never more than 2 and a half hours sleep

[calcium]

my 11 week old has settled relatively well into a day time routine but once nightime comes she wakes about 4-5 times a night with never more than a 2 and a half hour sleep time. I am exhausted and really would like any advice on how to make her last a little longer

I had the same problem, and ds woke up at least twice, usually three times, until 8 months. It is possible that nothing you do will make a difference (sorry).

A piece of advice I was given was to give a bottle at about 11pm (even if this means waking your baby up). However, I was b/f'ing, and reluctant to do this, so I just persevered. I actually got used to the lack of sleep, and it felt really weird when I had a good night's sleep!

Do you nap during the day when your baby does? I know that there is always housework etc to do, but let it pile up a bit while you catch up on some zzz's. I didn't take this advice, and now wish that I had.

Can't think of anything else, but I'm sure that all the other posters will give you loads of good tips.

Good luck.

Do you get up to feed her? If so, take her into bed and snooze while you are feeding her. You might find she will sleep for longer nestled into you. I did that then would wake to find a slumbering baby then would slip them back into the cradle beside the bed.
You will not start a bad habit of children in your bed at this age. I never had that problem with my 4, despite taking them into bed to feed.
Try also not to look at at the clock the minute she wakes - that gets soul destroying because you immediately think 'oh, no' and the tension mounts.I think that is one of the reasons that babies settle less easily at night. Also make sure she is not sleeping for prolonged periods ( over 4 hours) during the day therefore making up her intake during the night.
And definately get the paperback - Breast is Best - by Andrew and Penny Stanway. It will get better, honset

A baby at 11 weeks is still young and requireing more feedings. You may just have to wait it out till it gets better. I agree with Chinchiila about trying to give a bottle at a later hour possibly right before you go to bed. I dont really know what else you can do. Sorry I wish I could help more. If you have a mate why not go to bed a few hours earlier before him and let him do the 11O pm bottle and then put the baby back to bed then you can get even a couple more hrs after the bottle while the baby sleeps. Thats what we had to do. I didnt always want to go to bed early without dh but I wanted to get a jump start on sleeping till I felt better. Hope you get more rest soon.

calcium - my ds was exactly the same at that age (worse even when he was having a growth spurt), then at about 18 weeks he started sleeping a 5hr stint followed by 2,2, & 1 hr stints. At this point he was going to bed at the same time as us - about 10.
I eventually got used to his routine, fed him in bed after his first sleep in his cot (attached him then fell asleep) and even managed enough energy to go back to work when he was 18 weeks.
Recently (25 weeks) he's started sleeping up to 9 hours (from 8pm) generally only feeding once each night.

I recall hearing about babies sleeping 8hrs from 2 months old and hissing - thinking I must be doing something wrong, but I think now he was just hungry and unable to fill up enough to last longer (he was a skinny wee one but is now quite tub-cious).

Grab sleep when & where you can - stuff the housework - feed as much hindmilk as possible just before bedtime, and say my mantra with me "this too will pass"

Oh Calcium, been there, done that. Sorry but my ds also never slept well until he was almost 8months but now sleeps like a dream - 12hours a night, an hour in the am and hour and a half in the afternoon - and he's sleeping like this while lots of the babies who slept through at 3months now wake in the night and get up at 5am every day. It's like a different child and like a repayment for the early months of hell. Little advice but huge sympathy and - I hope - a bit of reassurance. Your baby is very, very young and I bet she'll start sleeping better soon.

PS. I think that Gina Ford has some good ideas BUT in desperation I started waking up my ds at 11pm for a feed (he was waking around 2am)and to my utter horror he just ADDED the 11pm waking to his repertoire so he woke at 11pm, 2am and 5am for ages!

Aloha - your ds and mine sound very alike - lots of lovely sleep now, and two naps (usually) a day. BUT...teething has its way of reminding me not to get too complacent!

