Cant settle 7 week old at evening

[gingesuze]

Can anybody advise.
Baby is fed about 7 and then falls asleep but awakes after about an hour and wont settle properly unless I feed her - but she is using me as a dummy as suckles then falls asleep ..... back into basket sleeps for a bit and off we go again.

I usually feed her again at 1030 when she is so tired she stays asleep after that one til next feed.

Thanks in advance.

Cant do controlled cying - feel awful.

I think she is just being 7 weeks old and possibly having a growth spurt TBH. Can you just go with the flow for a bit and she will probably settle back down again.
Please don't even consider any kind of sleep training yet - she is far too small.
I know it feels really shitty but it won't last forever.

Don't worry about controlled crying - too young for that anyway, and too distressing for you both at this age. You may have heard this before but ... have you tried introducing a bath to the bedtime routine? It has worked for all my DSs - started at 2 weeks old. At this age I'd say you'd be lucky to get her to go down at 7 anyway. DS3 (now 13 weeks) went down at about 9pm at this age, now 8.30pm.

you don't need to do controlled crying

DD cluster fed and it sounds like yours is doing the same

it is normal and very tiring

just feed her as much as you can and it will settle down

at 7 weeks DD was feeding on and off all evening until 9/9.30 pm

around 2 weeks ago she started going to bed at 8 pm (16 weeks) and we have a bath and bedtime routine and tonight she was in bed by 7.30 pm

I well remember that feeling of being "used like a dummy". The thing is, she is definitely getting milk, albeit slowly - milk is made on demand. This sort of frequent feeding is normal in the evenings and it is suggested that they are stimulating your milk supply (so it's important to go with it as much as you can, in order to keep up with her demand!).

I know it's tiresome but in a few months it will be a distant memory.

Great link here

And controlled crying is pointless in a child too young to understand it (and cruel, but that's just my opinion). It's much easier to give them what they want - it will all change again soon enough!

Mine didn't start going to sleep and staying asleep that early until about 22 weeks. Before then he'd be feeding on and off with bouts of being awake until about 10:30.

I have a 13 week old and from the start she has naturally cluster fed in the evenings - has a feed around 6, then needs a bit more an hour later, then maybe a final top-up and a nappy change, and she's off for the night Is actually a real bonus as evenings after 8pm are mine! I sleepy-feed her when I go to bed, unless she's completely out of it, and then she's fine until at least 3/4am, or later.

It did take longer to get her down for the night in the first 8weeks or so but definitely settling down as she's getting older.

Controlled crying in a 7 week old sounds really unnatural and I wouldn't do it. At that age, they only cry when they need something.

I've found that babies start to find their own routine and become a little more predictable after 12 weeks.

Thanks all.

Yes we have bath routine it makes things bit more manageable to do it with other daughter - and they both love it.

Have just binned bloody gina ford book!

I honestly cannot remember if this was the same with my other little girl and she is only 2!!!

Although I do seem to recall binning gina ford.

Wont be doing any controlled crying at any stage.

Onwards and upwards!

Great link - and how bizarre she has just fallen asleep - as descibed 6-10.

Phew!

Fab link - At least I know cluster feeding is something normal this time of night. I am thinking of ordering a sling online now for these fussy evenings.

Will using a sling to settle her during these fussy times, stop her sleeping in a cot or mb though? I am loathe to co-sleep for fear of harming her, even though I have read info on how to co-sleep it isn't something I feel comfortable doing (yet).

Has anyone used a sling?

Used a sling loads with DS, absolutely invaluable - if the evenings were really bad DP would strap him on and walk round the town with him to give me a break. We used it until he was nearly 2. We got a Kari-Me but a Moby is similar and also popular.

Really? What happened when ds was sleeping - I mean were you able to transfer into either cot or basket when you went to bed?

Er, he coslept ... and still does after around 2am ...! But I reckon most babies would be quite transferable, he was a terrible sleeper until he was more 12 months, a real slog. It was the sling or nothing!