11 week old not sleeping til 11pm

[1234Becca]

Hi everyone :) We’ve been trying to get our baby into a routine but it’s not working very well at the moment.
I try to make sure she naps in the day 3 times - we are having trouble with her afternoon naps which is where the problem might be but unsure how to make sure she sleeps - the environment is set for it.
This is what our day looks like…

• Wake up 9ish and feed. This is when she’s most playful
• Nap 10.30ish for at least an hour. Never too much trouble getting her to nap now
• Aim for walk or car run where she’ll nap at 1ish
• 3/4ish aim for a nap but never really happen
• 6.30 start bath routine
• 7.30 she might nod off but then is wired until 10.30/11

(She then wakes 1 or 2 times at 2 and 5 for a small feed - she’s not fully awake at these times either)

She’s not complaining much, she’s just absolutely wired and wide awake.
Even if she doesn’t fall asleep til 11 again tonight, should I wake her at 7 to start a better routine?
Just feel like we are in a vicious circle!

Thank you :) x

Hmm, have you tried just going with an 11pm bedtime then bringing it forward slowly rather than keep trying for 7:30?

She's too young for a rigid routine, just go with the flow for now and worry about the routine when she's a bit older. Some naturally settle into one at some point. Lots of babies her age will still need 4 naps - she might be overtired by the afternoon hence why you're struggling. Have a look at wake windows stuff online for guidance re awake times for different age ranges. It works well for some babies and gives a bit of structure to the day if that's what you're wanting.

“ We’ve been trying to get our baby into a routine but it’s not working very well at the moment.”

I’d disagree - you have got yourselves into a routine and it sounds like it’s working fine? I am presuming that you have an issue with the 11pm bedtime? Why is this an issue for you?

Thanks for the replies everyone!
I guess the biggest concern with it is that she’s awake for so long and she shouldn’t have such a long “wake window” if she’s basically awake from 6ish/just before bath time and doesn’t switch off until 11ish, four hours seems like a long time for her to be awake?

It is a long time, but my DD is 4 months and has been known to stay awake that long without getting crabby. I've worked out that after a proper sleep / decent nap her wake window (based on her sleep cues) is more like 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours. She woke up at 7ish this morning and just gone down for the night, and has only had 2 x 45 minute naps today. I just roll with it now - no point trying to force her to sleep when she isn't tired. If she's happy and sleeping well over night then I wouldn't worry 😊

In my experience you don’t het. 7.3 bedtime until they no-longer have any naps or they have one nap but get up at 5.30 in the morning. Lots of babies are wired to cluster feed at this time.