Do low birth weight babies take longer to sleep through?

[blueblue]

My little girl is 7 months and doesn't go more than 5/6 hours between feeds (it's mostly 4-5 hours), she was 5lbs at birth and I'm wondering if this has anything to do with it? She's about 13lbs now. It could be a lot worse but most people I know have babies who sleep for longer at an earlier age. She's combination fed (mostly breast, she only has about 7oz of formula now) and I'm not sure whether it could be due to breastfeeding (friends whose babies still wake tend to be breastfeeding). If you had a low birth weight baby, did they take longer to sleep through? x

 

[Ganton]

I'm going to answer the opposite question to the one you asked, but my boys were both over 9lb and neither slept through until over a year old. I was lucky to get 3-4 hours much before they started going through.

My findings from amongst friends is that formula fed babies have slept through much much sooner than breastfed babies though.

 

[loeylo]

My wee one was just shy of 7lb so definitely not big but she slept through really young. My friends wee one was 10lb odds and still doesn't sleep through at 2 and a half. I think it is more just down to individual babies than birth weight tbh.

 

[MichCuc]

My first was 9lb at birth and was awful at night until around 7/8 months. Up every 1-2 hours. So in my experience, a large birth weight did not mean good sleep for us. My second is 5 weeks old and was average weight at birth 7 lb 13 oz. we'll see how she does, she's still quite a sleepy newborn

 

[Teri7489]

Both dd and ds slept 11-8 from 6 weeks (one bf and one off) they were 6lb and 6lb 11 at birth.

 

[Bevziibubble]

My 7 lbs baby slept through but since the four month sleep regression she never slept through since.


My 9 lbs 11.5 oz baby has never slept through yet!

 

[laila 44]

My kids were both big and ate and slept the night beautifully. My friend had 5 pound babies that didn't sleep because they needed the extra feeds etc.

 

[BunNtheOven]

I really think they just need more food then a bigger baby! Or maybe their bellys cant take as much as a bigger baby. My first one was pretty average, at 6.6 but my second one was only 5 8. She eats wayyy more often then my first. If shes more breastfed then formula, then that probably is completely normal since their bodies absorbs that faster then formula. My little one only wants boob in the evening so she wakes me up in 4 hours after she goes to sleep. Since your baby is over the 6 months mark, put rice or oatmeal cereal in a bottle of formula or breastmilk. When i started doing that, my first daughter started sleeping through the night.

 

[loeylo]

I really think they just need more food then a bigger baby! Or maybe their bellys cant take as much as a bigger baby. My first one was pretty average, at 6.6 but my second one was only 5 8. She eats wayyy more often then my first. If shes more breastfed then formula, then that probably is completely normal since their bodies absorbs that faster then formula. My little one only wants boob in the evening so she wakes me up in 4 hours after she goes to sleep. Since your baby is over the 6 months mark, put rice or oatmeal cereal in a bottle of formula or breastmilk. When i started doing that, my first daughter started sleeping through the night.

Sorry to interject but you really shouldn't put anything other than milk in a bottle as its a choking hazard, it should be served by spoon.

 

[lhancock90]

Popping over from third tri here but my first was 5lb 9oz and was a bloody amazing sleeper, slept through from 3 monthish? Rarely affected by sleep regressions etc and still sleeps amazingly now usually 7-7 every night, however my 2nd was 8lb 9/10 oz and she slept terribly, well over a year before she did through the night, most nights were spent in my arm with constant disturbances and even now, we struggle to settle her and she usually wakes up a few times throughout the week for absolutely no reason! xx

 

[MindUtopia]

I wouldn't think so. Babies aren't really meant to STTN. There are those who do from very early on, but most toddlers still wake during the night. As long as you aren't intentionally withholding food during the day (meaning she is hungrier at night), which you aren't, then no it shouldn't make any difference. My daughter was smaller (6lbs 9 oz) and born a bit early and she woke for a feed or two during the night until 9 months, when she dropped all night feeds on her own. She still woke during the night, but it wasn't for a feed. My friend's baby was about 9lbs, born at 42 weeks, so much different than my daughter, but she was waking for night feeds until probably 2-2.5. Both are 3 now, my daughter is still small (9th centile) and her friend is over the 100th centile off the charts, and neither STTN most nights. So no, I don't think it has anything to do with it really as there's just so much variation and only a small part of waking has to do with needing food.

