My 3mo is STTN....Seriously?

[AFWife]

I know someone just needs to tell me to count my blessings. DS1 wasn't/isn't a sleeper. He's almost 2 and STILL fights sleep to the bitter end. DS2 will be 3mo next week and the past couple of nights he's slept 7-8 hours before waking up. (The first two it was 7 and *I* woke him...last night I slept too hard and HE woke me) What we've been doing it putting him in the baby swing for the first part of the night (So DH and I can get up and have alone time) and then I bring him into bed with me when he wakes up. Usually that's 3-4 hours after I put him down. (FTR, we tried the swing with DS1 and he would still only sleep an hour or so at a time)

Is this okay? Do I need to set alarms and wake him up every few hours? He nurses all day long and he's huge (I think over 15lbs...I can wear him comfortably in my Ergo and recently had to start putting him in 3-6mo clothing...some 6mo outfits) so he's growing fine. He wakes up fine too, it's not like I have to fight him awake. He perks up, smiles and coos a bit, nurses a ton, and goes back to sleep. Repeat about an hour later.

I'm also concerned about my supply...will this hurt it?

Any advice is welcome. I'm so lost! lol

[MeepyCat]

He's three months old, he's gained back his birthweight and then some (I assume), he seems happy...  He's fine.  No need to set alarms or wake him.

Also, wait a few weeks.  There's a four month sleep regression. 

[tabrizia]

He is fine.  Both my DS and DD were sleeping through the night at 3 months, it was nice, until 6 months when they both stopped and didn't start sleeping through the night again until after they were 15 months.  I'd just go with enjoying it while it lasts, as long as he is gaining weight.

[Knitting Mama]

Enjoy it while you can, mama! Lots of babies start STTN at 3ish months old, but then the 4 month regression hits, and they're back to square one. So love it while you have it!

[macy]

i agree with "enjoy it while it lasts". my LO slept through the night at 3 months and then woke like a newborn again for all of the 4th month. we're getting back on track now but i'm guessing teething or the 6 month growth spurt will screw things up again soon. :)

[Greenlea]

Okay, I did not know about the 4mth sleep regression.  My son is 4.5 mths old and the lack of sleep is killing me!  How long does this 4mth sleep regression thing last LOL!!

[nextcommercial]

My daughter slept through the night from birth.  So, I had no idea there was an issue with it.  She was a big baby anyway, so I don't think she had a food need, and I didn't have any issues with breast feeding.  

She's been a huge sleeper her whole life.  She's grown now, but still sleeps (imo) too much.  

[macy]

Originally Posted by Greenlea 

Okay, I did not know about the 4mth sleep regression.  My son is 4.5 mths old and the lack of sleep is killing me!  How long does this 4mth sleep regression thing last LOL!!

here's what i've experienced:

birth to 1 month: wake every 2 hours

1-2 month: wake ever 4 hours (maximum, usually just the first stretch of night, then every 2)

2-3 month: wake after 6 hours max for first stretch of night

3-4 month: wake after 9 hours max

4-5 month: wake every 1-2 hours!

now at 5 months : wake every 3-4 hours, max

[Amanda_Reyasmom]

My girlie is 6mo and slept 6 hours the first night we came home.  She's been sttn since.  :) Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!

[Catubodua]

hopefully you won't have our problem - our son was a wonderful sleeper until he was about 6 months old.  and now at almost 14 months he still wakes up several times a night.  last night he went to bed at 9:30, was up at 11:30, 1:45 and 4:30.  enjoy your sleep.  i daydream about my life before baby when i could sleep for more than 3 hours at a time.

[Monarchgrrl]

Enjoy it! I do! My DD started STTN at 6 weeks a couple times a week. I was so scared the first night and thought something happened. We thought it was a total fluke and then at 8 weeks she started STTN every night, consistently. She's now turning 5 months next week and still STTN. They say that STTN is 5 hours of straight sleep. For us, I'm talking 7:30pm to 7am! Almost 12 hours every night! :) She occasionally has a rough night where she wants to play at 3am, but it's rare. Every night we go to bed thinking that she won't STTN just so we're not surprised if she doesn't. LOL! We're expecting it to change every night!

[LittleBirdy]

Mine was sleeping those 7-8 hour stretches at that age too, I would definitely NOT wake him up!  And I will pray that this continues for you but we have never fully recovered from the 4 month regression (8 months old yesterday!).  I am hopefully for longer stretches at 11 months or so... we'll see!

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

Originally Posted by Greenlea 

Okay, I did not know about the 4mth sleep regression.  My son is 4.5 mths old and the lack of sleep is killing me!  How long does this 4mth sleep regression thing last LOL!!

Depends on what you do to get through it. With my DD she STTN at 10 weeks until around 5 months; we gave up on the crib and started sleeping with her, and she didn't sleep through until I night-weaned her. At 2.5. But I'm a good sleeper so it didn't bother me overly. OTOH, I think if you power through and don't change the routine too much, they eventually settle down again. Here's a link to a great discussion about it: http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/4mo-sleep.html

[MPsSweetie]

Abbott has been sleeping really good lately also, lol.  I NEVER expect it, but its a nice surprise to wake up after 4-6-7 hours.  Last night was 7 hours, but it was the first time, and my bday is today, so I think he was just giving me a break for one night, lol.  My others never slept thru the night so early. 

[bananabee]

My DD is 10 mos old now, and has pretty much STTN since birth, with just maybe one night each month that was off until 7 months and none after that. It is possible. We co-sleep, too, and I get up once in the night to pee. Usually I switch DD to my other side, and go back to sleep. Sometimes she latches on right then, and other times she doesn't until morning. She hit 15 lbs around 7 or 8 mos. I would say as long as baby is happy and healthy, don't mess with it! Personally, I find I can't sleep when I'm hungry. Now I'm thinking about transitioning DD to her crib at 1 yr, but I worry that will end our STTN streak.

[Greenlea]

Originally Posted by Perdita_in_Ontario 

Depends on what you do to get through it. With my DD she STTN at 10 weeks until around 5 months; we gave up on the crib and started sleeping with her, and she didn't sleep through until I night-weaned her. At 2.5. But I'm a good sleeper so it didn't bother me overly. OTOH, I think if you power through and don't change the routine too much, they eventually settle down again. Here's a link to a great discussion about it: http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/4mo-sleep.html

Yeah I haven't really changed much, mainly cuz he is still nursing when he gets up, and I surely do not want to night wean him yet and so I'm putting up with being a pacifier for now.  The problem is though that he doesn't want to eat laying down any more, as we co-sleep.  Where as before I could sleep through it, now I actually sit up to feed him.  The good part has been though, that after nursing him, I now just put him in his cradle and he's been sleeping for longer bouts of time.  Maybe he's just not into co-sleeping anymore.

[ar2974]

You could just be really lucky.  I've had two great sleepers.  My first slept all night but would roll over to nurse around 4 am from the time she was about 3 months old.  My almost 5 month old has wanted to sleep 10-13 hours since he was about a month old.  I've often had to feed him in his sleep because I fear that I will explode.  He now absolutely refuses to eat before about 9 in the morning (sometimes I have to wake him up to bring his sister to school and the minute I put him in his sling he goes right back to sleep for another few hours).  Apart from a couple of times as infants neither of mine have ever wanted to be awake in the middle of the night.