I have a 2 month old son sweetest baby i could ask for. The problem is he was on track with his sleeping, we finally got him to sleeping through the night. Now its just been a week and we are back to the drawing board. he started getting up every two hours again. Am I doing something wrong? We have been giving him alittle ceral to help him sleep at night he just isn't getting enough to eat in his tummy at night and ot helped for a while. I found that if I give him a warm bath it helps. Then I give hime a bottle before bed. With all that I am doing he was sleeping through the night. I would have to get up once through the night to feed him and he would go right off to sleep again, it jut seems the last couple of days he has started this again. Is there anyone esle out there going or has gone through the same thing and if so PLESE share with me what you did to sooth your little one. I am at a loss.
I highly recommed the book "healthy sleep - happy child"
saved me and my sanity.
appropriate for any age as well.
good luck!
Most 2 month olds do not sleep through the night. My daughter was 10 months old before she made it all the way through the night.
Be careful about advice to let him cry himself to sleep at that age. Up to a year they cry for needs, not because they are spoiled. Children that have those needs satisfied tend to be well adjusted happy children. If you can just live through the first year, with as tired as moms are. If you don't have grandma help at night, it really helps to sleep with them some, just to get some sleep yourself.
Hi,
Two months old is too young for cereal. The gut is not mature enough for solids until 6 months old and earlier solids can cause food allergies. Also, research shows that adding cereal won't make the baby sleep longer. A great source for breastfeeding and infant nutrition is kellymom.org
It's completely normal for a 2 month old to wake at night to eat or for comfort. Their stomachs are still tiny. Another place to look for support and information is www.motheringdotcommune.org discussion forums. There is a thread there on nighttime parenting and you can ask questions and get feedback.
My daughter also started sleeping through the night early (8 hours per night at 5 weeks and 10 hours per night at 8 weeks), but there were times when her sleep habits would change and she would wake up. It's your decision as to whether you want to feed him or not when he wakes up. At 2 months, you may want to give him a few ounces once during the night to get him through, but by 5-6 months, this becomes more of a habit than a need to eat, so there is a fine line. (This is per my daughter's pedi). Anyway, I think you just need to go with it for right now since he is probably hitting a growth spurt and is truly hungry. As for the cereal, I would definitely hold off on that. He is way too young for that and you could be doing more harm than good. He could develop allergies and he may be waking up from a tummy ache from the cereal since his tummy can't digest it well yet.
This too shall pass!
I found that my daughter (now 8 months) seems to wake more when she was going through a growth spurt. She would sleep really well, and then all of a sudden, she wanted to nurse all night long. Also, has something changed at home? Did you go back to work. Sometimes changes to their daily routine can disrupt their sleeping routine. Keep up your current routine and I am sure he will get back to sleeping well.
Don't fret he could be going through a growth spurt. I think it isn't until 3 to 4 months when babies really start to sleep for 6-8 hours through the night. With my first I made all the wrong choices and created bad habits for him at night going in and putting him back to sleep and what not, he didn't learn to put him self to sleep and when seperation anxiety set in, which could be what your little one is going through as well, there was no getting him out to sleep on his own. I would know that he most likely is not hungry every two hours. I would wait let him cry a little and see if he falls asleep. If he doesn't go in, don't pick him up, pat his back give him a paci if he takes it and go back to bed, part of having a good sleeper is letting them learn to put themselves to sleep - I know I learned the hard way! When my second came along this exact thing happened and I was as sleep deprived as I could be! I decided that I would try this and as hard as it was to let him cry himself to sleep - I was actually surprised when he did! He sleeps great now, he is two and in a toddler bed, I have a gate at his door so he can't leave his room if he gets up in the middle of the night. Most nights he sleeps from 8pm-6pm some nights he will get up and fuss at the gate, I'll wait a few minutes and sure enough he will go lay back down in his bed and go to sleep! Try not to think of every terrible thing that could be wrong, most likely it is just that your little one has relied on you to put him back to sleep, it is natural for them to stir every couple of hours during the night and if you have been the one soothing them back to sleep then they are counting on you to do it over and over again! Bad news is if you don't end the cycle they will never learn to be good sleepers. Hope this helps, I've been there and I can completely sympathize!
sounds like it might be a growth spurt. my twins did this around 8-10 weeks as well... you're not doing anything wrong!
