Sleeping Advice

RachaelM24 · May 2013

So my LO is just over 7 weeks and has been sleeping 5-6 hours a night. The last two nights I am lucky to get her to sleep 3-4 hours a night. I am not complaining AT ALL about this, but just wondering why she's regressing in sleep and not progressing.

Did this happen to any of your LO's and is it normal, is it a transition period, or is there something wrong. If this has happened with you, did you LO eventually go back to lengthy sleep or no? How did you handle it?

Kari Merks · May 2013

It's totally normal especially as they go through growth spurts and work on developmental milestones. And like PP mentioned teething definitely changes their temperament and sleep schedule. I'm in the CIO camp and started CIO around 4-5 months with my two oldest kids. That said, there were still times when they'd wake and cry because they were hungry. I generally knew when they were going through a growth spurt and when they were just fussing.

And no matter what you decide to do, CIO or not, every baby is different. My oldest STTN at 3 months old and my middle DD didn't STTN until she was 10 months old.

RachaelM24 · May 2013

Thank you both.

I am in the CIO club and I started at 6 weeks. It was hard at first but shes sleeping in her bed and can not put herself asleep without much crying. I am nervous though to let her CIO in the MOTN feeding because I think she really is hungry. Last night, I picked her up and tried to use the paci to hold her off but she just screamed so I went ahead and fed her. Was just wondering I guess how long she was going to need the MOTN feeding. I heard and read from people on here they should sleep through the night around 8-10 weeks.

ShadyKull · May 2013

RachaelM24:
Thank you both.
I am in the CIO club and I started at 6 weeks. It was hard at first but shes sleeping in her bed and can not put herself asleep without much crying. I am nervous though to let her CIO in the MOTN feeding because I think she really is hungry. Last night, I picked her up and tried to use the paci to hold her off but she just screamed so I went ahead and fed her. Was just wondering I guess how long she was going to need the MOTN feeding. I heard and read from people on here they should sleep through the night around 8-10 weeks.

6 weeks is very early to be letting her cry it out!. Babies are not able to self soothe that early. I think it is not advised to let them CIO until at least 4 months. She is definitely hungry in the MOTN, feed her! And no, I don't think you can expect most babies to STTN at 8-10 weeks. Some babies will, but most will not until closer to 3 or 4 months (or later).

RachaelM24 · May 2013

ShadyKull:
RachaelM24:
Thank you both.
I am in the CIO club and I started at 6 weeks. It was hard at first but shes sleeping in her bed and can not put herself asleep without much crying. I am nervous though to let her CIO in the MOTN feeding because I think she really is hungry. Last night, I picked her up and tried to use the paci to hold her off but she just screamed so I went ahead and fed her. Was just wondering I guess how long she was going to need the MOTN feeding. I heard and read from people on here they should sleep through the night around 8-10 weeks.
6 weeks is very early to be letting her cry it out!. Babies are not able to self soothe that early. I think it is not advised to let them CIO until at least 4 months. She is definitely hungry in the MOTN, feed her! And no, I don't think you can expect most babies to STTN at 8-10 weeks. Some babies will, but most will not until closer to 3 or 4 months (or later).

Yes, I understand, but we asked our PEDI about it and she said if she responds well to it at this young then its fine. If not, try again when she's a little older. So we tried it for a couple days and after 10-12 minutes of crying she self soothed herself and now she doesn't cry at all when going to her crib and just looks around, then falls asleep. So it works for us.

KMac570 · May 2013

ShadyKull:
RachaelM24:
Thank you both.
I am in the CIO club and I started at 6 weeks. It was hard at first but shes sleeping in her bed and can not put herself asleep without much crying. I am nervous though to let her CIO in the MOTN feeding because I think she really is hungry. Last night, I picked her up and tried to use the paci to hold her off but she just screamed so I went ahead and fed her. Was just wondering I guess how long she was going to need the MOTN feeding. I heard and read from people on here they should sleep through the night around 8-10 weeks.
6 weeks is very early to be letting her cry it out!. Babies are not able to self soothe that early. I think it is not advised to let them CIO until at least 4 months. She is definitely hungry in the MOTN, feed her! And no, I don't think you can expect most babies to STTN at 8-10 weeks. Some babies will, but most will not until closer to 3 or 4 months (or later).

