Sleeping through the night

annie

Well-Known Member
wondering if its normal for a 15mths old breastfed baby still not sleeping through the night? my girl just turns 15mths but she is still not sleeping through the night... (my definition means totally not waking up for milk feed till she wakes up in the morning eg 9pm-9am).

since about 5.5mths or so, she started sleeping through the 'night' and waking up only at 5.30-6.30am but till now.. its been the same. she goes to bed at 9.30pm.. so far she did twice not waking up till hubby goes to work in the morning at 7.30-8am. or even if she does wakes up in the middle of the night, she dosent ask for milk.. she will only ask for milk around 5.30-6.30am which i wonder if she is really hungry or just a habit.. anyone has baby of this age still waking up for milk? i tried to let her cry, sometimes she does go back to sleep but sometimes she start screaming and crying very hard till its so hard to calm her down except with my boobs...i wonder when i can get a full night sleep...
 

Ting

Well-Known Member
i think if she slps from 930pm til 6am then ask for milk is still ok.
but if in btw she still gets up for milk, i would think u need to train her alr.
cos she is over 1 yo..
if she doesnt kick this so called habit, u're gg to hv a hard time training her in the future. but u'll need quite a bit of persistence n be firm to her no boobies in the middle of the night. maybe offer her water instead.
but i think she might fuss abt it for some time b4 she settle down n realise mummy is not gg to give her milk after bed time until breakfast. :)
 

annie

Well-Known Member
yah usually she only ask for milk after 5.30am. sometimes 630am.. but then ocasionally she will wake up around 430-5am asking for milk which i try not to give but she will scream and all until i give milk to her.. i usually let her cry for 30mins before giving in. she dosent wake up midnight asking for milk after 7mths i think..

but then.. after drinking her first milk feed she will be waking up every hr or every 30mins for milk! pratically whole morning on the boobs. i tried not giving her and as usual she scream and cry.. i cant let her do tat early in the morning as hubby needs to wake up for work and he cant get enough sleep if she does tat... sometimes i feel so vex and wonder if i should just night wean her and if so, how should i go about doing it.. or let her do this till she outgrow it..

so sleeping from 9.30pm-5.30/6am for first feed is consider not bad already? am i expecting too much from her if i wish she can sleep till she wake up at 9am? 9-9 without milk? anyway.. waking up at 5.30/6am for milk is actually very ok for me if she drinks and sleeps till 9am but then... she wakes up every 30mins to 1hr since 630am which is tiring...and my poor nipples.. hehe
 

PinkDiamonds

Well-Known Member
Just to share with you. My friend's son is like your daughter, at night wake up for milk. Initially they would give her milk because it was the easier way out for them, and he would go back to bed. They thought it was just a phase and that he will eventually outgrow this phase. Now at 3 year old he is still waking up for milk in the middle of the night.

Finally they decided to train him, and it is not easy. He can cry for 1 hour, go back to sleep, then wake up every hour.

IMHO, it's better to start now. For us, it was easier because my daughter sleeps in the next room, so we can turn down the volume of the baby monitor, and my hubby can sleep through her cries. I remember there is one time at around 4-5months she cried for 4 hours. Now she is 9 months and she sleeps 8pm to 9am. Total bliss.

Also once u train them to sleep through the night without milk, their body will adjust to this new change by taking in more milk/nutrients in the day to make up for it.

There are several methods you can use to train your daughter, depending on which you are more comfortable with. I decided to take the "cold-hearted" way out by just ignoring her and letting her cry.
 

annie

Well-Known Member
4hrs???? totally never check on her? i doubt i can do tat lol. the most will be 1.5-2hrs i suppose... 8-9 is 13hrs night sleep? tats alot! lol. hmm... she dosent wake up at night.. shwe wakes up early morning...

i wish to have an extra rm for her too but we do not have spare rms now..

i thought sleep training better be done after 6mths old? after tat did she at times wake up midnight?
 

jojoki

Well-Known Member
my 11 mth old still wakes up at least hor minimum twice and at max 4-5 times just to suckle suckle thn go back to sleep. haiz.. but she suck 2 ms like dat go back sleep di. me also must start wean her di.. shes a MILK addict!
 

annie

Well-Known Member
i have tis book! lol. i have the no cry nap solution as well... im doing all mentioned since she is born. she dosent need help to fall asleep even if she does wakes up in the middle of the night. i just dun understand y she needs to be on the breast constantly in the early morning though she ate a lot before her night sleep... she shouldnt be hungry i suppose..

