Does your BF baby sleep all night?

[txgrl16]

My DS is formula fed and sleeps from about 8p to 530a (sometimes) BF DD sleeps sometimes from 8p to 4a(normally) or 8p to 2a then up again at 5a and 7a today so I'm dragging a bit!

But my question is do you think she's not sleeping most of the night b/c she's not getting full? If so should I try to give her a bottle of BM with rice at night? She gets this normally during the day and is full after each bottle...she dosent get that much rice, maybe 2 tbl spoons in each bottle...

She sleeps in her bassinet next to my bed and then I put her in with me to nurse and we usually fall asleep together...I just want to make sure she is getting full so she can sleep well...

Any thoughts?

[whitnessforhim]

I think its just her. If she's waking at 2, 5 and 7 its because she needs to eat at those times. I don't think cereal will make much of a difference because it has less nutrition, calories and fat then your BM.

I say your lucky!!! My DD has always nursed at LEAST 3 times a night...typically its more like 4-5 times.

[txgrl16]

Okay well I thought maybe I wasn't doing something right! I'm used to DS sleeping all night so this is new to me :)

[sweetkisses]

I don't believe what a baby eats will at all determine how they will sleep. I think it is all personality. Some babies are born great sleepers and others need mommy more at night.

I know this was not one of your questions but personally I wouldn't be giving any solids foods until baby is at least 6 months old. Any time before that their little GI system is just too immature and solids can be very tough on them that early.

[madelsmama]

I agree with the other girls. I don't know if she is still 3 months old, as your sig states, but that is way too young to start cereal.

I've BF 2 babies, both girls with nearly the exact birthweight, both born in mid-June. One slept throught the night, or at least a long stretch of it, at 4-6 months. My second one just started consistently sleeping through the night like 3 months ago. :)

[kohlby]

Most babies don't sleep through the night. A better question would be how many of us have toddlers that sleep through the night! Even then, it might be close to 50/50!

My son didn't sleep through the night until after 4 years old. My daughter actually did sleep through the night randomly from the start - meaning one day of seven. She's now 2.5 years old and still only sleeps through the night about once a week.

I agree that before 6 months is too young to start any solids.

[dodoe80]

My DS is breastfeed and is 7 1/2 months old and doesn't sleep through the night. He will sleep most of the night sometimes but not consistent at all.

FWIW, I know a formula feed baby that was just over 1 year old and still getting up 3-4 times a night.

[Amy_G_]

8p to 4a(normally) or 8p to 2a
that's 8 hours, or 6 hours straight,
and both of those are considered sleeping thru the night,
which is sleeping at least 5 hours straight.
congratulations, your baby is sleeping thru the night!

[sweetkisses]

I agree with AmyG. It depends on what your definition is of sleeping through the night is. IMO a good 6 hour stretch is sleeping through the night.

I think it is unrealistic for people (just generalizing) to consider sleeping through the night to be 8a-8p. I know so many parents who think that way.

[jvigil03]

I consider myself pretty lucky. My 3mo goes down about 9 and wakes about 1:30am and then goes down again until 6 or 6:30. That's just the past few days and I am loving it! Usually she does get up at least twice, and that is okay too. Since I've gone back to work I crave more time with her and if snuggling at 1:30am is how we get it then so be it. I really don't expect her to sleep throught the night completely until she is much older.

[lolabear]

my ds is same age and wakes 3-4 times a night, my girls slept thru at 2 months so im not used to it either lol some days he is good and wakes up once very early in the morning, so it really depends with him.

[Amy_G_]

Oh I would probably push baby's bedtime slowly a little later than 8pm. and I would wake baby for a "dream feeding" before I go to bed, to top her off so to speak, in the hopes of getting her longest sleep to last closer to the time I usually like to sleep longer.

[txgrl16]

My DS is breastfeed and is 7 1/2 months old and doesn't sleep through the night. He will sleep most of the night sometimes but not consistent at all.

