So who made the “sleeping through the night” rules?? I find it interesting that the time a baby sleeps to make it “through the night” becomes shorter and shorter. It used to be I’d see people gloating over 6 consecutive hours and how at their baby’s “age” that is considered sleeping through the night. Then not long ago I saw someone on facebook telling a friend that 5 hours sleep was sleeping through the night at that baby’s age. Huh???
When was the last time you slept for 5 hours and woke up thinking, “Man, what a great nights sleep!”? Uh… no, don’t think so. I mean it’s a nice concept and all. Encourage the sleep deprived, bedraggled, non-showered parents (mommies) of new borns that “Hurray, your baby is sleeping through the night at 4 weeks old!! The baby got 5 hours, yay!!!” Now not to say that isn’t great and all, but here’s how it really works. Baby wakes up mommy, mommy feeds baby, baby crashes back out for his 5 hours, mommy takes 45 min to fall asleep. OR baby will start the 5 hours at 8PM, but mommy doesn’t go to bed till 9:30 (if lucky) so the 5 hours is already hacked down to 3.5. Now in my book, that is NOT sleeping through the night.
Don’t get me wrong, I celebrate 4 or 5 hour stretches too. Ella even had a 9 hour stretch when we were at Stu’s parents house!! Unfortunately I wasn’t sleeping that whole time though. She was sleeping in her car seat too. My babies always sleep better in the seat. Why is that?? Hmmm… Anyway, it hasn’t happened again. Yet! 
I’m pretty sure that I won’t be considering us as “sleeping through the night” until we all are sleeping ALL night. Maybe I’m just stubborn, or maybe I’m just a sleep deprived mommy who gets up 2 times during MY night to tend to the needs of a little one, but I’m not going to “go” with the experts opinion on this one. When I tell you all that Ella slept THROUGH the night, that’s exactly what I’ll mean!
Hope some of you out there are getting good sleep!!!
Haha! I am with you on this one! To be honest, Libby STILL does not sleep through the night! She goes to be around 8, and most often wakes up around 2, which I am TRYING to get her out of the habit of. She isn’t hungry (even though she may think she is!). But, lately she has been waiting until 5 am to wake up, but still, I don’t consider that the best – better, but still not my ideal all nighter. I can’t wait until she sleeps until 7. That is my goal! And, even on the nights she sleeps until 5, I usually have another kid wake up for some reason or other (or one who walks in his sleep!). Sigh. I guess sleep is overated. I guess.
I never thought of it in terms of if I slept or not
But yes, through the night should mean all night. I remember being ecstatic when Baby Boy finally slept through the night! I thought it was a dream and then realized I was awake and my baby was not! Heaven! Hope you get much more sleep soon 