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View Poll Results: When did your baby 'sleep through' the night?

Voters
201. This poll is closed
  • 1-4 weeks (1 month)

    15 7.46%
  • 5-8 weeks (2 months)

    38 18.91%
  • 8-11 weeks (3 months)

    52 25.87%
  • 12-15 weeks (4 months)

    19 9.45%
  • 15-18 weeks (5 months)

    16 7.96%
  • 19-22 weeks (6 months)

    5 2.49%
  • Once I introduced food

    7 3.48%
  • Still wakes

    49 24.38%
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When did your baby 'sleep through' the night?

  1. #17
    0ze_Kid's Avatar
    0ze_Kid is offline Registered User
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    barbwong_130 - I think you are right. Those that "follow" are really just using her as a way of introducing a routine. That routine just happens to have a name - GIna Ford.

    I think it would be hard to follow with more than one child. My DD must wake baby from sleep at least once a day which would throw out everything.

    I have nothing against the GF way, I just think letting a newborn cry is just not necessary - they are crying for a reason (and my first is still doing it as 2.4 years!).

    cemily - thanks for reminding me. Older DD has been having trouble sleeping and I think I now know why! New washing detergent in clothes may have triggered her eczema.


  2. #18
    barbwong_130 is offline Registered User
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    My view about advice found in books is that most of it is good but applied to the wrong age group. It is interesting to hear that Gina Ford’s routines were originally for pre-school children. Because I can see that this sort of discipline in a three or four year old child can work well, especially when coupled with the natural love you have for your own children. But it is ludicrous to apply it to a three or four day old baby as she suggests in her book.

    I think one reason for this is because when our children are young nobody has the time or energy to write books, so the authors of child care books tend either not to have children or have grown children. When we look back on bringing children up it is much easier than it was when we were doing it! And unless we are around babies and little children all the time very easy to forget what is appropriate for what age.

    Another interesting thing is that many of the child care books, especially the ones written by men, are pushing for independence at a very young age. Traditionally it is the mother’s role to be the nurturer and the father’s to encourage independence. These books often forget about the nurturing side of parenting because it isn’t that side that comes naturally to the author.

    I would definitely say this was the case in books talking about sleep for babies. In my experience it is years rather than months before children are able to sleep without waking up on a regular basis. In fact, my 17 year old son still wakes during the night – the main difference is that he no longer wakes me up when he wakes.


  3. #19
    bekyboo44 is offline Registered User
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    Reading these posts has been really reassuring for me! My son is six and a half months, b/f and still waking 3-4 hours a night. The most he has ever slept for at night is 5 hrs and he has done that maybe 3 times since he was born!

    We have tried everything to get him to sleep through the night- letting him cry himself to sleep, the no cry sleep solution, giving him cereal, making sure the room is the right temperature, trying not to feed him when he wakes, a strict bedtime routine and strict day naps, grobags. You name it we have done it (except give him formula as some people suggested!).

    I have now just come to accept that this is how he sleeps, for now at least! I am afraid that I also am unable to use Gina Fords method/s- not for me and definetly not for my baby who reacted very badly to attempts to introduce her routine!

    Gina Ford is also currently taking legal action again a website in the UK for letting Mothers discuss her methods- discussion which included both support and rather a lot of criticism for her method/s!

    My son has taught me that each baby is different and finding your own way- that works for baby and you is the most important thing!

    I have found however that the first people ask me after they have asked how old he is, is 'is he sleeping through the night yet?' which puts some pressure on us!

    I also take some comfort in the fact that poor sleeping can be a sign of a gifted child!


