My daughter is 5 weeks old and is waking up way too many times during the night. I know that she should still be waking up at least once or twice, but last night, for example, she woke up 6 times in 7 hours. The "babywise" method worked great for my son and he was sleeping 7 hours straight by 8 weeks... any suggestions on what I should do this time?
Thanks for all the feedback. I did end up giving her a bottle of formula last night before bed and she only woke twice. I suppose my milk supply has lessened already. My body has never produced very well.
On another note. I fully believe in the "babywise" method because I watched how well behaved and healthy - physically and emotionally - my son is as a result of it's instruction. Those people who have dehydrated babies might want to reexamine if they were using the method correctly.
My son didn't start sleeping through the night until he was almost 3 months old. Maybe she just needs a little more time. Every baby is different and she just might not be there yet.
Your baby's schedule sounds perfectly normal. For a 5 week old, there's no 'set' maximum amount of times she should wake. Babies wake frequently at night for a reason... sometimes it's to be fed, sometimes to be changed, sometimes they simply want to be held. Believe me, I *know* it's extremely difficult during the newborn phase when you get very little (or no!) sleep & then wake up to take care of both a toddler & newborn all day. But I would strongly, strongly caution against using Babywise. It's a method not recommended by the AAP (American Assoc. of Pediatrics), who issued the following warning: "Babywise advice linked to dehydration, failure to thrive" — "AAP News," April 1998. Here's a link to another article: www.babycenter.com/refcap/9108.html
I hope I haven't overloaded on too much info, but I've researched this issue extensively & feel pretty strongly about it. Another thing I have to add is that it's very likely that your baby is going through a growth spurt at this age and may nurse much, much more. This does NOT mean you don't have enough milk, it's your baby's way of telling your body to make more milk.
Some things that helped me were letting my daughter sleep with us - though if you don't feel comfortable with that, you could put her in a pack-n-play beside your bed. It's easier because you don't have to wake, walk to her room, etc. to feed her. On weekends when my husband didn't have to go to work the next day, I'd let him wake up & rock the baby so I could get some consecutive hours of sleep time.
Best of luck to you.
Your child is normal, just different from your son. All babies are different and their sleeping and eating patterns will be predictible but it will be their own schedule. That is why books like Babywise make people feel like failures - your baby may not fit the mold and certianly hasn't read the book.
Check out www.ezzo.info for more information. A better resource may be The Happiest Baby on the Block www.thehappiestbaby.com
M. J.
My first baby was a great sleeper, too. 8 hours at 6 weeks. My second baby was a normal sleeper (just like your daughter! I know that it is hard to admit! ). He didn't sleep through 8 hrs until 3 months. He went through growth spurts that caused him to wake every few hours for a while there, too.
If breastfeeding is something that you really want to do (the information on the benefits to both baby and mom is really overwhelming), then a lactation consultant can really help. (The women’s place at Centennial hospital was invaluable to me.) You may think that you have supply issues, but they can be usually easily remedied by working with a lactation consultant. If breastfeeding is not for you, then it’s a whole other story. The relationship has to work for both parties to be successful!
Also, the AAP is not some crazy organization. They are the mainstream. If they say that babywise isn’t the best for baby, then you may want to research it more thoroughly.
Good luck to you. I know that it is really tough for you right now, but it will get better!!
First, she is just different than your son. That is okay, it will just take some adjusting to the theory of "babywise". I used some of what the book said, I had twins and each baby was so different from the other. My litle boy will not go to his bed to tell me he is tired (20 months). It sounds more like she is not getting enough to eat. Are you doing cereal in the bottle or anything like that? I would suggest that - they really only wake when they are that little if they are hungry, in my opinion. My daughter started waking up again at night at 5 1/2 months, but my son did not. She didn't eat as much so she was hungry more. Hang in there - stick with a plan once you have one that fits her and she will acclimate. I would suggest NOT making her cry to sleep...I think it causes them to lose trust in you - sometimes not though. We never made ours cry and they have never woken up crying in the night or after night time...they just wake up and move around. I hope it goes okay - it is hard because you are so stinking tired to find the rational and reasonable thing to do! :)
does she need swaddling? is her tummy upset by the formula/something in the breastmilk? is the problem only at night (does she need noise)? is her skin sensitive to something in her bed?
I don't have any answers - just more questions
Hi L.- Have you tried cereal? my babies were really hungry babies Too! and would wake up every two hours. I started with just a little cereal in the bottle at night during the last feeding before bed and that usually did the trick!
my babies were breast feed babies, for that last feeding I would express my milk into a bottle and add a little cereal too it and they were able to sleep longer through the night!
Are you nursing or bottle feeding? With my daughter, I realized soon after we got home from the hospital that I just wasn't making enough milk. She would nurse for an hour and then scream until the next feeding. I started to nurse/formula feed/and pump. Of course, by then it was time to start the cycle all over again. Finally, I started just giving her a bottle when she woke up in the middle of the night and that seemed to help us both a lot. I wasn't falling asleep feeding her because it took so long and she was getting full and getting sleep too. My daughter would sleep from 11pm to about 5am by about 6 weeks. She should be able to go 2-3 hours between feedings. Remember that she is still just a month old and may not sleep 6 or 7 hours for quite some time. Also, check to make sure the room is not too hot or too cold? Are you still swaddeling her? Babies this age usually still like to be swaddled. Make sure you put her down while she is sleepy but still awake to teach her how to put herself to sleep. Hope this helps. Good luck.
5-6 weeks is prime time for a growth spurt--one very real reason why scheduled feedings don't work and aren't always wise. During a growth spurt she is actually going through a period of heightened growth. Nursing more frequently allows her to increase your milk supply up to the point where her increased caloric needs require it to be. This usually lasts about 3-4 days but I have seem some babies in my practice do this for about a week before returning to more "normal" feeding frequency. This is NOT the time to supplement or try to hold her off as your breasts may not get the stimulation they need to increase your supply adequately for now and long-term.
Go with this as much as you can. It's really best for her AND you.
As far as her not getting enough milk...as long as she is wetting 6 or more diapers every 24 hours and gaining weight as she should be she IS getting enough milk.
