Please can you help me change baby's night time routine?

[sagitta]

I have a dd, 5.5 weeks. She goes to bed beautifully at 7.00pm, wakes at about 10.30 for a feed, then again at about 1.30-2.00. All good so far. But every night, for the last 4 weeks, she has woken at 3.20 and won't go back to sleep again till after 6.00am. I feed her again at about 4.30am, then again at 7.30am.

I have tried:
dummy
controlled crying
rocking
feeding
blacked out the room
changing the day time routine (what there is of one, anyway)
changing nappy / not changing nappy

Can you think of anyway I can get her to sleep for those 3 hours? I don't mind feeding her through the night, but I do mind the crying and not sleeping bit...
I am thinking of using formula for night feeds - do you think that would make any difference?
Thanks for any advice!

[sagitta]

anyone?

[CathyJo]

I don't have a magic solution, but I can tell you my experience. My dd was quite unsettled for the first few weeks - I think 5ish wks is still v. early to hope for a routine. She used to wake up at random times, bf and then would take an hour to settle, snooze for 10 mins then wake up again. I was generally up from about 2 until 5. I think it started to settle down when her daytime feeding was more established and she began to take on more. From about 4pm I would let her feed when she wanted, which sometimes resulted in 3hrs on and off, but my thinking was that it would fill her up a bit more for nighttime, which I think it did. I also tried formula for nighttimes and can honestly say I don't think it made any difference at all to how long she slept for. I did mean DP could help out with the feeding, but I don't think it is a cure all. She now coming up for 10 wks and generally sleeps 11 (after dream feed) until about 5ish so still not great, but getting there

[ConnorTraceptive]

I can only suggest what I did and that was having a later bedtime. with both my DS's they had bath and feed and bed at 9.30pm and then once they were sleeping through to a reasonable time we brought bedtime time forward. DS now goes to bed at 7pm, feeds at 2am and 4.30 and then sleeps until but only in bed with me.

Have you tried co-sleeping from when she wakes at 3am?

[ConnorTraceptive]

sorry that should read then sleeps on and off until about 6.30am.

Have to say I was an adament non co-sleeper with ds1 but i'm buggered if i'm gonna pace the floor with ds2 at 4am

[castille]

It sounds like she's having her biggest block of sleep at the wrong time (ie when you aren't asleep too!)

I'd suggest you consider 10.30pm as her bedtime rather than 7pm.

Let her nap in the living room with you in the early evening, then feed her and put her to bed at your bedtime. Then she might gradually shift her main block of sleep to coincide with yours.

That's what we always did, and it suited us nicely. We only started putting them to bed earlier when they didn't need the late evening feed.

[sagitta]

Thanks everyone. I hate co-sleeping, and DH is a smoker...but from time to time DD and I both fall asleep when she is feeding.

I might try the later bedtime routine - I just really relish my evenings with DH! I suppose you can't have it all...

thanks for telling me that formula made no difference.

[ConnorTraceptive]

I know what you mean about having evenings to yourself I love it now both the boys are in bed by 7pm. You may only need to do it for a few weeks.

[sagitta]

I think I'll try going back an hour at a time...