Sleeping Through the Night

Sounds like you are getting a good stretch of sleep so I would not worry. Atleast she is not up every hour. Breast milk breaks down faster than formula so it sounds as of she is getting the right amount to eat it is just leaving her body faster than formula would. If you are really determined to get her to sleep thru the night sooner I would try suplementing with formula at night. Otherwise as her stomache gets bigger and can hold more she will sleep longer. It was the same with my son.

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Hi S.,
Congrats on your baby. If you are looking for a good resource for getting your baby on a schedule/ sleeping through the night, I highly recommend checking out www.momsoncall.com This is a website run by two pediatric nurses who have a great technique for putting babies to bed. Both of my children slept though the night by 7 weeks - both exclusivley breastfed (yes, it can be done!) They also have a book out called "The Moms on Call Guide to Basic Baby care" - you can order it on their site or on Amazon.

Good Luck!

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When my son was this age his sleeping pattern was just as you are describing. He was also breastfed until he was 11 months old. Breastmilk is more easily digested than formula, which is why a breastfed baby, especially at that age, needs those middle of the night feedings.

My son started sleeping through the night around 6 months. We established a bedtime routine and used an earlier bedtime, and that's when he started getting more sleep. Crying it out was not for us, but you have to do what works for you. Good luck!

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When I had my first child I was lucky enough to have a friend who was a pediatrician. This friend told me that until the baby is 12 lbs. he doesn't have enough meat on his bones to sustain him through the night. Don't even try to encourage it before then - it probably wouldn't fly. After 12 lbs you can try to let the baby skip a nighttime feeding. But "through the night" for a baby is considered 6 hours or more... so don't expect 10 or 12 hours for a while!

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My son is exclusively b'fed and still doesn't sleep through the night and he is 4 months old and 16 pounds. I have always been told that b'fed babies take longer to sleep through the night because of a couple reasons - b'milk is digested quicker than formula, so they get hungry again quicker (this can't be helped); and all humans "wake" every 3 hours or so, and b'fed babies need/want to feel the closeness with you to soothe themselves back to sleep (this may be helped if you want to deny them the closeness). The norm for us is to go to bed at 8pm, wake for a "topper" at 11-12, then wake up at about 5-6 for good, although he sometimes wakes to eat at 3am as well. I am sure that I could try to wean him off of those feedings, and there are plenty of nights when I curse at the sound of his cry, but I figure that these early months are a tiny fraction of his life, and I will follow his signals for now. My only advice is that if your daughter is really hungry - is fully nursing when she wakes, rather than just sucking for a minute and then just wanting to be/play with you, do not deny her food in order to force her to sleep. She'll do it when she is ready. Good luck!!

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Hello and congratulations on your new addition! They are really a blessing! I have 2 girls ages 5 and 2 and both of them were breastfed. When my girls were 9 weeks old, neither of them slept through the night. Honestly they did't really "sleep through the night" until about 6 months or so. The reason being is because a breastfed child does not get the same "full feeling" as a formula fed baby does. Although breast milk is much better for a baby than formula is, it doesn't fulfill them for a long period of time. All of my friends who have breastfed have also not had a child who has slept through the night, so what you are experiencing is nothing unusual. I know it can be frustrating having to feed all hours of the night, but it's worth it in the long run. Good luck to you with your new baby!!!

C. B

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There was a study I read awhile back on PubMed, which indexes medical journal studies, that a 10 month old breastfeeding baby may be getting 25 percent of their calories at night...So, based on this and the fact that 9 months can be a big growth motor spurt time with less time spent nursing during the day in general, I would just be encouraging to you and tell you she is probably in line for her caloric needs and her activity.
No matter what feeding method you chose, some children will sleep through the night or not, they will wake up more when they are going through developmental spurts and teething and colds (or keeping you up when they are teenagers and out at night!)...
The first year is really the time infants develop trust in a caregiver and that a caregiver can meet their needs...
Good luck in your journey!

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not at 9 weeks no.

at a year old most likely. but all babies have different needs as to how much sleep they need. my daughter didn't sleep through the night till she was 3 years old and she sometimes still gets up, my son slept through the night just after a year. I've done the same thing with both kids , didnt change anything in what the routine is except my son bf till a year my daughter self weaned when she was 8 months old about 2 weeks before she started walking. I suggest the book " The no cry sleep solution." by Elizabeth Pantley Your daughter's sleep pattern sounds pretty normal for 9 weeks old. You need to get sleep when you can that means when she's sleeping , and daddy can take some of her wake time during the day and let you sleep too when she doesnt need to be fed. please do not let your baby cry her self to sleep at this time in her life shes learning to trust you and her cry is the only way she can tell you she needs something weather its just needing to be held or its needed a diaper change or hungry or gas. She's brand new to this great big scary world and she went from a tiny space as close to you as she can get to a huge empty space so give her some time to get used to it. ( sometimes I still think put me back in put me back in lol )

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congrats on the new baby! this is really normal for a 9 week old!!! my littlest one woke up all through the night when she was breast fed only, until she was 8 months old! i know its rough!!! but just give her time, she's still young and sleep will come soon!!!

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I have two daughters, one three the other one and I breast fed both until they were a year old. Unfortunately neither one slept through the night until they were a year old. I've heard that some people can get their kids to sleep through the night when they were very young, but I was not one of those lucky few. Hope you have better luck with yours!

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S....whether you breast feed or bottle feed, babies tend to have their own sleep pattern. Some babies tend to sleep through the night early on, but in my case, my oldest son started sleeping through the night when he was around 6 months old (which is when I had introduced a little rice cereal in his formula at night.) I had breast fed him for the first 6 weeks. As for my youngest son, he was well over a year old before he started sleeping through the night. I breast fed him for 3 months. Don't worry yourself about learning all the ropes, because I have learned being a mother is nothing but a huge learning experience and every child is different.

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