10 week old sleep ‘routine’

[Jellywellyfish]

My ebf daughter has been sleeping from 10/11pm until around 4/5am since about 6 weeks (she’s on 91st centile so was fine to be left to wake when she was hungry from 6/7weeks). Prior to going to sleep at 10/11pm she would be in my arms downstairs from 6pm sleeping and eating consistently until that time.

Now, I’ve noticed she wants to fall into a deeper sleep earlier, at about 8/9pm. Because of this, she’s now started waking at 2.30am and 5am. I guess because she’s not spending the evening eating all night so waking up hungry earlier. I feed her on one side lying in bed when I go up at 10/11Pm and she falls asleep after 20mins or so.

So, advice - should I now be going to bed with her earlier? I feel a bit tight not putting her to bed properly, but of course until she’s 6months we have to be in the room with her so this means my husband and I going up to bed at 8pm every night and this feels a bit early! She won’t sleep in her Moses basket downstairs she only falls asleep in my arms.

I think she wants this extra feed because she’s sleeping more between 6pm and 10pm. Should I try and rouse her a bit more for a bigger feed when I go to bed at 10/11pm? Maybe feed her in my arms and ensure I offer her both sides to fill her tummy? I’ve avoided this as to not wake her too much.

I do think my little one is a snacker. She tends to prefer to eat little and often so I’m feeding her on demand every 2 hours in the day. Loads of wet and dirty nappies and she’s consistently gaining weight so I know she’s getting enough food.

Let her sleep when she wants and feed when she wants. 10 weeks is too young for most babies to implement a routine. If she seems like she is wanting to go to sleep earlier in the evening then let her. Controversial but at 12 weeks we started putting our baby to sleep in our room when she seemed to want to settle for the night, while we stayed downstairs for another hour or so - it worked for us but I'm aware it's against SIDS guidance. Same as you she wouldn't sleep in the lounge unless in our arms if something else eg tv was going on.

Her sleep patterns will keep changing for the next 12-18 months (if not longer) so try and view each change as a phase and remember another phase will come along soon. It's hard and I've gone through phases of being fixated on controlling our babies sleep and phases of going with it, but you do have to be realistic about how much you can do to control it and at 10 weeks I think it's really very little!

At 10 weeks I wouldn’t worry about a routine. Let baby sleep/eat when they want to.

You have the 4 month sleep regression to get through, and that usually puts everything to hell even if you do get into a good routine now. Just follow baby’s lead atm.

We put DS down to bed at that age (730pm I think) and then I’d join him later. But we slept in separate rooms from 12 weeks which isn’t recommended due to SIDS. It was the right decision for us (but not one we took lightly). But I agree with PP that sleep (along with many other things) is constantly changing so just roll with it.

Sleep routine at that age is a myth. You’re Best just going with her lead for the next while rather than overthinking it OP.
Don’t be lulled into a false sense of routine just because she’s been sleeping well for a while..

Get a good monitor and put her down to bed.

You can get those monitors with the oxygen sensors etc if you’re nervous about it

Thanks everyone. I think I’d rather wait to put her down to bed on her own (even with a monitor) as we’ve already had a scare with an episode of RAS but that’s good to hear advice that I’m not messing her sleep up by letting her sleep in my arms downstairs. As you say, probably over thinking it as she’s still so young.

I'd roll with it. You're only up twice in the night which is really good going. You're coming up for the 4 month regression shortly and I promise you'll be up a whole lot more!!! Enjoy it whilst it lasts xx

This happened to my DS, he used to cluster feed and doze on me all evening and go 'down for the night' at about 10/11pm and wake once for a feed somewhere in the middle of the night then up for the day at 7/8am. But around the 8 week mark he didn't want to cluster feed and doze anymore, he was getting really grumpy and crying and couldn't shut off downstairs. So he swapped to one long dozy feed for about an hour upstairs in the bedroom and then was in bed by 8 or 9pm, but then this meant waking twice in the night for milk. As he got older he sometimes did long stretches and only woke once, but he has also had days/weeks where he's been up loooaaaads in the night too. I would try not to worry about any of it, they change all the time. He's 5 months now and the last week or so he doesn't want to have his hour long dozy feed before bed either and is now waking twice a night plus waking for the day at 5 or 6am ffs. It's a huge struggle to get him to feed in the day now as well, he's only really interested every 3.5-4hrs or so, so I think he's waking more at night because of hunger. However if I offer more in the day he just pulls off and cries and won't drink. So I guess I just have to ride it out. I might trial a bottle of formula before bed and see if that makes any difference but I doubt it as he doesn't sleep more after he has one for a night feed.