8 week old sleep expectations

[coffeefiend]

Hi everyone! I just wanted to hear from some of you about how your 8 week old is sleeping. I know that at this age they kind of do whatever the f they want when it comes to sleep, but when I see these sleep consultant accounts on Instagram claiming that any baby can sleep 8 hours by 8 weeks, etc. it makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong.

Kiddo goes down at 9:30-10:00ish and SOMETIMES sleeps 4-5 hours and then another 2.5-3. We randomly got a 6 hour stretch once but haven’t been able to get it again. Usually ends up being a bunch of 2.5-3.5 hour stretches though. It just depends on how much she eats before going down, but we obviously can’t make her eat more than she wants to eat. She has a Hatch playing ocean sounds and goes to sleep in a dark room in her bassinet.

Naps are a hot mess but I’m not gonna go there.

Does this sound normal? I feel like an idiot when I see these sleep consultants saying a baby her age can sleep through the night!

Thank you!!!

Edit: Thank you everyone for your responses! We aren’t unhappy with her sleep and weren’t necessarily looking for advice- it is so nice to hear that this pattern is normal and that other people are seeing a wide range of baby sleep at this age. Makes me feel like I’m NOT messing my kid up by not buying a sleep consultant!

 

[hannahjb]

@coffeefiend Unfollow the sleep accounts. Sleep consultants try to sell their consults and they make you feel like shit if your baby isn’t sleeping 12 hrs by 12 weeks. Honestly, unfollowing them allowed me to put less pressure on myself and my baby and I was able to enjoy him! Before I was CONSTANTLY stressing about sleep. Also, if naps are terrible - you might want to embrace contact naps. I have learned to love the cuddles, and I know my son is getting the support he needs to sleep when we do it. I think having the reframe of your baby wants (and biologically needs) to be close to you, and that if they sleep better on you and wake up at night to eat/get support - that’s NORMAL and okay! Your baby loves you and needs you!

Babies wake up at night, it’s normal. I found a few accounts that believe in gentle approaches to weaning and parenting. Heysleepybaby is great.

 

[coffeefiend]

@hannahjb Thank you so much!!! I needed to hear this! I always forget they’re selling a product!

Most of her naps turn into carrier/contact naps! I’ve kind of just decided that we’ll start each nap in her own bed and then do what we need to do to get her the sleep she needs during the day. It hasn’t affected her ability to sleep in her own bed at night!

 

[hannahjb]

@coffeefiend I feel this so much - you are doing a great job! For a while, my little guy would consistently do the first nap in his crib but then all other naps are crap (either 30m, he doesn’t want to be put down, whatever). Once I let go and just allowed myself to pause and give a contact nap to get him to sleep, life got a lot better. It gave me a reason to read, watch shows on my phone, set up grocery pick up or just mindlessly scroll on my phone. Now that we do a contact at least once a day, if he is having a day where all naps are crib naps I miss the snuggles!!

But you are doing great! Listen to yourself and your babies cues! You know what they need - IMO it’s a little predatory that sleep consultants sell a one size fits all approach when babies are all so different (new moms are already stressed about everything else, let’s tack on sleep issues too). You’ve got this

 

[gomez2219]

@coffeefiend This sounds incredibly normal. I would not expect a 2 month old to sleep through the night.

Hell, my 4MO who now regularly sleeps 8-8.5 hour stretches still doesn't technically sleep through the night, he still needs at least one, if not two overnight feeds most nights.

FWIW, nap time and the day routine are worth figuring out, when my wife got that sorted about a month back, his overnight sleep consolidated better and he got in a much better rhythm. It's tough for sure, but worth the effort I promise.

 

[coffeefiend]

@gomez2219 Thanks so much! Naps aren’t bad bad, she does get good day sleep but just needs support to stay asleep on her own! Usually like 30 min in the crib and then it has to turn into a contact nap.

 

[bholmes36]

@coffeefiend 8.5 weeks and basically the same schedule. Bed between 8:30 and 9:30, first stretch sleeps 4-5 hours, second stretch is 2-3 hours, and third stretch (if I can get him back down) is 1 hour. I’m hoping we start consolidating soon. The biggest issue preventing him from sleeping longer is actually gas not hunger, so there’s not much we can do.

 

[silentshadow100]

@bholmes36 my baby has the exact same schedule! was you’re able to consolidate, and when?

 

[bholmes36]

@silentshadow100 Unfortunately we struggled with this a lot. Sleep training definitely helped, but He has struggled with early morning wakes for various reasons (overtired, gas, teething, pooping) his entire life. 14 months old and still likes to wake between 5:30 and 6am

 

[rignoid]

@coffeefiend My girl is 11 weeks and sleeps just like yours... Sometimes we will get 6hrs, sometimes not. She needs the calories, so I'm not too worried about it.

 

[coffeefiend]

@rignoid Thank you!! I kinda just let her do what she does and hope for the best and I’m glad what she’s doing is normal!!