Do BF Bubs take longer to sleep through?

[MJ]

Hi, In my mothers group most bubs are sleeping through (10 hours at a time) and all but me and another mum bottlefeed their bubs ...

What age did your bub sleep through (and continue to sleep through?)

:sleeping:

[Mell]

DS2 has been sleeping through since he was 9 weeks old (breastfed). DS1 was formula feed and he slept through from about 10 weeks, so for me they were pretty much both the same.

[Oscar's mum]

Ozzy didn't start sleeping through till around 9 months and was breastfed but also we introduced solids at 6 months and he didn't really eat a decent amount of solids till around that age so of course was waking up hungry during the night before that. I dare say had he been formula fed he probably would have been the same.;)

[pookiesossige]

Ronan started sleeping for 12 hours with no feeds from 12 weeks (breastfed).

Ariene is 6.5 months and fully breastfed and feeds anywhere from 1 to 3 times each night. But it's strange... I really like getting up to feed her! :yes:

[MJ]

Hmm I am just confused - DS sleeps anywhere from 8-11 hours one night and then wakes every 3 or 4 hours the next??

Not sure if I should be trying to re-settling him or just feed him?

I am sooo tired and finding it really hard. I don't get much when I express - cause would love for DH to be able to help me during the 'feeding every 3-4 hour' nights and don't really want to switch to formula ... :no:

[Nickster]

DD never has slept through, and probably never will. :o

I think it's really up to the individual baby whether they sleep through, and the choice of feeding doesn't seem to make much difference - I've heard of FF babies who don't sleep through, and also of BF babies who do....

You just can't pick it!

[smidgebump]

DS from a month ago started sleeping from 7pm to 5am without a feed... bliss! We didn't do anything different, he just suddenly stopped waking up, literally overnight. Plus - more sleep. Minus - a bout of mastitis due to poor confused breasts.... :o

Good luck mon! I think its luck of the draw myself. And every now and again he still wakes at 2am and the easiest way to settle him is a feed. Conks him out but good! :sleeping:

[Zada]

DD has never slept through shes 2.5yrs. DS is 9 weeks and has been sleeping through for the past 2 weeks. both formula fed

[YogiBear]

My BF DD has always gone from 630pm to about 6-730am waking once at about 3-4am (Sometimes 5). Does this count as sleeping through?? if so she has done this since 2 months. otherwise I am still waiting.:)

[Baby Girl]

DD1 slept 8 hours a night (10-6) from 8 weeks and was exclusively bf until 5 months.

DD2 was bf for 6 weeks and onto formula after that and didn't sleep through until about 4 months but not really regluarly until closer to 6 months.

Depends on your bub, your milk, your routine, all sorts of things....

[*Chels*]

Well Riley went through a stage where he slept 7pm-2/3am,had a feed and went back to sleep til 6am.
Gone are those days LOL
Hes getting a bit better now-only waking once a night
All I can say is thank god for co-sleeping and boobies!!
If he wakes,I roll over-he has boob and we both go back to sleep-half the time I dont even know if hes woken or not LOL

[Rainbowbrite]

I'm still waiting though we have stretched the night feed till 5am. Apparently its not a bf bub thing, just up to the individual bub.

[the_queen]

All I can say is thank god for co-sleeping and boobies!!

Amen to that!!

My boy doesn't sleep through, I don't think. We've gotten to a point where I barely wake up when he needs a feed, I just kinda lift the tshirt, and go back to sleep, he does the rest! :D

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

Dd was breastfed till 4 months and would not sleep through then i put her on formula at 4 months and she slept right thru most night.With ds he has slept right through since birth and he is still bf no formula.

[M O P]

I haven't voted as Hugh was 6 weeks old when he started sleeping through 8pm-6 or 7am (not sure if to vote 1 month or 2 months)
He's only ever been breastfed and started missing the 2-3am night feed at 3 weeks.

