6 month old routine

[30SecondsToVenus]

I have a 6 month 1 week old dd. I also have a 4 year old dd so I probably should know what I'm doing. This may be long and rambly sorry.

When dd1 was born I was still living with my parents and I was a single parent. Having 4 other adults in the house (my brother and sister too) was a godsend and I had help whenever I needed it, especially from my mum who kind of took over.

I'm now living with dp (totally useless, whole different thread) and the 2 dcs.

Dd2 was an amazing sleeper up until she was 5 months. She would sleep through the night regularly and if she woke up she would go straight back to sleep after a feed. She is formula fed.

She has started refusing to sleep. She hardly sleeps during the day and when she does its for no longer than half an hour.

The routine I have is this

Wake about 7.30am
Bottle then back to sleep for 8am
Sleep till 10.30
Breakfast jar
Playtime, mat, bouncy chair etc
1pm another jar for lunch and a bottle
2pm nap for half an hour or so most days but recently it's not been happening
2.30pm up again and playing etc
6pm jar for tea then bath (every second night) and bottle
7.30pm she has another small nap most evenings till about 8pm
9.30pm/10pm up to bed

This is where the issues start. She goes ballistic when I put her in her cat, refuses a bottle and just wants to be held and roll around on my bed babbling. Eventually I will get her off to sleep but it can take hours before she wants her bottle and by this time I'm exhausted and we have disturbed dp who has been sleeping since 8.

I know I'm going wrong somewhere but I'm finding it very difficult to establish a routine with her being so small. I can't even remember the routine I had with dd1

Can you share your routines with me if you have dcs of the same age?

Cot not cat. I don't put her in the cat

Her day sounds like its 10-10. I'd try and shift it from 7-7 instead. So wake her up at 7.30am and get her up for the day - don't put her back down for a nap until about 9 for 45 mins. Then second nap after 12pm "lunch" at 12.30pm for up to 2 hours then mini cat nap at 4ish for 20 mins. That's the routine we used roughly with bedtime for 7.30ish.

Bless the poor cat

Mine is about the same age and am just here for a nose as we have a terrible routine too. It goes like this:

6.30/7 wake for day, give bottle, wash and dress, play
8 ish nap for 40 minutes
9.30 bit of puréed fruit, 10 bottle
Play, sing, fun etc go for a walk with pram or sling, try to get him to sleep with no luck
1 bottle
Repeat play, sing, walk etc
4 bottle
5 ish he finally gives in for a 40 ish minute nap
When he wakes wash, change for bed
6.30 food of some sort then in to grow bag
7 bottle, quiet time
7.30/8 bed

He sleeps well through the night, we are lucky to get two or three 40 minute naps in the day these days. Today he woke at 7.30, slept for a total of an hour all day and has just gone down 7.30.

What happens if that evening nap becomes bedtime? If you put her down in the dark room and when she wakes cuddle and put back down? What is her sleep like once she goes for the night?

steam how do you get a baby to nap for two hours though?

Luck! Your routine - I wouldn't put them down for a nap at 8, I'd wait until 9ish then again at midday? When I say nap for up to two hours I mean wake them up after 2, but if they don't then so be it.

Ds wouldn't nap for more than 90 mins max until about 9 months. He got better once he was on his tummy for sleeps. Dd however would nap for up to three hours even now at 2....

90 minutes sounds like a dream to me I will try leaving it a bit later for that nap, but if he wakes at half six he might be a screaming mess by nine !

I wish I could stop stressing about day time napping but he gets so fraught.

Maybe try half 8?

Yeah 90 mins - we had to work on it ie resettling him. It was quite stressful! Ironically, dd, who I didn't stress with, was better. She napped in the sling until 4/5 months then switched to pushchair/cot. Now she naps in cot/sling/car/buggy.

They say that about the second though don't they?

He resettles no problem at night but as soon as he realises he has been asleep during the day ... Well let's just say he gets a little bit annoyed lol

is his room blacked out (if he's in his cot)? We use double layers of blackout blinds to cut every chink of light

Thanks for all your replies I will try keeping her up when we get up in the morning. We are up 7.30/8 because dd1 has nursery 9-11.15. I'll attempt earlier bedtimes too she just doesn't seem to sleep for any longer than 2 hours during the night.

I would love a full nights sleep

Have you ruled out reasons for the poor sleeping? Silent reflux (ie heartburn with no or little vomiting) springs to mind?