my daughter is almost 3 months and breast fed. she still wakes every two hours at night to feed. did anyone else go through this. is it normal? my 3 year old slept through the night very early and was also breast fed. so i was spoiled with her i know. but i really thought my little one would at least be doing one four hour stretch by now. she's 12lbs. right on target for wieght and eats every 2 hours during the day still too. i am sooo tired!!
thank you everyone for your advice, she is now doing a stretch from 6:30-about 11pm. so we are on track for longer stretches. i know i have to remember that babies change their schedules all the time and to just hang in there. thanks again.
VERY NORMAL, especially for a 3 month BREAST FED baby! Once my son weaned himself from the breast to the bottle & I couldn't keep up with pumping, so he got formula. He slept longer stretches at night!
Hi! If you are looking for help getting her to sleep I always recommend "The Baby Whisperer" book, which is awesome and helped me a lot! My son sleeps amazingly and has since we started the techniques, and he is very adaptable when we implement a schedule change. However I have a friend who also breastfeeds her son and she was experiencing the same thing when her son was 3 months old. Unfortunately to say he turned 1 in August and still wakes up every 2 hours. I have heard from other breastfeeding moms that it is normal for breastfed babies to wake up that much (but at a year!). Babies need to be taught when we wake, eat and sleep. Best of luck in whatever you try!
Your baby is so young. I think it is normal. Please don't do the formula suggestions, you are doing what is best for your baby.
I would think she should be going a little longer in between feedings by now. The fact that she nurses every 2 hours day and night is maybe because you're not producing enough milk(or she needs to do it that often to get enough milk). I would try talking to a lactation consultant or ped about her eating habits. Having a toddler and a newborn and toddler it's tough for you to get enough rest, (I know, I have a 2.5 yo and a 4 mo) maybe that is slowing your production. Are you getting enough fluids?
I know it's hard to hear your baby cry herself to sleep. Is she normally a happy baby otherwise? Could she have reflux or something that she needs a lot of soothing?
Good luck,
R.
Hi C.,
I feel for ya! Unfortunately, I think it's true, you're blessed with one good sleeper. My first (who is now 8) was not a good sleeper and all and didn't sleep consistantly through the night until he was around 3. My second son slept through the night at 3 1/2 months. I wonder if some babies don't get enough from breast milk? Maybe you could try a few feedings of formula as well during the day? Sleep deprivation is not fun I know, especially when you have 2 little ones to take care of. Just keep in mind that it won't last forever:) Congrats on your new baby!
Good luck!
I understand not being able to listen to her cry, I'm the same way. She may still get hungry at night, but not every 2 hours. Will she go back to sleep if you pick her up without feeding her? At this point she may want comforting from you more than she needs food. You could try dropping every other meal and feeding her every 4 hours instead. The other times, try picking her up, calming her down and getting her back to bed (preferably awake) without food. She will protest, but in time she should start sleeping through.
Every two hours is just too much. We all know a well-rested mom means a happy mom and happier kids!
I have a 3 month old (my second child, breast fed exclusively and we are going through very similar issues. I feel like I nurse around the clock.
What I've done - is I just introduced a pacifier (Never ever thought I would use one, but it's been a Huge success!)Just make sure that you are only offering it after you are positive she has had a thorough feeding and it's not about hunger.
I also have gotton better at making sure I don't offer the breast just b/c he's fussing. Again, if I know we had a recent good feeding and he starts to be upset - we try everything else - swaying, singing, etc..
Also, my son has food allergies that we discovered around 5 weeks. Initially we thought it was just dairy, but we have since discovered others. If your daughter might potentially have some sensitivities - she might get fussy trying to digest it and then you feed her again and there is the cycle.
Try experimenting with your diet. It might be just a sensitivity, but enough to make her uncomfortable. Try starting with cutting our dairy (the most popular baby botherer out there!)and just see what happens after 3 days or so.
ok - one last suggestion - do you wear your baby? My little boy will take a ride in the sling anytime. I can nurse him in it, let him nap in it, take a walk, mother my 3 y.o, etc...
It's still not as freeing as you might desire, but it's better then no freedom at all!
good luck. (let me know if you stumble onto any success!)
-M.
