is this a routine??

[kezzax]

my baby 17 weeks falls asleep in my arms at approx 7.30pm every night then goes in to her cot and settles untill 10 then has last feed, she then falls back asleep untill early hours where she'l wake up a few times over night and il just put her dummy in and she (most of the time) goes back to sleep- is she likely to stay in this pattern or am i gonna struggle if i dont let her fall asleep herself at 7.30- i must stress im quite happy with it at the moment but am worried its her age rather than a routine that has her sleeping well

[WestCountryLass]

Sounds pretty much like a routine to me

My DD is 8 months and she has kept the same schedule she started in the early days so maybe you've cracked it!

[Seona1973]

I would start to tweak your routine so that your baby is very sleepy but still awake when you put her in the cot. If you leave it the way it is now your baby will be learning that in order to go to sleep she needs to be being held by you.

All babies wake up during the night but if they have learned self soothing skills they can normally put themselves back to sleep without disturbing anyone. If however they are used to being held to get to sleep then this is what they will come to expect to be able to get back to sleep when they wake in the night. If you are very unlucky they will call for you practically every hour or two when they come into light sleep and havent learned the skills to go back into a deep sleep.

I am not saying to stick her in the cot wide awake but just try to leave her a bit more awake each time so that she learns how to go to sleep by herself.