Sleeping through the night

I am sure this is a much discussed topic but I need a little advice. My twin girls are 12 weeks old today. I get them to bed no later than 7:30 every night now. They usually sleep until 1am or even as late as 3am. At which time they are fed and put back down. They wake again around 6am or 7am. I was wondering if it is too soon to try to eliminate the middle of the night feeding. If it is not too soon, how do I do it? I am not very good at the CIO method but I am willing to try if necessary. They weigh 11lbs and 12lbs. I know there are many schools of thought on this but your expert advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

I am sure this is a much discussed topic but I need a little advice. My twin girls are 12 weeks old today. I get them to bed no later than 7:30 every night now. They usually sleep until 1am or even as late as 3am. At which time they are fed and put back down. They wake again around 6am or 7am. I was wondering if it is too soon to try to eliminate the middle of the night feeding. If it is not too soon, how do I do it? I am not very good at the CIO method but I am willing to try if necessary. They weigh 11lbs and 12lbs. I know there are many schools of thought on this but your expert advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

I just realized that my ticker hasn't been updated. I can't believe I haven't been on since my babies were born. That just shows you how crazy the first couple of months are!!!

 

I'm generally a fan of CIO, but 12 weeks is too early. Your girls are FABULOUS sleepers for that age, and it's perfectly normal for them to still need a night feeding. In fact, although some pediatricians will say babies "shouldn't" need a night feeding after 4 months, even the author of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child says many continue to need it until 9 months.

And even if they didn't need it, 12 weeks is just too early to let a baby CIO. They might eventually fall asleep from exhaustion, but they won't learn anything from it except that no one comes when they cry.

I say don't mess with it for at least 2 months. Plus by then you will know more about the various options and how your babies are likely to respond, and can decide where to go from there. Congrats on having good sleepers!

 

Thank you so much for the input. I have read the same book as well as a couple of others. There are so many differing opinions. I am quite happy that they are sleeping as well as they are. I just kind of wondered what others have experienced. I've found that sometimes the books just aren't very realistic.

 

Mine slept through at 3 months, and they never CIO. When they wake at night, are they sipping the bottle--or inhaling it. If they are sipping, instead of offering a bottle, offer a paci and pat. If they are waking from habit, they will go back to sleep. If they are eating a full bottle, you can try cutting the amout in the bottle by 1/2 oz every few nights, til they decide it isn't worth waiting. Some suggest a water bottle, but I personally don't like that idea, because I want my kids to like water.

 

My girls just dropped their middle of the night feeding on their own, gradually. You probably already do this, but make sure the night feeding is not "fun" for them. We were all business, no eye contact, no smiles, or talking.

 

I agree, 12 weeks is pretty young for CIO. HOnestly, it sounds like your girls are doing great! And you know, there isn't "one size fits all" way to handle sleeping/feedings. If it works for your girls, then I'd stick with it.

Both of my guys sleep through the night, and wake up around 4am. I feed them, but the room is quiet, no talking, and then I put them back in bed. They'll sleep until about 7-8am.

 

My girls went down to one feeding at night right around 3 or 3 1/2 months old. By 4 months for Bella and 4 1/2 months for Josie they had dropped the 3 a.m. feeding all on their own. Hopefully your kiddos will do the same!

 

My girls were four to four and a half months before they dropped their 3 am feeding. I agree with the other posting, your girls are sleeping a long stretch. If I am not mistaken, twelve weeks is a common growth spurt time in infants, and they may need that extra feeding still.

 

My ID twin girls slept from 8pm - 6am when they were 4-6 months old on their own. Then they started teething and the middle of the nite bottle came back into play. Now they are 10 1/2 months old and we stopped the late feeding and had to do a little tough love. It took a week of about 1-2 hours of crying but we made it and now they are sleeping through the nite again.