I am at my wits end with DS's nighttime fussiness. He gets so overtired and fights sleep. I even tried nursing him and he just screamed and cried. He did get shots on Thursday and also has reflux. He finally took a bottle from DH and is asleep in his swing. My pedi says it gets better after 12 weeks and he'll be a totally different baby. I sure hope so because I am exhausted. Give a new mom some encouragement please...
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Re: Tell me it gets better...
Around 3 1/2 months we found a "routine," but it is still loosely based on when DH gets home from work (anywhere between 6-7:30). I know LO is overtired when she goes into meltdown mode and nothing can calm her down, except waiting it out and letting her fall asleep. Otherwise, I use bathtime to keep her calm/entertained for about 15 minutes. DH and I decide based on his schedule if I should go ahead and put her to bed so we can eat dinner when he gets home, or if he will be home early enough to put her to bed, or if we should keep her up.
Our bedtime routine was fairly stable when DD was 3 1/2- 4 months old if that helps at all, but all babies are different. DD is a baby who needs a routine; if I don't follow it I pay the price with a fussy baby! She goes down around 7-7:30, and then I top her off when we go to bed around 9-10. She usually gets up once to eat between 3-4, and then gets up for the day around 7:15.
What time does he get fussy/overtired? If you're noticing a pattern (be it a specific time or after a certain feeding), try to get him calm and sleepy before he has a chance to get out of control.
Are you keeping things quiet and lights dim in the evening? Make sure he's not getting overstimulated
LCT - 5.15.14 ~ 9lbs, 22.5 inches
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but it did not magically get easier at 12 weeks for us. What did work was establishing a routine, albeit very flexible.
As a PP said, it helped when we let DD take an evening nap even though so many things I read said not to let their last nap go past 4pm.
DD will now take a nap from 5-6:30 and be in bed by 9 without any fussing. Before we did this, she would take her last nap from 3-4, be in bed by 6:30, and we would be in a struggle until 10pm. It would take hours to get her to sleep, only to have her wake 30 mins later.
How long is she awake for before you start your bed time routine? At that age, DD could only do 60-75 mins of awake time max.
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My advice is to start the bedtime routine WAY sooner than you think you need to... like 5 or 5:30.
Right now LO is needing to go to sleep around the time DH is getting home from work and if I wait for the hub-bub of the excitement of DH coming home, eating dinner, etc. it is way too late (6:30ish) for my LO and we have trouble getting him down.