Can 12 week old " play up" for Mum?

[ARS157]

Just as title reads!

My son is 12 weeks old tomorrow and has been quite an unsettled baby anyway. So much so that my husband and I are still sleeping in “shifts” at night so we both get a half decent amount of time asleep.

My husband usually does the first shift from around 8.30pm to 2am (so he can study as he’s going a masters module) and I go to bed when my toddler does and get around 5/5.5hrs sleep then we swap over. Some days I get up earlier, some later depending if my husband is working or not the next day.

My little boy usually sleeps well the first part of the night for my husband however the minute I come down (I’m very quiet) and we swap over he wakes up and starts crying! It’s like he can sense my presence! Then the rest of the night he remains unsettled between bottles and I don’t get any more sleep 😔

My husband says it’s the time of night but the other night it was 3am I came down and it was 1.30 the night before. It is 2am last night but it’s honestly as soon as I come down he starts and it’s starting to make me feel a little sad, like doesn’t like me.

Is it possible for babies to sense Mum and play up for them? Or am I taking this way too personally in my sad tired state? 😂

[CheapSausagesAndSpam]

It's highly unlikely OP....though it feels like it. I do think though that he needs to be in a bedroom now and not downstairs.

Does he have a room? Start putting him to bed. You can always have a mattress by his cot...but really your priority should be to get him to go back to his bed as soon as he's fed.

[Timefor2]

Both my babies were much less settled in the second part of the night, but also they probably can sense mummy is now in the room and want to be cuddled by you - rather than not liking you, he loves you too much! It's tough though, currently awake with my 4 month old who wants to be held by mummy too...!

[RavingRoo]

Could he be waking up hungry? Try giving him an extra bottle before bed if possible.

[AlexsMum89]

My DS was much less settled in the 2nd half of the night. I remember doing exactly what you're doing and the little monkey would sleep soundly on his dad's shift and be up for most of mine so his dad got a full nights sleep and I had to do it all anyway!

I really don't think it's anything to do with you, please don't let it make you sad x

[Loverunandwine]

My babies were both more unsettled the second part of the night-from 3ish. Try swapping with DH abs see if there is an impact or not.

[ARS157]

Thanks everyone! Wasn’t expecting so many replies just yet! He does have his own room but we plan to have him with us till 6 months. We didn’t really want him in our room with us until he’s settling better between bottles as then we’d both get no sleep plus he might wake up his big brother. He’s still wanting a bottle every 3hrs most nights. We were hoping he’d be sleeping better between bottles by now but he’s been a really unsettled baby. Don’t know what to do for best but might try swapping with husband if he’s not studying one night to see if it’s just the time of night. Thank you. I know we beee to bite the bullet and take him upstairs with us eventually but sleep wins at the moment! Probably just making it worse on ourselves the longer we leave it....!

[OutComeTheWolves]

I'd say he can smell you or just knows it's you and would far rather be cuddled by mum than go to sleep.

[EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic]

When you say he’s unsettled, what is he doing?

[CappuccinoCake]

A chunk of 4 hours sleep then feeding every 2 hours isn't uncommon. (And was my reality for far too long!)

Is he sleepi ng downstairs? It's not clear from your post? Is one of you literally sitting up while he sleeps?

[RadioGaGoo]

My DS is 7 months. Sleeps like a dream until 02.30. Anyone's guess after that.

[MrsBriteSide]

Like everyone else has said, he’s not playing up, it’s just the second half of the night is usually more unsettled.

What are you doing with baby downstairs? Are you trying to settle him in a crib or Moses? Is one of you sitting up with him? Have you got the lights on down there? I think you need to be bringing him upstairs after a feed and settling him in his crib in your room where you want him to be sleeping. Keep everything as dark and quiet as possible. Sorry for all the questions but more info on what’s going on downstairs is needed to help you sort it out.