Hello, my baby is almost 1 month old now. He wakes me up about every 2 hours at night when he's hungry. At what agedo babies start sleeping for longer periods when they are breast fed? When will I be able to mix a little rice cereal in with his breast milk?
Thanks, Millie
2006-10-04 06:09:43 · 15 answers · asked by Rosalind55 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
Normally this is around 3 mths I think as they can drink more at one time and their bodies are able to sleep in larger blocks of time - but there is a very large variation! All depends on your little one. I've read that your baby's sleeping pattern, like meeting milestones, the order their teeth come in, etc is all 'programmed' from birth. You can do things to help the situation, but that only takes you so far. My little girl was a great sleeper at nighttime starting from birth (4 or 5 hrs at a time the first few weeks, up to 6 or 7 hrs by 2 mths) however would demand to be nursed ALL the time during the day to make up for it. Did I do anything to make her a good sleeper? No... I was just lucky. She hates taking naps during the day though, she prefers to be awake and playing!
The experts recommend not giving rice cereal until the earliest 4 mths, but there are many mothers who give it earlier than that and they havent run into problems. I've read articles that say giving bottles at bedtime wont help, nor will cereal, but there are a whole lot of mothers out there who would disagree! The time goes by super fast, so hang in there!
2006-10-04 23:12:45 · answer #1 · answered by MaPetiteHippopotame 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My breastfed baby did this too. I wouldn't mix in cereal at this point. Your body needs to build up to the baby's demand, and that means the baby needs to nurse whenever he needs to nurse. If you add cereal, then your body won't make enough and you'll start a vicious cycle of never meeting the demand of the baby. Also, most doctors don't want you to start that before 3 months old.
I know it's extremely tiring to be up every two hours with a baby hanging off your boob, but you have to stick it out, the rewards are so worth it, to have a healthy breast only baby. Ask for help from your support people and sleep when the baby does
2006-10-04 06:59:17 · answer #2 · answered by sarahjane1973 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My son didn't do it for the first time at 8 weeks. But it was 10 whole hours. He then did that every night until 11 weeks when he hit a growth spurt. Then he started waking up every 3 or so hours. That lasted until about 5 months and he still wakes up to nurse around 4:30 am and around 6 am.
2016-03-18 04:42:01 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
by about the 3rd month they sleep at least 6 hours. I started mixing rice cereal at 4 months although some babies are at about 6. When you notice him looking at food and licking his lips or something you'll know he wants something more than milk (that's why I started at 4). It's normal for breast fed babies to want to eat more often...breast milk is more nutritious, but less filling (notice he may not poop everyday). Good luck!!!
2006-10-04 06:19:28 · answer #4 · answered by Ruth Less RN 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Every baby is different.Some sleep through the nite from day one while others like my 12 mo old still nurses every 3-4 hrs at nite.Enjoy every moment with your little one because it goes by so quickly.Before you know it he wont want you kissing him in public.Cereal shouldnt be offered to your baby until 4-6 mos of age.All your little one needs is breast milk and that cuddling time.Good Luck.Sleep will come eventually.Take Care!
2006-10-04 06:24:11 · answer #5 · answered by Kat 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on the kid. My child needed to nurse every 2 hours for a long time, but others sleep through the night practically from birth.
As for cereal, wait until six months. The Academy of American Pedatrics AND the World Health Organization recommend nothing but breastmilk until 6 months of age.
2006-10-04 13:06:00 · answer #6 · answered by Erin H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it doesnt make a difference if a baby is breast fed or bottle fed, when it comes to sleeping. my first started sleeping thru the night at 7 weeks, and my second didnt sleep thru until he was 7 months. i introduced cereal with the formula at 6 months, and again it didnt really change his sleep pattern, though it did help to fill him up at times, make sure u use plenty of formula/breast milk so its not to thick. good luck
2006-10-04 06:16:24 · answer #7 · answered by Myra 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can start mixing cereal at 3 months. The best thing to do is pump milk milk and feed it to him in a bottle at night and it will help he go longer. It will be a while especially if youa re brest feeding. The only benefit with breastfeeding is you don't have to go far to prepare the formula and warm up the bottle. You will get used to it and it is a wonderful experience.
2006-10-04 06:14:43 · answer #8 · answered by Mely 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i breastfed my son and he started sleeping through the night at about two and a half months old. As far as the cereal, i personally breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months, then added cereal and baby food. You shouldn't start anything else until he's/she's AT LEAST 4 months old. Their stomachs don't handle it that well any younger.
2006-10-04 07:24:52 · answer #9 · answered by Violet 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would mix in the rice cereal right now. I started my son on pablum with the milk ( quite thinly mixed) at his third week and he started to sleep 6 hours at night. My girlfriends just about had a fit, oh, the doctor says etc,etc, you can't do that. Really, he's 40 years old now and still doing fine and never had a cavity until the age of 36.
2006-10-04 06:19:19 · answer #10 · answered by Mightymo 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