So my DD is 10.5 weeks old now and she does not sleep between around 5pm and 11pm-12am!! Not matter what we do, feeding, a bath, rocking etc, she just will not sleep. It's getting quite frustrating because I am stuck on the couch feeding her the whole night and can't make dinner etc... I am starving and it's 9:20pm and I haven't had dinner, DH was at soccer training so I have just been sitting here waiting for him to get home so I can eat something!!
I know there is arsenic hour but this is just silly!! Why won't she sleep between these hours????
Bex on those 2 day naps how many hours does she sleep for???
K sleeps pretty much 1 day nap for like 4hrs and he goes to bed at 7-8pm of a night will cluster feed then will go pretty much 7 possible sometimes 8 hours of a night now and is awake at 6-6:30am will play for a few hours then naps then wakes again and pretty much is awake until 7-8 unless he dozes off to sleep himself while having tummy time or so fourth!!!
if i remember correctly with DS1 i got told babies at this age should be sleeping around 15hrs a day!!! Something maybe to look into (but remember not all babies are the same)
Stay positive things WILL get better it wont always be as hard as this xxxx
well this is how it usually goes:
5am wake up for feed
8-9am wake up for feed
1.5-2hrs later have a nap for around 2-3hrs
awake for 1.5-2hrs then another nap for about 2hrs
once she wakes up after that second nap I have no hope of getting her down no matter how hard I try!! So I don't think she is over tired cause I don't keep her up longer than 2hrs...
I wrap her and put her down even if she is still awake for those 2 other naps and she usually puts herself to sleep.. but after she wakes in the afternoon she will not settle herself and won't go down after being rocked etc.
it's the time of day - just because she puts herself to sleep earlier in teh day doesn't mean she can at that time. Try something different in the afternoon maybe. Do you have a sling or wrap you could put her in? Some babies that's the only way they'll sleep = pop them in adn jiggle away for a bit. You can also get yourself some food while she's in teh sling too.
dS didn't get the hang of an earlier bedtime than 11pm until he was about 12 months old. I tried everything I knew and posted on here in desperation. In the end he just got the hang of it. I had had the same bedtime routine since the day he was born, and TBH I haven't changed it yet, but he has changed. I just had to adjust to him, instead of unsuccessfully trying to force him to be like I thought he should have been. I know that's not the answer you're after, but when I changed the way I reacted, it made it easier for all of us.
Use a sling! It will help a lot. I'm sure she's picking up on your anxiety too. I know it's hard (I've been there!) but you need to try your best to relax and wondering how long it will be before she goes to sleep or when you can eat are no doubt stressing you. She would be picking up on this. Pop her in a sling and let her have her first sleep for the night in the sling. Eat, relax and watch tv. She'll chill cause your chilled You can then try to put her in her bed once she's as keep or wake her for a feed later (if she normally feeds then) and try putting her down after a no-fuss, quiet feed.
my DD is the same Bex, she is only 5 weeks old, but from around 6 to 10 most nights is an utter disaster, she cries no matter what we do. I have found though that total quiet time (no tv, lights down, me feeding her lying down away from her noisy brother) has helped.
Also hun make sure you are taking care of your health, you feeling hungry and stressed wont be helping her relax. Swap your lunch and dinner meals, so have a bigger meal at lunch and have some finger foods, like sandwiches (made at lunch and put into fridge for later), mini quiches, pasta bake etc ready for night time. Something you can prepare with one hand and eat with one hand (or with just a fork).
I know it doesnt feel like it right now, but try to remember she will be out of this stage soon and you will get to sit down to a hot meal again
I second what everyone else said - put her in the sling and if you can, take her for a walk in the sling when you are ready for her to go to sleep. You would be amazed by how much being outside can settle some babies. If you walk her in the sling at that time, she might even sleep and you might be able to make and eat dinner with her there. I have a HAB and it is really good for that.
If you are finding it too much with her in the sling, I have a battery operated rocker (I hurt my back when DS1 was little and it has never fully recovered so carrying babies for long periods of time causes me all sorts of issues) and I often wrap DS2 ready for bed and if he doesn't settle, I put him in there while I make dinner/bath the other kids and get them to bed. It works for us too. The problem is that you probably don't want to go spending a whole tonne of $$$ and find it doesn't work for you, so if you can borrow one for a couple of days and see how you go it might be better than spending the money first.
If all else fails, just remember that this too shall pass. She won't still be awake, unsettled and unhappy like this forever. It is just a short period of time. I have been through it to some degree with all my babies, but my first one was the worst. I felt really alone and like no-one really understood what I was going through or how difficult I was finding it. As they get older though, they do settle more easily and respond more to you just being there. Hang in there. It is really really hard at this stage, but you are doing amazingly
Like Kim, i found it easier when i accepted that that is what my little cherub was going to do. Some days it was harder to accept though
Can you make dinner when she is having one of her sleeps so you only have to heat it? Take turns in holding her so you both get to eat dinner. We also got good at eating one handed and chopping the other person's food up.
We found it really nice to head out for a walk after diner. DH or i would carry bub in the carrier and we would walk the streets and chat. it was nice to catch up and bub would sometimes settle with the movement, the closeness and a bit of fresh air.
The K's my DH clocked up walking the streets at 10 - 11o'clock at night with our "vampire" (what we used to call her because she came alive at sundown) would wear out a pedometer!!
He was brilliant and would take her so that I could have a couple of hours sleep or just time to myself to feed, relax, whatever. Half the time she wouldnt go to sleep in her pram either but at least she wasnt attached to me and it would calm her and make her sleepy if nothing else.
She did eventually learn to bring her bed time down to a more reasonable hour but it was certainly hard going in those first few months
I cant even tell you what exactly if anything we did (must be the sleep fuzz memory loss) but it wont be like this forever I promise. This is just her wide awake time and maybe once she hits her 3month growth spurt her awake time will be at a more sociable time.
She is still little and learning all these new things just like Mum and Dad, but you are doing so well - keep it up
Well i have been sitting in our room in the dark feeding her since 9pm and she is still sucking and not sleeping. I thought by having a quie dark room she might feed to sleep but its taking as long as normal!
I had a bit more luck with my DD tonight. I realised after reading someones suggestion about tired signs I had completly forgot to look for them in DD. I really picked up her signs today and she slept sooo much more today, and I didnt have a night of full on screams. I'm in shock and have more time on my hands then I have for ages lol
anyway just thought I would share, tired signs and swaddling worked for us today. How is your DD is going?
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sleeping between 5pm-11pm??
You can then try to put her in her bed once she's as keep or wake her for a feed later (if she normally feeds then) and try putting her down after a no-fuss, quiet feed.
but at least she wasnt attached to me and it would calm her and make her sleepy if nothing else.
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