Help - I can't get no sleep!

[TearingMyHairOut]

My ds1 11 weeks today goes to bed at about 7.30. He usually sleep until about 1.30/2.00am. I have tried waking him at 22.00 for a feed but he still wakes at 1.30/2.00am so I thought I may as well let him sleep. He goes back to sleep fine after that feed but is awake again at around 4/4.30 and doesn't want to go back to sleep. Then at around 7/7.30 he's tired again. We tried feeding him but he does not want it or maybe takes just 1oz. I know lots of MNetters don't believe in routine at this early an age and I do not intend to be strict but I need to resolve this early waking because I am absolutely useless on what is working out about 5 hours of sleep a night. How can I get him to gradually sleep longer into the morning?

Try reading The Baby Whisperer - she's great at sorting out all these sorts of things. Don't worry about the routine - some babies thrive on them - I know my DD does, as long as there is some flexibility and you don't live by the clock!
Good luck!

Amazon sell it - www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Baby-Whisperer-Connect-Communicate/dp/0091857023/sr=8-3/qid=1159259254/ref=sr_1_3/202-6898987-4381419?ie=UTF8&s=books

I've already got it!!!

Sorry - nothing else I can suggest I'm afraid, but am sure some other MNers will have plenty of great advice for you.
The only thing I remind myself of when I'm exhausted is that DD won't still be doing this to us when she's at university - I hope! Small comfort, but makes me smile.

This might sound really hard, but he is very young and I'm afraid you will have to work around him.
What you need to do is sleep when he sleeps - so that means having a nice meal (if you haven't managed to eat earlier), a relaxing bath and then go to bed yourself by 9pm at the latest. That way you will have already had up to five hours sleep before he even wakes the first time. This is what I did. It won't be forever, but it will get you through the next few weeks.

Hope you can make it work for you.

I have to second somersetmum, at this stage you do need to be in bed really early yourself. It will restore your sanity if you have had five or so good hours kip before he wakes for the first time; if he wakes at 1amish and you are back in bed by 2am for another two to two and a half hours then you have had seven and a half hours in all - not bad for having an 11 week old in the house, to be frank!

Do you have a blackout blind in his room? Is he restless - does he have covers or a grobag? Maybe these things might have an effect on his ability to get back off at 4am ish?

What is his daytime routine/sleep like?

Get DH/dad to do the 1.30 or 4.30 feed. And go to bed at 8.30/9pm yourself.

I think that waking him at 10 o clock may be a bit too early, what worked for us was waking him at 11pm - DH used to do that one and keeping him awake for an hour so he took a full feed. He'd get half a bottle when he was woken up then a quiet play/nappy change, then a full bottle to go back to bed with at 12 midnight.

I went to bed at 9pm and after his 11/12 o' clock feed with dad he would sleep unilt 3/4am.
(we started this at 8 weeks and by 13 weeks he was sleeping 12-6am)

We then started moving the 11pm feed back by 10 minutes or so every 2 nights until it was 10pm.

At this age babaies cna often do ONE long strech of sleep of between 5 and 8 hrs, the trick is to get it between 12pm and 6am. It sounds like your baby is doing his long stretch 7.30pm - 1.30am (6hrs) if you can shift it so he has a short sleep 31/2 hrs til 11pm, then see if he will do a longer stretch 12-5/6am.

Its really important to get a good feed into them at 11pm, and to make sure they stay awake for an hour, DS was 5 months befre we coudl cut that feed back to only 30 minutes awake and 7 months before we dropped the late night feed.

Good luck