Who Needs Sleep Anyways ?
Sleep - we can probably all agree that we don't get enough.
Our little ones come into the world and even though everyone warned us to "sleep while you still can" (like we can store good sleep somewhere ), we were not entirely prepared for the exhaustion that goes hand in hand with having a newborn. So when will we ever sleep through the night again? There is not a definite answer but I will assure you that the time will come, maybe sooner than you expect!
Newborn babies eat every 2-3 hours in the first weeks. This doesn't stop at night. Baby tummies are small and frequent feeding is especially important for breastfed babies. When your baby latches frequently and empties your milk consistently, they help stimulate and regulate supply. So, feeding at night is important for your milk production! Some women like to pump milk so their partner can feed the baby at night, unfortunately this is not something I would recommend because it could really hurt your supply (unless you get up at night and pump, but why would you do that if you could just feed your little one). Regular feedings also help prevent SIDS. Again, keep in mind that your baby’s stomach is only the size of a cherry when they are first born, and slowly expands to the size of a walnut and then size of an apricot over the first few weeks.
As the months pass, our babies may sleep longer stretches (may...or may not). All babies are different! There isn't such thing as a good sleeper or a bad sleeper. They sleep until they wake up because they need to eat or just want to cuddle with their favorite person. This is normal. It is not the norm that you 2 months old sleeps through the night. It honestly bothers me a bit when people ask me “Does your baby sleep through the night yet?” when in reality, my baby should not sleep through the night because they should be feeding so that they can grow and I can continue to produce milk. Questions like this one really imply that there is a time when a baby should be sleeping through the night, and that it is best if that happens early. This then leads to mothers trying to sleep train, add oatmeal or formula to bottles or let baby cry it out, all because we taught new mothers that babies should be sleeping long stretches at night. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Adding formula or cereal to the baby's bottle is not recommended to promote longer sleep periods. Cereal is actually a choking hazard and the WHO now recommends that babies are not fed solids before 6 months of age. Yes, there may be reasons why you need to switch to formula, but this should be a conversation you have with a medical provider, not based on doctor Google’s advice. Asking other mothers is often really helpful, and it is also a source for incredibly contradicting and often wrong information. Unless the mother you are talking to is a lactation consultant, nurse, doctor or birth professional with training in infant feeding or infant sleep, my recommendation would be to take the advice with a grain of salt. Your baby is not broken if they wake up at night for feedings.
It is biologically normal for children to wake for night feedings up to 18 months and sometimes even longer. I know, not the news you want to hear but there are benefits to this! Also, keep in mind that sleep regression is a developmental milestone. Just because your baby slept through the night at 9 month old doesn't mean it will stay this way. And that is also normal. Sleep regression happens periodically over the first several years of your child’s life. They can be incredibly frustrating and exhausting - hang in there! Stick with your routine, stay calm, give some extra cuddles to your little one and focus on the fact that this too shall pass. If you feel that something other than sleep regression causes your baby to have trouble sleeping, please talk to your doctor! There could be other reasons like colic, gas, reflux that impact your baby’s sleep.
A good bedtime routine can help. A nice warm bath, lavender essential oil in a diffuser, infant massage, story time, cuddles and a feeding before bed are all ways that may help your baby settle. You may find that your baby likes a white noise machine, or certain bedtime music. I will provide some links to items you may like below.
Hatch Baby Sound Machine for Babies