How to get bubs to sleep!

**bubontheway1** · 02-01-2011 22:34

Hey ds is 6 months now and is in a bad habbit of needing to be patted to sleep.
He usually falls asleep from around 9-3, has a feed and goes back to sleep. Wakes around 2-3 times a night and is awake at 6-7.

I hear 6 month olds are capable of sleeping from11-6 without a feed.

Any advice on how to get bubs to sleep for at least 8 hours would be great thanks!

**missymoo9** · 02-01-2011 22:52

i know it sounds strange but ds2 started sleeping through the night after we started putting him to bed about 7.30-8 whereas before he'd go down at 10-11 wake at 2 again at 4 then at 6

**Pawzette** · 02-01-2011 23:04

I am the horrible mother that let her cry herself.. I kept the monitor on every time to make sure she wasn't screaming hysterically or yelling and she just moaned for a bit each time she woke up.. so finally I decided I wasn't going to give her a feed... after about 3 nights of this she now sleeps through.. She doesn't wake up at all and I still have the monitor on to tell... If she SCREAMED then I might go in there and pat her back to sleep but I tried to avoid the bottle.. she has her last one at aobut 8 and is up at 6:30 ish and has a bit 220ml bottle and goes back to sleep till about 8:30 ish.

**Bubbles10** · 03-01-2011 00:18

Some babies don't need feeds over night but some do. 6 months is still pretty little, i would keep feeding if he is still waking.

**trishalishous** · 03-01-2011 00:56

Originally Posted by Bubbles10

Some babies don't need feeds over night but some do. 6 months is still pretty little, i would keep feeding if he is still waking.

I agree with bubbles.
personally I'm happy to pat DD to sleep if needed, I'd rather sleep time be a happy cuddling time than a sad crying alone time.

**Misschief** · 03-01-2011 07:26

Originally Posted by bubontheway1

I hear 6 month olds are capable of sleeping from11-6 without a feed.

Some are and some aren't. Especially breastfed bubs tend to wake up more often at night, as breastmilk takes just 2 hours to fully be digested and formula takes 4-6 hours.

DS wont go to sleep without being patted either and he's 12 months.
Eventually he will learn to selfsettle this way. Well, thats what Im hoping for anyway lol!

**bubontheway1** · 11-01-2011 10:12

ok so ive been timing how long hes been awake. Usually when hes been up about 3 hours i make him some food,, then follow it with a bath, a massage, then a bottle and usually all this takes about an hour.

it took about 4-5 days but then he slept 6 hours, woke up for 1 hour then slept for four! And since then ds hasn't been waking every 2 hours

now he sleeps usually anywhere from 4-6 hours, then wakes for a feed, then back to sleep.

**Misschief** · 12-01-2011 08:56

Sounds like you've got a good thing going now! Well done!

**share a book** · 12-01-2011 10:30

Some bubs need more feeds than others, some bubs don't sleep as much as others, just like all adults don't sleep and eat the same amount as one another each and every day. No 2 adults are alike in those things, and no 2 babies are alike with them either. Good luck with bub, but patting to sleep isn't terrible either, daycare centres still pat the preschool kids to sleep through the day and some of them are 5 years old.