2 hours then a baby falls asleep?? Haha!!!!

[LalaDipsey]

Hi, I keep reading that the longest a baby can stay awake is 2 hours then they conk out!! I remember DD1 was textbook and would fall asleep practically to the minute on 2 hours. My darling twins seem to be pushing this to the limits...... DD2 has gone 3hrs35 and DS1 4hrs15 without sleeping and getting more and more irate!!! This is at about 6 weeks. I wonder what the longest time a baby has gone?!

I think the longest DS was awake once at around that age was 8 hours. He (and me) was beside himself!
But then I didn't even know about the 2 hour rule. I guess the longer the baby is awake the more overtired he/she gets. How about you put them in the buggy every 1.5 hours or so? Just anything to try to get them to go to sleep. I still remember those times when it seems that your entire day seems to evolve around getting baby to sleep. It will pass, try to get out of the house, get some fresh air, see people before it drives you crazy!

That's a myth. I remember DD going for oh so many more hours...probably 6 or 8...seems like a lifetime when they are grizzly. Sometimes I think they seem to just need milk, more milk, more milk, more milk... then thy finally crash..hooray, enough milk for now!!!

I remember reading that! Unfortunately, my DS hadn't read it. Or perhaps he had read it and set out to prove it wrong. Easily 4 hours. Then a 45 min snooze, then up again.

My DS went 5 hours today, each time he looked like he was drifting off, started crying, ended up going out in buggy and he was asleep within minutes

I don't think you can expect them to conk out - most babies need help to get to sleep or they get overtired and can't drop off.

It's more normal that they don't really just conk out, not in the early days at least. You have to watch for them getting overtired (in my DS's case that means loud shrieks, hyperactive giggles, a fractious look and inability to focus on any of his toys or be distracted) and then try to settle them down to sleep. I found this hard initially as sometimes the signs of over tiredness can seem like a new burst of energy, but it's just hyperactive energy, they're actually tired when they're looking goggle-eyed and hyper.

It's easier now that DS is nearly 5 months - he settles more easily but I remember when he was a newborn, I had to work much harder to get him to sleep! Often I'd miss the overtired signs and then it would just get worse and worse, sometimes until the next feed when he'd usually fall asleep while feeding.

DD went all day (about 8-10 hours once). It was awful. With hindsight I should have taken her out in the pram or something, but I was a bit clueless.

They just 'know' when it's bedtime I think and are determined to scream and not sleep! Both nap pretty well in the day but come 4/5 o'clock they can stay awake for hours, maybe grab a half hour 'power nap' to get more energy and then kick off again! Hey ho at least it won't last - they will sleep one day

I had to help DS get to sleep every 2 hours when he was little. If he didn't sleep he would be awake for hours screaming and crying.

I find if I catch DD at the 'right moment' she goes down like a dream. Her cues are flaily arms...twitching everywhere. Usually an hour to an hour and a half after waking. As soon as I spotted this, she was swaddled nad lay in her basket. I used to then just potter around in the room, while she lay, and more often than not, asleep she fell.