My 11 week old has never settled at her 'bedtime' - we've tried for 7pm every night and she would fall asleep while we rocked her but five minutes after we put her down she'd wake back up again and scream. She can't self-settle and putting her down drowsy just makes her upset.
Cue rocking and repeat non-stop from 7pm till 10.30pm every night, when she just magically drops off and settles for her night sleep, whether or not she's had a late feed. She does wake every two/three hours but settles herself after feeds fairly quickly.
We've tried a bedtime routine (warm bath, big feed, rocking, white noise) and while that gets her down initially in five minutes she's up again! We've done this for two whole months and it's getting exhausting, especially now that she's really easily distracted and often ends up looking around and getting stimulated while we're rocking her.
We've tried waking her earlier in the morning but it hasn't improved her bedtime, just makes her crankier in the day (though it does mean she settles for naps in the car/pram quicker).
Do we just let her sleep at 10.30pm every night instead of trying non-stop to put her down? Surely she's not getting enough sleep? It also means we can't ever do anything in the evenings but pace about in a dark room trying to get her to bed.
Help! Any advice would be great.