so have your bb sleep through yet? how many mths is your bb now?


lol jojoki, then it seems like jumpy is doing so much better.. she only wakes up for milk at 530am or so since 5.5mths... there was a pt of time she wakes up every 2hrs for a whole 3 weeks! then i try to let her CIO and many other gentler method. i just insist not giving her milk...then she went back to waking only at 530am or so for milk... she wakes up a few times actually but always just fuss a bit, flip here and there, look for a comfy position n falls right back to sleep.. she only ask for milk if she wakes up around 530am
 
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PinkDiamonds

Well-Known Member
4hrs???? totally never check on her? i doubt i can do that lol. the most will be 1.5-2hrs i suppose... 8-9 is 13hrs night sleep? tats alot! lol. hmm... she dosent wake up at night.. shwe wakes up early morning...

i wish to have an extra rm for her too but we do not have spare rms now..

i thought sleep training better be done after 6mths old? after that did she at times wake up midnight?
Yes 4 hrs. At first I check her after 10 min to comfort her, then leave the room, then 20 min, then 30 min. But all didn't work so I just gave up and sit in the living room until she stop crying. It was 6am by the time she stopped. Yes, she sleeps 13hrs at night, and 1-2hrs in the day.

She was trained to sleep through the night at about 4 months. That time she can sleep from 8pm to 7am in the morning. Of course, a lot of hard work, but it pays off.

Maybe instead of giving her milk, you can try to pat her back to sleep? Or just give water. Before that you can prepare her by telling her that now she's a big girl, so mummy will not give you milk in the morning anymore.
 

Mummy to Baby V

Well-Known Member
i have tis book! lol. i have the no cry nap solution as well... dosent seem to work on my case..
The nap-time solutions work very well for us.

My 11-month old wakes up to suckle too, from about every hour through the night reduced to a few times recently. We are gradually working towards zero.
Did you try Pantley's Pull-Out method? Keep unlatching when the child is not drinking anymore and she'll get the idea one day. There are also many ideas which i would try as my boy can understand me better.

Some babies are of high-needs, so they need a lot of comforting till they are much older; it's not that they are spoilt. They are simply born like that.

Signs that my boy is high-needs:
- had to be swaddled to sleep well until 6.5 months!
- must be nursed or bounced to sleep though we have tried many methods (except for Crying-It-Out which we believe is damaging to him)
- very light-sleeper who can wake up at every sleep cycle (about 45 min)
- has to sleep cuddled next to me or ON me to feel secure

We accept and love him for who he is and just try our best to wean him off sucking for comfort gently and slowly. As long as everyone gets enough sleep, we are happy. :)
 

annie

Well-Known Member
yes i tried the pull out method as well. in fact, ive been doing this since day 1 as well.. as soon as she seem to have finish with her milk, i pull out. ive never allow her to comfort suck at all...ive done all that i should so and she is definately not a high need baby but jsut cant understand y even though she eats alot in the day, she still wakes up for milk and cant seem to leave the boobs in the early morning... thats wat puzzles me...

pinkdiamond, i dun think i can do tat... its too long.. lol. ive tried patting her, carrying her till she falls asleep n put her back, and all dosent work.. carrying works but i need to carry her for 1.5hrs! give water also wont work.. the moment i bring the bottle to her, she scream and cry louder!

i think my main problem is my hubby haha. i wanted to ignore my girl but worry my hubby will wake up.. sometimes he does wake up and tell me to give her milk as he cant sleep with her crying. he says she is very poor thing and ask me y i need o do that to her which i dunno how to reply him as well..sometimes i wish we dun sleep in the same rm so i can discipline my girl as i wish...
 

nancy

New Member
yes i tried the pull out method as well. in fact, ive been doing this since day 1 as well.. as soon as she seem to have finish with her milk, i pull out. ive never allow her to comfort suck at all...ive done all that i should so and she is definately not a high need baby but jsut cant understand y even though she eats alot in the day, she still wakes up for milk and cant seem to leave the boobs in the early morning... thats what puzzles me...

pinkdiamond, i dont think i can do that... its too long.. lol. ive tried patting her, carrying her till she falls asleep n put her back, and all dosent work.. carrying works but i need to carry her for 1.5hrs! give water also wont work.. the moment i bring the bottle to her, she scream and cry louder!

