Baby taking hours to settle at night

[dmuk]

Baby goes to her room at 7pm. Feeds and doses for approximately 2-3 hours before she can be left in her cot alone.

This is obviously becoming quite a draining routine. The one positive is that she sleeps through the night.

We are trying to delay the time she goes to bed but she gets very irritable. Also she doesn't sleep in the afternoon making this option difficult.

We try and reduce the time we settle her but she constantly wakes up and cries.

We've tried dummies but she spits them out.

We've tried a relaxing evening routine but doesn't settle her any quicker.

Any tips?

What age?

What age?

3 months.

At 12 weeks my children would be in a cot next to me in my bedroom, would spend the evening napping downstairs with me, feeding and dozing on and off. Bed when I go.

Daytime naps would be around 60 minutes awake, 30-45 minutes nap repeated throughout the day.

Proper bedtime where she goes to bed before me happens at around 5 months old and is a no hassle affair of dummy in, sleep.

I believe you are expecting too much of your baby. Why are you spending all evening in her room with her? Bring her downstairs.

What is daytime sleep like for your baby?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not unsympathetic- any sleep things with babies are exhausting and frustrating! But if she's sleeping through at that age then that's amazing and I really wouldn't be worried about the evenings too much.

I'd have her down with me. Treat it like a nap - using rocking in the pram or wearing her in a sling or whatever it takes to get her to have a bit of a sleep at that time. Then have her up and she goes to bed when you do.

I know it's annoying not having an evening to yourself, but it really doesn't last forever. In a couple more months she'll probably be much more ready for an earlier bedtime and it won't be a fight then.

As with all things baby I find it's generally easier to cope with all the little challenges if you can find a way to accept it and work round it instead of stressing about fighting them when they're probably just not ready.