How do I have my eight week old baby,sleep through the night?

Question

I have tried to keep her awake during the day, but she falls asleep and I feel bad waking her up, she looks so peacefull. Any advice would be helpful.

Answer 1

I found www.americanbaby.com very helpful with showing me where my baby ( 3 months old now) should be. My suggestions are what worked for me from that website...

I think at 8 weeks old, she should be awake about 10 hours a day. That = a lot of sleep. Don't let her sleep for more that 3-4 hours at a time. She needs one 3-4 hour nap in the day, and then shorter ones (1-2 hours) when needed. Count her awake hours to see if she is on track.

My favorite suggestion that worked for me was to visually and audibly show her when to sleep and stay awake. In the daytime, turn on lights, open curtains, have the tv and dishwasher and washing machine on, and talk, talk, talk. At night, lights should be dim, tv down low or off, and machines off.

At night, I either bath or massage her, feed her A LOT and put her in her crib right when she falls asleep. She sleeps with a nightlight, baby einstein music (to drown out outside noise, and a humidifier. Since she was 2 1/2 months old, she has literally slept through the night. I have to check on her every night, because I am in disbelieve that it's working. My sleep schedule is still way off (bedtime for me is still 2 am), but hers is great. I think most babies still wait up every 4-6 hours at this point, so if that is the case, then that's a big success too.

And remember, if your baby is hungry at night, make the feeding all business. No eye contact or talking. It's hard because that's usually when they decide to smile!!

Good luck to you. Be firm on routine. Babies need it. You are almost to the sleeping at night age!

PS NO cereal. Digestive system can't handle it and it can create food allergies in the long run.

Answer 2

My baby slept through the night @ 4 weeks, but we were completely floored. We expected her to sleep through the night much later.

This was very hard because of sleep deprevation in the beginning. However, this worked for us: We'd put her down at the same time every night and the same time when we'd like her to nap even though we knew there was 2% chance she'd fall asleep. We had this music box that play soft music for 10 min to sooth her and we ensured she was in sight of a doll in hopes she's associate it as a bedtime friend. We tied it to the bed outside the crib rails out of reach until she was old enough to have dolls in her bed due to SIDs concern. This was in hopes she wouldn't associate us to help her sleep. if she cried, we tried again an hour later. It took 2 weeks for her to figure out when was sleep time. This helped her stay awake by herself longer during the day, we never waked if she did fall asleep outside our preferred naptime for her. The music box became very comforting to her. The bedtime friend didn't work though. Then we'd gently wake her up at the same time during the day if she had a good sleep the night before. We'd kiss her on the cheek and hold her hand so she wouldn't be scared.

Over the course of the first 4 weeks, she started to sleep 2 hours straight, then gradually increased to 10 to 12 hours. The downside, I warn is that once slept longer through the night, she began to cluster feed earlier and earlier up to 4 hours before bedtime. She drank the same amount of milk each day during this period, she just drank huge amounts at night. Her body needed that milk. The doctor said she was fine because she was gaining good weight and her development was normal. The diaper was so full in the mornings =)

She's now 7 months old. She sleeps 12 hours straight and when she wakes up, she babbles because she figured out she doesn't need to cry for us to get her. We think it's because of the routine we gently introduced.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

The baby is too young, my son is now 5 months old and he still does not sleep through the night. Your daughter will let you know when she is ready to sleep through the night. They all develop differently. My first born slept through the night at 8 weeks, I did nothing to cause this though they just do it all on their own. Let her tell you when she is ready and please dont keep her awake that is very bad for her. Good luck.

Answer 4

She can't go through the night w/ out a feeding yet. Only wake her up during the day to feed. At this point, all they do is eat, sleep and poop. When she hits about 3 months, then she might start to sleep through the night, for now, she needs the nourishment.

Answer 5

She's not old enough to sleep through the night. Most babies are not sleeping through the night at that age, but by around the third month will start sleeping for longer periods of time during the night and staying awake for longer periods of time during the day.

Answer 6

Babies that young do what they need to--if that's sleeping all through the day or night. Wait until she's about six months old to grow concerned about her staying up. It's all apart of being a mother. Best of Luck!!

Answer 7

Keeping her awake is soooo wrong.
The better (and more) she sleeps during the day, the better she will sleep during the night.
Eight week is too early for a baby to have a regular schedule. Just don't let her cry, cuddle and feed her whenever SHE wants. That's what I did with my son, and he is such a quiet and happy baby.
Babies who are left crying for sleep, food or just a hug are very nervous and don't sleep good...
Good Luck!

Answer 8

I am the mother of 6, so have tried a lot of things, at 8 weeks your baby will not be sleeping for a complete 8 hours, if she did it would be unusual, and scare most mothers. If you are giving her some cereal (1st foods usually gerber rice cereal) give it to her late before she usually goes to bed for the night. it will help her sleep longer, as her tummy will stay fuller longer. Each Pediatrition is different on the cereal thoughts, but I have seen 2 week old infants started on this if they are too hungry, I myself usually started them at around 8 weeks. And be patient.

Answer 9

Good luck trying. Be realistic babies need nourishment more than you need sleep. Be patient your tired now but think about how time has flown by. Cherish the moments you have with her now because you will never have them again. I know it's exhausting but it's so worth it. Deal with it for now it'll all pass soon.

Answer 10

8 week old babies do not sleep through the night. They metabolize milk to quickly and they get hungry. Do not force you baby to do anything, let nature take its course.

Just like any good thing, you are going to have to wait for your baby to sleep through the night.

Good luck.