Nighttime 'playing'

[Sparrowlegs248]

DS is 11 weeks old and frequently has veryvawake periods in the night, usually around 3am. He feeds then is wide awake smiling and 'chatting' away to me. I have read that inshouldnt intetact with him during nightbtime wakings.

However he is still so little and is awake practicing his noises and stays awake longer/gets more unsettled if i ignore him. DH gets up very early and works long hours so i tend to bring baby downstairs and he goes on his playmat and we chat for 20 minutes or so. Then he will feed again, fall asleep and we go back to bed.

2 - 4 times a week. Apparently.I am making a rod for my own back by doing this, getting him into bad habits.

I dont feel I can just ignore his grinning cheery attempts to communicate and if we get up and play the awake time is much less.

Just looking for advice/opiniins really.

Thanks.

[Purpleboa]

It's hard to know what to do isn't it? Right now DD is wide awake and wanting to play. Big smiles and alert expressions argh! I feel bad but I try to persevere with night time conditions. No eye contact, lots of rocking and shh ing and most recently, I've been trying pick up put down. Eventually she does settle back. Although if she wakes at 6 my DH will take her and try and tire her out before he goes to work, so we get a nap in at 7, sometimes.

I don't know what's best though. Perhaps if I did, DD wouldn't be waking every two hours!

[Sparrowlegs248]

How old is your DDI? DS is fast asleep again now. I just find it easier and less stressful to get up. He lays on his mat, I get a cuppa and sit next to him. He's back asleep half an hour after coming down. If I stayed upstairs it would be longer and I would be getting stressed trying to 'make' him go back to sleep. DS would be getting upset DH would be woken up to(he gets up at 4am 6 days a week, hids lie in is 6am......so we do try not to wake him too much!)

I feel this is the best thing for now, but wonder if it will come back to haunt me in future (when i am back at work.......)