Please don't stone me (infant sleep)

[rightkindofme]

So uhm... is it a problem for a six week old to sleep in really super long stretches? So our daughter is starting to sleep for 8+ hours in a row at night. Last night she slept for nearly eleven hours straight. She transferred multiple times in that stretch without waking up including getting her jammies put on. She just didn't care. That nearly eleven hour stretch was without nursing or a diaper change.

When she is awake she is very active and happy. She's growing like a weed and I have super abundant milk. When she nurses she is getting tons of milk. I'm tandem nursing and occasionally pumping and no really... there's a lot of milk. She already has really good head control and if you put her down on her belly she scootches across the floor. I'm not seeing signs of ill health... her sleeping just seems outside the range of normal.

Please don't stone me.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

It might effect your milk supply. Thats the only "problem" i can see.

I might also warn you to NOT get used to it.

My Mattew, who still tortures us occassioanly, started out at 5 weeks sleepign 5 hour stretches. That lasted about a week and then the torutre began.

Otherwise, I say enjoy it while it lasts.

[rightkindofme]

I have a nursing toddler to help with the milk supply.

[ErinYay]

We lucked out with DD being that kind of sleeper than young, too. With the exception of 4, 6, and 9-month sleep regressions, she's been an excellent sleeper overall.

(My supply, unfortunately, didn't take a hit because of it- I had wiiiicked oversupply and over-active letdown until she was 8 months old!)

[dakotablue]

DS did this too. Totally normal. I think I just had rich milk as he grew really really fast. One nurse looked at us cross eyed and asked how much we were feeding him. I said I don't know she left us alone after realizing he was BF

[Knitting Mama]

I'm in the "enjoy it while it lasts" boat. Cecilia slept like a champ as a small baby, with some nighttime nursing but since we bedshare neither of us woke up from it. Notice the past tense, "slept," there. These days, at 6 months old, I am lucky if I get a 5 hour stretch. I miss full nights of sleep.

[loveneverfails]

STONE HER!!!!



Yep, enjoy it while it's there. I've had two kids who slept the night from birth (we're talking 8 hour stretches or longer) and they had no ill effects from that. Just know that it might end and you'll be up then, so get the sleep while you can!

[mamazee]

My younger one has always slept like that. I love it! The only problem is that my period came back right away due to the long stretch without nursing, but really for me that's a good thing because my hormones being back to normal keeps me sane. No milk supply issues for me but keep an eye on that.

edited to add that she's 20 months now and has always slept very well like that, except in teh case of the most severe teething pain. She hasn't had any illnesses yet but i suppose if she got sick that would probably keep her up too.

[GoBecGo]

My newborn DD2 did this. NOw at 4 months she's having a regression to 6-hour stretches, but that's still pretty great compared to the 2 hours my eldest gave me!

[carmen358]

My friend's DD is 11 months now and has slept 12 hours since 3 weeks. She is a healthy, happy little baby I think it is possible.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Originally Posted by GoBecGo

My newborn DD2 did this. NOw at 4 months she's having a regression to 6-hour stretches, but that's still pretty great compared to the 2 hours my eldest gave me!

Im sorry, but that made me snicker. Good thing this isnt the sleep forum. "regressing to 6 hours" might warrant a stoning. just kidding.

[SilverFish]

Originally Posted by Barbie64g

Im sorry, but that made me snicker. Good thing this isnt the sleep forum. "regressing to 6 hours" might warrant a stoning. just kidding.

hahah, seriously! i have what i consider to be a stellar sleeper (8 hour stretches at about 8 weeks onwards) but our regressions are REAL regressions. the 6 month one was killer and lasted until last week!

[eclipse]

My DD slept 5ish hour stretches (at night!)from birth, and then only woke for a quick feed and/or a poopy diaper change. By 3 weeks she had 8 hour stretches and by 6 weeks, 10-12 hour stretches. She was always a great sleeper, barring illness or teething (and, even then, she slept more like a normal baby than like a sick/teething baby). She also didn't like to be parented to sleep - she was the mythical "lay them down when they're drowsy" baby. It would have been awesome, but I had a toddler who wanted to nurse all night and couldn't fall asleep without me. I just couldn't win . She also slept a lot during the day, went long stretches between feedings, and gained weight like mad, and was totally healthy. She was slow on a lot of gross motor milestones (like rolling over, sitting up, walking and crawling), and I really do attribute that to all the time she spent sleeping in her first 6 months (I have friends who I saw several times a week who didn't see her with her eyes open until she was 4 months old ), but she was otherwise normal and healthy.

[texmati]

I've posted on here that my sister was like that. And she's *still* like that! she's 25 and can sleep like a rock. I wish I could sleep like her.

[JudiAU]

Ha, enjoy it now. DS slept for eleven hours straight until I went back to work at four months. And then the next day and three years not so much!