Is Sleeping Through the Night Really Possible for a Baby?



I would love to specifically address one issue that is near and dear to my heart, “sleeping through the night” a phenomenon that some babies seem to be doing.  You are probably wondering, is it really possible?   Can my baby really do that?  What exactly is sleeping through the night?  How do I do that?  Do I need a specialist to come in and do it for me or can I do it on my own?

I have had consultations with parents who have had 7 and 8 month old babies who are still getting up one or two times a night for a feeding.  I have also had parents of  2 and 3 year olds calling me because their toddlers are still getting up at night.  What is going on?   They certainly do not need to be eating during the night.  They should be getting all the required ounces and nutrition during the day.  The nighttime awakenings are just a habit they have gotten into and have successfully convinced their parents that they need. 

Can my baby do that?  You bet!  Don’t let them fool you.  Babies do have a daily requirement of food that they need. Generally by 12 weeks they are able to get the nutrition required during daylight hours. The rest is a habit that has been formed by them waking up since birth every 3 hours.  Remember, the feedings that you eliminate at night will be made up during the day.  That will happen by you adding ounces to each bottle.  We always keep a close eye on them making sure they continue to gain the ½ pounds a week.  We have never had a baby have to go back on the middle of the night feedings once they were sleeping through the night, because of weight loss.

Sleeping through the night (7 PM – 7 AM) is entirely possible for a baby who weighs 12 pounds or is 12 weeks old (full term).  Some people consider 11 PM – 7 PM a full night.  I think a baby should be able to do that by 10 weeks, with the full 12 hours by 12 weeks of age. 

Can I train my baby on my own?  To be able to do it on your own you must emotionally detach from your baby during nighttime hours.  Some parents can do that, some cannot.  My philosophy is “at night there is no love, only business” If you are a parent who can snuggle, love and cuddle during the day and stick to business at night you should be able to sleep train your baby to sleep during the night.  Consistency is the key. 

What about the no cry methods?  Let’s be honest.  You are taking away something from your child that they are accustom to receiving and they are going to cry.  We have methods that do not involved ‘crying it out’ however, there is no method that you can use that will have no crying.   It really depends on how focused you are to getting the job done. If you start at one month and gradually stretch your baby, there should be little or no crying.  When a baby is not sleeping through the night, it is not the baby’s issue, it is always the parent’s issue.   As Newborn Care Specialist’s and Sleep Specialist’s we have more discussions on how to train the parents then we have on how to train the baby. 

This is a time when a Newborn Care Specialist’s services can extremely helpful.   They typically start when your baby first arrives home from the hospital.   They begin your baby on a sleeping and feeding schedule.  The Newborn Care Specialist will gradually help your baby sleep a little longer each night until your baby is sleeping the entire night.   This is generally a 2 – 3 month process.

What do you do if your baby is already passed the 3 month mark and still not sleeping?  You can do an in-person or telephone consultation with a Sleep Specialist.  This really is a priceless service.  Many times you will be able to do it on your own with the guidance of a Sleep Specialist.  If you feel you would do better if someone else did the job, the Sleep Specialist can come into your home and do the sleep training for you.  The length of her job will depend on the plan you decide on.

What about multiples?  Can they be trained as well?  Absolutely!  There is little difference in training two, three or four.  The only difference is that you may have to separate them while the training is taking place so they do not wake each other up.  Once the training is complete, they are back to sleeping together.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Out of the Box

Image
I have been sleep training and conditioning infants for sleep for over 20 years.  Imagine my surprise when I went to a class put on by Summer Hartman and realized I could be doing so much more. What I learned: There are different scenarios for each situation. We can help everyone with just a little "Out of the Box" thinking. Look for the 'not so obvious.' I sleep train or sleep condition children up to the age of two years. Let's spend a little time today on the difference between sleep conditioning and sleep training. Sleep Conditioning is a method by which you will start with a child at birth and monitor their sleep, eat and awake time in a routine that is beneficial to the infant and easy on the parent.  As you do this in a proper manner, the child will begin to sleep longer at night.  Once the child is consuming a certain amount of milk per daytime hours, you can begin expecting the child to sleep through the night. Sleep Training is ...
Read more

Sleep Training Questions

Image
I received a call from a parent with a 15 month old who was not sleeping through the night.  The parents were getting up with him four and five times a night.  They were either feeding him or putting a pacifier in his mouth.  At times they had to rock him back to sleep. My first set of questions are : What is your daytime routine like?  Describe your child's naps.  Is there a nighttime bedtime and a routine?  My second set of questions are :  What does his room look like?  I like to see a picture or short video of the baby's room because it gives me a chance to see things that may be missed with mom's explanation of the room details.  Room details are so important.  Is there some kind of reflection of light that is not obvious during the day that may be keeping your baby awake at night?  Is it completely dark in the room?  Is a sound machine being use? What is being used to encourage sleep?   My third set of q...
Read more

What is Sleeping Through the Night?

Image
What is sleeping through the night?  In researching the Internet, I found most people are content with five to six hours of solid sleep and consider that "sleeping through the night."    That is good for a six week old, but in my experience, I consider sleeping through the night a gradual process that takes 10 - 12 weeks.  By the end of that time, the child can be sleeping 12 hours straight. You may be saying, WHAT!  Are you kidding me?  No, this is completely possible.  If you enjoy getting up with your child every three hours or even once or twice a night, you may want to go on to the next blogger. If however, you are sleep deprived and just want to be able to sleep through the entire night you may want to give me a call.  If you have a toddler who is getting up multiple times during the night or even one time during the night, you have a child who is in need of a little intervention.  You are being played.   Now, ...
Read more