Nursing mothers...when did your child sleep through the night?

Question

Did this happen naturally, or did you need to wean your child off the night feedings and if yes, how did you do it?

Answer 1

Although the doctor said she needed to eat every 2-3 hours when she was first born, I never woke her up. She was sleeping 3-4 hours from the get go. The first time she slept through the night was at 3 weeks old. She slept for 8 hours. She started sleeping through the night regularly at 1 1/2 months for 8-10 hours. When I put her in day care her sleep schedule shortened by an hour or two. Then when I changed day care providers she went back to sleeping well.
There was a time when she was 6-7 months old and would wake up in the middle of the night. Iinstead of just letting her cry for a few to see if she would go back to sleep on her own, I would be on auto pilot, go pick her up, take her in the bed with me, so she could nurse and I could go back to sleep. She became used to that schedule, so I had to change MY behavior. I let her cry a bit longer, and tried to just rock her back to sleep. If that didn't work, I would give her a bottle with breast milk and rock her, then put her back in her crib. Soon she got the idea.
I think every child is a bit different because of their situation. Some childeren are getting breast milk, but it is put in a bottle. Mine was getting me at night and in the morning, and my milk in a bottle when I was at work. There are some lucky mothers out there that are in a situation to strickly breast feed.

Answer 2

I nursed my first three children for a year each. My oldest started sleeping on her own through the night at about two weeks old. My son still doesn't sleep through the night (at 5 yrs old) but that has nothing to do with the feedings. They all seemed to decide that they would rather sleep than eat, which was okay by me. But it just seemed to happen naturally. They also weaned themselves from nursing all together by the time they were a year old. It was something they just no longer had time for since they could now run all over the house.

Answer 3

My first baby girl slept through the night at 2months she had pacifiers to keep her happy. My son didn't sleep through the night until he was 9 months when i weaned him because he was biting and my third daughter didn't sleep through the night till i weaned her at 11 months. The last 2 kids both suck their thumbs and we did the cry it out method - hard but works and the kids are better sleepers because of it. I think I did the crying method cause it didn't take very long, they would just go to sleep pretty quick. To wean off the night feeding I weaned during the day first and made sure they had plenty of other food and drink during the day. If they woke up in the night at first I would go to them snuggle them then put the back just cause that is what they were used to and that is why they were feeding in the night to begin with cause they really didn't need to eat in the night. Then eventually I would not go to them and they would cry for a bit and then go back to sleep.

Answer 4

I have had 4 kids. The earliest any of them slept through the night was 11 months. The latest was 17 months. Some kids can be weaned off the night feedings, but it doesn't work for all of them.

Answer 5

that's a fantasy that rice cereal will help your newborn sleep in the process the night. My son began dozing in the process the night at 3 month to 6 months. Then have been given up each a million/2 hour to an hour from 6 months to 9 months. Then from 9 months to a 365 days now he's been dozing 12-14 hours straight away.

Answer 6

I had a lot of help from my mother who was living with us. What she did was grab some bottles and filled them with milk. She stayed in the room with my daughter until she finished her bottle and cried for boo boo...but she went to sleep. When she woke up, another bottle. I never slept inthe same room with her for about a week. But She was totally weened and sleeping though the night at the end.
Consequences: My daughter got tooth decay from the sugar left on her teeth while she slept. She has 7 caps on her teeth now. If your gonna try this, make sure she brushes her teeth twice a day or after every bottle.

Answer 7

I have three kids. My oldest was formula fed, so we'll exclude her from this. My next was on booble juice and she started sleeping through the night at about 8 months old. She did this herself. My youngest is now 3 months, shes breastfed and has been sleeping through the night for about a month. She did it all on her own.

Answer 8

I was one of the lucky ones, my daughter slept all night from the first night home. She still sleeps through the night, I quit breast feeding just after 1 yr. and she is now 17 months old and thriving!

Answer 9

I am a mother of three. I breastfeed all of them. None of them slept through the night until I stopped breastfeeding. I have a 10 month now and she gets up twice.

Answer 10

I was lucky. My son just started sleeping though the night at 7 weeks on his own. I am still breastfeeding and he is now 7 months.