Help with Maisie the Minx's sleeping pattern please!

[fothers]

Maisie is so inconsistent with her sleeping patterns. The best we have ever had was from 10pm to 7am without getting up at all and then other nights starting at midnight she can wake up every hour- an average night she would wake up at 3.30/4, feed then back to sleep til 6.30/7. Last night she was awake from 12-3.30am and then i managed to get her to fall asleep in bed with us til half five and then that was her wide awake for the day

She used to go to bed when we went about 10 or 10.30 but we have recently tried to get her onto a routine of doing last feed upstairs in the dark around 7. She sometimes wakes up again for another brief feed before we go to bed or somtimes she stays asleep til later.

I don't know whether we should continue trying to put her down early or not or just leave it at ten.

Also as she is inconsistent anyway- a few really good nights then a few more rubbish ones- whether the last few rubbish ones are related to the going down earlier or not.

Another rod for my back is that after she has BF I hold her til she is asleep before putting her in her bed. I know I shouldn't have started this but after being awake for several nights before/during and after the birth I hadn't slept for 4days and it was just easier. Now if I put her down and she isn't deeply asleep she will wake up again. During the night she stirs and I don't go to her straight away and sometimes she will go back to sleep but often she starts to do a few small cries but stops immediately she is picked up. She is often WIDE awake then and she normally has a quick BF to make her sleepy (I am sure she isn't really hungry) and then try to put her back when she is asleep. I can't really leave her crying as DP needs to get up early for work. Rather than try and pick her up I sometimes give her a dummy during the night which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.

Sorry that the post is so long- it is more a a mini moan as I feel sorry for myself today after 2 rubbish nights sleeps. She only has power naos during the day too so can't catch up then

Anyway, apart from being a minx and ruling the roost she is lovely

 

[Redshoes]

Firstly I would say she's still young so don't be so hard on yourself or on getting her into a regular routine, some babies don't get themselves settled into one that soon, I know as Isaac didn't until he was 5months old. Don't be upset that you hold her until she's settled either, I've always done it with Isaac, there's nothing wrong with it, you do what you feel is right or you have to, its your baby and lifestyle, its not a rod for your back at all

At that age Isaac would always wake at 3am and 5am'ish for a quick BF, I think its quite common at that age?? He eventually dropped the 3am feed as he got older, it could very well be she's hungry, some BF's are very short as I know you know I co-slept with Isaac until he was 5months so I cannot really help with the crying once put back in cot bit at that age

I do know that I sometimes lay with Isaac on our bed for a good 10mins while he sleeps, then move him into his cot and he doesn't re-wake, maybe try that? If she's just been on you, who's warm and smells all Mummy, to be put in a cold flat cot, you can relate to their upset hehe

Not sure any of this is helpful, I'm sure other Mymmy's will have plenty experience/advice to share Babies can change their routine daily so I'd just say not to get too hung up on times etc as there's often nothing you can do, LO has to decide themselves, just rest when you can and use the dummy when she'll take it and I do hope she gets a regular pattern for you too, and sorry for wittering on, very best wishes There is always controlled crying too, but I've no experience to share there as I never could manage it

 

[fothers]

Thanks Redshoes

Last night we put her to bed at 10 with a feed etc and she was asleep by half past and woke up at 3 and five so that was much better. I think we will stick to that time for the times being and worry about getting to her to bed earlier some other time.

I think I was just so tired yesterday after 2 really bad nights that everything always seems a hundred times worse

 

[Redshoes]

Glad to hear you're feeling better today fothers
I think to expect or have LO in routines isn't always something they want when we do, so its wise not to be hard on yourself about anything like that, and just try and go with it, the sooner you can be relaxed about it all the better as they continue to change their minds as they grow anyways I think

Very best wishes