[DellaWellaWoman]

Given the definition of "sleeping through" is 5 hours, DD has been sleeping through since about 7-ish weeks - I put down 2 months as that's close enough.

I really think it's more to do with the individual baby's personality, etc than with the method of feeding - some just seem to like sleep and others seem to think night time's a great time to party!

[meme]

definately an individual baby thing, all 3 of mine have been bf and they have all been diferent, dd2 was a great sleeper, dd3 still hasn't slept through the night more than 3 times,
although it does depend on what you mean by sleeps through, i think that it's hard to define, as i know some people who say they are sleeping through are still getting up to put back dummies, or being woken by a baby who is 'self settling' or something.

if you are really tired how would you feel about catching up on some zzzz's during the day when bub naps, or letting your dp take bubs in between feeds and use other settling techniques (rather than a bottle of ebm,) so you can rest, or try feeding lying down, either in your bed, or on a spare matress that you can use instead of a feeding chair.

[Shanaynay]

Both my breasfed bubs slept thru from an early age.

I also know some bottle bubs who didn't sleep thru till about 18 months..... so I think it's just the luck of the draw!

[pegasus]

I voted on my DD which I put at one month (was about 3weeks). I also agree it's to do with the individual bub, not the bf -vs- ff as my DS was also fully bf and didn't sleep through till he was 18months.

[karcarcor]

I agree that it's the individual child, DD1 was 2 and a half before she slept through the night, DD2 was 10 weeks(she had bad colic so we took her to a chiro at 5 weeks and after 5 sessions the colic was gone and she's been a really good sleeper ever since!!): DS1 has slept through since about 6 weeks and we're still waiting for DS2 to sleep through.
All of them we're breastfed until around 12 months.

I no longer feed DS2 through the night, He has his last feed around 7:30pm then when he wakes either DH or I go in and pat him back off to sleep - have been doing this for about 3 weeks now, and he doesn't seem to want a drink. Although when it is really hot and he's very upset Iwill offer him a sipper cup with water and he has no problem taking that.
Good luck

[subaruforestermum]

Jaxon really slept through from birth, there were nights when he didnt, so I would say about 6 weeks, when we got into our own little routine (and I was starting to be able to walk properly)......His last feed would be at 7.30pm, and he would wake up at 7.30am - 8am.........

He was B/F until 6 weeks then had to have alternating feeds of B/M and formula

It wasnt until 12months that I then started having problems again......

[jasbelindalani]

Okay, a couple of opinons I shall post :D

First of all a couple of the other mums have mentioned that sleeping through means five hours, the funny thing about this is that if that five hours is from 7pm - 12pm and you are a night owl like me, then bub wakes up just when you are ready for bed!

Secondly if you breasfeed with bub in bed with you, then sometimes you will wake up with a baby attached to you and think "How did that get there?!" but if you breastfeed but don't co-sleep then you probably notice the times when bub feeds a lot more.

Having said all this the first week Gulliver came home he slept for SIX hours and I freaked out so I woke him up and he has never dared do that again (DOH!)

Good luck mummys!

Bel

[javalava]

Jord was breastfed and never slept through completely till he was about 3!!! :eek:

Ava has slept through from about 1 month of age. She was at that point breastfed but is now bottle fed and slept even more when the bottle was introduced.

[Pixie]

To tired to check, but the ABA say that a BF baby is considered sleeping through if they sleep 4-6 hour blocks as BM is quicker to digest. my DD was sleeping 8.30-2 wake for 10 min speed feed so 2-20-7 and awake now well she's teething and who knows what is going on lol

[Alisonp]

I think it is hard to generalize about these things. There are so many variables to consider...these are a few I have thought of..

1. Some mother's store a lot more milk in their breasts and therefore their babies may feed less often and take a much bigger feed than others - a big feed might last them a lot longer than if the mom doesn't store a lot of milk (and needs to give smaller more frequent feeds).

