Newborn ‘naps’ evening time!

[Shleepymummy]

Posted before about newborn sleep and what is realistic to expect. Trying to just go with it. My 6 week old will sleep in the day, after a feed or in the car, contact nap ect. He will also be put down once asleep and will stay asleep, sometimes only 30 mins but sometimes over an hour. Come 4/5pm it’s becoming really hard to get him to sleep and put him down. Even when I think he’s in a deep sleep on me, the second I put him down his squirms about for a few mins then eyes pop open. Because of my efforts to get him back to sleep, put down, back to sleep. he then ends up being awake for like 2/3 hours which is obvs not good for his age/wake window.
how do you manage this time of day? I have a toddler and dinner and husband so I can’t just sit with baby all evening in a dark room. We have tried the sling, he doesn’t seem to like it, and I can’t get it right, his head flops out and my back hurts. Also tried the pram in the house, just took ages to get him asleep and once I stopped rocking he only stayed asleep 10 mins.
How do I get the baby to sleep in this time and be put down for a bit so I can eat, sort out crap, and he not be overtired from being awake for so long?!

we can only manage it with two of us - newborn DD2 is sleeping on me right now while DH puts three year old DD1 to bed. Later we’ll eat in shifts.

But he’s out tomorrow and I’m doing this solo so placemarking….

We did it in shifts too, one person with the baby. One cooking and amusing toddler.

Keep trying a sling. Get them in whilst calm then walk up and down a little and they should settle. It's a novelty having 2 hands for an hour or so!!

Not, as you say, just go with it and sit it out.

Babies at that age conveniently have witching hour(s) bang in toddlers tea time/bed time I found.

you’re probably expecting too much for them to stay asleep when put down at that time, so honestly, I’d batch cook/prepare tea when they’re down or at the weekend when dh is around and he’ll have to cook and do bedtime for a while! It doesn’t last forever I promise.
I have a 2 year age gap and my youngest is 9m old and those days already feel like a distant memory!

I just stick mine on to the boob and DIY to have dinner with the family. H and I take over from each other to cook, clean, feed baby,nappy , get eldest to the table serve up etc.

It was hard at first but we've deem to fall into a rhythm and ig baby is not om boob h will hold him so I can have a meal baby free

It’s hard, I did it alone. I got a little ikea child table and chairs for the living room for the toddler (she was 2yrs 3 months at this point and to be frank a fucking nightmare) and I would make toddlers dinner, set her at the little table and sit on the sofa near her with the remote in hand. I’d breast feed baby to sleep and contact nap, and talk to toddler whilst she ate dinner. If she was acting up - the tv went on and she’d watch that whilst she ate. I’m not proud of it and there will be plenty of people on here in shock that I allowed my toddler to watch tv whilst eating but when you are on your own, and don’t have easy children, sometimes it’s about getting through the day.

my/husband dinner was prepared earlier in the day and a chuck in the oven affair for after bedtime.

now at 9 months and nearly 3 they both sit at the proper table so we all got through it unscathed.

Thanks all for the advice. We are really struggling with his sleep, getting him to sleep. Trying to watch wake windows but he needs so much assistance getting off which I didn’t wanna be doing- making a rod for own back and all. Newborn life is relentless