FWIW, I know a formula feed baby that was just over 1 year old and still getting up 3-4 times a night.[/QUOTE]


LOL! Well okay no worries then :hugegrin:
Yes she is 3 mos...she's done really well with the cereal since day one, no hard poops or anything and she dosent get it everyday all day she gets three bottles a day with it b/c I found with the bottles she would choke more b/c of the fast flow, even using the slow flow nipple, also her Pedi approved the cereal due to reflux, he said she needed milk with more weight to keep it from all coming back up, its worked really well.

[Amy_G_]

3 bottles of milk a day with cereal in it at 3 months of age?

[Nipple_nectar]

Im sorry, my baby had reflux as well and I just wasn't willing to expose those risks to my baby. There is a reason why the AAP recommends waiting until baby is a minimum of six months.

It is possible that the introduction of solids will cause frequent night waking.

[Shaunsmom]

3 bottles of milk a day with cereal in it at 3 months of age?

My thoughts exactly.

DD is 14 months and sleeps from roughly 10pm-6am. Waking anywhere from 0-4 times per night to nurse. I say zero as the first number because there are nights like last night, when I slept from 10pm-5am. I loved it!!

My nurse practitioner (who generally does my pap/yearly exam) has a DD who is 15 months old. She said her DD goes down at 7pm until 7am. Sounds great, right?

She then mentioned that she is up with her at least 3-4 times every single night. Not just run to her crib and put her back to sleep. Her DD is fully awake and then fully awakens her mama.

So, no my BF baby does not sleep all night. I'm glad for at least a 4 hour stretch:)

[txgrl16]

Okay, I totally understand if you put your information out there that you're giong to get both negative and positive feed back. But her PEDI told me this was okay, and I trust him and it has indeed improved her reflux. As Mom's we all try to go "by the book" but ya know what, sometimes that dosent work so you improvise and do what does work best for you. You do what your Mom, Grandma, Sister did also...and sometimes its instinct.

I came here for feed back and feel like I'm instead being criticized, and that makes me not want to share. Especially the quote of my "3 bottles of milk a day with cereal at 3 months of age" with no other advice...I didn't come here for that, there is no reason to judge, I simply asked for advice, instead I feel like I'm having my hand spanked. Those that offered advice, Thank you that is what I came for.

[Shaunsmom]

Introducing solids before 6 months is not helpful to a baby's open gut. My pedi. recommended that we start DD on solids between 4-6 months. I knew that it is recommended to begin solids with the minimum age of 6 months and her being developmentally ready. So we did not begin any solids until she was close to 10 months old because of our family's history of food allergies and she was doing wonderful on being exclusively breastfed.

A pedi. is not always knowledgeable about bfing issues. Many women here may back that up. I personally of the mind that just because you have a degree in the medical field (whether it's a RN or MD) does not necessarily mean that you are then qualified to hand out bfing advice.

No one is criticizing you. With written format, you cannot include your own tone of voice or anything like that. There's always a chance that someone is misinterpreting what is written. I am sorry you feel that way.

I am not judging. I'm not apologizing for my feedback. It is what it is. I hope you stick around and post more. There is so much help here especially with bfing:)

[txgrl16]

SIGH...Thank you Shaunsmom, I appricate your comments...maybe I did read a few posts out of context and there is a wealth of knowledge here, that is why I attend.

I'm going to research this and talk to my Pedi...

[AmandaH87]

Okay, I totally understand if you put your information out there that you're giong to get both negative and positive feed back. But her PEDI told me this was okay, and I trust him and it has indeed improved her reflux. As Mom's we all try to go "by the book" but ya know what, sometimes that dosent work so you improvise and do what does work best for you. You do what your Mom, Grandma, Sister did also...and sometimes its instinct.

I came here for feed back and feel like I'm instead being criticized, and that makes me not want to share. Especially the quote of my "3 bottles of milk a day with cereal at 3 months of age" with no other advice...I didn't come here for that, there is no reason to judge, I simply asked for advice, instead I feel like I'm having my hand spanked. Those that offered advice, Thank you that is what I came for.

