DD is now 11 weeks old. From 2-10 weeks we followed a standard bath, massage, feed, bed routine at around 7-8PM. This worked well - about 70% of the time, occasionally she went straight down and often she needed rocking/sshhhing to sleep. I realise this was pretty good going for a small baby.
In the last week however she has suddenly flatly refused to go down at this time. She will scream when set down and stop instantly on picking up. No amount of patting/rocking/ssshhing will work (we tried for 2+ hours one night). In the end we give up and bring her down with us, where she is alert and mostly content to sit in her chair (so doesn?t need to be held) and just gets grizzly later on in the evening. I?ve given her another feed at 10PM and she?s gone down OK (though at this point she has pretty much been put down asleep as she is so exhausted she falls asleep on the breast). She then sleeps well in the night.
I guess what I am wondering is any ideas about why the sudden change? We haven?t changed the routine and she still goes down OK on her own for naps and later at night (thankfully). I just can?t figure it out. I?ve tried both more and less daytime sleep but it doesn?t make a difference. I?m convinced she is tired as she?ll have been up anything from 2-5 hours before bedtime.
I?m sure the goalposts will all move again in another week or two and I don?t really mind just going with the current pattern. It means DH and I don?t get an evening together, but do get more sleep in the night so I can?t really complain. But if we do this should we continue the ?bedtime? routine or not? Will she just make all the wrong associations with it?
Would appreciate any ideas.
Daff