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Sleep

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Original poster

Tell me when your newborn started settling early evening

18 replies

smellsofsick · 25/01/2013 20:46

You'd think I'd remember with DD1 being 2 but it's fallen out of my brain.

DD2 is 5 weeks and much easier than her sister but I can't for the life of me get her to settle anytime before about 9.30/10pm.

Do they end up just getting it as the weeks go on? I bloody well forgot all about this stage. Why doesn't your brain warn you how tough it is?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

rubyslippers · 25/01/2013 20:48

about 13/14 weeks

and you forgot, so you have baby no.2 etc

batfuttocks · 25/01/2013 20:49

Lalalalalalalalalaaaaaa.

(Expecting dc3 and in complete denial)

sittinginthesun · 25/01/2013 20:50

13/14 weeks.

RooneyMara · 25/01/2013 20:52

Well ds3 is 3 weeks and he is currently asleep, but it's for the first time today (beyond 15 minutes or so in my arms)

He will also be awake for most of the night

hmm

Best of luck x

RooneyMara · 25/01/2013 20:53

Oh no he did sleep in the pram for an hour or so earlier. I'd forgotten.

Are you getting any night sleep? Mine won't do it after midnight! We seem to end up staring at one another from about 1am till 5ish...

Original poster

smellsofsick · 25/01/2013 21:01

Yes (though I feel guilty for saying so). She sleeps so much better than her sister, who sounds lots like your DC.

Thing is I do remember not counting on anything as all changed from week to week.

I'm pretty certain getting her into a bedtime routine helped but with other children that's easier said than done

Does yours self settle or are you rocking/feeding/dummy-ing?

OP posts:

teacher123 · 25/01/2013 21:22

We started a bedtime routine at around 5 weeks, as I was teaching evening classes from 8 weeks (I was MAD with the benefit of hindsight!) I would give him a bath around 6pm then feed in a darkened room until he settled. I often went to bed as soon as he did in the very early days. I really persevered with keeping him upstairs after bathtime, all lights off etc and had some miserable evenings sitting in the dark feeding him endlessly getting him to settle. I'd say by 10 weeks he would settle 7ish reasonably reliably. By 4 months he'd found his bedtime of 6pm and it has stuck (now 9mo).

iloveholidays · 26/01/2013 01:43

DD3 is 11 weeks and I've been getting her down around 7ish for a week now. It was around 13 weeks with DD1&2.

I've been feeding to sleep, although put her down awake tonight and she went off like a dream... Not getting my hopes up that continues though! :)

Heartbeep · 26/01/2013 03:20

15 weeks for us. DS is 17 weeks and is now in bed between 7.30-8.30 meaning we have an evening again.

DH had completely forgotten the no evening stage from last time

RooneyMara · 26/01/2013 08:09

Oh don't feel guilty! I had a grand sleeper last time, nearly 6 years ago...this one it's not so much a case of feeding/rocking/etc, nothing makes him sleep - nothing! It's constant all day - feed, howl, feed, howl, sleep a little bit, howl, feed, jiggle for hours...you get the picture. This just goes on into the night

I hope you find a way soon x

HappyAsASandboy · 26/01/2013 09:30

At four months old for me. Until then there was no distinctions between night and day, the pattern just trundled on :)

Hang in there, it'll happen :)

Original poster

smellsofsick · 26/01/2013 13:27

Heartbeep us too. I had to remind DH that we spent weeks if not months doing tag team baby wrestling with DD1!

OP posts:

leedy · 26/01/2013 18:36

I was just going to post on this very topic! I know DS1 started going to sleep at a reasonable hour at some stage, definitely by 6 months, but couldn't for the life of me remember when. DS2 is a great sleeper (thus far!) at nearly 11 weeks but has yet to settle before 10.30 and is frequently up til after 11. Would love to winch the bedtime back a bit but it's reassuring to know that a)I can probably just go with the flow for now (I'm catching up on a lot of DVD box sets and I am actually getting decent sleep once he's down) and b) it will change in the next couple of months.

DangerMousey · 28/01/2013 14:08

Am watching this thread with interest cos my 7wo FF DS seems to have got this issue the wrong way round: with no prompting from us he seems to have fallen into a pattern of having a bottle at 8pm ish, and going straight to sleep afterwards, and sleeping through till 3am!!

He then has bottle and then goes another 3 hours before waking up for his breakfast bottle.

Obviously I am delighted that he can go from 7 hours between bottles, but would much rather they coincided with my "nighttime", ie 11pm - 6am or something like that.

Anyone had experience of a baby who's fallen into this pattern instead? Dont get me wrong I am enjoying having the time for me and DH in the evenings, but it is slightly offset by the fact that I am always scurrying off to bed at 9pm cos I know I will be awake at 3am, and then up-and-down constantly afterwards....(he doesnt settle well after his 3am ish bottle, and I have a bad feeling he thinks this is 'morning'....but I am refusing to entertain this idea and just keep putting his dummy back in and hoping he will go back to sleep...).

Any thoughts?? Should I try and influence his natural rhythms at all??

AlphaAndEcho · 28/01/2013 14:12

Do you mean settle for the night as in bed and not get up again until morning ? If you can get yours to bed at 10pm at 5 weeks I'd love to know your secret !!

My ds is 13 weeks and I can't get him to go to sleep any earlier than 1am !

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 28/01/2013 14:14

Um, when he was about 8 months old?

Original poster

smellsofsick · 28/01/2013 18:23

danger could you try waking him up and giving him a top up bottle before you go to bed? That might re-set his long stretch a bit. Just a thought.

Seven hours is amazing though. How many ounces is he having for bed? Think he must be bigger than my DD2 who can't take any more than 3/4 oz in one go.

Hate to say it (and it will all change I know) but for the last two nights DD2 has settled well at about 7ish until a dream feed at 11. I'm sure it won't last but I am quite shocked and by this development.

OP posts:

DangerMousey · 28/01/2013 19:41

Thanks smells - yes I think we might have to try waking him for a top up bottle at 10-11pm and seeing what happens...we haven't dared to do it yet cos I am worried he will just wake up at 3am as usual and then I won't have had as much sleep beforehand, if you see what I mean!

He is having 6oz in his bottle at every feed during the day, and usually polishes off at least 5oz of it. He is a big boy though: 9lb 3oz at birth and 13lbs now, at 7 weeks old.

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