When to Begin Training Baby to Sleep Through the Night

Hi D.,
I do agree with the first post about feeding more during the day and see if that helps.

I do have to say though that sometimes babies just don't have the "maturity" to sleep through the night at 4 months. Some kids are just better sleepers than others. I don't know that I agree with the withholding food at night unless you know FOR SURE that she is not hungry. It is definately a personal choice as to how you deal with sleep issues.

I have 2 boys and one was a preemie and he slept well (too well) and my 11 month old who still doesn't sleep through the night on a consistant basis.

I wish you luck. I feel your pain of not getting a full night's sleep!
B.

I would completely second Cheryl's advice. I did the same thing with 2 of mine from the start and they were sleeping throught he night at 8 weeks and at 7 weeks. We are approaching 7 weeks with this baby so I believe we'll be sleeping through soon (yea!!) Be sure baby gets enough daytime sleep...that is critical. Oh, and it's okay to wake a sleeping baby during the day to feed them to keep them on a schedule. You are the mom, so you set the rules! :-) It will pay off in the end, not only for healthy sleeping and eating habits, but the ingrained understanding that mom (and dad) call the shots.

D.:

I am sure there is a lot in the logs on this subject.... everyone has differing thoughts/feelings/ opinions.

In part you need to follow your heart with what feels right and works for you.

Everyone is different, we reach developmental milestones at different times in our lives, development.

Some infants, children, adults sleep "though the night" ( although I am not sure what that means) and some don't,,, we are all different.

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com

Baby's cry because they need something, either feeding, diaper change or just want to be held and comforted. Your baby may be eating more at night just because she wants to suck for comfort. Attending to a baby's needs does not put the baby in control--it establishes a trusting relationship between baby and mother.
I breastfeed on demand, pick my baby up on demand and co-sleep with my baby--he is a happy, alert, thriving little guy and I would never dream of putting him on a "schedule" or training him to sleep through the night because that would result in a screaming, unhappy baby who will begin to distrust his mommy. Read The Baby Book by William and Martha Sears and it will give you a new perspective on you baby.

My boys were both sleeping through the night by 3months. It was closer to 2 months for both of them, and my first was 5 weeks early, as you said yours was a month early. I had both of them on a schedule and I really believe that daytime schedule/routine is what helped them to sleep through the night on their own. I did not "sleep train them to sleep through the night". I simply guided their routine and then they began to sleep through the night on their own. The main thing is to keep them awake just after eating, then nap time begins halfway through feedings and then you feed them consistently like every 3 or 4 hours at 4 months. I did feedings every 3 hours until they slept through the night. Then I still did every 3 hours until they showed signs of wanting to progress to every 4 hours. The signs were usually that I'd need to wake them to eat (otherwise they would typically wake right around the time to eat on their own once the schedule was established). Or they weren't that interested in the feeding, telling me they wanted to go longer between feedings. So on a 3 hour schedule, nap time is 1.5 hours after the feeding begins. On a 4 hour schedule, nap time is 2 hours after the feeding begins. This not only helps them to sleep through the night, but also helps them to eat fuller meals and to thus have fuller naps, so it REALLY helps to promote healthy sleep.