal in the bottle is not proven to make your child sleep longer. They are too young to digest the cereal and it can actually cause more problems. That said my daughter was the exact way! I nursed her and everytime I did, she fell asleep. No amount of stimulation could keep that little girl awake. She would eat just enough to slack her hunger, then she'd fall asleep and eat again as soon as she woke up. I don't have any advice really, just wanted to let you know that you're not alone!

I am going to agree with Heather M. Placing cereal in a bottle is not the way to go! What you may be doing is causing him to be awake more often than not because you are putting a food item into his digestive system that is still too immature. He could be having tummy problems processing it all and thus waking up. The idea of adding solids is not to make a baby sleep longer, but to help baby learn to chew and move food in his or her mouth so when time comes to be comletely off a liquid only diet they can still survive. Also, if your baby is only taking 2 ounces every 1.5 hours try making him naked to eat and go skin to skin so he will finish the majority of the bottle. A good rule of thumb is what your baby weighs in Kg he/she should be able to eat in ounces so if your baby at 6 weeks weighs 9lbs = 4.09 Kgs then he should be able to eat that in one feeding. However, forcing it is not wise, and will eventually lead to over feeding and more tummy issues. To find what your baby weighs in Kgs take his weight in lbs and divide by 2.2. I have an 8 and a half week old and she is now starting to wake all night and used to sleep a 5 hour stretch at night before, so I understand the no sleep. I also work and have a 2 and a half year old I am caring for. I am exhausted as well, but really this too shall pass and it will get better! Try a nice bath and soothing massage before bedtime every night and feed the last bottle before you plan to sleep in a dark room so baby will understand this is bedtime. GOODLUCK!

Did you mean 6 months, not 6 weeks? If so, disreguard the rest of this message, if you really mean 6 weeks, then read on.
First, at 6 weeks, most babies go through a growth spurt, so they tend to eat more often, 4 ounces if plenty for an infant. Second, there isn't a doctor out there who should agree that cereal in the bottle is ok at 6 weeks!!!!! The AP, WHO, and UNICEF all agree that solids should be started at 6 months. Babies should be EXCLUSIVELY breast or bottle fed until then, this includes no cereal in the bottle. OF COURSE he's up every 3-4 hours, he's hungry! They don't eat much, they digest it quickly. You know why the cereal makes him sleep? It's because his system can't digest it,, so it just sits there in his stomach, faking out his body in to thinking he's not hungry. You aren''t giving him extra food he needs, you are keeping him from getting enough formula. Most moms are going to read this and say "only every 3-4 hours?!?! How'd she get so lucky?!?!?!?!" (There are death wished being sent your way for a 6-week-old that slept even longer the first time around:) lol) I'm not sure where you got the idea that he should be sleeping longer, but it's wrong. The one person that says this is the wacko who wrote Baby Wise. Did you read this? Did you know he was kicked out of his church because so many people followed his "schedule" and their babies were diagnosed with failure to thrive? (WAY worse than just malnurished which is bad enough). He's not even a doctor:(
If your baby is growing steadily, thank god you get 3 hours of sleep at a time and feed your poor baby. When he falls asleep, put a damp cloth on his belly or change his diaper to wake him up and then continue the feeding.

If you had a 6 week old sleeping through the night you should be on your knees thanking the Great Spirit!!!
I had a baby who slept a lot when he was little and yes, fell asleep during his feedings. Tickling the bottom of the feet, jiggling, costant change of positions during feeding did no good. We just endured it. I only added cereal at night at the nine or ten feeding so I could get about 4 hours of sleep uninterupted.
At about 2 months old he stopped doing this and I was thrilled.
I will pray for you.

I have to chime in on baby sleep. the person who set up a sleep clinic in chicago wrote a book after years of study called: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

It details normal sleep patterns, abnormal sleep patterns and what to do to keep yourself sane.

First - there is actual research that says hunger has nothing to do with sleep or waking patterns. Actually babies who are hungry sleep longer because they dont have enough energy - cereal is NOT good for a kid that young either.

