On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep

(Nora) #1

you won’t feed her again until her next routine feeding. Overfeeding and
doing a poor job of burping a baby are common causes for projectile
vomiting. Try paying closer attention to these details. However, if this
problem persists, it may signal a digestive problem. For your own peace
of mind and possibly your baby’s health, contact your pediatrician.



  1. Occasionally, just after I have fed, changed, and played with my
    baby, I will put him down for a nap and within five minutes he starts
    crying—hard. This is unusual for him. What should I do?
    Check on your baby. Since this is not routine behavior, it calls for
    your attention. He may simply have a messy diaper or need to be burped.
    Also bear in mind that at naptime some crying is not unusual. Napping is
    a skill. It needs to be learned. Avoid the myth that your baby is signaling
    a need to be held and rocked every time he cries.

  2. My three-week-old breast-fed baby has started to sleep through the
    night already. Is that okay?
    NO! This is not acceptable for a breast-fed baby. We prefer you feed
    your baby at least once at night until he is at least five weeks old. Some
    babies have a greater propensity to sleep through the night early. If you
    have a baby like this and if he or she is gaining well and has good urine
    output (seven to eight wet diapers per day), then early nighttime sleep
    may be acceptable. If this is your baby, continue to monitor the daily
    healthy growth signs. Even at six weeks, make sure your breast-fed baby
    does not go longer than eight hours at night. In this case, you would
    maintain at least seven to eight good feedings during the day. A bottle-
    fed baby may sleep through the night sooner, but you must monitor all
    healthy growth indicators during the day.

  3. My baby is ten weeks old and has not yet slept through the night.
    What should I do to eliminate the middle-of-the-night feeding?
    You have several options before you. First, go back and review the
    specific guidelines listed in chapter 6. Are you following them? Second,
    do nothing for a couple of weeks. Ninety-seven percent of all PDF babies

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