Should bed time be this tough?!!

[Sahmcharlie]

Im wondering if you could help- whether it be tips and tricks or just purely so im not alone! my LG is 14 weeks old she sleeps well i cannot complain- i take her upstairs to start the bed time routine( nothing technical just lights and sleep sack and bottle in dark room with white noise) this is about 8pm- but i have non stop hysterical tears to the point she sometimes doesnt even have her bottle- for a full hour until she knackers herself out and falls asleep.

is there anything i should be doing / doing wrong? Or is it normal

She is way too young to have a bedtime routine... try again in a few months time. Are you leaving her upstairs by herself after 8pm?

At 14 weeks surely you just have a cuddle until she's asleep. Routines aren't usually introduced so soon are they? Neither of mine had a routine as a baby but I'm sure life will be easier if you cuddle on the couch and let her dose off that way. Try ignoring all the books and go with your instincts.

ive been advised by my health visitor to introduce routine but shes just always very upset at this time right before sleep! We do mostly cuddle and have to rock her in this hour of crying before bed! And no we are in theUK guidelines say we stay in the room with baby at all times until 6 months!

I can't remember the ages exactly but I know I had the same sort of experience with my little one at that age (to be honest at 21 months now it hasn't really improved that much - on and off it's better but still lots of hysterical crying). I'm sure you're not doing anything wrong, you've just got one of the babies that didn't come with a user manual 😉

I don't really have anything useful to add other than to see if perhaps it's colic? You could also try a dim night light and maybe music / singing / talking quietly instead of the white noise. I never found white noise helped much.

Mainly though, just came here to say I'm sure you're doing a great job. Get some earplugs or noise cancelling headphones to make it a bit easier to endure.

Haha & thankyou! Appreciate people like you in here! X

Don't worry about a routine. Keep her down stairs with you until you are ready to go to bed.
Having a routine at 14 weeks is going to go straight out the window with teething and sickness and you'll have to start all over again.

Enjoy cuddles with baby now and try again much later

I had a routine with both mine since birth, and they were both sleeping though the night at 12 weeks (7 till 7).

OP, it doesn't sound like you are doing anything wrong, just give it a few days

Nothing wrong with having a routine. My son had a 'witching hour' which was usually an hour or two before bed. Are you sure she's not overtired? How long is the wake window between waking from final nap to going to bed?

yes i think it is a witching hour! Normally the last wake window is about an 1.5 h, i considered putting her to bed earlier as i thought maybe she is over tired, but on the other hand because she’s crying for an hour before i manage to get her to sleep im scared that hour will just turn into two hours by taking her up earlier!