how long does it take your baby to go to sleep?

[drivingmisscrazy]

just curious as to whether our experience is representative (note that I did NOT say normal). DD is 4 months old and not a very good sleeper. The routine starts at 6pm with a bath, followed by lots of feeding (she is breastfed); she is then put into her cot awake/sleepy and it then takes at least 45 minutes from there of shush/pat, more feeding, leaving her to it until she goes to sleep. She frequently goes to/is put to sleep only to wake up within a few minutes. So today we started at 6pm it is now 8pm and she is still not asleep. DP and I are getting more and more frustrated as this doesn't seem to be improving.

COntext: she sleeps pretty well at night - 8-7.30 usually with feeds at 11 and 3 (but not really that predictable). We struggle to get her to nap 3 x 45 mins. SHe is undoubtedly overtired, but we can't seem to get her sleep in a regular or relaxed pattern.

What do/did your DCs do and how long did it take?

DS is 5 months and can take that long (though we don't really do the shushing and patting, he wrestles with a teddy we remove when he's asleep). It's better when he starts his bath earlier - would it be practical for you to do it at say 5.30 or 5.45?

ds1 used to just fall asleep by himself. frm birth (please note: this is NOT normal baby behaviour lol)

ds2 I just used to feed to sleep until we tried teh NCSS at around 9/10 months and I gradually managed to get him to go to sleep without boob in mouth.
he still fed, and then went to sleep though. was not long after feeding though that he'd drop off

My DS took ages go to sleep at that age. I dreaded evenings and having to shush-pat-shush for an hour, only for him to wake up 5 mins after he had fallen asleep and I had only just escaped gone downstairs.

6 mth old DD is like your little weirdy@thisisiyesterday . Since birth I have just been able to put her down and leave the room and she is asleep within a couple of minutes.

I honestly think they were born the sleepers they are, because it sure as hell wasn't anything I did or didn't do.

Will she feed to sleep? If so, ignore all that crap about "rod for your own back" and "self settling" and just take the easy way out! (Sleeping baby = happy mummy & daddy = happy baby.)

i find the whole settling to sleep thing utterly soul destroying, my dd was similar. i didn't bother with bedtime and just kept her with me until i went to bed, and let her feed to sleep while i watched tv or whatever. otherwise it could easily be an hour of rocking only to wake up promptly when put down. i hated losing my whole evening to fruitlessly attempting to put her to bed. now at 8 months i think she is maybe ready for me to start putting her down earlier but will still be feeding to sleep.

agreed - it is pretty soul destroying. I feel like my whole life is governed by attempts to make her sleep. Not sure what is going on with her at the moment, but she continually wakes up for no reason after 10-15 minutes, however she has gone to sleep (so far today, shush-pat, long walk in buggy, feed to sleep). I am about to lose the plot! And she is wrecked, poor little mite.

Could the bath be making her even more tired do you think? My dd is 4 months old and falls asleep after about 10 minutes or so at around 7-7.30pm (has just started sucking her thumb so I think that helps). She has her last nap of the day around 6ish for anything up to an hour (usually falls asleep in her bouncy chair while I am getting ds (3yo) ready for bed. I then feed her when she wakes and more or less put her into bed straight away. She has a bath maybe once or twice a week and they tend to be in the morning rather than evening.

might be worth missing the bath out and seeing if that helps

might it be wind? dd still sometimes wakes up after dropping off and lets out a massive burp and goes back to sleep or wakes up cross (pot luck which). after the newborn sleepy bit, i couldn't really put her down to sleep, i just let her nap on me while i went on MN or read. Or took her for a walk in the sling or did chores wearing her in the sling.

remember, while to you she is waking up for what feels like no reason, she does have a reason, she just can't explain it to you. i know how frustrating it is though!

personally i think dd just wasn't that tired, am really noticing the difference now she is more active, she is definitely ready for earlier nights now.

i agree with ches about feeding to sleep - yes a self-settling baby might be a nice thing but it sounds like the attempts to achieve it are more stressful than they are worth. maybe some babies just need the contact, i have only recently been able to leave dd asleep - before she would wake as soon as i wasn't next to her. have you tried feeding her on your bed and staying with her, to nap yourself or read a book?