tell me about your 5/6 month old's sleep (cot, self-settling question)

[rhetorician]

DD2 is 5 months - happy, lovely baby. DD1 was a tricky sleeper, and easy to overstimulate. But DD2, I realise, is not really any better a sleeper. Here's how it goes:

wakes 6ish (usually)
bf - back to sleep around 7 for about an hour (exactly the point that dd1 wakes
up!)
11ish naps for about 45 minutes
1ish naps for about 45 minutes (occasionally will do 2-3 hours)
later afternoon naps 30-45 minutes
bedtime - starts around 7.30, usually asleep for the night at 9
wakes for feed usually once, sometimes twice

does this seem OK? Naps are short, but makes no difference whether in car, buggy or bed - always wakes after 45 minutes max. She doesn't seem over-tired.

By this point, DD1 was sleeping in a cot, on her own - I can't recall how we did this, other than that it involved a lot of crying, and white noise. DD2 is still sleeping in our bed - this means that only DP can settle her to sleep, unless she is in car or buggy...should we move her on, or just wait until she is ready? She is teething at the moment which means that I am reluctant to do any kind of sleep training just yet

Sounds great to me!

thanks for that - it's not that I think she is terrible or anything - far from it, just can't remember where we were at this point last time around...

Can you shift her nap times so they're earlier? Her long bedtime looks like she is a bit overtired. Dd (my second) is like ds - we have a short nap in the morning about 90 mins/2 hours after first waking, then longer nap if she's in the sling, short if car seat at around another 2-2.5 hours after waking then another 1-2 short naps depending on what happened before. She's usually asleep very quickly by 7-7.30pm. Sometimes she wakes a lot at night, sometimes 2-3 times as she feeds so badly in the day due to her older brother!

She's in bed with me - but I put her in her cot at the start of the night with the aim of leaving her for more of the night as she gets older. With ds we were putting him in the cot after every waking from 3-4 months which was crazy as he never settled properly until 6 months. So waiting until then with dd! I get so much more rest with cosleeping.

Oh my dd fed for 1,5 hours at bedtime til 6 months. My first didn't.

Theres all sorts of normal.

I'm on ds3 who is also 5 months and his day goes like this:

Wakes at 6am, bf back to sleep for another hour so up at 7am when everyone else is anyway so no problem.

8.45 nap in his cot - we use white noise to get him off - usually 45 mins occasionally 1.5 hours.

12 - nap for 45 mins

3 - nap for 45 mins

6 - bedtime into his own cot with his white noise cd, sleeps until 2am when wakes for a feed. Sometimes wakes again at 4am (make that usually, who am I kidding?)

6am - starts again.

Sounds v similar to yours other than the early bedtime - mine have always all gone to bed after a 5.30pm bath, as they seem to need it.

My DTs are 5 1/2 months, and the day goes like this
Wake around 6am
Feed around 6.30am
Feed back to sleep at around 830am for about 45mins
Nap for 1-2 hours between 12 and 3 (ie sometimes starts at 12, sometimes at 1)
Nap for 30-45 mins at 5ish
Bath at 6pm, bed by 7pm, never usually any night wakings unless ill

Just about to start weaning though so will all change again!

A bedtime starting at 730pm and running to 9pm sounds a bit late?

yes, think you are all spot on about the late bedtime; she went for nap 5.30-6.15 tonight and was then up again until 7.30; I think she probably should just go back to bed for the night then. Problem is co-ordinating all this with dinner/bath/bed for 3 year old - we try to all eat together at 5.30-6, especially in a small and not very soundproof house...

But that will get easier very soon when baby can last for longer stretches awake... Happens soon

tertius well one distinct upside of the second time around is that you know that it will all work itself out in the end...

True true ... Though it can feel all a long way away can't it?

yep; I think she is not getting enough sleep in the day, which is why it is so hard for her to settle for the night...bugger, we are going to have to be proactive about it