Posted on 02/12/2009 11:00:07 AM PST by Marie
I have a friend with a 2 week old newborn who's starting to loose it. Hubby is in Iraq and the baby is waking up every two hours all night long.
I know there are strategies to help babies, even as little as this one, to start sleeping for 4 or 6 hours at night, but I don't know what they are. (I failed miserably at this with my own kids and my daughter woke up every two hours until she was 15 months old.)
I remember FReepers giving good advice on this issue a few years ago and hope some of you can help now.
Also, any recommended books out there?
Thanks!
If they don’t mind giving them the “taste” at a young age, try Brandy!
If she has any friends or family that can come by during the day and spell her for a couple of hours and let her take a nap, it may be easier for the momma to make it through the night with baby waking every two hours. There’s no easy answer on this one. Raising babies is hard work.
Tell them to take her little bottle, fill it with one part bourbon, one part gin and one part vodka. Drink it themselves and they won't give a damn !
Nam Vet
It took our now 3 month old a few weeks to get about 4-5 hours of sleep a night.
My wife and I work around it by splitting nights taking care of our little one. I will take care of her on nights if I am not working the next day (weekends and holidays) and she does the rest. I also take over baby care in the evenings after work. It helps keep her sane.
They wont sleep through the night until at least 3-4 months.
They are hungry.
They tell moms now no solids until 6 months! Mine all started way before that. No allergies like they said would happen. I don’t listen to doctors about some things.
My sister in law used to sleep over once or twice a week while we got through the colic on our 2nd. That was a pain. I gave a small, and i mean very small amount of cereal mixed w/ breast milk in feeding between 8-10 pm. That was usually good for a few hours straight.
I also put baby in a cradle by the bed with a string attached. When I heard him fussing a bit, I pulled the string and many times it bought me an extra hour or so.
Just know, they do grow out of it as they can eat more and be full at bedtime, at least until the teeth start coming.....
Mine now 15,17, and 22. You still don’t sleep much cause you worry til they get home.......PRAYER HELPS!
Talk to our Blessed Mother, who understands and helps you through it all....
LOL! Love that song, my mother though thinks it perverse to even suggest that your going to keep the baby up all night and that “he’s just a plaything”.
“Any man who wouldn’t do this to make sure his wife gets a good night sleep once in awhile isn’t worthy of the name.”
LOL. I couldn’t take it and hired a night nany 5 days a week. College girl, cheap pay, basically wake up twice and feed the baby.
Best money I ever spent.
They have small stomachs, give it some time. When they are capable of digesting rice milk or a heavier formula that takes longer to digest they’ll sleep through the night.
This will pass, but for the present get some help and sleep when you can. Best wishes.
Most babies usually wake and want feeding every 2 to 4 hours until they are 3-4 months, unless you’re really lucky.
When my babies were in that stage, I usually slept with them on my chest or next to me in bed, so I wouldn’t have to get up. I also never turned on anything but the tv, so I could see what I was doing, and then immediately turned it off when I was done, so the baby would not stay awake or want to play.
My latest baby, who is now 14 months, took a long time to start sleeping through the night and at about 9 months, I finally got tired of getting up in the middle of the night, so I eventually just let her cry herself back to sleep, after checking to make sure she didn’t need changing etc.
But if mom is breastfeeding, expect the baby to continue to want feedings every 2-3 hours. If on formula, this will be more like 4-5 hours between feedings...this is based on my experience.
“Hubby is in Iraq and the baby is waking up every two hours all night long. “
And.....? You sleep when the baby sleeps.
My son first started sleeping through the night when he was 9 years old.
Babies will be babies - that’s the way they work. There is nothing you can do about it. It sounds more like mommy needs some help from close friends and family that can spend a few days at her house and help during the nights. If mommy is that much on the edge and near a breakdown, its going to turn out bad for everyone, including possible postpartum onset depression. You or other close friends need to be with this new mommy and help her out whenever possible. It does not get easier until they out of diapers, but she’s going to need your support for the next 2-3 years, so just tell her the truth. Good luck to all three of you.
Wait’til it’s a not very new born.
That’s interesting. Must be the difference in pediatricians. My 2-year old granddaughter was started on cereal at 2 months, and she was already doing certain fruits at 3 months.
If you’re friend is starting to ‘lose’ it at two weeks post-delivery, IMO, it is really she who needs the help, not her baby (unless there is a medical issue with the child). Best thing you can do for your friend is be as supportive as possible and encourage her to SLEEP while her baby is SLEEPING...day or night. It’s difficult enough to handle the job with both parents in attendance, I can’t imagine having to do it alone. In your talks with her, be attentive to signs of postpartum depression and encourage her to seek medical attention if needed. Other than that, the only thing I can think of that might help is giving the baby it’s nice warm bath at night before bed. I remember how tempting it was, while my babies slept, to stay up in the evening for ‘down/quiet’ time, as well as to do ‘chores’ during the day, but as soon as the baby goes down, so should she. Chores & such can wait a few weeks until the baby is sleeping longer stretches at a time.
Good Luck !!
If the baby is being given any bottled milk, make sure it is not iron fortified. It raised hell with my first born.
Stick ‘em in a car seat on top of the running clothes dryer. Worked like a charm.
Colonel, USAFR
Basically, mom needs to be able to sleep when baby is sleeping, which means she's unable to do much of anything except sleep and feed the baby. If she's breastfeeding, she needs even more sleep since producing milk consumes energy.
Its only for a season. 2 week old babies need to eat every 2-3 hours, its what they do. Mom needs to nap when baby is napping. If the babe is on a bottle offer to stay with mom and babe and get up with the babe so mom can sleep.
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