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Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Behaviour/development

CLB Routine sleep help!!!!

15 replies

Nickyst · 26/09/2013 22:24

Hi all my LO is 4 week old and we've been trying really hard to get her on the CLB routine and all good apart from her sleep. After the first 2weeks she's somehow got her days and nights all mixed up. I know she's more alert now than the early days but she only wants to play in the eve/night and is impossible to wake during the day. I manage to get her to wake to eat enough at the right day times but she falls asleep while I'm burping her or soon After despite all attempts to stimulate her including playing, changing her nappy, stripping her off(!) (I never let her get cold!) but she just won't stay awake for any longer than an hour yet at night or eve she can often be awake for 3 sometimes 4 hours!! And will only stop crying if we play with her which at 3am ain't great!

I've ruled out colic, hunger, wet/dirty nappy etc & I'm sure it's a case of too much sleep during day making her SOO alert at night. How do I change this?! Getting to the end of my tether!

Thanks

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SimLondon · 26/09/2013 22:27

4 weeks is pretty young for the clb routine, but you'll get there :-)

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LittleMilla · 26/09/2013 22:33

What's clb?

I'd give up on a routine and just roll with it for a few more weeks. A bedtime ritual can help get them used to 'going to bed' and then keep stimulation to a minimum at night. Make sure you get them out and about in the daytime. Most of the advice about 'play' it to stop any feeding to sleep associations, so don't take it too literally. They can barely focus yet, let alone play.

My ds2 is ten weeks tomorrow. Having ties myself in knots with ds1 trying to get him doing xyz I've tried to be more relaxed this time. I'd say that it's only been the last week or so 8 weeks onwards) that his own natural routine has emerged.

Follow your baby's lead. Ds has (for the last two nights) only woken once and been heroic. Bugger all I've down apart from feed him when he's hungry and let him sleep when he's tired. I quite like the baby whisperer's easy schedule - eat, activity, sleep, you. I try to ignore the ones that tell you to do things at specific times as it's just fckn stressful.

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ilovepowerhoop · 26/09/2013 22:33

its early days and you lo hasnt read the book! I would get too hung up on the routine and would follow it loosely until she is ready to stay awake a bit longer at a time. Try to enjoy your baby rather than getting her to conform to a routine that she isnt ready for yet.

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IsobelEliza · 26/09/2013 22:33

I agree with SimLondon. Keep aiming for the CLB routine but be patient it may take a bit longer yet. She may not old enough to keep alert and awake as you want yet but as she gets more interested in the world you will be able to keep her to the daytime waking times which will leave her with more capacity to sleep at night.

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ilovepowerhoop · 26/09/2013 22:35

clb - Contented Little Baby book and has specific times for absolutely everything. It is very rigid and doesnt really take into account the different needs of different babies. (I had that book and the Babywhisperer books and took the bits out of each that suited me best)

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ExBrightonBell · 26/09/2013 22:40

Throw out the book with the CLB routine in it?

Seriously, she's only 4 weeks old, and it's very normal behaviour. She doesn't know about what the CLB routine says she's supposed to be doing. Just keep responding to her cues, and keep making daytime bright and interesting whilst making nighttime dark and quiet. She'll work it out soon enough. Babies are not born with the ability to regulate their own sleep patterns and need some time to develop their own sleep cycle. Getting out in daylight every day will also help.

It could be worth letting her set her own patterns eg feed her when she demands (which is NHS advice btw) and let her sleep when she wants (within reason). It might suit her more than an externally enforced routine.

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Nickyst · 27/09/2013 09:53

Thanks for input please understand I am enjoying every second of my LO, the routine works brill for us so I wont be throwing it out, she is very capable of age appropriate "play" because she loves it at night. So she is doing the routine perfectly except sleeping between feeds during day and very alert between feeds at night. I appreciate she's little and things take time just wondered if anyone had any tips for swapping when shes alert.
Thanks all

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ilovepowerhoop · 27/09/2013 10:08

keep everything light and bright during the day and dark and quiet at night and she will eventually get there. I wouldn't even change her nappy in the night unless she had pooed in it.

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ExBrightonBell · 27/09/2013 10:25

Have a read of the Isis Sleep website which is a very interesting site from the University of Durham's Parent-Infant Sleep lab. There is a lot of very useful info about babies sleep patterns and what is to be expected when. It mentions on the page about how babies sleep that it can take a few months for babies day-night sleep pattern to emerge.

The only thing you can do to assist is to keep distinguishing between day and night as described already, and to get outside every day if possible. Keep doing your routine, but expect it to take a while longer for your baby to adjust.

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LittleMilla · 27/09/2013 20:33

I would really love to know what play looks like for a four week old.

Seriously.

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CreatureRetorts · 27/09/2013 21:03

Lol at a 4 week old playing.

I found CLB worked from 4/5 months onwards. Which aligns with what a sleep paediatrician said in the happy sleep health child book - basically from 4 months babies can settle into a routine but before then you just go with the flow (obviously distinguish between night and day).

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LittleMilla · 27/09/2013 21:51

Creature - wholeheartedly agree. Anything before then is luck (as I am currently experiencing with DS2).

Not to say you can't chivvy them along a bit. But utterly pointless taking it all too seriously and tying yourself in knots

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Nickyst · 29/09/2013 16:41

Thank you ExBrightonBell. Littlemilla I would happily show you what I mean by play and would ask that if you dont have a useful or supportive comment that you refrain from commenting at all.
I think my original post may have been misleading as I did write it one very sleep deprived night! Im not at the end of my tether as originally stated (think I was being a little dramatic lol) and grateful for all helpful input thanks guys!

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LittleMilla · 29/09/2013 19:05

I actually took the time to write you a pretty lengthily reply trying to help. To which you quite smugly replied about playing which I still think is ridiculous

But anyhow, best of luck and I hope you continue enjoying being a mummy.

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Nickyst · 13/10/2013 07:20

Hi all just thought I would feed back, LO Is now 6.5weeks old and doing really well. We're making day times light and bright and keeping night time quiet and dark as suggested and allowing flexibility in the times (sort of within half an hour or so) and she's in a lovely routine now. I realise that this will no doubt be disrupted again in the future with growth spurts etc but finding CLB really working. Think you were all right I just needed to give it a little more time.

Many thanks all