 

[blueblue]

Thank you ladies, it's really interesting to hear everyone's experiences. She is a very hungry baby, she wasn't putting on weight quite as quickly as the paediatrician wanted at 2 months, I asked him how much milk she should be having for her weight - he said 550+ml, she was already on nearly 800ml back then (expressed bm and formula, not bf at the time), we were giving her the amount she wanted. We've started weaning and sometimes she eats loads x

 

[Lil_Pixie]

My son was 9lb 15 Oz and didn't sleep through till way over 1yr old.

He was breastfed but to be honest we found that as soon as we made him go to sleep alone he started sleeping through in 3 days

 

[minties]

Thank you ladies, it's really interesting to hear everyone's experiences. She is a very hungry baby, she wasn't putting on weight quite as quickly as the paediatrician wanted at 2 months, I asked him how much milk she should be having for her weight - he said 550+ml, she was already on nearly 800ml back then (expressed bm and formula, not bf at the time), we were giving her the amount she wanted. We've started weaning and sometimes she eats loads x

800ml sounds about right for that age, 550ml sounds quite low! That's only 68ml(ish) every 3 hours.

 

[Spudtastic]

My daughter was average at 6 lb 14 Oz and woke every 1 to 2 hours for the first 18 months. She's now 3 and still wakes up at night (just not for a feed).

 

[blueblue]

Thank you ladies, it's really interesting to hear everyone's experiences. She is a very hungry baby, she wasn't putting on weight quite as quickly as the paediatrician wanted at 2 months, I asked him how much milk she should be having for her weight - he said 550+ml, she was already on nearly 800ml back then (expressed bm and formula, not bf at the time), we were giving her the amount she wanted. We've started weaning and sometimes she eats loads x

800ml sounds about right for that age, 550ml sounds quite low! That's only 68ml(ish) every 3 hours.

I thought it was quite low too, it's because they were calculating on her weight rather than age, she was always a couple of age categories behind on the formula amount guidelines by her weight.

 

[BunNtheOven]

I really think they just need more food then a bigger baby! Or maybe their bellys cant take as much as a bigger baby. My first one was pretty average, at 6.6 but my second one was only 5 8. She eats wayyy more often then my first. If shes more breastfed then formula, then that probably is completely normal since their bodies absorbs that faster then formula. My little one only wants boob in the evening so she wakes me up in 4 hours after she goes to sleep. Since your baby is over the 6 months mark, put rice or oatmeal cereal in a bottle of formula or breastmilk. When i started doing that, my first daughter started sleeping through the night.

Sorry to interject but you really shouldn't put anything other than milk in a bottle as its a choking hazard, it should be served by spoon.

Never had a problem with it with my first, actually my doctor recommended it for reflux earlier then the 6 month mark. Its perfectly fine, eating itself has a choking hazard

 

[BunNtheOven]

I used to dread the random wakings when they wanted to play at 2am! I think it mainly happened during the teething stage

 

[MumToEva]

My girl was 5lbs, and she took a long time to sleep through the night - she only slept through consistently at 17 months. She did sleep through for a month or 2 at 9 months-ish, but then was unwell and didn't sleep through then for a good bit longer. I'm not sure if her low birth weight had anything to do with it or not, but she was a slow feeder from the get go, coupled with reflux, and then I think it partly just became a habit. My son was 8.5lbs, and he fed brilliantly from the start, and was generally much less work that way!

 

[loeylo]

I really think they just need more food then a bigger baby! Or maybe their bellys cant take as much as a bigger baby. My first one was pretty average, at 6.6 but my second one was only 5 8. She eats wayyy more often then my first. If shes more breastfed then formula, then that probably is completely normal since their bodies absorbs that faster then formula. My little one only wants boob in the evening so she wakes me up in 4 hours after she goes to sleep. Since your baby is over the 6 months mark, put rice or oatmeal cereal in a bottle of formula or breastmilk. When i started doing that, my first daughter started sleeping through the night.

Sorry to interject but you really shouldn't put anything other than milk in a bottle as its a choking hazard, it should be served by spoon.

Never had a problem with it with my first, actually my doctor recommended it for reflux earlier then the 6 month mark. Its perfectly fine, eating itself has a choking hazard

https://www.eatright.org/resource/f...ing/send-a-message-in-a-bottle-but-not-cereal

I honestly don't see how it could help reflux. Reflux is when acid escapes from the stomach into the oesophagus due to immature muscles. In the UK its strongly advised against, but maybe this has changed since your eldest was younger.