2. Some mum's breastmilk is a lot different in calories than others, even in the same volume of milk the feed would be more filling IYKWIM.

3. Some babies are more "wakeful" than others and naturally wake up much easier as they go through to the next sleep cycle.

4. Even little things can have an effect like whether your baby goes back to sleep while feeding or if they are still awake when they go back to bed.

5. Some babies are much more physically active than others and use up a lot more energy just being a little baby so they might need to be fed more often.

My SIL is a perfect example. Her DS slept through the night from a few weeks old but her DD has only just started sleeping through and she is just over 2 years old. Both babies were breastfed so I have no idea why that would happen?

[~Emmylou~]

I consider "sleeping through the night" to mean that I don't have to wake up again after I go to bed until early the next morning :p

Toby is breastfed and currently has a six hour solid block of sleep from 7pm until 1am. I don't consider this sleeping through - because I have to get up to him at 1, and then again usually at about 4 or 5. So no, he isn't sleeping through.

Emily was breastfed at the time she started sleeping through which was about 8 weeks old. She was sleeping from about 11pm to 5am. Since I would stay up to do the 11pm feed, then go to bed, and not have to get up again until the sun was up at 5 - that's sleeping through to me. :o

[Briannabear]

My DD was sleeping through from 9 weeks.
My DS is 5 weeks old and is sleeping from 10:30pm until 4:30am now.

[MummyCharmzy]

Zach was bottlefed EBM from birth - 5 months, he started sleeping through after 6 weeks at home when he was 12 weeks old.

Isobella was bottlefed EBM until 14 weeks and she started sleeping through at 12 weeks

Savannah was bottlefed EBM until 9 weeks and didn't sleep through until 14 weeks

[Bubble*Crazy]

Both mine 'slept thru' from about 8 weeks consistently. I BF DD till about 9 weeks, but then changed to formula and I FF DS from 5 days. I think I'm just blessed with good sleepers as I know FF bubs that still don't sleep thru the night.

*** Similar to what Pixie said, 'sleeping through' is considered around 5 hours blocks

... but mine slept for 10-12 hour blocks during the night.

[kadownie]

Well, my twins are bf- they are 2 now- and we have experienced lots of sleep variations.

They were both sleeping through by about 8-10 weeks- thought I was super Mum until they started waking again at about 6 months.

I'm not into controlled crying- and it was too much hassle to do anything other than get up and feed. There's only one thing worse than a crying baby in the middle of the night, and that's two crying babies.

When they could understand me- I explained to them that there was no more booby in the night- took about a week of cuddles and tears but my DD got the hint and is a fairly reliable sleeper now. I think she started sleeping all night again from about 18 months

My DS however still hasn't gotten the message- and I can't be bothered doing anything other than feeding.

To me I think there is so much emphasis put on babies and night sleeping that it puts too much pressure on Mums- I know people used to make me feel that I was doing something wrong as my bubs weren't sleeping through. During this period I did a lot of research on babies, sleep etc- and I discovered that it's only our western culture that expects bubs to sleep through all night. So, I realised that it's a normal thing- and bubs have needs at night- I know my DH doesn't like to sleep alone so why should I expect my bubby too?? anyway- that's my rant over.

So despite the fact that I still wake to my 2 year old bub- I know that I am blessed- regardless of his sleep habits!

[MJ]

That is such a positive response and you are so right. I need to stop worrying and enjoy and be thankful for the fact that I have a beautiful and healthy son ... and realistically he wont be waking every night for the rest of his life so I should just take each day as it comes ... Thank you!

[Duchessa]

Kylie - your post is so wise :)

I also believe that the sleeping through the night measure of success is a total furphy. My twins were very slow to sleep through the night, but I always figured that if they needed the nutrition or comfort I would rather they woke me for it then train them to not to ask for it.

They are happy healthy lil girls now and sleep through most nights but I'm always happy to get up to them when they don't.