  4. #20
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    carang is offline Registered User
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    my older son used to wake every night, like clock work. until he was 2 years old, he'd wake a minimum of once per night.

    we discovered that because we were sitting on a chair in his room as he went to sleep, when he woke in the middle of the night, he'd want the same thing.

    when the new baby arrived, i just couldn't cope. i had tag-team children on a few nights, it was awful. finally, one night, i'd had enough. i just told him straight that i couldn't do it any more. i was going to my bed to sleep. i made sure he had his toy cars that he likes to sleep with, he had his cup of juice, he had a book (just in case) and i covered him with the blanket.

    it took a couple of nights, but he eventually stopped waking up. in the past month, he's only woken up on 2 nights.

    it was 2 years coming, but THANK GOD! he's finally doing it. i just think that he was looking for us so that he could go back to sleep in the same conditions as he had originally. when we stopped sitting by the bed, he stopped waking up at night.

    my baby, on the other hand, has been a fantastic sleeper.... so far...she's 3 months old today and has been sleeping 7-10 hours at night for the past week and a half. i can only hope that she keeps it up!

    good luck everyone, and i hope that YOU get a decent night's sleep in the very near future!


  5. #21
    0ze_Kid's Avatar
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    Sleep

    carang - great news about number 2. Bubbles is still waking up but we are getting there!

    I think that as you have just explained, we can "sleep train" our children without the tears and regiments that some authors describe!

    I remeber doing something similar with Smurf (the older one) when she was one. One night I decided that I could keep getting up and patting her twice a night when she woke so I didn't feed her and just left her in her cot each time she woke explaining that it wasn't morning time. We had a few tears but I think she understood and the next night she didn't wake. We have had to "re-train" every so often but it hasn't been painfull.

    Her most recent training has been to not cry when she wakes up but try and tell us what the matter is so we can fix it and all get back to sleep. We have had two nights of no night crys - let hope it continues!!


  6. #22
    Bumblebzz is offline Registered User
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    Although Gina Fords book worked well for me, I'm not a die hard fan.

    Believe me when I say it took alot of patience & practice of over 8-10 wks to totally have a schedule in place.

    There were many times I wanted to rip the book to shreads !!
    I think I was putting way to much pressure on myself & putting to much stock in every tiny detail of that book.

    As soon as I loosened up the routine a bit things just fell into place (for me anyway). Gina Fords book obviously does'nt work for all babies/parents, and parents should do what they feel is best.

    I also agree that following her routine may be very hard once you have more kids.

    And btw, I've never let my baby cry himself to sleep...I've always made sure to give him reassurance & cuddles if thats what it takes.


  7. #23
    aussiegal is offline Registered User
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    I have a 15 month old who has always slept well, from 7.30 pm to well after 8 most mornings. He started sleeping through the night at about 8 months but these last 6 months have been hard on him as we have done a lot of travel and moved countries so for the most part he's gone back to waking once in the night for a feed. Every now and then he'll go back to sleeping through but then something will happen, like he'll be teething and he'll start to wake again. I don't really mind however. Sure I'd like to see him sleep through the night but I actually really enjoy seeing him at night! We always bring him into our bed for a feed and a quick cuddle and he's so docile and sleepy it's adorable!

    We've got another baby due in a month so it's probably best I didn't get too used to being able to sleep through the night myself!

    As for the Gina Ford books etc. I wouldn't use them myself and agree with someone who said they are more for women who like routines than the babies themselves. I'm also never ever going to let my baby cry unnecessarily. I used to run to my son when I heard him cry and he's never used it against me! Babies that cry are telling you they want something (even if it's just a cuddle) - they are too young to simply be trying to manipulate you. Now that my son is older I let him cry when he is just being silly but am glad I didn't do it when he was a baby. Maybe post 6 months is an age where you can start to leave them a little longer but not before.


  8. #24
    Bumblebzz is offline Registered User
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    Sorry, but what does " more for women who like routines than the babies themselves" mean?

    I hope you would'nt imply that having a infant on a schedule or routine is a self centered thing to do.

    There's nothing strict about what I do...or any hard and fast rules either.

    I loosely applied Gina Fords book to our lifestyle. It just happens to work well for baby & me...if it did'nt I would do things differently as I'd expect others to do.

    My baby is very happy & well adjusted.

    And again ...I NEVER let my son cry himself to sleep...I would'nt do that no matter what book told me too.

    Sorry if I'm coming across defensively, but I think we moms should be supportive of each other no matter what choices we make.

    Whatever works best for baby & mommy I say!

    :crib


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