Ok, so I totally understand what you're saying. My son had reflux pretty bad....he would throw up bright yellow curds!!!! So, when he was 3 months we introduced pablum....once a day. Almost instantly his reflux disappeared and he hasn't had a problem with spitting up or anything since than either. My sister waited to feed her son pablum until 6 or 7 months and to this day he spits up almost everything that he eats. Just hang in there, I got alot of slack for doing what I did too. I think it was the best for my son.

[StElmosFire]

My daughter is almost 2 and still doesn't sleep through the night. She will stay latched all night if I let her, LOL!

[Mommy2008]

My DS is almost 8 mos old and eats 2 meals of solids per day, give or take. he generally sleeps from about 7-730pm until 4-5am wakes up to eat and then he typically goes back to sleep till around 7-8am. However, even though some consider that STTN. I still dont consider him COMPLETELY STTN. At around 6 months, he did have about 2 weeks where he STTN from 7-8pm-6-7am and it was lovely...I thought for sure this was it, but nope. Im still waiting. I consider STTN when they dont wake up ALL NIGHT to eat and wake up for the day and have their 1st feeding.

However, your 3 month old is sleeing GREAT for her age compared to alot of BF babies.

[SingingMom]

OP, are you putting rice cereal in her bottle? That's not something I would do during the day or at night... Most nutritionists recommend against adding cereals to a bottle.

If a baby isn't ready to take solids from a spoon, it's much too early to add solids to the diet. All you are doing is diluting the breastmilk! I know it seems like you are ADDING to to the breastmilk, but you are upping the calories in the bottle, but only with carbohydrates.

Babies and young children, in general, will only eat as many calories as they need. Once they get the calories, they usually quit eating. Adding rice to the bottle gives the baby more carbs, and by extension, less fat and protein. The breastmilk is exactly what a growing baby needs- so forcing the baby to take a different balance of fat and protein is not to her advantage.

But no, my babies didn't sleep through the night. I just nurse and roll over and go back to sleep.

[mama2twoluvbugs]

i have a 13 month old bf'er and he has yet to sleep through the night, doesnt even sleep longer than 3-4 hrs at a time, so consider yourself lucky for the extra time you get to have with your lil one, they grow up way to fast and you will find yourself dreaming about the day they wanted to be with mommy ALL the time!!!

[sweetkisses]

There is also nothing wrong with questioning your pedi. Just because he has an MD behind his name does not mean he knows everything or is up to date the the latest research. Once I questioned my pedi about delaying peanut butter until the age of 3, which is now recommended by the AAP and he had no idea about that change. I still really like him and think he is a great pedi but he does not know it all. Parents should still do their research.

And of course we do some of the things our grandma's or our parents did but we have also learned new, better and healthier ways of doing some things and we have learned that some of the things they did were harmful. My grandmother just cannot understand why I won't drive a couple miles down the road without dd in a car seat or why I didn't want to give solids early because that was how she did it.

Please don't feel criticized. Everyone is only wanting to offer advice. Of course, in the end, it is your decision but at least you are making an informed decision for what is best for your baby.

[gravel10]

I understand where you are coming from, My friend has a baby a few weeks before me and she is FF and she gave her rice in her bottle from 2mths on. and she sleeps thru the night. However I jus feel it is a fluke, I am Jealous since she gets a solid 8 hrs of sleep. hehe
My Anna is 3.5 mths and has sever reflux and has been on 2 different meds.... I am putting off rice until 5 - 6 mths.
pedi and Nurse in my OBgyns office are extremely BF knowledgeable and both told me about both options.
But what scared me in to waiting is that I was told that if you have any family history of food allergies you can only increase the babies chance of developing allergies to food by starting them early.

Anna goes to bed anywhere between 6 - 7 and sleeps till 12 then nurses and goes back for 4 more hrs, and nurses again and back to bed.... She is up for the day between 7-8.

She is very consistent. My Pedi suggest the book healthy sleep habits happy baby. It has worked so well for us. Of course you have to adapt the advise to your family.

good luck I think you right are on track. I know how it is to doubt yourself but your are a mom and that comes with good instincts. It just built in to us.

