Putting DD to bed takes 2 hours

[Cheeseandapple]

Need help! Currently spending 2 hours a night putting DD to bed 😖 she's a pretty good sleeper through the night but want to know if I can shorten bed time.

Routine at the moment is: she starts to get tired/cranky around 5:30, has a bath, out & in pjs by 6 for last feed, sometimes a story, then swaddled. She has a dummy and I just sit on my bed & hold her until she drifts off, which happens quite quickly. She wakes up when I put her down no matter how long I seem to wait (5/20/45/60 mins) or whether I put her in her little next to me cot or in my bed. It can then be 2+ hours of cuddles, shushing, replacing dummy etc until she sleeps!

In the grand scheme of things, it's pretty good but wonder if it could be better?

She's 5 months (and been through sleep regression - that was particularly tough!)

Honestly, at that age I wouldn't bother trying to get her to bed. I know routine from the beginning is important to some parents, fair enough, but for me I would just keep her in the lounge with me having a cuddle while I watch tv/relax until she falls asleep naturally. It will get easier :)

Are you breast or bottle feeding?

Wonder if you gave her a feed lying down, would this help her drift off quicker? I used to lie down and breast feed her in her sleeping bag, and the. Just drag the sleeping bag over and across into the next to me crib. My husband could do the same if I was out and he was bottle feeding. If she stirred, just pop the nipple/try back in for a few minutes and off to sleep again.

@LOL7 I would be tempted but she gets really wound up by 6ish. It's like she's over stimulated.

@30birthdayholiday I'm breast feeding but she doesn't tend to 'feed to sleep'. She gets full and then just pulls off 😕 on the occasions she has done, I always think how lovely and peaceful it is as a way of drifting off.

5 months.......wouldn't even try a routine at that age, teeth, development leaps and ale regression all play havoc with trying to get them to sleep.

with both mine I tried to aim for the big bedtime sleep to start from 7, but went with the floeif their mood, sometimes it would be 5 others 10.

Have you tried white noise?
We started with Ollie the Owl that played the same song, and now she associates this song with sleep time now.

Bedtime sounds a bit early. DS used to nap around 4.30pm for half an hour or so, then bed time at 7.30pm. Not that he ever slept through - tbh, he still doesn't and he is 16mo. So maybe don't listen to me!

@KatnissK ah, maybe that's it.

Thank you for all your replies! Xx

Is she able to roll? If so, remove the swaddle. I was worried that removing the swaddle around that time would worsen sleep but my LO just rolled onto her side and slept really well in that position as soon as she could roll. Maybe the swaddle is uncomfortable now and she wants to move around to get settled.

My 9month old started going to bed around 7pm/8pm at 5 months.

I've never put her in her cot asleep though, she always goes down awake so she can settle herself.

Also, what time are her naps in the day? My LO wakes up around 9am, nap at midday then 2nd nap around 3ish then to bed at 7pm

My DD goes down at 6pm she's 2! I'd just appreciate the fact she is sleeping through the night! My DD was the exact same as yours but she didn't sleep through the night so it was a real struggle ! She's 2 now goes to bed at 6-7pm (depending on nap) and wakes 7-8 am :) bath book bed straight to sleep, after she turned 1 I just put her in her cot and she cried it out for around 3 nights then that was it zz