Suggestions on How to get my infant to sleep longer?

Question

My baby boy is 7 weeks old and wakes every 2-3 hours for a feeding. I just recently went back to work, I am a single parent and am struggling with sleep. I cant nap with him because there is so much to catch up on when he is sleeping. (Please....no ridicule on being a single parent. You dont know my story)
I hear of some mothers whos infants are sleeping 5-6 hours at a time at night....I would be thrilled to get 5 hours straight sleep. Is there something I can try to help him sleep longer hours at night? I am giving him nightly baths before bedtime and he seems to rest more peacefully this way....but still wakes in 2 hours.
Any suggestions will be great.
Thanks a bundle from an exhausted new mommy. :)

Answer 1

Unfortunately, there really isn't a guranteed way to get babies of any age to sleep for longer periods of time. Your son's eating schedule is right on track for his age, so waking to eat every 2-3 hours is normal. Being a mom, regardless if you are single or married, is a difficult job. It requires a great deal of time, energry, sacrifice, and sleep-less nights which don't cease even when your children are adults. Helping your baby sleep better and longer at night will be a matter of trial and error. If baths at night help, than keep that up. Remember that a baby's skin is extremely delicate and too much washing can cause excessively dry skin. Wash him with just water most of the time except for those couple times a week when he truly needs a little baby wash. My grandson is 9 weeks old. He has always loved to be wrapped up to sleep. He is too big now to use a receiving blanket so I bought a swaddling blanket at Babies R Us for him. He has been sleeping for my daughter and son-in-law for 4-6 hours at night since they started using it. Each baby is different and will begin to sleep longer stretches at a time at different ages. Please do not listen to anyone who suggests giving him infant rice cereal mixed in his night time bottle. There are several concerns with this, the most important being that his tummy is small and he needs all the nutrients provided in his formula and/or your breast milk. If you add cereal, this fills him up and he will not drink as much milk as he needs. Rice cereal should be saved for when he is 4-6 months old or if recommended by your pediatrician to help with acid reflux which some babies have. There are always tons of things that need doing and it seems as though when baby sleeps that is a perfect time to do them. You may find it helpful to ease up on your expectations of yourself. Take inventory on what absolutely has to be done and focus on those things. Your sleep is a necessary part of being a good mom and staying healthy. Find some easier ways of doing things for a while until your baby is a bit older. Use paper plates instead of plates needing to be washed. Vacuum every other day instead of every day. Wear more clothing that doesn't need special attention such as ironing or drycleaning. Get a haircut that only needs a wash and dry in the morning. It is OK to do things more simply for a little while and than you can go back to your preferred way when you are getting more sleep. Go to bed at 9:00 instead of 11:00 (or later). Close the curtains, turn off the TV and the phone, forget about all the stuff that needs doing and go to bed when he does. When making meals, make a double or triple batch and freeze the other for another time. When trusted friends and relatives offer babysitting, accept their generous offer and get a couple hour nap in. You deserve it and you need it. Each stage your child goes through seems as though it will never end, but it does, and then you move on to the next stage which will have it's own set of frustrations and difficulties. ADDED: At your son's exceptionally young age, do not curtail his naps. First, a newborn who is asleep can be next to impossible to awaken and if you do manage, he won't stay awake long. A baby who is overly tired is a cranky irritable baby and takes considerably longer to get to sleep and when he does it is generally a fitful sleep. Your baby will sleep when he is tired and eat when he is hungry.

Answer 2

Poor Mommy!!! ...
i'm sorry, but thats normal for 7 week old... these babies you hear about... are usually someone elses... :(
Dont cut down on his naps.. this will only overtire him and you'll spend the 2 hours trying to GET him to sleep..
Only thing you can do is feed him more during the day.. Sounds like you're doing everything you can, and you're doing great!.. He'l just stretch that time out as he gets older.. If you don't go to bed when he does, feed him again before you fall asleep. He may be waking up from gas pains... this was my son, when we switched to Soy, because it's easier digested, he slept 9-5 am.. for 2 nights.. then stopped... Go figure.. he now wakes up every 3-4 hours, hes 3 months today.. So babies will sleep through the night when they want to.. there is nothing we can do to help them.. :(
If you're up for it, try cosleeping.. he may sleep longer this way. I know mine for sure did!

