LO 7 weeks doesn’t sleep longer than 3 hours at a time at night

[river]

Is it normal for LO who is now 7 weeks almost 8 weeks old to get longer than 3 hours of sleep as the longest stretch before the 12 weeks? Some say that babies at 7 weeks should be able to sleep for 5 hours even and this has never happened especially because baby wakes up hungry.

 

[anagle]

@river My LO (9 weeks old) longest stretch w/o feeding is 5 hours but it’s not on the regular. On average she sleeps 3/4 hour stretches.

 

[katrina2017]

@anagle Yeah our 9 week old will on occasion sleep 6 hour stretches but otherwise she’s reliably a “3 hour stretches then eat without opening her eyes” baby

 

[gaconvn]

@river Yes. All babies are different. Mine's biggest stretch was 2-3 hours until 4.5 months.

 

[jcf18]

@river My baby just turned 1 and she still doesn't sleep in gaps longer than 2/3 hours

 

[eleespice]

@river Babies should.... hate that sentence. Babies should nothing except doing what they naturally do. If that's 3h sleep then it's 3h sleep. Maybe he's just hungry, then feed him.

 

[river]

@eleespice i agree

 

[mirele]

@river All babies are different but here are some things that helped us that could help you get 5-6 hours at night:

1. Walking with baby in the morning or early afternoon to get sun exposure to help set their circadian rhythm.
2. We combo feed, but give formula in the evening/overnight because it's heavier than breastmilk and makes babies sleepier
3. Limit daytime naps to a few hours
4. Feed most calories during the day. We feed about every 2 hours during the day
5. White noise machine and dark room for sleep
6. Temp. This depends on your baby. Ours like the room cooler (68 degrees) and sleeps best at that temp but som babies sleep better closer to 72 degrees. Just gotta test and see what baby likes

Note: when he goes through a growth spurt, nothing works and I just have to get crap sleep because he wants to cluster feed. However, these tips could be useful if your baby isn't currently going through a growth spurt.
Best of luck, I know we all need more sleep

 

[river]

@mirele thanks, appreciate it!

 

[aanntdark5161]

@river Mine girl is now 3.5 months, but was definitely like this at this age. 3-4 hour stretches but will get a little longer throughout time. Hang in there!

 

[lrs]

@river My baby is almost 7 weeks but never slept more than 3 hours that too very rarely
I am waiting for 5 hours stretch too .

 

[reevanraja]

@lrs Me too first child was a great sleeper, just had my second who is 7 weeks and will not give me anything longer than 3 hours! All babies are different!

 

[lauds]

@river My guy is 2 weeks.

We're typically feeding every 2-2.5 hours over a 12 hour period - and then every 4 hours over the other 12 to allow for some sleep.

 

[katrina2017]

@river Ours still slept only 3hrs at a time at 7 weeks and somewhere between 7-8 weeks he started to sleep longer. Now at 9 weeks he usually sleeps 4-5 hours at a time at night, but still sometimes wakes up around 3 hours.

 

[kat02]

@river That's entirely normal.

 

[lwh]

@river Normal. Mine woke up every 3ish hours to nurse until at least 9 months.

 

[river]

Thanks everyone! Reassuring and helpful to know and hear

 

[river]

no longer than*

 

[rudye]

@river Mine is 6 weeks, and we have only had 2 5 hour stretches. The average is about 3 hours and he will only do 5 hours if he has had a busy day.