i think my main problem is my hubby haha. i wanted to ignore my girl but worry my hubby will wake up.. sometimes he does wake up and tell me to give her milk as he cant sleep with her crying. he says she is very poor thing and ask me y i need o do that to her which i dont know how to reply him as well..sometimes i wish we dont sleep in the same rm so i can discipline my girl as i wish...
I give my girl a pacifier and immediately it send her back to sleep again though I do nurse her when she wakes up in the night cos I dun want to "clog" up my breasts.
 

annie

Well-Known Member
pink diamond, im breastfeeding... i dun pump at all and she has never use a bottle before as well... she has no pacifier too...now i regret a bit haha. maybe my 2nd one i shall intro him/her to a pacifier and a bottle so i can wean off breast easier... nw i see no ending to my breastfeeding journey unless she self wean...
 

jojoki

Well-Known Member
The nap-time solutions work very well for us.

My 11-month old wakes up to suckle too, from about every hour through the night reduced to a few times recently. We are gradually working towards zero.
Did you try Pantley's Pull-Out method? Keep unlatching when the child is not drinking anymore and she'll get the idea one day. There are also many ideas which i would try as my boy can understand me better.

Some babies are of high-needs, so they need a lot of comforting till they are much older; it's not that they are spoilt. They are simply born like that.

Signs that my boy is high-needs:
- had to be swaddled to sleep well until 6.5 months!
- must be nursed or bounced to sleep though we have tried many methods (except for Crying-It-Out which we believe is damaging to him)
- very light-sleeper who can wake up at every sleep cycle (about 45 min)
- has to sleep cuddled next to me or ON me to feel secure

We accept and love him for who he is and just try our best to wean him off sucking for comfort gently and slowly. As long as everyone gets enough sleep, we are happy. :)
wah thn my bb also high need!

my biggest "SIGH!!!!" with my baby is sleeping!! Yes i admit that i totally failed big BIG time in training her to sleep.

She is
1. Super light sleeper
2. At night must sleep next to me ( like to roll until her body is sticking to mine!!!)
3. EVerytime she wakes or stirs in her sleep, she wants to SUCK back to sleep
4. she says NO! to pacifier!
5. Worse she must suck to sleep!! no suck no sleep!

so i super super sian about the above... sigh!
 

annie

Well-Known Member
my girl is a light sleeper too and she also always stick her head onto my breast or tummy to sleep haha. but she no need to suck to sleep la. as long as im beside her she can sleep just like tat. no need anything. just flip around looking for comfortable position then ZZzzzzz
 

PinkDiamonds

Well-Known Member
Hmmm, well I guess you have to try and toughen up, and say no.

I guess it is also hard for your husband since you're afraid to wake him up. How about starting it during late week? Like on Thursday/Friday. This way if your husband has not enough sleep, he can make up for it over the weekend.
 

annie

Well-Known Member
hmm the thing is.. he will sure say she is pitiful and qn me y i need to do tat to her.. he always does this.. n i dunno how to tell him y im doing this.. cos to him, she wakes up sure hungry then if she is hungry y i dun give her milk? then he even ask me..'have u ever wake up feeling hungry or thirsty? y dun u respect her needs?'..
 

PinkDiamonds

Well-Known Member
My hubby also couldn't ignore her. To him if she wakes up cry means want to drink milk. Even my parents also don't agree with my method. Eventually when my hubby see that what I do yield results ie: baby sleep through the night w/o any 1 of us waking up, he was finally convinced. There was a period of time that I got so sick of waking up to give milk that I force him to wake up with me.

As I said previously, your daughter will re-adjust her intake of milk/food in the day to make up for not eating/drinking at night. To me, it doesn't seem like she is drinking milk because she is hungry, but because it has become a habit for her. It's a habit for her to wake up in the early morning to find mummy's breasts to suckle on for comfort.

Tell your husband, "But I don't wake up at 5.30am in the morning to eat!" Hahahaha.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, it can become a habit, like my friend's son at 3 years old. The older they are, the harder it is for you to kick the habit. Does your husband wish for you to wake up everyday in the early morning until your daughter turns 6 years old? What if you decide to have another child? It will be more tiring for you.
 

annie

Well-Known Member
i think i'l try to give her dream feed these few days n see how.. hopefully she sleep till hubby wakes up in the morning...

my hubby at times wake up midnight for water de lo.. so he claim she might be thirsty or hungry n its normal to him. i dun wake up to drink or to eat cos i rather sleep haha. then he always ask me... 'if u hungry also cant fall asleep right? then y dun u just feed her?'
 
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