[bfmomworries]

I was blessed with a sleeper (takes after her dad). She goes down between 8 and 8:30 at night, and I wake her at 6:30 to nurse her before I go to work. On weekends, she wakes anytime from 7-8:30 or when i finally am too full to wait any longer.

[rrodemaker]

I think it's all personality. FWIW, this is my story. My oldest DS is 14 yrs. old and was only BF for about 10 days. He was then on formula. I started him on cereal around 8 wks. (I know way too early) and he started sleeping through the night shortly there after. DD is 5 yrs. old and was exclusively BF for the first 6 mos. and BF for 13 mos. total. She started sleeping through the night at aroung 8-10wks of age. My youngest DS is 7 mos. old and has been sleeping through the night since he was 7 wks. old. I'm very aware of how blessed I am, but am thoroughly convinced that what a child is fed has little to do with how they sleep. I love my sleep and am convinced my children are like me and also understand that mommy is so much more fun when she's well rested. Best of luck!

[Peanut1207]

My baby is 10 months and still up 2 times a night like clockwork. We just added more solids in (so now he's up to a whopping 2 times a day :)! I'm fine with it if it's just up and nurse, he occassionally is up more frequently but that just seems to be that he can't get comfy. My friend just told me her pedi told her that they should be able to go 10 hours by now, I nodded and smiled (her baby weighs 17 lbs. and mine is 23 thats a big difference to me...not that fat equals better but maybe mine needs to eat more to keep up that size :)! Whatever I'm fine with it and I'm in charge!

[jodyvo]

My DD started sleeping all night at 4 months. I wouldn't do the rice you LO is too young and it really doesn't help. It isn't common for a BFed 3month old to sleep through the night. It will get better. Hang in there.
It did get a little better when DD went in her crib at 11weeks. I could swear that she could smell me in her bassinet

[Amy_G_]

I really don't like the idea of giving rice cereal in a bottle of milk to supposedly fix reflux in a baby. Rice cereal does NOTHING to get rid of the stomach acid that is the issue in reflux.

It MAY help with the spit up--it weighs down the breastmilk or formula so that baby's immature gut can't easily spit it up. spit up doesn't mean baby has reflux though, it may be one sign, but not all babies with spit up have reflux. mine spit up solidly for their first 6 months of life.

spit up usually means baby has an immature digestive system, so that when a trapped air bubble tries to burp up, it brings up the food with it. Now with rice cereal weighted down food, when baby burps the food doesn't come up with the burp. Sounds like a winner, except there are many hazards to giving rice cereal this early.

In a bottle, it's a choking hazard to begin with. It tricks baby into eating more calories in less number of ounces--baby is used to having say 3 ounces of breastmilk that has approx 22 calories per ounce, so they get 66 calories. Instead now they get 3 ounces of breastmilk that has 80+ calories in it, and that allows and encourages baby to take in more calories than they need. Babies are born with an ability to regulate their calorie intake, but if we encourage them to overeat, that regulation goes by the wayside, which may lead to a lifetime of overeating.

I would look back at the why you started the rice cereal. If it's reflux there are more signs than just spit up, and I'd like to treat the underlying cause f reflux, rather than just the symptom of spitting up.

[suzabanana]

I'm new at all this, but here's where I am with my EBF 3.5 month old daughter:
Nurses every 2-3 hours during the day (7am-7pm) as much as she wants.
Gets an 8oz bottle of expressed breast milk at 7pm & sleeps until at least 5:30am - often until 7am.
She has slept 8 hours or more at night since 10 weeks or so. The only thing I've ever added to her bottle is a vitamin D supplement (recommended by AAP & her Pedi) or Gripe Water if she's been particularly gassy. Other than those 3 things, she's never eaten anything else & I have no intention of bringing up any type of solids to her Pedi until after her 6 month check-up.
Additionally, I was informed by a baby nurse & lactation consultant that adding a small amount of cereal to BM to treat reflux is NOT considered "starting solids" because the nutritional content in that small amount is so minimal that it only acts like a weight. She did not think it was anything to be concerned with (the mom who asked was a little nervous). HTH