XP: BF and bedime routine question

7apodacn

My DD is 5 weeks. I BF on demand. She usually eats between 7-8 1-2 times. My questions is how to introduce a bedtime routine. For the last 3 weeks, she is up from 7-8pm to 12-1am. She might take a 10-15 nap in that time, but not always. She cluster feeds at this time too. She doesn't like to be swaddle, I turn down the lights and noise, nothing seems to help to get her to sleep even though she is fighting sleep. I got back to work when she is 9 weeks and I'd like to have some sort of night routine. I'm a nurse who works 12 hr shifts and I need some sleep otherwise someone will get hurt. I know being sleep deprived is part of being a mom, but I can't keep getting 3-4 hours of broken sleep a night and do my job safely. Thanks!!

vindaloo

5 weeks is way too young to sleep train. Everything I've read has said you really have to wait until LO is 4 months. I'm sorry, I know that isn't what you want to hear.

Keep in mind, though, that LO's frustrating sleep patterns won't last forever. This lateevening wakeful pattern might end at any time.

Have you read any of the sleep books? I highly recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Weissbluth. It sounds like you're pretty serious about getting LO to sleep, so I'd also recommend Ferber for cryitout techniques.

vindaloo

Also, can your SO help out at all? Maybe hold or take care of LO for a couple of hours, maybe give a bottle and let you sleep? Are you pumping? SO could give pumped milk a couple of times a week and it wouldn't affect your supply.

KMac570

My LO was a terrible sleeper until recently.  What I did was I chose the earliest time when I knew he was naturally sleepy - for you it sounds like that is 12 or 1. I then implemented a bedtime routine that would have him down by that time at the earliest.  After about a week, I started moving the routine up by ten minutes per day, to get LO to sleep earlier.  It seems to be working so far.  The theory was to get him to associate the routine with sleep (thus starting it at a time I knew he would sleep, even though it was late), and then slowly moving it earlier in the evening.

  My bedtime routine is very simple - I take him into his nursery with the lights down low, and wipe his face and hands with a warm cloth.  He loves that. I then change him, and nurse him in the dark before putting him in his RnP.  I will eventually work reading into this too, but right now that makes him cry.  Anyway, I hope you find something that works or you! 

anonsouthernbell

Cradle your baby and try bouncing on the exercise ball...you might also want to try cutting out dairy...if its bc your LO still has days and nights confused that should correct soon...

lifewrite

I agree with starting a routine at a time that he is usually ready for sleep. FWIW I don't have a night time routine and my dd started sleeping through the night this week7 weeks old.

7apodacn

Thanks for the tips ladies!