Answer 3

it is definitely still completely normal for your baby to wake up often throughout the night. Suggestions may help but, then again time may be the only ting that really helps. As he gains weight and needs to eat less often (by eating more at a time) he will sleep for longer stretches. I remember my daughter and 7 weeks old and that is when I felt completely overwhelmed all the time. It had finally become reality that she was here to stay and I was completely exhausted all the time. I did sleep when she slept which is certainly worth it if you can squeeze it in somehow. But, a few uninterrupted hours of sleep makes a huge difference. Can you get someone to take over for one night? Or 6 hours so you can sleep and take a relaxing shower or have a cup of coffee with some friends? Be good to yourself and take some time to yourself. You probably have absolutely no idea how really stressed you are and how hard you have been pushing yourself. Take care of you.

Answer 4

I found that my five week old does better through the night when we feed him a bottle of formula for his last feeding before bed. It takes him longer to break it down so he stays full longer which equals less night waking. Yippee! He is breastfed all other feedings. Don't let anyone tell you you are a bad mom for needing to use formula. You are a human parent that's all. The only thing is be sure to make sure he has a good burp and a good poop after the feeding. It took our guy a little longer to poop but he has been as regular as can be since the first night and has been sleeping up to five hours in between feedings. Hope this works for you too.

Answer 5

Hi Exhasuted!
I remember your situation quite clearly. As the mother of 3...all born within a 4 year period I can attest that sleep is key for both you and your son. I was married for a short time when I had my kids, but that really didn't make me less of a single mom. My suggestions: Increase his food intake during the day and keep him awake longer during the day with light play. If you have him in daycare this may be difficult, obviously. Hopefully the person watching your child will be willing to work with you. You can also allow him to cry for a time...10 minutes at first when he wakes. The 15, etc and work your way up. Many times a child will fall back to sleep. If you have had your son to the doctor for regular visits and he is healthy this shouldn't hurt him. It may drive you nuts for a while tho. LOL.
The other thing to really think about is HOW important are all those other things you say you need to catch up on? I would bey that none of them are as important as your son and since you are the most important thing to him you need to stay as healthy and alert as you possibly can.
Good luck to you. Stay strong!!

Answer 6

It sounds like you just have an extra hungry little one on your hands. He will start sleeping longer once the first round of growth spurts is over. Unfortunately those first 8 weeks are the hardest and your boy is doing perfect. They are supposed to be waking every 2-3 hours to eat. Just make sure when its at night that you simply feed him in the dark or low light. No talking or playing just feed and change his diaper, that way he can start to learn that this is the time for sleeping and only his basic needs be met. It worked for me, by 2 months of age my twins were sleeping 4-6 hr stretches and by 4 months old would sleep for 6-8 hrs at night. And by the way from birth to 4 months of age I did it by myself.....no help and single parent with 2 older children also. Be ready sleep is something you cannot count on for the next 18 years, unless you send them to grandmas house overnight!

Answer 7

First off congrats! And you are doing great - seriously. No one ever said this was going to be super easy :)

Are you breast feeding? If so, our pediatrician recommending feeding every 3 hours and recommended waking them up to feed.
If you are breast feeding, they also recommended, supplementing with formula for added iron etc. What we found was that the formula was heavier on their lil bellies and they would sleep longer. So you could give that a shot.

If you are only feeding with formula then, break out the calendar and look at October for the next time you'll get a full nights rest :)

Answer 8

Actually, it is normal for him to wake that often for feedings at his age, and he may continue to do so for several more months. The babies who sleep for 6-hour stretches from the time they are born, like my second child, are unusual and a lucky blessing.

The best you can do is keep him awake as much as you can during the day, and relax him with a bath before bed like you already are. It's tough, I know, but this first year will fly by and before you know it the rough stuff will be a memory.

Answer 9

At 7 weeks your baby knows nothing of a schedule and still needs to eat at least once through the night. You can try to set his schedule for him before bed...

Bath
massage
sing or read
bottle or breast
bed

He is too young to get cereal or anything in his bottle so please don't do this!!!

once your baby reaches 10lbs he should be able to sleep through the night. My son didn't fully start sleeping through the night until 3 months when I put him in his crib.. on a rare occasion he still wakes up.

Good Luck..It will get better!

Answer 10

I would try to cut the day naps. Dont take them away but when he sleeps only let him stay asleep for an hour. That will make him more tired at night. Also did you try warm formula right before bed? Sometimes, if he doesn't suffer with gas, the warm milk helps coat his tummy