It's probably just a growth spurt. Give him another week or two and he'll start sleeping longer periods again. It happened with my daughter and she went from sleeping all night to at 2 months she started getting up every 4-5 hours again, but after about 2 weeks she started sleeping longer. Give it another week and see how he is doing. If still getting up a lot you might try to let him cry for a few minutes and see if he'll cry himself to sleep, if it's just getting to be a habit.
The AAP does not recommend solids before 4 months. It probably isn't hunger. I used Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and it was VERY helpful with all of my kids. Addresses sleep issues and needs thru the teen years.
Have you tried swaddeling? My child has slept through the night ever since she was 2 weeks old. We were timmid at first because you have to wrap them pritty tightly, and it looked funny. We learned this from the nurse at the hospital. I also did some reading about it in "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Harvey Karp (I think that's the name?) Everything made sense and it worked well too. It also helped a couple of my friends and my sister. All of them were having the same problem. The key to it working is sticking to it for 7-10 days. We wrap her at nap time, and she would sleep for 3-4 hours. At first they think they dont like it, but they eventually feel more secure and relaxed. It's worth a try? Good luck!
Speaking from my daughter's experience with her babies. The nurse says to have the baby stay in the living room all day where all of the activity is taking place. The baby can sleep on the couch. The babies figured out night and day real quick. It is worth a try. Omie, ajs
Did your pediatrician okay giving the baby cereal?
Co-sleeping was always very soothing to my babes.
By the way, you should never let your baby cry himself to sleep. Crying is the only way little ones can communicate their needs.
Wow, I'm impressed your little one was sleeping through the night so early initially. My daughter didn't really "sleep" through the night until close to 5 months of age. I found that she woke up a lot more frequently when she was having a growth spurt. And I wouldn't recommend feeding cereal this early. Your babies digestive system isn't developed enought to handle it and that may be contributing to him being irritable at night. Also, I found the book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, really really helped us with the whole sleeping issue. Several of my friends had recommended this book, and to be honest, I think it was probably one of the most helpful books I have read. Try it out and good luck.
I am surprised that you would expect a 2 month old baby to sleep throught the night, having had two other children. I have heard that 3 months is an average age for babies to start sleeping through the night. My son did not until he was 10 months old. I would never have expected that he would sleep well so early. Also it is not recommended that you start with cereal until 4 months, and from what I have read it is a myth that it helps them sleep. By 2 months my son was sleeping 4 hours through the night, unless there was a growth spurt and then it was every 1-2 hours. That is a rough couple of days, but hopefully that is all you are experiencing and it will not last long. I think you should talk to your ped about the cereal; mine told us that you have to wait until their little tummies can handle cereal and 4 months is even pushing it sometimes. Good luck.
This is really to be expected and quite normal. Most babies hit a growth spurts and will alter their sleeping patterns. Actually, to sleep through the night so young is unusual (and lucky for you). Their tummies are so tiny (the size of their fists) that it is quite normal to wake up through out the night.
Cereal at 2 months is way way too early. His digestive system is not developed and you may be inadvertently upsetting his stomach. Most peds recommend waiting until 6 months to introduce foods now. The risk of food allergies and sensitivities are much higher when you introduce foods too early.
It sounds like a growth spurt. This too shall pass!! :)
He's probley going through a growth spurt and needs to eat more often. The cereal might upset his tummy or eventually cause constipation. Try swaddling and using white noise. A good book is.... Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp, M.D.! It talks a lot about soothing babies and how to get them to sleep through the night! Good luck...My girl is 2 monthes and she sleeps 5 hours the wakes every 2 hours.
My son didn't fully sleep through the night until he was about 4 or 5 mos. old. And I wouldn't give him cereal. His digestive track is too young for it right now, & it won't help him sleep through the night.
Sleep training is what it is...training. You have to teach them, & it does take awhile until it comes naturally. Remember...1 step forward, 2 steps back. That will help you understand babies & kids learning patterns. They will go forward a bit & then regress more. It's just training & learning. I have an almost 4 year old, & it's hard going backwards in order to go forwards. But that is what we as parents have to do.
Good luck!!
