Slept through the night

So my boys slept through the night last night! I don't know if I should be happy or be concerned. They were born 11 weeks early and haven't even reached their "due date." I've had them home with me for a little over a week. I know some people have babies that sleep through the night at 2 months old, but I'm confused it that would be any different for me since they technically don't even have an adjusted age yet? I woke up this morning and almost freaked out because I thought maybe something happened to them (like they weren't alive :/ ), but I looked in their co-sleeper which is right next to my side of the bed and they were just there sleeping so contently. Neither my husband nor I were woken up by them during the night. Once I saw they were still sleeping, I woke them up, changed them, and got them started on a feeding since they had just slept 8 hours since their last feeding. They seem completely fine when I woke them up, not extra cranky or anything.

Any reason to be concerned?
Any similar experiences?

 

While I dont think you have any reason to be concerned, I would still wake them every 3 hours at that age to make sure that they are getting the nutrition that they need. Little preemies can dehydrate quickly and get lethargic. I would also check with your Ped to see what he or she wants you to do.

 

Mine weren't born early but they started going close to 8 hours a night around 2 months and by 10 weeks they were going 12 hours. I was a freaked out the first couple of times they did STTN. It sounds like they did fine for STTN, I'm not sure what is the average for preemies but all babies do STTN at different ages. I would say if it is something that you are concerned about, I would definitely double check with your pedi.

 

Some babes do it now and then and some sleep through the night right off the bat. I had to wait nine months for a full night sleep. I would say if you are concerned about it talk to your pedi.As long as they are waking and eating appropriately through out the day I think it is okay. In my experience it has been okay as long as the babe continues to feed and grow appropriatly. If you notice a increase in lethargy though make sure to talk to your pedi about it.

 

I would probably talk to your doctor about whether or not they should be allowed to sleep through the night or if they need to be woken up to eat. If they were full term I would say :woo: but with preemies I know that doctors usually prefer that they eat more often than that. Glad you got what was probably much needed rest, though! :hug:

 

For their sizes they should be getting a little less than 2oz at each feeding (every 2-3 hours is how often they like to eat) however these little guys have been taking 3 1/2 oz at each feeding. We mentioned the 3oz to the doctor on Sat for their 2 month check up and he didn't seem worried. I would guess with the extra ounces they have been taken in, they would be fine through the night.

 

Because they were preemies, I would definitely ask the ped. Hannah was my preemie(35 weeks), and my ped had us on a 3 hour, around the clock, schedule for over 2 months.

 

Did your pedi say it was okay to let them go as long as they wanted at night in between feedings? I know that when I brought my girls home from the hospital (born at about 37 weeks gestation) I was told before I left the hospital that I needed to get up to feed them every 3 hours at night. After their 2 week check up the pedi said I could stop setting an alarm.

I would definitely make sure to discuss this with your pedi and see if you should wake them at night to eat.

 

Ditto to PP. Talk to your pedi. Our pedi wanted us to wake them up every 3-4 hours to eat until they got back to birthweight, and all of mine were full-term.

 

I remember when this first happened to us in the very early weeks and I was freaked out when I awoke and ran in there...it was basically a fluke though - happened a couple times for each one over a few weeks. The pedi preferred we wake them but we weren't expecting that to happen and he said since they were gaining fine more power to us if this happened - we are lucky parents. Of course, we are almost 7 mos and still not STTN - it was a fluke! :rotflmbo:

 

I agree. Unless your babies are over 7lbs I would wake them to feed them every 3 hours. I had to set the alarm for the first few weeks otherwise they would have kept sleeping. That's what my doc instructed me to do anyway. I know some of the most difficult times so early was to try to get then to stay awake enough to eat. I had to strip them down, tickle feet etc to get them to be awake enough to eat.