Sleep routine for 10 weeks old!?

[TheEastLondonCM]

I thought I was doing a remarkable job with baby. She sleeps from 10pm-Midnight, feeds, and then goes back off until 6am, feeds, and then sleeps until 9am.

During the day sleep is a little more varied. She tends to have three 30/45minute naps throughout the day and then a longer nap about 4/5pm until 6/7pm, a which point she will feed, bath, and then stay awake until 10pm.

I thought this was ok for a baby. However it is becoming apparent that she won't be settled by anyone but me. I don't know if this is because she is almost EBF or just because she likes to be difficult for dad, but he is finding it tough, and because I can't go out, I'm now finding it tough.

Is bottle feeding in the day, at regular times, as opposed to BF on demand, and putting baby to sleep in her Moses basket (she currently sleeps in a mothercare inflatable donut ring thingy during the day) what I should really be doing? Would this stop her being tricky for her dad, and anyone else for that matter?

IMHO no. I think practice makes perfect when settling babies. It sounds like she is doing really well.

Is it ok for her to nap/feed whenever?? And how long for?

I'm eager not to get into any bad habits that we can't get out of, I also don't want hubby to feel useless, I think he is feeling that ATM.

Don't worry about bad habits, my friend would always put her baby down awake from birth because she wanted him to go to sleep by himself and not rely on her. This worked until he was 14 months; he's now 3 and she still lies down with him to get him to sleep (as we do my daughter of the same age) and he ends up in their bed every night (another "bad habit" she wanted to avoid). Do what works, and don't worry if she'll only settle for you, I know it's hard, my son would scream when handed to my very hands on husband until he was 6 months old. Don't worry about routine either. Oh and don't worry if the baby suddenly stops sleeping either, none of it is anything to do with you doing things right or wrong, as long as you're meeting the baby's needs as much as you can (whether they're every 6 hours or 6 minutes) you are doing ok

Thank you both for your reassurance!! I'm not used to newborns!!

It may well be that your DH isn't as confident with your daughter as you are, and this shows so she reacts to it.

The only real way though this is for him to gain confidence by learning and to do this he has to just crack on and do it.

Just because you are 'better' at getting your daughter to sleep is not a reason for him not to. Be kind as supportive of him just as he was (I am sure) kind and supportive of you when you were learning in the early weeks. With your support and patience (rather than diving in and taking over) he will learn and so will your daughter.

It's fine for your DD to sleep whenever and however long she favours - but it is easy to miss tired signs until it is too late and so it is more difficult to know that you are being baby led with her sleeping. Babies naturally find getting to sleep difficult and so just because she won't go to sleep does not mean she isn't tired. In fact it can mean the exact opposite - she cannot get to sleep because she is exhausted and over tired.

Having said that, 30-45 minute sleeps are perfectly normal this age and your lose routine of four naps a day sounds fine. I wouldn't expect a baby under 4 months to spend longer than 2 hours awake in the daytime, more like 60-90 minutes at 10 weeks old and I'd be working on the next sleep.

My husband has always done bathtime, that is his thing with the kids. Even though DS frequently screamed all the way through, he met that need of his (and my boons got a rest!)

I think you are both right in that baby is used to me doing more, even though he is a lovely dad, he is still finding his feet, as I am!!
Perhaps I will worry less about a routine now and just encourage dad to do more x

Hello! I'm feeling a bit like you and that I need to get a routine established! I want to have a decent bedtime routine where my baby will go to bed around 7:30 even if she wakes for a feed later on. My step sister had this cracked at 6 weeks and we are at 9 and not getting there yet! I have just changed her to 6oz and her times are all out for a 7ish feed to be able to go to bed at 7:30. I was worrying that she needs to be able to go down awake but does it matter at this age if she feeds and goes to sleep? Is that best? I think I'm stressing myself out a lot about it because I don't want her to be up til late but am I just worrying about nothing and expecting all this a bit early?