Help! routine for 11 week old

[JFG]

My DD is 11 weeks old and whilst I have a great bedtime routine that has been in place since she was 6 weeks old - bath at 7.30 then bottle and put down to sleep (she is still in with us but I put her down and we go up later) but i'm finding the day time is all over the place and she isn't really sleeping in the day she just cat naps then by 5-6pm is very overtired and I struggle to settle her right up to bedtime! She wakes anywhere between 2am-4am for her night feed after going down and then is up at 6-7am depending on when the night feed was. I tried the EASY routine but couldn't seem to get her to sleep that much in the day and found it really difficult when we are out and about or people are visiting!

Any advise or help would be great!!

 

[Dollybird]

Oh stalking! I'd like to know this too! Xxx

 

[Sparrow85]

It's very normal for catnaps at that age. My LO was still taking about 4 or 5 short naps at that age.

Why not put her to bed earlier? My LO was the same at night. I was putting him to bed about 8pm and night times were an absolute nightmare. I didn't actually realise that he was just so tired. I started putting him to bed at 7pm and then about 4 months, it went to 6pm. He has only slept better when his bedtime was earlier. I didn't see the point keeping him up if he was miserable.

 

[Dollybird]

Jfg just noticed your ticker!!.. Are u preggers again? Big congrats if so!! Xxx

 

[JFG]

Thanks sparrow, good point maybe I'm keeping her up too late & will try putting her down at 6.30-7 if she's tired was worried I'll be feeding her too early but suppose she'll just wake earlier if she's hungry in the night! x

Hey Dolly, how are you getting on? Haha no not pregnant again I can't get rid of my ticker for some reason so it's reset for next year!

 

[Dollybird]

I'm doing good!! Similar dilemma to you it seems!.. He sleeps great overnight , 9pm-5am, but his daytime naps are a mess!! I do his bedtime routine every night from
6:30pm - bath, bottle, cuddle, bed. But as I said bed is a lot later.. Think I'll try putting him down sooner too. Xxx

 

[Feebster1]

Yep totally agree, i made the same mistake of not realising lo was overtired and when i moved bedtime to earlier it made a huge difference!!

Have to say though my lo was always a terrible napper and still is! Unless we are at home and with all the things just right she wont sleep and if im not there with her cuddled in then she only sleeps 20-30 mins!! So we cuddle for naps just so she can get enough sleep during the day and if were out well it usually ends in an even earlier bed as she just wont nap!!

Small price to pay in my book for a happier baby and cant complain as from 4 months she sttn 98% of the time!

Hope earlier beds work for your lo!.

 

[JFG]

Ah he is doing well going 9-5 i do the same routine but I don't start until 7-7.30pm so I'm going to try and move it forward an hour.

Thanks Feebster. The only thing is her last feed at the moment is between 7.30-8pm so if I move it forward should I wake her to feed around 10pm or just leave her to wake in night as normal?

 

[Feebster1]

Ah he is doing well going 9-5 i do the same routine but I don't start until 7-7.30pm so I'm going to try and move it forward an hour.

Thanks Feebster. The only thing is her last feed at the moment is between 7.30-8pm so if I move it forward should I wake her to feed around 10pm or just leave her to wake in night as normal?

If it was me i would just play that by ear, probably in the beginning do the dream feed, pick up and feed before you go to bed and see how that works for a week or 2. At least that way you will get a chance to change bedtime but not worry initially about when feeds etc will be after and you get a chance to sleep before lo up again.
As lo gets older try dropping the dream feed and see how it goes.
Was told by hv when my lo was being fussy around the 4 months right before she sttn not to worry about what she ate last thing (she was sometimes refusing her last bottle completely). It got me very worried but hv said its what they eat through the day that keeps them sttn not the last feed and she was right, i stopped worrying and lo relaxed with earlier bedtime and even now she sometimes only takes 3 ozs last thing but always sttn!

Hope that makes sense!?

 

[JFG]

Ah he is doing well going 9-5 i do the same routine but I don't start until 7-7.30pm so I'm going to try and move it forward an hour.

Thanks Feebster. The only thing is her last feed at the moment is between 7.30-8pm so if I move it forward should I wake her to feed around 10pm or just leave her to wake in night as normal?

