Is there a trick?

To getting them to sleep past 3 hours? I am not asking for STTN yet, just longer than 3 hours. We are feeding them, bathing, letting them have swing time to wind down and then feeding again and then put them in their cribs. Each time they eat, they take almost a full bottle. The Dr. said to feed more throughout the day, but I can't make them eat more than they want. We feed every 2-3 hours. Some days they get 10 feedings vice 8 based on how it works out. I already have the baby wise book. Not sure if there are any other good methods. I know they are still a bit young since they were preemie to STTN. Just want to go longer. When we were swaddling we got them to go 5 hours max. But now no more swaddling due to the Dr. saying they need to develop their arm and leg muscles. They like to sleep with arms up not down by their side as we did swaddling. They just fought that till their arms came out anyways. Please help if you have any advice. We go to the dr. again next week and I am going to bring this up again.

 

Hmmm...I don't have much advice but do you use a white noise machine or a CD player to play lullabies? Maybe that might help them sleep a little longer. I think this is definitely worth asking the pediatrician about, though. Ours fought the swaddle with their arms too but when they were that little it did help them sleep longer too.

 

I never found a trick to make them sleep longer. Just as they grow and their little bellies can hold more at one time they'll be able to sleep a bit longer. My girls stretched to 4 hours around 3 months and then FINALLY to 6 hours around 4 1/2 months. They STTN at 8 months (8pm to 6am). :hug:

 

It took mine a long time to go longer than 3 hours at night. They just woke up :unknw: I think there's probably nothing you can do about it for a few more months, just hang in there. Ditto the white noise machine, and turn it on really loud - that helps!

 

It's probably because you stopped swaddling. I'm a bit curious how your doctor thinks they can develop their arms and legs muscles when they're supposed to be sleeping! Mine were getting their arms out too but once asleep they just slept better swaddled.

Have you tried sleep sacks? Mine took to them pretty well when we stopped swaddling, so it might help. Other than that, I'm not sure.

 

no tricks here, dd was sleeping 5-6 hour stretches then for the past month was up every 3 hours. 2 days ago she started sleeping from 7-5am, taking a bottle and sleeping til 8. nothing we did, just her body decided to i guess? ds is still up alot, but he doesnt eat as much during the day either. i know i hate hearing it, but when theyre ready they'll do it. have you tried giving them pacis instead of feeding them?

 

QUOTE(Leighann @ Oct 28 2008, 09:09 AM) [snapback]1045194[/snapback]
I never found a trick to make them sleep longer. Just as they grow and their little bellies can hold more at one time they'll be able to sleep a bit longer. My girls stretched to 4 hours around 3 months and then FINALLY to 6 hours around 4 1/2 months. They STTN at 8 months (8pm to 6am). :hug:


Same here. There is no trick - they'll just do it when they are ready! Wish there was a trick for lots of things!!

 

I hear ya! I am always in search of the magical solution. Too bad there isn't one for all of us in the same boat.... :unknw:

 

QUOTE
It's probably because you stopped swaddling. I'm a bit curious how your doctor thinks they can develop their arms and legs muscles when they're supposed to be sleeping! Mine were getting their arms out too but once asleep they just slept better swaddled.

Have you tried sleep sacks? Mine took to them pretty well when we stopped swaddling, so it might help. Other than that, I'm not sure.


I agree, also I would think that they were getting a workout from trying to get their arms out.

 

Sounds pretty normal to me! That's how it was in our house. Then, suddenly around 3 1/2 months
they started sleeping through the night: 8-9 p.m. until 6-8 the next morning!
Ours ate every 2 hours during the day, and the amounts would vary.

Here is what we did:
*every other night is bath night
*then pajamas and bottle around 9
*we used the swaddle wraps, so we would sometimes put them on but leave
an arm out during the bottle and then they would fall asleep and we would adjust it
while they were sleeping, so their arms were swaddled very tightly, sometimes we
would go ahead and full swaddle then start the bottle
*hold them in our arms for 15-20 minutes, then put them in the crib in our room
with the noise machine going, we have a marpac model

Other than that, no tricks really. Just the same thing every night. And, once those pajamas
and fresh diaper came on: lights low, noise low, quiet voices, dark.

 

3 hours at zero weeks adjusted age is WONDERFUL!!!!!! Keep up the great work. We didnt get 3 hours until they were at least 2 months adjusted.

 

We quit using swaddling around that time too because we didn't think it was helping anything, but we went back to it around 3.5 months and it made a huge difference.

Ours came home from the NICU on a 3 hour schedule and we stuck to that for most of the first three months. I think it at 3-4 months when they started spreading out the night feedings some. If ours woke early we would try to hold them and not feed them until it was actually time. It didn't always work, but a lot of the time they were just as happy with us holding them as they were for a bottle. I think that helped keep them at the 3 and later 3+ mark.

 

I hoave no idea--I cant get mine to sleep lomger than 45minutes!!!!

 

It is amazing how different the advice from drs can be. My pedi said keep them swaddled as long as you can. We just stopped swaddling our two at 6 1/2 months and it is only because mine could get out of their swaddles during the night and that made me worry. My two would smile when we would swaddle them at nite nite time. Of course in the beginning they didn't always. We used the miracle blankets so they couldn't get their arms out at your babies' age. We stopped swaddling for naps around 3 months. We use the sleep sacks now but my son does not sleep as well because he can roll all over the place.

Sound machine is the only other thing that we did/do. Unfortunately I do think that some babies just sleep better than others. I hope it gets better for you soon.