Check it out - 6 week is just when babies start to wake up in their personalities, when they stop sleeping whenever they feel like it, and the time you might want to experiment with giving the kid some options for self-soothing (book will explain and Im NOT talking about a schedule or crying through the night or anything like that)

anyway, just a little research to help you sort through all the opinions :) I found facts much easier to deal with and less frustrating with mine :)

6 weeks is really early to sleep through the night. consider yourself lucky that your first one did that. My little one is 10 weeks and was eating 4 ounces every 3 to 4 hours when he was 6 weeks. now he is eating 4.5 ounces every 3 to 4 hours. He gradually stretched his night sleeping time out. By 9 weeks he was sleeping 5-8 hour stretches. Just be patient.

awww he's doing great! He's eating when he's hungry. And you're right all babies are different, if they were all the same, just think how boring that would be :) It's an adventure, roll with it :). Sleep during the day when they are napping, you and your husband take turns so that you can get a full 8 hrs sleep on occassion.
Have fun and Good Luck

M., I can understand your frustrations. Our 2nd baby was much different than our first. It was hard to know what was good and what was not. Anyways, my daughter (the second child) was always falling asleep while eating and, therefore, always wanting to eat! My doctor convinced me to hold her off until she was truly very hungry, several times in a row if needed, to get her used to eating more at a time. He said "you may want to either put her in another room to scream it out, or try to use a pacifier, but you'll never get sleep until you do this". We got her on a paci, and waited it out. It was frustrating for a while, but she finally got it down! Good luck whatever you do!!!

You have gotten some good suggestions. ANother one that is probably very obvious is not to rock while you are feeding him. I can't tell you the number of parents who rock their child while feeding. with my oldest, she would fall asleep while nursing. I would then change her diaper. Go so far as to take it off, and if clean, put it back on. This always seemed to wake her up so she would finish the other breast.
Lastly, my Ped told me to try cereal when my son was 3 1/2 mos. old because of hsi size. I gave it to him a night, and he would wake up sooner than before I fed the cereal! I think it made his tummy so full that he would really notice it when it emptied. so, I always gave his cereal earlier in the day, and then he would sleep longer at night. What I'm trying to say is your cereal may be backfiring on you. He won't eat as much since his is getting so full on the cereal plus milk, and then he wakes up in a few hours because he is hungry.
Good luck. Before you know it he will be wrestling with the 3 yr. old.
R.

Anthropogist Ashley Montague says that humans are all born premature--because of our big heads to accomadate bigger brains than other animals we are born much sooner then we are developmentally ready to be born--so it would be easier to think of gestation as being 12 months rather than 9. In the womb our babies had a continuous supply of food/water and taking away of waste thru the umbilical cord--tempature is always perfect and they are held close 24 hours a day--they then are born and have to experience all the discomforts of being a human! Mother Nature designed the perfect system--breastfeeding requuires us to feed our babies every 2 hours or so and hold them close--in fact in other cultures babies are carried contstantly. If one is unable to breastfeed then it is best to imitate it as closely as possible--holding your baby as a breastfeeding mom does and giving small frequent feedings of the highest quality forumula you can get. If you keep baby with you you will be able to sleep when he is sleeping. Don't worry about schedules until he is at least 3 months old--and as another mom posted NO cereal until at least 4-6 months old. Cereal is not very nutritoous and is displacing the nutrients he needs--natural mom's milk or formula only until 6 months old is what the experts recomend! Any dr still saying to give cereal is not doing his/her job--time for new one! As far as sleep--I did not really get good sleep until my youngest went away to college(LOL!). So you need to get used to sleeping whenever you can--take naps, sleep when the kids sleep!

my son was the same way at first but i started him on a semi-routine as soon as he was more alert..because he is what i call a lazy eater (it can take him up to 60 mins or so to finish 8 ounces and other times just 5 mins) i made sure to feed him only every 4 hours and gave him 5 ounces by the time he was 2 months that way he was actually hungry so he finished the bottle in a half hour..trust me cereal has nothing to do with whether he will sleep at night or not i tried it..he just has to be ready..and i always made sure his last bottle was as close to his bedtime as possible because i have noticed that if he's not starving by 3 am then he doesnt wake up. of course he is going to be 7 onths old now and has been sleeping through the night (6 -9 hours) from a very young age..but like you said every baby is different ther are some that (sorry to inform you) don't sleep through the night until they are 15 months old..but routines help try having quiet time a half hour before bed like reading a book singing with the lights on low and give him a warm bath and massage if you repeat that every night he will assciate this with night time and get accustomed to going to bed...i did it with my son and he has been sleeping through the night since he was 3 weeks old...hope this helps you somehow

Try to lightly pinch his cheeks and see if that will wake him when he falls asleep while eating. Also, give him some cereal in the morning and in the afternoon as well as at night. If this doesn't work then probably it is all going to be a matter of time before he starts sleeping through the night. My youngest was almost 3 yrs. before he started sleeping through the night. For some kids it just takes longer no matter what you do.
D.

I am 31 and have been married for almost 12 yrs. My husband and I have 3 boys ages 10,7, and 4.