Boo is baby #4 and he is my best sleeper by far! He came home from the hospital sleeping 6 hour stretches at night! I'm not sure it's anything I did or didn't do that caused that, but I'll tell you what I have been doing, because it can't hurt to try. I mean, who doesn't want 6 hours of sleep at night with a newborn!
I wake Boo up every 3 or so hours during the day to nurse him. He usually wakes up on his own now, but in the beginning, I had to do the waking. I would usually undress him to get him awake enough to eat. I tried to keep him awake for a little bit after he ate, so he would be more tired and sleep longer. I never woke him at night though. I have always just let him sleep as long as he can once 11pm came.
I also swaddle him when I want him to sleep. Being baby #4, Boo spends a good amount of time in our baby swing or bouncy seat throughout the day. If he happens to fall asleep in those seats, I just let him sleep without being wrapped. If I want him to sleep for a larger chunk of time, I will swaddle him and put him in his bed. We are currently using a Fisher Price rock and play sleeper.
I am breastfeeding Boo. I have done the same with all 4 of my children. Let me tell you some background so you know what this has to do with sleeping through the night. I've had to tailor my diet to each of my babies sensitivities. With my oldest, M, I couldn't eat much of anything with flavor. She was sensitive to onions, garlic, chocolate, dairy and caffeine. Actually, I couldn't even drink decaf coffee with her...it was tough! I lost a good bit of weight while nursing her, so the trade off wasn't so bad. With #2, C, I could have chocolate, dairy and decaf coffee, but none of the other things I already listed. She wasn't as sensitive and I added the other things back in rather quickly. With #3, Bubba, I could eat pretty much anything with the exception of caffeine. And, on round #4, it's more of the same as Bubba.
All this to say, what you eat does affect your milk. It may not affect your baby the same way as mine, but it does affect it. I have never had caffeine with any of my young babies, and they have all slept great from the beginning. I also know people who have had caffeine from the beginning, and their babies sleep great too! I'm not telling you to not have caffeine, but if your baby is having a hard time sleeping, maybe try cutting it out to see if it helps. Cutting it out would mean not having any for at least a week, so it has time to fully be out of baby's system. Caffeine is residual...so it last's longer in baby's system than yours.
Finally, I put my baby down. Some babies love to cuddle and be rocked, but at some point, most babies just want to be put down to sleep. They can get over stimulated very easily. Holding, rocking, singing, patting....any of those things can overstimulate quickly. I find myself trying to rock Boo to sleep when I have the chance, but he just wants to be left alone to fall asleep on his own. So, don't be afraid to put your baby down and let them fuss a little to put themselves to sleep. Boo doesn't scream or cry a lot, just a little fussing, and then he's out.
If you have any tips you've tried to get your baby to sleep through the night, let me know! I'm always looking for new things to try!
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