Need tips on getting baby to sleep longer at night.

[Clay in MS]

Proud papa to new baby girl. My wife and I are happy that she is healthy and growing bigger every day. She is now a month old and doing great. But, no one is getting much sleep at night. She sleeps for two hours, wakes up to eat, goes back to sleep for another two hours and repeats this pattern like clockwork. We just started adding rice cereal to her formula but it did not change her sleep pattern at all. Any suggestions are welcome. Back to work soon for Mommy. She hopes to get better rest before it's time to clock-in again.

 

[rainplace]

It's been a while since I had a newborn, but I remember that schedule very well. For me it lasted a few months before they slept through the night. What I did, and what doctors and nurses tell you not do, was keep my babies in bed with me and just breastfed them when they woke up. I barely woke up and it was as easy as can be.

disclaimer: you must be hyper-aware of you baby all the time for this to not be dangerous. Personally my husband and I were peripherally aware of every breath and movement.

 

[Bedste]

My old fashioned advice is this. I am the mother of 3 and grandmother of 13. After a month old you can add a couple tablespoons of baby RICE cereal to 6 oz of formula at the LAST 11pm feeding. I would change and prepare the baby for bed BEFORE the feeding and then add just enough baby rice flakes to thicken it just a tad. It should still be able to flow through the nipple of the bottle. This causes the baby to keep a full feeling for longer and sleep at least 6 hours. It works!

It is important for it to be RICE and not oatmeal or mixed cereal. No one is allergic to rice and the others need to wait until the baby is much older.


ps. If and when the baby does wake up at night... avoid bright lights and noise. Keep things peaceful and as dark as possible to help baby know it is time to sleep.

 

[Bedste]

only put rice in her bottle at the last feeding of the day..... not in all the bottles. Also.... between 8 and 11.. keep the baby up.. even though she is fussy. Stimulate her and force her to stay awake as much as possible and then AFTER 10:30 or so... change diaper and prepare for bed and finally ....give the poor starving to death sweety pie her bottle of rice cereal with formula.

 

[georgialee]

I don't know... I always breastfed and kept baby in bed with me. I would feed at night but be semi-asleep and I always felt well rested in the mornings. This way I wasn't getting up to feed and then had to settle myself down again.

 

[Clay in MS]

Thanks for the suggestions. Sounds like we are going in the right direction with the rice cereal. We will continue to try to manipulate her feeding schedule a bit.

 

[babylady4]

You mess up the baby's digestive system adding the cereal. They are not ready for it at 4 months let alone 1 (and I know people will swear by it but baby is NOT READY for solid food at that time). It was once common practice to to this, and is still sometimes suggested, but it is not the best for the baby.

If you are breastfeeding it is possible that the hind milk is not letting down (this milk contains all the fat). If you are bottle feeding I suggest looking online for info on getting baby to sleep at night better. Maybe baby is not warm enough? I nursed all my kids so the whole bottle feeding thing is unknown to me.

Here is a link to the best source of information I know of.

http://www.askdrsears.com/

 

[insiderart]

Well she's only a month old. A little early to be expecting her not to wake up for feeding. Some people will tell you "my baby slept through the night from the time we brought it home from the hospital!" But the reality of the situation is that until they are about 3 months old most of them need those extra feedings. Their little tummies are small and they are growing quickly. I recommend you just take turns getting up for night feedings. This will allow you both about 4 hrs uninterrupted sleep. If you do it right each person get 2 segments of this. Just give her time.

 

[hikerchick]

Quote:
I agree. A one month old baby cannot be expected to sleep through the night. It's one of many sacrifices you have to make as a parent. Get used to it because it never ends.

 

[Hoosiermomma]

Quote:
I agree. Babies especially that age, usually eat every 2-3 hours. That stage doesn't last very long so just remember to enjoy it regardless of the lack of sleep you are getting because when you blink they will be teenagers and you will ache for the time when they were just babes in arms.