unsettled baby - ideas?

[littlepig]

My 7 1/2 week old DD is actually very slowly moving in the right (ie non-nocturnal!) direction but I'm woderig if anyone hsa any suggestions how I can

1. get her to take a dummy and also (maybe on the back of that?) expressed milk in a bottle
2. wake her up to get on some semblance of a routine (that involves more nighttime sleep than daytime) without being downright cruel!

I also have a two year old son who is only in nursery 2 days a week that I have to entertain so can't focus all my attention on the little one.

DS never took to the dummy so we gave up and only use it to administer teething gel for 30 seconds now before he spits it out.
I am a big fan of 'sleepsense' for routine development, its not everyone's favourite book and lots of people dont even bother with the books, but I like it. It is written by Megan Faure and Ann Richardson. It talks about expectations of awake and sleep times and creating a stable sleep space etc etc.
Good luck, I'm no expert my son is 10-mnths old.

My 2 months DD hates dummy! Keeps it in for few seconds n after realising that no food will come out of it, spits d dummy meters away! She would win a medal in Distance Spitting Competition:-)

if it comes to waking DD up I usually gently pick her up, quietly talk to her n then start undresing her n change her nappy.At some stage she will wake up!

Once I let DD sleep for 4 hours during d day n next hour n half spend breastfeeding! Imagine how painful that was, she was only 3 weeks n beastfeeding was NOT good yet!

My main advice whilst trying to get a baby to sleep more at night would be regular feeding (and lots) during the day and only feeding when they tell you so at night. When I say regular feeding during the day I mean every 3 hours, waking them up by quietly and gently changing their nappy. Then try to get them to feed as much as you can - as you are bfeeding I think then that might mean anything up to an hour but hopefully at least 30 mins. In my opinion, at your daughters age I don't think the length and timing of naps during the day affect night time sleep too much.

I go with feed, play, nap, feed, play, nap rather than trying to force a real routine - then if they cry when playing and you know they are fed and winded so then they want a nap. When it gets to 3 hours after you started the last feed then wake them up for the next.

It might seem like quite hard work but its always paid off for me. My daughter started sleeping through at 6 weeks this time. (I have other worries of course you never get off scott free I think!) Once they are sleeping better then start to increase the gap between feeds.

In terms of how to get her to take a dummy if you find out tell me please! Neither of mine seem to want to. People say about tapping the end of the dummy or wiggling it a little in their mouth but it doesn't work for me. I think mainly not trying to give it to them when they are really upset is a plan.

With expressed milk from a bottle, do you make sure it's warmed up? It also is a plan to get someone other than you to give it to her as if you do it she will be wondering why she can't just feed off you.

i think the getting somebody else to give the bottle is a good idea, if they have no other choice they're much more likely to go for it. my DD found her thumb very early and that is SO much easier than a dummy - can't be lost, helps her to self settle at night but i appreciate that's not always poss! lots of stimulation during the day - walks, things to look at, music etc - should help make her more tired at night.

to state the obvious - you keeping any stimulation to a minimum when she wakes in the night? just feed/change as nec and put back, no talking, just shushing. she's not too young to associate nighttime/dark with sleep/boring/no play.

Thanks for all the suggestions. The 3 hour cycle is really what I had in mind when I said about a routine - think I'll have to try it but it will be difficult with my DS demanding attention and my DS's unwillingness to wake until she's good and ready! (This despite being changed/ talked too etc)

We now think she has reflux, which may be a significant factor, so going to try to address this too.