sleep solutions please for 5 month old

[Emzickle]

My DD is 5 months on Friday - she's in her cot in our bed room, but I'm afriad DP and I have been rather slack in enforcing any kind of routine, namely me I thought they were cruel - but now I see some of my friends enjoying evenings together and I am so jealous!

She goes up to bed when we go, and normally all ready asleep when we put her in the cot, any time from 10pm til 11.30... waking at about 7.30 - 8.30am

We need to sort this out, as soon she'll be staying at grannies house - and I want some normality back...

Any help muchly appreciated as I genuinely have no idea how to make things change or even what is realistic to expect of her....

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

Doesnt sound like there is anything wrong there to me, tbh.

[Emzickle]

I want her to go to bed, at night, at an earlier time - with out us having to get her off before we put her down -

[Swizzler]

Helloo Emzickle!

What about putting back her bedtime by 1/2 hr a a time until you get to a better bedtime? YBH, v envious at the amount of sleep you're getting as DS still waking every couple of hours! He is going to bed about 7pm tho.

How are you doing anyway? Not heard from you for a while

[Ceebee74]

Me and Dh were the same with DS until he was about 5 months old - we both enjoyed having him downstairs with us in the evenings and he generally slept on a beanbag quite happily.

However, after listening to my mum nagging about how he should be upstairs and as he wasn't sleeping downstairs as much as he had been doing before, we started putting him to bed upstairs after his last bottle at 7ish. And, I have to say it is better this way - it is lovely to have our evenings to ourselves so I can cook tea in peace, watch telly, surf MN etc.

Ds handled the change well - he still doesn't go to sleep in his cot but I discovered a trick of putting him in his grobag on our bed and he rolls from side to side on top of our duvet and rubs it against his face and falls asleep usually within 5 minutes (I stay with him so he doesn't fall off) and then I move him to his cot. I know this isn't the 'recommended' way but it works and guarantees us our evenings

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

Going to bed earlier can be done by bringing back the time you get her to sleep by half an hour or so every couple of days. Be prepared for the fact that she may well start waking slightly earlier though.

I dont think there is a real problem with how you get her to sleep, unless its a really convoluted process that you have. How is it you are getting her to sleep?

[missingsleep]

Hi Emzickle. My dd is 5 months old and we decided in the new year it was time for her to have a bed time.

What we did is started a pre-bed routine. For us that was half an hour playing with her nappy off, bath, into bed clothes in a darkened room then breastfed then bed. (She's still in our room too).

It took a couple of weeks at least, and I had to just accept my evenings would be mostly spent sat with her in the dark trying to get her to go to sleep, but it did work. She's now asleep at 8 every evening and we've got our evenings back, which is actually lovely.

The thing to remember is the first few days are hard. I refused to leave her crying but did take the stance once she was in the bedroom that was where she was staying, no matter how fed up we both got.

Good luck, now you tell me how you managed to get yours to sleep through the night!

[Emzickle]

She has always fell asleep downstiars on me when I give her the last bottle at about 9pm, then we wiggle upstairs and pop her in the cot... some times she wakes again though, and i'm normally so tired I get her in bed with me for a cuddle for ten mins to get her off then back in the cot

I would love to feel like she's able to fall asleep on her own though

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

Well, to be honest, at 5 months I dont think its that big a deal.

But, if you want her to try to go to sleep without the bottle, then you have to give the bottle slightly earlier every few days until she is not quite so sleepy when you put her down to sleep. She doesnt sound like she is a "problem" sleeper so I think it should be feasible. But, as I said, its not too big a deal if she doesnt seem to like it. It's easy to feel 'inferior' for want of a better word, when other parents go on about how their lo sleeps through, settles themselves, does handstands whilst having their nappy changed etc. But, in the scheme of things, if she is happy, and you are happy, then that is great.

I wouldnt try doing the settling to sleep without a bottle at the same time as bringing bedtime forward though. One thing at a time

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

Also, its worth bearing in mind that little things like her falling asleep on you whilst she is so little is something you will miss when it stops - i guarantee it, so make the most of these quiet, peaceful moments