3 month old takes 1-2hrs fussing to sleep at bedtime

[unclemontyscrumpets]

I think this is an odd one...
My baby girl is 3 months old, and is doing a good job of self settling within the Little Ones routine (so 7-7, awake windows of around 1hr45, last nap never past 5pm). However, when it comes to bedtime she takes AGES to go to sleep- I’m talking 1-2 hours of fussing. She doesn’t cry, she just seems wide awake and chats to herself, squirms around the bed, until she eventually falls asleep.

Does this sound like under-tiredness? Should I be keeping her up a bit later? If she were, wouldn’t she kick off and cry when I left her?...
It’s such a waste of her valuable sleep time!

No advice just incredible jealousy that you have a 3 month old that will self-settle and follow a routine! if she doesn't seem upset I wouldn't be too worried about it.

Oh I know, it sounds like a ridiculous complaint
Naps are still stressful, if that helps!

Sorry didn't mean to make out it was ridiculous. Anything you are unsure about with babies is stressful. As for naps, mine didn't start taking regular naps until she was 6 months!

No no, I didn’t mean that at all- thanks for replying! The whole sleep thing gives me anxiety even with a baby who does it pretty well, I thought I’d be so much more laid back

Try increasing the wake times slightly by 10 mins or so and see how she goes?

It sure is fraught with anxiety as a first time mum! Always questioning yourself, never sure if you are doing the right thing. I have one who has never been brilliant but always manageable, turned disastrous in the last few weeks! 😴 Sounds like you are doing brilliantly to me.

Thanks @inthethickofit19
Do you mean each window across the day, or just the last one?

Thank you @PopcornAndWine I really appreciate that- I’m trying really hard!
I’m sure you are too- it sounds like you’ve had a tough time and I hope it gets better soon!!

@unclemontyscrumpets

Thanks *@inthethickofit19* Do you mean each window across the day, or just the last one?

I would try each window across the day. What's happening with naps?

I do try and stretch the awake windows as much as I can as she only really does one 30 min cycle which tends to throw off the timings. She either falls asleep as I put her down or she grizzles for 5-10 mins max. The stressful bit is the 2hr lunchtime nap, as one cycle won’t cut it and we need to resettle her, which can only be done by another feed, half the time followed by another cry before she goes off again 😔

No advice, but would you recommend the little ones plan? I see it advertised on Facebook a lot and it looks too good to be true! I know that they have a help section that you can access.

@MamaSloth yes I would- it gives a clear plan, plenty of information behind it and (crucially I think) a ‘troubleshooting’ section where it tells you what to do when things go wrong, which it does a lot.

However, it’s the having of a routine that was the turning point for us- any routine! And separating eating and sleeping (mostly) makes sense.

Also, the one thing I don’t think LO can do is to get baby sleeping over a single cycle if that’s what they do- it has really stressed me out trying to get baby to do this for WEEKS if not months, and I am now very firmly in the belief that she will only do it when she’s developmentally ready.

@unclemontyscrumpets
My advice? Stop watching the clock and timing things.
I never did this until 6 months and it made those newborn days so much less stressful.
When baby is showing tired signs, put them down to sleep. If not; continue awake time