7wo won't settle in the evenings - any suggestions?

[Lexy123]

Hi there

My 7wo DD just won't settle in the evenings - from 6pm until midnight she feeds every hour pretty much.

She may sleep for 20 minutes or so but won't go down in her cot so we end up with her on our laps in front of the TV which I'm sure isn't good but seems to be no other option!

I gather evening wakefulness is common but does anyone have any suggestions on how we can make her more settled?

She sleeps fine during the day and goes down at midnight until about 4-5am, feeds (BF) then sleeps again until about 08:30 so not bad but would just like a bit of an evening!

Thanks!

Why isn't it good?

Babies have stomachs the size of walnuts and need little and often and tend to tank up at night.
Just keep her with you and feed as needed.
Time enough for routines the rest of herl ife.

Very normal in my experience. You will find that she should start to settle gradually a bit earlier over the coming weeks by herself and the naps will get longer until they merge into more evening sleep. You can either wait until she gets there in her own time and accept having her up with you or some people spend hours trying to settle their little ones into more of a pattern. I personally enjoy the quiet time of feeding and napping that small babies do in the evenings, it doesn't last long in the grand scheme of things and you get to have lots of close contact and cuddles with her in the meantime.

Thanks so much - feel a lot better now, I do enjoy having her with me in the evenings but you hear so much about getting babies into routines that it makes you feel like you're doing something wrong! For now I'll enjoy the cuddles by the fire until she's a bit older...

is it a late growth spurt?
i think 6 weeks is common for one and certainly exhausted me! if that's the case it shouldn't last more than a few days. it is very hard to manage growth spurts but they are short lived. best of luck!