https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 04 Jul 2026 20:33:10 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-funwith-a-14w-old#post-2569019 Thu, 16 Jun 2016 13:52:57 +0000 kiddosc 2569019@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have a 16w old, and I think it's pretty typical to get a good stretch in the beginning of the night and then have the rest of the night be a crap shoot. A will go down around 8:30-9, I'll do a dream feed around 10:30 to 11 and then she sleeps a good chunk until sometime between 2-3:30. After that she usually only gives me 2hour stretches TOPS. Half the time she wakes up around 5 and needs extra convincing that it's not time to get up yet. </p> <p> I remember it being similar with my older son, but he's 4, so my memory is kind of fuzzy. He got better after we passed the 4 month sleep regression. Then he had a much more reliably scheduled 2 wake-ups a night.</p> <p>ETA: They both use/used a paci. It's a pain for the first few months having to replace it, but DS figured out how to replace it himself around 6 months and then it was great that he could just get himself back to sleep. Though I guess it's possible he would have figured out another way to self-soothe before then. DD is so orally fixated that I'm sure she'd be super angry that she couldn't get a hand in her mouth while swaddled without having her paci. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-funwith-a-14w-old#post-2568981 Thu, 16 Jun 2016 13:24:54 +0000 sailgrl18 2568981@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So neither of my boys took the paci so I can't help with that but DS1 had a huge sleep association with nursing so the only way we got longer stretches and better sleep after the first wake up was to break that association by nursing at least half an hour before bedtime. Knowing that we've been nursing earlier with DS2 (13w) and putting him in his crib wide awake and letting him fall asleep on his own. Then when he woke up we let him fuss a little and see if he would fall back asleep on his own and if he didn't I would nurse him. He's now sleeping unswaddled (not necessarily because he's ready but because its too hot for the merlin and he's breaking out of the swaddle consistently) and getting him to fall asleep on his own and letting him fuss (absolutely no hysterical crying) has allowed us to get him from waking 4-5x per night when he first went unswaddled to now just 1-2x per night. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-funwith-a-14w-old#post-2568073 Wed, 15 Jun 2016 13:55:54 +0000 Mrs D 2568073@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mfa_lady: I'm needing all my extra sessions to meet the daytime requirements so I don't think I could do BM... We are swaddled (halo sleep sack) but my sister has been raving about the Merlin...maybe I'll order it tonight?</p> <p>@gingerbebe: this is basically the way DD1 schedule went on,y we didn't drop the 9pm dream feed until 7 months or so! We actually even had her doing the first bit of sleep (7-9pm) in the swing then moved her to the crib after the dream feed!</p> <p>I don't think I can take the paci entirely because she needs it at other times of the day and is crazy hot headed...I know it's not much longer until she can grab it herself and this is no longer an issue... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-funwith-a-14w-old#post-2568052 Wed, 15 Jun 2016 13:47:56 +0000 gingerbebe 2568052@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh, as to the paci, my son could never keep it in his mouth and he would get pissed whenever it fell out so we just ditched it and never looked back. We introduced a lovey to his crib at 4 months. He ignored it for the most part, then started batting at it, and then by 5 or 6 months when he started teething, he began sucking and gnawing on a corner of it to ease his gums. And then that became his soother. He's 21 months old and he still chews on a corner of his loveys at night as he falls asleep or when he wakes up at night and self settles. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-funwith-a-14w-old#post-2568047 Wed, 15 Jun 2016 13:46:07 +0000 gingerbebe 2568047@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We supplemented with 1 bottle of formula from early on with our first son (I had supply issues so it wasn't a choice). By the time he was your kid's age (around 3 months) the formula bottle was at the 10pm dreamfeed. I EPed for my first and he had 6 feedings a day. I prepped 5oz bottles - 5 BM bottles and 1 formula bottle - and DS took anywhere from 4-5oz depending on how hungry he was and was averaging about 28oz a day. Once he took the 10pm dreamfeed, he started sleeping through the night and it was wonderful. We gradually moved the dreamfeed earlier and earlier until it was at around 9pm (after a 730pm bedtime) and then dropped it. At the same time, we increased his bottles by an ounce each so we were redistributing the ounces and he dropped to 5 feedings and he was sleeping 12 hours a night by 5 months old. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-funwith-a-14w-old#post-2568041 Wed, 15 Jun 2016 13:43:18 +0000 mfa_lady 2568041@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had good luck with a bottle of pumped BM around our bedtime (like you, 10:30 or 11) giving us a couple extra hours of sleep before the next overnight feeding. On the days I was really lucky, I'd pump more than she was drinking at that feeding time and I could save a little. (We did a bottle instead of nursing because DH could basically go in there and feed her while she was still sleeping....nursing took a lot more work and was more disruptive for her.)</p> <p>Also, is she swaddled? Around that age we had great luck with a Merlin suit. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/nighttime-funwith-a-14w-old#post-2568032 Wed, 15 Jun 2016 13:37:56 +0000 Mrs D 2568032@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Would love some input here...</p> <p>1) my 14w old loves her pack to fall asleep. Right now she goes down and can sleep till somewhere between 1-2am depending on her last nursing session. She nurses and then from that point on its like she struggles to get back to sleep soundly and I end up in her room every hour until it's time to wake up.</p> <p>2) she is EBF at this point and as I mentioned does 4-5 hour stretch first thing then seems a bit restless. I think she is genuinely hungry at her first wake up. She has a handful of times done a 6-7 hour stretch...not consistently.</p> <p>My questions are...</p> <p>1) I am thinking of giving her 4oz of formula tonight. We usually nurse around 630/7...so I am thinking formula around 10 when I try to go to bed. I'm hoping this will allow me to get some predictability out of her (allowing me to pump a few times) and maybe reduce her restlessness between 2-6am? Is this an awful idea?!</p> <p>2) the paci...if she's continues her restlessness...would you continually go into her room and replace the paci in her mouth to get her to settle or let her fuss a little to try to get her over the need for the paci?</p> <p>We were spoiled with DD1 who needed a paci at first at night but once she was asleep she was normally a-okay other than some one off nights!</p> <p>Also...I am back to work now so selfishly I'd love to have her sttn but also am wanting to introduce formula in small amounts in hopes of using it to lightly supplement which will hopefully allow me to BF longer than I did with DD1... </p>