If it was me i would just play that by ear, probably in the beginning do the dream feed, pick up and feed before you go to bed and see how that works for a week or 2. At least that way you will get a chance to change bedtime but not worry initially about when feeds etc will be after and you get a chance to sleep before lo up again.
As lo gets older try dropping the dream feed and see how it goes.
Was told by hv when my lo was being fussy around the 4 months right before she sttn not to worry about what she ate last thing (she was sometimes refusing her last bottle completely). It got me very worried but hv said its what they eat through the day that keeps them sttn not the last feed and she was right, i stopped worrying and lo relaxed with earlier bedtime and even now she sometimes only takes 3 ozs last thing but always sttn!

Hope that makes sense!?

Yes makes perfect sense thank you, that's good advise she always takes a good amount at bedtime but I can try and get her to drink more in the day! I'm glad you said that as I've not done a dream feed as my lo can be windy/refluxy so like to keep her burped and upright after a feed but wouldn't want to wake her!

 

[Feebster1]

Ah he is doing well going 9-5 i do the same routine but I don't start until 7-7.30pm so I'm going to try and move it forward an hour.

Thanks Feebster. The only thing is her last feed at the moment is between 7.30-8pm so if I move it forward should I wake her to feed around 10pm or just leave her to wake in night as normal?

If it was me i would just play that by ear, probably in the beginning do the dream feed, pick up and feed before you go to bed and see how that works for a week or 2. At least that way you will get a chance to change bedtime but not worry initially about when feeds etc will be after and you get a chance to sleep before lo up again.
As lo gets older try dropping the dream feed and see how it goes.
Was told by hv when my lo was being fussy around the 4 months right before she sttn not to worry about what she ate last thing (she was sometimes refusing her last bottle completely). It got me very worried but hv said its what they eat through the day that keeps them sttn not the last feed and she was right, i stopped worrying and lo relaxed with earlier bedtime and even now she sometimes only takes 3 ozs last thing but always sttn!

Hope that makes sense!?

Yes makes perfect sense thank you, that's good advise she always takes a good amount at bedtime but I can try and get her to drink more in the day! I'm glad you said that as I've not done a dream feed as my lo can be windy/refluxy so like to keep her burped and upright after a feed but wouldn't want to wake her!

Our lo was a reflux baby also (pretty much over it now), had gaviscon etc. However when going to bed back then once winded she was normally fine and i put her back down, we ended up only winding at the end of the feed too as she just got fussy if you tried in the middle, seemed to suit her.
Have you raised lo mattress up at all, use a folded or rolled towel under the head end, it only gives you tiny tiny rise but its amazing the difference it makes. Strangely our lo was never very sick at bedtime either, seemed to be the one time in the day that when she was flat it didnt bother her!

Anyway good luck, am sure it will all work out fine!

 

[hapi2bhealthy]

Sounds totally normal to me at 11 weeks. I found my LO didn't consolidate her sleeps until she was about 5-6 months during the day, and since then it's been pretty solid. Just play it by ear, 11 weeks is still really little, not even finished the 4th trimester yet so bubs is still learning about the world and not being a part of Mummy any more! Get a good carrier and wear baby as much as you can, they'll sleep for hours that way. Once baby starts to move they won't wanna be in the carrier as much so forget about the "bad habits" crap.

Oh also my O was reflux and food allergy so I just accepted it, wore her and once I accepted it I stopped stressing we were both much happier!

 

[belle254]

My ds is 11 weeks too, an we've just started to get into a sort of routine. I've had to really as my dd is 14 months so I need it or we'd all go insane!
A typical day looks like this, give or take an hour.
7am wake up
7.30 dressed, nappy, 4-6oz
8.30-10 morning nap
10.30 4-6oz
11.30/12- 2.30 afternoon nap
2.30 4-6oz
4-5 evening catnap
5pm first half of bedtime feed, 4oz
6pm bath with his sister
6.30-7 second half of feed, 4oz and up to bed
12am-3am night feed, usually 2-4oz
Up again at 6/7am

This is in no way set in stone. Sometimes he catnaps most of the day, other days he does this routine to the letter. Having two with a 12 month age gap is hard enough, so I tend to encourage this routine so we know what we're doing and everyone gets fed and sleep and is happy xx

 

[JFG]

Thank you all for the great advise I do keep her basket tilted and keep her upright for around 30 mins after feeds.

Belle that's great my dd also wakes at 7am & has similar feed times so I might try a similar routine and see how we get on I also like how you split the bedtime feed as she loves a bottle before bed but is sometimes so hungry before bath time! Thanks