Agree with Janeway about the mantra. This time next year, the bags under your eyes will resemble evening bags rather than a whole set of luggage

Calcium, when my ds was 2 months old we would 'wake' him for a feed at about 10.30pm, and then he would sleep through until about 6.00am. So basically we would put him down at about 7.00pm, feed him again at 10.30pm, then he would sleep the rest of the night. He didn't actually seem to wake up at this feed, we would just get him out of the cot, feed him and then put him back in, without really disturbing him. A clinic nurse actually suggested that I do this because he was putting on weight quickly, and didn't really need the 'night' feeds anymore - once we started doing this, it worked brilliantly. He is still a great sleeper today (he's 2) and I never found that it disturbed his sleeping pattern at all. He's gone from being a 5lb 8oz baby to a very big, healthy toddler & still sleeps about 14 hours a day! Good luck with everything.

Liamsmum - I have heard of this its dream feeding and I have done this but I don't think she fills up and so still wakes up later on. She was 6lbs at birth and puts on around 6oz a week (now 9 lb 11oz at 11 weeks) so perhaps when her weight is more she in turn will sleep better (wishful thinking??) Chinchilla (you obviously have the same problems as each topic I go to there you are!!) yes I try to nap in the morning for an hour and thats about it really and as for the evening bags I look forward to that!
I can't get her to sleep at 7pm so perhaps I should persevere with that one although we had a better night last night one 4 and a half hour sleep 10 - 2.30am just a shame that her dad came home at 1am and rang the bell as he forgot his keys so there went my long sleep!!!

Oh yes calcium - I have had every problem under the sun! At least I have got through each one as it came, and come out smiling at the other end. So will you.

Hope you don't think that I'm stalking you!

Chinchilla - ha ha ha yes the mother stalker from hell..... I will obviously have to come to you for advice. We had an awful night last night dd kept us up for 3 hours in the middle of the night and refused to be put down to bed. In the end her dad popped a dummy in her mouth not something I am happy with to enable her to go to sleep but to be honest we were desperate and he did a better job than I did at getting her back to sleep. A very bleery eyed Calcium this morning I can tell you!

Calcium - dummies are FANTASTIC. Don't knock 'em, my ds sleeps with his and he sleeps through every night. A baby's need to suck is very, very strong.

For a breast feeding baby who has no problems latching and is gaining weight - a dummy is much better than resorting to formula. Some babies just need to suck all the time so I agree - do not feel bad. Enjoy the break

but the wake up every time the dummy falls out? surely this is not a good thing??

Calcium

Dummies were my lifesaver with DD and she didn't wake up every time the dummy fell out. When she was asleep I would generally pull it out and then she didn't get dependent on sleeping with it in her mouth just on it to go to sleep.

Just want to second the vote for dummies. Dd falls into a deep sleep with hers, it falls out and we don't hear a peep until morning. If she wakes early, I pop it in and she's off again - I'm definitely not back & forth all night. And now dd can put it back for herself! (although she does put it in the wrong way round!)

My ds puts his back too if he needs it - mostly he doesn't. Sleeps a solid 12hours every night. Did you see little Leo Blair with his dummy in the papers today. Hooray! Dummies are posh, official.

And he's still partly breastfed at nearly a year...

Calcium, my ds ate every two hours day and night until he was 6 months old. I was exclusively breastfeeding him until then, so at night I ended up having him in bed with us (something I swore I'd never do) and would just roll over stick him on my breast and fall back asleep while he sucked. At 6 months, I said enough is enough, started him on solids, put him in his own bed, and sleep trained him. Other than when he is ill or we are travelling and he has jet lag, he sleeps through the night in his bed with no problems at all. So don't worry whatever you do in the beginning won't necessarily spoil them for life. Also, we gave him a dummy from day one and it was a great help. However, at 3 months he spat it out and would never take one again. (Amusingly now, whenever he sees a child with one he points at them and says "baby,baby"....he's only 21 months himself). Good luck, you will sleep again.