Question:
> Cristian is 7 weeks old. We are trying to get him off the night feedings > gradually, and are encountering problems. Last night, we fed him at 9.30, > and an hour later, he was up whining and shouting. We managed to keep him > relatively calm until 2.00, when he ate again. An hour later, up again. > He eats 3 to 4 oz. and burps lustily most of the time. He is approx. 10 > lbs, and 23 inches long. Any advice would be appreciated.
IMO it’s still too early to be worried about this. I was feeling the same way. MY friend helped me get through it by saying "the first 3 months are hell, it gets better" I hung onto that. At three months I called her back and said "you said it would be better at 3 months" she replys"6 months is even better" . She was right! My son never slept in the beginning, never took naps eithor. By 9 months we finally could count on a good nights sleep, 6 hours straight! The best thing you can do is figure out a routine to give each other sleep until your child is sleeping regular. I chuckle when I think about how bad we looked out in public. Another parent can always spot another parent with a new baby at home. Patty
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>A 7 week old is still getting used to the earth! It may help you to just >accept that the baby will be ready to sleep for longer at night when he’s >ready – and not before. The best rule at this age is feed the baby when
<snip> couldnt agree more…. mine skipped the 10pm first, and kept the 2am one. ah well….. Annette
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I guess I won’t worry about our 3 week old who is up every 2 1/2 hours, though I sure would like to strerch it to 4!
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7 Weeks old is a bit young to wean your baby off night feedings, it took me about 3-4 months with my daughter. You didn’t mention if you are breastfeeding or not. I was bf and used a formula bottle for her last feeding (11pm) which seemed to fill her up a bit more. If your baby is on a bottle, you can try adding a little cereal to it, it may be that he needs something a bit more solid to keep him satisfied. Good Luck and keep us posted. Susan, mother of Miranda — Susan Warren – Mother to Miranda
Response:
> Cristian is 7 weeks old. We are trying to get him off the night feedings > gradually, and are encountering problems. >IMO it’s still too early to be worried about this. I was feeling the same >way. MY friend helped me get through it by saying "the first 3 months are hell, it >gets better" I hung onto that. At three months I called her back and
said "you said >>it would be better at 3 months" she replys"6 months is even better" . She was >>right! Greetings! I agree totally!! As a matter of fact I’ve only "heard" of those babies who sleep through the night at that young age .. never really met one! 
6 months is more realistic!! I put a sign up over my son’s crib that said "THIS TOO SHALL PASS!" and it did! Let Your Light Shine! Kathy
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It is way too early to worry about your baby sleeping through the night. 7 week olds have to eat too often, especially if you’re breastfeeding. My daugher (now 4 and a half years old) slept through the night by the time she was four months old. My six month old son only sleeps through the night about every other night. My husband and I take turns getting up with him. Be patient. It will happen eventually. Kerri Goldsmith
Response:
>Cristian is 7 weeks old. We are trying to get him off the night feedings >gradually, and are encountering problems. Last night, we fed him at 9.30, >and an hour later, he was up whining and shouting. We managed to keep him >relatively calm until 2.00, when he ate again. An hour later, up again. >He eats 3 to 4 oz. and burps lustily most of the time. He is approx. 10 >lbs, and 23 inches long. Any advice would be appreciated.
The first question I would ask is how often does he usually eat (not when your trying to change his schedule)? The second question would be is there a period during the day that is twice as long as the answer to the first question. I’ve found that once such a time exists, usually, with a lot of patience you can push his "clock" around so that this double period includes most of the night (midnight to five, at least). If he is eating at more or less regular intervals around the clock – he may not be ready yet to sleep at night. Use a paper and pencil to try to figure out his clock for 48 hours (without trying to get him to sleep at night). this could help with further dicisions. I am a mother of 4 and my youngest (born during the 10th month) skipped one meal a day starting from the age of 2 days. My older girls slept through the night by the age of 4-6 weeks (large babies). The most important thing is that you, dear mom, stay calm!!! Good luck! Shoshana
Response:
Cristian is 7 weeks old. We are trying to get him off the night feedings gradually, and are encountering problems. Last night, we fed him at 9.30, and an hour later, he was up whining and shouting. We managed to keep him relatively calm until 2.00, when he ate again. An hour later, up again. He eats 3 to 4 oz. and burps lustily most of the time. He is approx. 10 lbs, and 23 inches long. Any advice would be appreciated.
Response:
A 7 week old is still getting used to the earth! It may help you to just accept that the baby will be ready to sleep for longer at night when he’s ready – and not before. The best rule at this age is feed the baby when he’s hungry, hold him when he cries to be held. Sleepless nights are just part of being a parent. Soon, especially as he gets over 10 lbs and over 8 weeks, he’ll start stretching out his nighttime sleep. By 3 mos he may be going 6 hours. Have patience. Maryann and Sarah, 6 mos.
Response:
>Cristian is 7 weeks old. We are trying to get him off the night feedings >gradually, and are encountering problems. Last night, we fed him at 9.30, >and an hour later, he was up whining and shouting. We managed to keep him >relatively calm until 2.00, when he ate again. An hour later, up again. >He eats 3 to 4 oz. and burps lustily most of the time. He is approx. 10 >lbs, and 23 inches long. Any advice would be appreciated.
The only advice I have is that newborns go through "growth spurts" and are hungry *all* the time at these times. (at least mine was) Supposedly, key growth spurt times are 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months. My daughter’s spurt schedule didn’t exactly follow this, but she definitely had spurts. As for "getting off night feedings": some babies don’t sleep through the night without feedings until they are 6 – 9 months old!! I think the baby is going to decide whether or not he needs night feedings and 10 pounds is still a pretty small baby with a pretty small stomach — as is evidenced by the fact that he takes in 3-4 oz at a time. My daughter didn’t sleep through the night until 12 pounds (8 weeks) but every baby is different. Good luck & congratulations! Ileen
Response:
> Cristian is 7 weeks old. We are trying to get him off the night feedings > gradually, and are encountering problems. Last night, we fed him at 9.30, > and an hour later, he was up whining and shouting. We managed to keep him > relatively calm until 2.00, when he ate again. An hour later, up again. > He eats 3 to 4 oz. and burps lustily most of the time. He is approx. 10 > lbs, and 23 inches long. Any advice would be appreciated.
Here’s a couple of web sites where you might find good professional advice (not that you won’t necessarily get that here): http://www.drgreene.com/ http://www.med.jhu.edu/peds/neonatology/poi.html The Dr. Greene site is excellent! Good luck… I empathize with you! From my personal experience, you just gotta try your best to interpret what your child needs. If you can hold them and get them back to sleep without feeding, then that may help them get used to the decreased feedings. Then there’s the ‘let them cry’ position, which I find difficult to support… I think they may feel abandoned. You may want to try decreasing the amount of their intake at night to gradually reduce their dependency on those night feedings. Be sure to discuss any recommendations with your pediatrician to ensure that your childs health will not be jeopardized… he/she should be aware of your child’s physical condition and nutritional needs. Sometimes the infant just needs to suck… in which case, a pacifier may do the trick. Some would argue that pacifiers are a bad habit to get into and can cause problems with teeth alignment. Gee, ain’t parenting fun? BTW, I have 3 kids, 7f, 5f, .8m Ask your doctor when you can start including rice cereal into your baby’s diet. It does allow for a longer interval between feedings, but if introduced too early, could do more harm that good (the digestive system may not be developed enough). Good luck! and let us know know things are progressing.
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