Sleep tips? Am I doing something wrong?

Question

So I'm looking for mamas in the same situation as me: breastfeeding at night and baby sleeps in his/her own bassinet / whatever next to your bed. 
We currently get our LO to fall asleep in his bassinet at around 7:30/8 (big win, I know!). He usually sleeps until 11 or midnight which is great (we come to bed around 10). However, after this he usually wakes up every 1.5-2 hours (to nurse) and I think we must be doing something wrong. 
So maybe someone can tell me what they do that works better or just reassure me that this is normal! Thank you in advance!

Answer

This is very normal for us. I get one good stretch (and sometimes that’s only 3 hours) and then she’s awake to nurse again every two hours. Some babies just digest their milk faster than others. I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong! Just know it won’t be like this forever!!
Trust me, I feel super defeated at times when I hop on here and see people celebrating 10 hour stretches of sleep lol.

Answer

Setting baby up for successful night sleep starts with day time. Start his day at the same time every morning. We wake our 9 week old up at 7 am. During the day we feed him every 2-3 hours - newborns need to stock up on calories during the day in order to sleep a longer stretch at night. We make sure he isn’t napping longer than 2 hour stretches then is awake for an hour and a half afterward. This gives him enough sleep but allows them to be tired enough for overnight.

Answer

Is he waking to be fed or just waking up? I was getting up with my LO every time she made a noise and she wouldn’t really eat a bottle or need a diaper change so for a night or 2 when she’d wake up an hour after I just fed her I’d wait and listen and she was only making fussy noises and she would fall back asleep. Now I’m able to tell the “wake up and feed me” cries from the “just getting situated” noises

Answer

My baby is pretty much exactly the same.

Answer

I think that's normal. My 7 week old goes to bed at 8 has a 4-5 hour stretch and then wakes up every 2-3 hours until 8am when we get up for the day. He feeds every 1-1.5 hours during the day. 🤷 I go to bed with him at 8 some nights because I'm so exhausted haha

Answer

That sounds like our schedule as well. My LO is 8 weeks and goes down easily around 8:30/9 pm. He does a nice 4-5 hour stretch ; and then is up every two hours after that (from 1ish - 6) I may try the dream feed routine around 11 to see if that makes a difference. I also try to do one bottle or formula bottle at one of the early morning feedings just to give myself a break. Otherwise he is exclusively breast and breast milk bottle fed. My guy also seems not hungry but moreso restless in the morning! He is swaddled and tries to break free - so it’s not really crying but more grunting and noises! He uses a paci as well which helps.

Answer

These have helped us. She wasn’t a fan of swaddling either but kept waking herself with the startle reflex.

Answer

Are you swaddling baby? My boy hated being swaddled since we brought him home. He’d always bust out of it and just really wanted his arms out by his head so we stopped swaddling for a while. He would wake up every few hours at night to feed but I think it was because he was startling himself awake. We noticed a HUGE difference when we went back to swaddling him. I use the velcro swaddles because he can’t bust out of them. At first he was frustrated but now he passes out and sleeps between 6-8hrs for the past week or so. I also breastfeed him right before going to bed even if he’s already sleeping I’ll wake him just enough for him to feed so his belly is full right before we’re ready for bed.

Answer

Mine does the same, he will go one long stretch of about 5 hours then is up every 2 after that. Last night he slept from 930-430 but he nursed almost 40 minutes prior to that which he never goes that long

Answer

We were the same until I started using the “Nested Bean” sleepsack, and a white noise machine! 
Shove the soother in until baby refuses to take it anymore! 
Try putting baby to bed at the same time you go to bed so you can sleep longer! 
Our routine is a bath, massage, sleep sack, story, bottle, and bassinet at 9:30! If he wakes up in the night I give the soother until he refuses to take it. I have him sleeping up to six hours straight now.

Sleep tips? Am I doing something wrong?

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