This for sure!

honeydew01 · May 2013

4 months is absolutely the earliest time for CIO. Before that they are just developmentally not ready. Feed her, she is hungry and also she doesn't know how to self sooth yet. If your ped said to CIO before 4 months, I'd change doctors.

mben1119 · May 2013

RachaelM24:
ShadyKull:
RachaelM24:
Thank you both.
I am in the CIO club and I started at 6 weeks. It was hard at first but shes sleeping in her bed and can not put herself asleep without much crying. I am nervous though to let her CIO in the MOTN feeding because I think she really is hungry. Last night, I picked her up and tried to use the paci to hold her off but she just screamed so I went ahead and fed her. Was just wondering I guess how long she was going to need the MOTN feeding. I heard and read from people on here they should sleep through the night around 8-10 weeks.
6 weeks is very early to be letting her cry it out!. Babies are not able to self soothe that early. I think it is not advised to let them CIO until at least 4 months. She is definitely hungry in the MOTN, feed her! And no, I don't think you can expect most babies to STTN at 8-10 weeks. Some babies will, but most will not until closer to 3 or 4 months (or later).
Yes, I understand, but we asked our PEDI about it and she said if she responds well to it at this young then its fine. If not, try again when she's a little older. So we tried it for a couple days and after 10-12 minutes of crying she self soothed herself and now she doesn't cry at all when going to her crib and just looks around, then falls asleep. So it works for us.

You need a new pediatrician. Any doctor that would recommend leaving a 6 week old newborn to cry is terrible.

Angela814 · May 2013

mabenner1:
RachaelM24:
ShadyKull:
RachaelM24:
Thank you both. 
I am in the CIO club and I started at 6 weeks. It was hard at first but shes sleeping in her bed and can not put herself asleep without much crying. I am nervous though to let her CIO in the MOTN feeding because I think she really is hungry. Last night, I picked her up and tried to use the paci to hold her off but she just screamed so I went ahead and fed her. Was just wondering I guess how long she was going to need the MOTN feeding. I heard and read from people on here they should sleep through the night around 8-10 weeks. 
6 weeks is very early to be letting her cry it out!. Babies are not able to self soothe that early. I think it is not advised to let them CIO until at least 4 months. She is definitely hungry in the MOTN, feed her! And no, I don't think you can expect most babies to STTN at 8-10 weeks. Some babies will, but most will not until closer to 3 or 4 months (or later).
Yes, I understand, but we asked our PEDI about it and she said if she responds well to it at this young then its fine. If not, try again when she's a little older. So we tried it for a couple days and after 10-12 minutes of crying she self soothed herself and now she doesn't cry at all when going to her crib and just looks around, then falls asleep. So it works for us.  
You need a new pediatrician. Any doctor that would recommend leaving a 6 week old newborn to cry is terrible.

Agree. Your pedi gave you awful advice. A 6 week old can't self soothe, and even CIO advocates don't recommend it until 4 months at the earliest.

Babies go through many growth spurts the first year, and especially as newborns are actually hungry at night. Please feed your baby and stop letting her cry.

SkyBee · May 2013

RachaelM24:
ShadyKull:
RachaelM24:
Thank you both.
I am in the CIO club and I started at 6 weeks. It was hard at first but shes sleeping in her bed and can not put herself asleep without much crying. I am nervous though to let her CIO in the MOTN feeding because I think she really is hungry. Last night, I picked her up and tried to use the paci to hold her off but she just screamed so I went ahead and fed her. Was just wondering I guess how long she was going to need the MOTN feeding. I heard and read from people on here they should sleep through the night around 8-10 weeks.
6 weeks is very early to be letting her cry it out!. Babies are not able to self soothe that early. I think it is not advised to let them CIO until at least 4 months. She is definitely hungry in the MOTN, feed her! And no, I don't think you can expect most babies to STTN at 8-10 weeks. Some babies will, but most will not until closer to 3 or 4 months (or later).

Yes, I understand, but we asked our PEDI about it and she said if she responds well to it at this young then its fine. If not, try again when she's a little older. So we tried it for a couple days and after 10-12 minutes of crying she self soothed herself and now she doesn't cry at all when going to her crib and just looks around, then falls asleep. So it works for us.

I would never force my 6 week old boys to go hungry throughout the night. Sounds really selfish to me, it doesn't take that long to feed a baby and put them back to bed.

ETA: Also,if they are hungry and I don't attend to their NEEDS, I worry they will lose trust that I will take care of them.I

Linzr0723 · May 2013

All this talk about letting a 6 week old CIO or not be fed in the MOTN is making me cringe!!!! My 10.5 week old wakes up at least one time to be fed still! Sometimes it's at 4am after going to bed at 8, which you have to agree is great amount of sleep, but they get hungry...STTN and dropping the MOTN feeding will come don't try and rush it!

RachaelM24 · May 2013

The funny part is- I am assuming none of you are pediatricians yet your giving me advice about CIO. I didn't ask about that in my post and I really don't need your advice on how to raise my child. What I do is my business and I would never criticize anyone else's parenting. I was simply asking about the regression in sleep. That's it.

