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Oakland County Moms

The Great Infant Sleep Debate

March 06, 2010

alt Everyone has an opinion on this one. When and how do we get our babies to sleep through the night?

A recent Parents.com article states "Once a baby is 3 months old, he no longer has a physiological need to be fed during the night." Ferber says not to sleep train a baby until 6 months of age, and that prior to that, there is no way to "spoil" a child. Personally, I did not really try the "cry it out" technique. (I'm a sucker for a crying baby.) I did a combination of let them fuss a bit along with waiting until they were older and pretty ready. Both my kids were 9-11 months before sleeping through the night. Honestly, I don't mind that I had interrupted sleep for all that time. It was my choice and I am fine with it. Thankfully, to this day, my kids need absolutely no help with going to sleep each night. Sure, they have their moments where they wake in the middle of the night sick or having had a bad dream. But, they are very independent when it's time to go to sleep.

Really, I think it's all about whatever works for you, unless you're dead set on getting your two-month old to sleep through the night. I think the little ones do need to be fed during the night, and I don't see anything wrong with the nighttime feedings. It's a tough job to wake up in the middle of the night, but it's temporary.

What worked for you?

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Comments (1)

Mandy said:

I started my little baby on a "schedule" as soon as he was born. He ate every 2 hours, "played" - or just had awake time, and then napped. He was so used to eating regularly and sleeping regularly that he wasn't a fussy guy and didn't usually want to be fed off-schedule. (Of course, if he was hungry, then I fed him!!)

For a newborn, a strict schedule is impossible, but it did set the basic structure of our day. At 9 weeks, he began sleeping through the night, and has never turned back. I think schedules (that can be adjusted to meet your needs and the needs of your baby) are a great thing. You know what to expect (generally) throughout the day and so does your baby.

We have another baby on the way in a few months.... Will be interesting to see how different that baby is from our first born!

While having a flexible schedule worked for us, I really think every parent has to find what works for them. Different personalities and parenting styles require different methods.

PS: I'm not a fan of the cry it out method for little babies.

August 11, 2009 07:31 AM

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