In desperate need of sleep help!

few

I have a 10 week old that I have yet to get on a schedule! In 14 short days, I will be returning to work & leaving my husband with her & my two sons (2 & 4) at night. I work 7p-7a. The boys are pretty easy at this point & go to bed between 8:30 & 9. DD is just unpredictable! I have tried setting an 8pm bedtime for her, starting at 7 with bath & massage, then nursing & attempting to lay down. So far this has been a complete failure! I try not to let her nap after 6, hoping that will help. The rest of the day is pretty crazy though, with no set schedule. I EBF & she is very gassy, which I think is a large part of the problem. I have cut out dairy (just in case) & try to avoid "gassy" foods, even though I have read & been told that doesn't affect baby. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

juliane2004

How often is she waking in the night?

What are her naps like? How long are they? How many naps (on average) a day?

few

She wakes up about every 3-4 hrs at night. I've been keeping her in the room with everyone else while napping. She'll usually stay awake about 2 hrs at a time &nap for an hour or so before waking again

luvmygirlss

There's really no "schedule" for a baby this age. There are many things you can do to start good sleep habits such as a good bedtime routine, follow age appropriate wake times, and trying to put your baby down awake. But as far as having a set bedtime at this age  is very unlikely because bedtime will depend on how long she has been awake since her last nap, which at this age should be about 1hr. Hope that helps

few

Thanks ladies.

 

juliane2004

few said:

She wakes up about every 3-4 hrs at night. I've been keeping her in the room with everyone else while napping. She'll usually stay awake about 2 hrs at a time &nap for an hour or so before waking again

In my opinion, she's up too long. Put her down for a nap (ideally swaddled, on her own, to fall asleep by herself) after about 1.5 hours (not 2 hours). If her naps improve, her night sleep will likely follow.

VPGIRL06

Up every 3-4 hours is, sadly, fairly normal. As long as she seems happy and content then she's' probably fine

To be fair, your husband is most likely going to get more sleep than you..it sounds like YOU will only get snatches of 1-2 hours at a time while he will get 3-4 (assuming he works during the day...)

tisunge602

Have you tried making her cluster feed for a few hours before you put her down? I feed my 3-week old every hour for 2-3 hours before I want him to go to bed. Works like a charm for us -- he'll go to bed around our target time and usually sleep two good four-hour stretches through the night.