When did your baby with reflux start sleeping through the night?

[cookiemonster80]

I have to say its nice to read all of these reflux threads to know I'm not alone!


Dd2 is 8 weeks today and she still not sleeping consistently in spurts longer than 3 hours at night. We've made progress in the last 4 weeks- at least she will now sleep alone in the rock n play (most of the time- as opposed to sleeping upright on me) - thanks to everyone who suggested that- what a lifesaver.

I know babies with reflux take longer than normal to develop good sleeping habits- I'm just trying to get a handle on how long this might last. She's been on Zantac for 2 weeks and it has made a BIG difference In the pain- but sleeping- not much.

What was your experience? I have to go back to work in 3 weeks and I'm terrified that we'll still be in the same spot we are now!

[AnnieW625]

DD2 refused to sleep during the day for more than 45 minutes a couple of times a day (the nap nanny did help a bit so she would sleep for 90 minutes 1 to 2 times a day; we didn't get that until she was 2 mos. old though) so by the time we started her on Zantac at 4 weeks old it only took her a couple of weeks to start sleeping better at night; she was sleeping from 10 pm to around 6 or 7 am at 6/7 weeks old. Her daytime sleeping habits continued to be horrible until she was about 7 months old, and it wasn't until then that she slept for 2 hrs, 2x day. It took daycare 3 months to get her to that point.

[TwoBees]

Oh, about age 2.

[jenfromnj]

Oh, about age 2.

Yep, here too. Well, he'd "only" wake up one or 2 times per night starting around age 1, but yeah, it was a long 2 years.

[nfceagles]

One year here.

[Melaine]

My girls were over 1....I'm thinking 15 months before they were reliably STTN. I know that the first time they slept a moment longer than 2.5 hours at night for a stretch they were 2.5 months old because it was right around Christmas.

DS is already doing better than they were (but he is not a teeny preemie like they were). He is 8 weeks today and has slept a couple times a little over 4 hours. Talked to a close friend today whose daughter is only one month older and she has been sleeping 10 hour stretches for over a week now. Unfathomable to me.

ETA: It's rare for him to sleep well during the day unless being held, sometimes in the carseat, or in the moby wrap.

[okinawama]

My son just turned 14 months and has just started to sleep through the night. He's not consistent with it, but does usually two or three times a week.

[speo]

Both kids had reflux. DS1 STTN at 18 mo and DS2 around 16 mo. It was really hard on me.

[cookiemonster80]

DS is already doing better than they were (but he is not a teeny preemie like they were). He is 8 weeks today and has slept a couple times a little over 4 hours. Talked to a close friend today whose daughter is only one month older and she has been sleeping 10 hour stretches for over a week now. Unfathomable .

this was my DD1- which is why I'm in shell shock mode now.

When did your babies go to sleep relatively easily? Right now it's an hour long process ( when we are doing well). Do reflux babies take forever to calm down and get to sleep until their reflux improves? Can you ever dream feed and put them right back down?

[acmom]

When did your babies go to sleep relatively easily? Right now it's an hour long process ( when we are doing well). Do reflux babies take forever to calm down and get to sleep until their reflux improves? Can you ever dream feed and put them right back down?

Once we got my DS on meds that helped (which for him was prevacid), he did start going to sleep fairly easily, mostly sleeping through the night and I was able to do a 10pm dream feed. That was all probably around 3-4 months old.

Hopefully, your little one will turn the corner soon now that you have the meds and rock n play on board to help!

[123LuckyMom]

Be aware, too, that not having long sleep sessions is normal for an 8 week old, even one without reflux! There are growth spurts that keep them eating and many other reasons that sleep is unpredictable in a really little one. Your baby is totally normal. Things start changing around the three month mark, but then there's teething, any kind of developmental change, the list goes on and on. You may not see great sleep consistently for a while.

[icunurse]

DD was sleeping through the night somewhere between 2-3 months old. Once we had her on the right formula and mess, she was more pleasant during the day. She loved being swaddled, too. Her reflux was so bad that we had her propped up in a swing until she was 9 months old. So swing and swaddling and meds = sleep for us.

[kbud]

DD#1, my worst relux baby sometime between 2 and 2 1/2. DD#2 is currently 4 1/2 and still doesn't. She was up 3 times last night. She is itchy every night so not reflux anymore. We are working on a referral to a dermatologist. At 8 weeks though night waking is totally normal.

[Melaine]

DS spit up all over his clothes and sleep sacks four times after the 1 am feeding. ugh. Not enough sleep sacks for this.

[daphne]

Sometime around 18 months. zzzzzz...

[daisymommy]

Ummm, when he was a year old :(

It's pretty normal for all babies to not sleep through the night until 4-6 months.

8 weeks is way to early to even consider it for the majority of babies. Their stomachs are so tiny that they can only hold a few ounces at a time, and then the milk is quickly digested. They need to get some of their calories at night in order to gain and thrive. On top of that, new research theorizes that babies wake up several times at night so that they don't get into a too-deep sleep cycle, where oxygen levels are lower. It may be a way of self-preventing SIDS.

Hang there, it will get better!

[hellbennt]

once properly medicated, a journey that took about 4-6 months, then he had no problem sleeping through the night.
Naps, however, were practically non-exixtent...Sir No Nap...

[daniele_ut]

Still waiting. DS is 6 months old. DS1 had much worse reflux, but he slept through the night at 6 weeks and did so consistently after that.

There are so many factors that affect a baby's sleep that I don't think you can attribute it entirely to reflux. Plus, it's pretty unusual for an 8 week old to sleep through the night regardless.

[Sopamanda]

ack.

DD is 3 months and she'll usually make one long stretch between 8-2 or so. Unfortunately I don't get to bed til 10 or 11 so I am totally unable to take advantage. Then she wakes every 2 or 3 hours.

I got up this morning and thought "coffee up!", then I thought..."if I take the kids to a movie maybe I could sleep during it." I.am.tired.

All that said, the prevacid helps. And I'm on the TED diet which has helped her reflux as well. We had a family emergency last week so I had to go off the diet for 5 days or so. I could totally tell. She had at least 2 screaming/pain fits a day.

[Melaine]

DS slept 6 hours last night!!! From 9-3.

The night before it was like 1.5 hour stretches though. When I went to change him at 3, his diaper was only wet, not dirty. It was probably the first time he'd woken up without a dirty diaper....he does seem to be sensitive to needing changes. I'm thinking this has a lot to do with him sleeping and therefore was probably a total fluke.

[daisymommy]

Woo-hoo Melanie! I am so happy for you...and so jealous ;)
My first thought though was "ouch!" I'll bet your girls were hurting!
Does it seem like the Zantac is helping? DD just started on it yesterday.

[Nooknookmom]

Oh, about age 2.

Yep, 2-2.5 here. We had a few miraculous nights at 18 months but actual sleep through - not till over 2.

I had reflux as an infant and 41 yrs ago they called it colic...um I hate that word, anyway no meds then and my poor mom was up with me till I was 2 USB as well.

It seems far off and your baby may be different, may subside earlier I hope!

[HIU8]

We started sleep training at 11 months. By 12 months DS was STTN. However, at 11 months he was taken off all meds for GERD. Prior to that no way did he sleep through the night.