This is really pretty normal. You were lucky with the first! I had a good sleeper first time around, too, so it was a rude awakening (no pun intended) when number 2 wanted to nurse every couple of hours at night for months and months. Number 3 is somewhere in the middle, but my point is that each kid's needs, metabolisms, and sleep maturity are different. You're not doing anything wrong, and neither are they.
What I eventually learned with number 2 and now number 3 as well was to put them to bed in their beds for naps and at the beginning of the night, but to go ahead and bring them into bed with me once I was in bed for the night and they needed to eat. Then, for each feeding for the rest of the night I could either roll over or sit up and feed them and then go right back to sleep. This meant I didn't have to wake up as much or for as long and everyone got more sleep.
Also, because they go to bed in their own beds initially, as they learn to sleep for longer stretches they start to stay in their own beds for longer. This worked well for my second who now sleeps happily all night in his own bed, and my third is sleeping longer and longer at night alone, too.
It seems like forever when you're in the middle of it, but honestly it is such a brief moment in time. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually miss the sweet, sleepy nursing of my older ones now, and I'm much less eager for to be all over with the baby. It will be all too soon, though!
Hang in there and know that you're doing just the right thing by meeting her needs while she's so little!
There is a book called The Happiest Baby on the Block and it has helped a lot of people with sleep issues, it is for sleep issues..good luck..she really needs her sleep..poor baby
My son also continued to nurse quite regularly ~every 2-3 hours until he was 8 or 9 months. Every baby is so different so I don't think that there is a "norm" out there. I understand the sleep deprivation as it is not fun at all and can really take a toll. As others have suggested, you can try a pacifier or expressed breast milk in a bottle (or formula) for one of the feedings so that your partner can be up for the feeding. Your baby will let you know if she is truly hungry or if it might be a habit and she needs to be soothed back to sleep. She still is very young so she may still need the feeding. Good luck!
Hi,
My son, who is now 19 months old, was waking every 2 to 3 hours during the night until he was 12 months old. I strictly breast fed him and couldn't bear hearing him cry. I felt that this was what he needed. Eventually, my husband started going in to him to lay him back down and tell him to go to sleep. This seemed to work and from there we were able to let him cry, which lasted 2 minutes for a couple of nights. Since that time, he has slept soundly through the night (he was near 13 months old). So, if you have the patience, she will learn to sooth herself. Another tip is to put her to bed awake, even if you nurse her. Hope this helps!
F.
I was in a similar situation as you. My oldest slept through the night from a very early age. My youngest (who is 2 now) still wakes up once each night. Personally, we do not believe in sleep training techniques (I do not want to create controversy over this. I do not judge anyone who does...we all do things the way we feel is best). I have done a lot of reading and it is normal for babies to wake during the night. Especially at 3 months old, I would not do anything. We just nursed any time my little one woke up. I always felt that for whatever reason she needed that extra comfort and snuggling and so I gave it to her. She does still wake once each night now (at 26 months). She goes through phases where she sleeps through the night and then wakes up once per night. But there has never been a tear over it. If she wakes and wants us, we go to her. She coslept for the first almost 2 years. Now she sleeps with us if she wakes and needs the comfort. I believe that they all learn to sleep longer when they are ready. In our home, there has never been a tear or a struggle with either of my girls at bedtime. It is a happy time and the girls will both tell me they are tired and ready for bed. I believe this is because we let them do things on their own timetable and not what we wanted them to do because we were tired.
Anyway, sorry to ramble but I do hope you get some sleep soon. It is hard when you have an older child too and cannot nap during the day with the baby.
C.,
did you try to nurse her from both breasts each feeding? If she gets more milk, she should increase the time between feedings.
Regards!
You could have your husband do one formula feeding on occasional nights (dropping one feeding every day or two shouldn't effect your milk production) so you could get at least a 4 hour stretch. I know that did wonders for my sanity when my second was born! (Just make sure she's tried the formula before during the day so you can be sure she'll take it and that it doesn't give her a tummyache - you wouldn't want your plan for extra sleep to backfire into a long sleepless night!) I exclusively breastfed my first, but I found with my second that I had to be a little more flexible because I had to have my wits about me during the day too!
My first and second were very different too! My first (breastfed) slept through the night by six weeks, but my second (breastfed as well) woke up every couple hours until she was five or six months old. Your baby knows when she's hungry, so feed her when she wakes up. I know it's hard, but she'll get better as the months go by, trust me. For now, just hang in there!