VPGIRL06 · May 2013

In regards to progression/regression: baby sleep is a series of progressions (starting to sleep longer due to being able to drop the MOTN feedings due to weight gain and maturing of the nervous system) and regressions (do to developmental/physical progressions, illness, teething, etc). At 7 weeks, your babies sleep will be a whirlwind. I personally think 6-8 weeks is particularly difficult for babies because they are hit with a big physical, and then big mental development. This is what I think causes the "peak" in baby fussiness, since they are also becoming more aware. My LO is all over the place sometimes, but at 9 weeks she is starting to calm down.

In reregards to CIO: For the record, i do let me LO "fuss" it out. Sometimes during naps for example, when she's moving sleep cycles, she'll fuss. Even let out a yell. Then she moves herself back into her next stage of deep sleep. During bed time, i'll put her down, and sometimes she'll fuss as she puts herself back down.

However, if i ever hear my 9 week old cry out in the night, i get her. no questions asked. She's crying for a reason, wether it's food or even just comfort. there is time to sleep train when they are not only old enough to go without MOTN feedings, but also old enough to self sooth. Anytime before 16 weeks they are simply not old enough! I think you need to talk to your pediatrician, especially since you seemed to be confused as the difference between a baby simply fussing, and a baby crying to let you know they are hungry. They may assume you would know that a baby that young needs to eat in the middle of the night....

Angela814 · May 2013

RachaelM24:
The funny part is I am assuming none of you are pediatricians yet your giving me advice about CIO. I didn't ask about that in my post and I really don't need your advice on how to raise my child. What I do is my business and I would never criticize anyone else's parenting. I was simply asking about the regression in sleep. That's it.nbsp;

You don't have to be a pedi to know that letting a newborn baby CIO isn't right. This isn't about criticizing parenting. It's about letting someone know they are doing something that is potentially dangerous to their child.

Here's some info from actual doctors. The links probably won't work from mobile unless someone wants to fix them for me...

"With neuroscience, we can confirm what our ancestors took for grantedthat letting babies get distressed is a practice that can damage children and their relational capacities in many ways for the long term. We know now that leaving babies to cry is a good way to make a less intelligent, less healthy but more anxious, uncooperative and alienated person who can pass the same or worse traits on to the next generation. "

https://m.psychologytoday.com/blog/morallandscapes/201112/dangerscryingitout

"Experts warn that allowing a baby to "cry it out" causes extreme distress to the baby. And such extreme distress in a newborn has been found to block the full development of certain areas of the brain and causes the brain to produce extra amounts of cortisol, which can be harmful."

https://www.drmomma.org/2009/12/cryingitoutcausesbraindamage.html?m=1

brandi6102 · May 2013

It seems like everyone is jumping to conclusions and possibly being mean for no reason! Rachael said she did feed her baby in the MOTN and asked how long she should expect to have to do this. That's not a bad question. That to me says she does plan to feed her baby when they are hungry! I also sometimes try the paci, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. There's no harm in trying! If a baby is hungry, they will let you know.
Rachael, the regression is normal and may keep changing. All babies are different with their sleeping habits. Hopefully yours will stay sleeping through the night every night soon! Hopefully mine will too ;D

Ninapmom · May 2013

"The most powerful influence on an infant's brain, growth, however, is attachment, the process by which infants bond emotionally with caregivers... The resulting bond literally protects the human brain from stress... When babies experience stress, levels of hormones called cortisol are elevated in the body. Cortisol threatens brain development by reducing the number of synapses and leaving neurons vulnerable to damage... With CIO infants under great stress are more likely to suffer anxiety, impulsivity, hyperactivity, and poor control of emotions later in life after infancy." parts taken from the college psychology textbook: Early Childhood Development by Jeffery TrawickSmith

Ninapmom · May 2013

Hello mama, be strong and continue to love on your baby, changes like these happen and although they are exhausting it is completely normal. Some people talk about CIO cry it out but I want you to know that CIO is dangerous and a baby cries for a need only, they do not have the brain development to understand how to manipulate you. When a baby cries the mother should respond, always! And the response should be a loving response, not ignoring the baby. CIO is dangerous!!! There are many many many studies that prove this to be true, from my childhood psychology classes in college I have learned through scientific research that it is damaging to a babies brain to let him/her cry it out. Crying is the universal way that babies communicate needs, babies only cry for a need, it could be hunger, soild diaper, or just the need for human interaction. when you do not respond to a babies cry quickly, you are ignoring a need and therefore neglecting your baby. The outdated belief that responding too often to babies cry will spoil them has been refuted by research in a classic study be Bell and Ainsworth. Responding quickly to the child will help them trust and therefore create an independent well rounded child... What you are doing is damaging to your child.. Please pick him/her up respond to the need even if it is just a need for cuddles, a baby should Never be denied attention!!

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