11 week old 4am playtime

[badfurday]

My lovely 11 week old daughter has decided that 4am is playtime. She normally goes down between 7-8pm and sleeps until 12ish and wakes for a feed and then back down until 4am. She has a habit of spitting her dummy out from around 3am, so I keep putting it back in until about 4 and then feed her. But she won't go back to sleep after this. I end up taking her downstairs and she plays on her gym for an hour of so and then sleeps for about and hour.

She is in her cotbed in our bedroom and we have blackout curtains. I even put an extra sheet on top so it really is pitch black In the room.
Any ideas how I can get her to go a bit longer, even until 5 would be fine.

Can't offer any advice but lots of sympathy
DS has been waking at 5:30 which was wiping me out but I don't know how you're functioning with a day that starts that early!
Hopefully someone will be along with some tips soon!

Thank you I'm not sure how I'm coping, the other night I had a right meltdown and cried. I can cope with a couple of times a week, but day after day is hard. I'm getting about 5 hours sleep a night.
I guess it's just a stage and she will get through it.

As nobody else has offered any suggestions I have heard an idea that you could try, probably utter rubbish but when we're desperate we'll try anything!
Some people link early waking with an early morning nap - so to 'cure' an early riser you can try to move the morning nap towards 9-9:30. If you're lo is waking at 4 I'm sure she's crashing out long before 9! But they suggest pushing it back slowly 5/10mins at a time.
TBH I've tried it and not seen an obvious improvement

My 17 wk old ds has been doing this for quite a while and although I know this is not for everyone, I bring him in with me and I can get another couple of hours that way. I follow the safe co sleeping guidelines and my dp will go to the other room .

As soon as he cuddles up to me he goes back to sleep. This is a habit I really would like to break but another couple of hours is so tempting at 4.30 am and also I love his smiles every morning!

Sounds like morning starts at 4, with first nap at 5! Can only suggest trying to minimise the fun, no lights for the play, min interaction hopefully moving towards staying upstairs and cuddles. Otherwise if your game a little crying might work if you don't go down for fun time for a bit, trying to reduce length of play hour.

I have exactly this with my 11 week old. She goes to bed at 7 feeds at 11 and again about 4 and will not go down she is quite happy smiling and talking!! I've read somewhere that babies also have a 'witching hour' at 5am so explains something. I try to cuddle her tight, stay in her room and make sure she knows it's not time to get up, keeping things dark and quiet. It works 80% of the time. It's very frustrating my baby is hard to settle at the best of times!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
This morning she was up at 4.10am. I tried cuddling her in bed with me but she was having none of it. I fed her at 2.30am so I'm sure she couldn't be hungry?

I ended taking her downstairs at 4.45 as husband was asleep (nice for him!) I changed her and she just giggles at me and is wide awake! I put her on her playmat for 1/2 an hour and she started grizzling for food. Fed and now completely sparko on me. I daren't move her into her mosses basket as I know she'll wake up.

I think she just wants to have a play at that time? I'm so tired but I can't sleep. The theory of sleeping when they sleep just doesn't work for me!

Should I try putting her down at night later? She is tired out by her evening feed at about 7.30 and sleeps so well at that point. I don't know how id keep her awake?