Evening routine and the witching hour
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Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
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Topic: Evening routine and the witching hour
Posted By: jano1
Subject: Evening routine and the witching hour
Date Posted: 30 March 2009 at 7:47am
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Hi,
Can anyone help? We have a 5 week old daughter (1st baby) and I'm having major problems with her sleep- she just isn't getting enough! If I'm lucky she will sleep 2x2 hours in the morning and early afternoon but come 3.30pm she is awake and often until 9.30pm when she finally goes to sleep. I'm guessing this is her witching hour as she is fussy and feeding. Sj=he is feeding every 3 hours I would like to establish some kind of routine in the evenings so she knows it's bedtime but don't know where to start. I'm usually so knackered by the end of the day and so is she it's hard to keep any routine going. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. ------------- http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=UBB&utm_campaign=tickers"> |
Replies:
Posted By: BeLoved
Date Posted: 30 March 2009 at 8:46am
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Hi jano1
We have a little routine that I started at about 6 weeks and we have done the same thing since, we dont always do it at the same time but anywhere between 7 - 8.30 is the norm. This all comes after afternoon nap say approx 6ish Feed, Play for 10 - 20 mins, Bath/Shower, massage (dim lights), dress for bed, feed, wrap, quick cuddle, put musical seahorse on and down for the night. With the musical seahorse thing its a stuffed toy that plays music & lights up and we only use it at night, I like the fact that we can take it with us so if we had to put her down for bed somewhere else we dont have to take a mobile with us. It took a little while but DD now knows that this means bedtime and we have a different routine before naptime which seems to have helped with the day sleeps. They say babies like to know what is happening next and it definitley works for us. The late afternoon always seems to be the hardest to get her down for a nap even now. It definitely is the "witching or arsenic hour" ------------- http://alterna-tickers.com"> 
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Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 30 March 2009 at 8:48am
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Sorry that kinda sounds normal for a 5 week old baby especially if you are breastfeeding. They tend to cluster feed in the evening, no idea why but they do. With both my boys I didn't try to have a night routine until they were about 8 weeks. This is what we do if you want to give it a try though.
Around 6.30pm-7pm give a bath (if he's asleep, which he never is lol, then I would give him a feed before the bath so he doesn't get too grumpy). Then do baby massage and dress (or feed straight away if grumpy). Then swaddle him up and feed him. He is normally very sleepy after this and then I rock him to sleep or sometimes just pop him in his bassinet and he puts himself to sleep. I don't always do the bath so sometimes he just has a flannel wash instead of the bath but the rest is the same. I always feed him before bed no matter when he last feed was. Hope that helps Oh and I wish mine would do those sleeps in the day, he seems to think that it's a great idea to sleep for 10mins then needs resettling  ------------- 
 
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Posted By: AuntieSarah
Date Posted: 30 March 2009 at 9:02am
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Sounds a bit like us! (but Stu has a wee bit more sleep in the day). Stu has 2x2 hour sleeps then 1 hour in the afternoon if I'm lucky, then is awake usually from 3-3.30 until 7-7.30. Sometimes he'll sleep a little on me during that time but won't go to bed.
Don't know if it'll help at all but here's our evening routine: In the afternoon/evening I feed him every 2 hours. I usually feed him at 6/6.30, wait about 15 mins then dh gives him a bath and gets him into his nightie and wraps him. Then I give him a little bit more milk (I don't feed straight before bed during the day but he settles much better at night if I give him a bit more after his bath - maybe the bath uses lots of his energy) sit in his dimly lit room and have a cuddle, sing a song or read a book, and put him to bed. Sometimes he'll go straight to sleep, sometimes we'll have to resettle him 4 or 5 times but he's usually asleep by 8.30 at the latest. Stu loves having a bath so it usually calms him down no matter how tired/grizzly he is. Oh and I've just started doing massage too, so if he's calm after his bath we'll do that - just his legs at the moment and only for a couple of minutes but I'm sure it'll get longer as we both get used to it  ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: jano1
Date Posted: 30 March 2009 at 11:15am
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We bath but it's not at the same time every night. From today I will try that, even if she doesn't go down before 9.30- at least it's a bit of routine. I haven't tried the baby massage yet, must give that a go as well. ------------- http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=UBB&utm_campaign=tickers"> |
Posted By: busyissy
Date Posted: 30 March 2009 at 1:29pm
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Its hard to get a routine going when they are that little. The main thing to remember with babies is that you can't force them into your routine, you have to watch them and then create a routine around their needs.
Feeding every 3 hours is completely normal and exactly what bubs should be doing at 5weeks. I would suggest trying to stick to that 3 hour cycle (except for when bubs needs to cluster feed in the evening, might be a growth spurt thing) and try to have a feed, play, sleep cycle going. Do an early evening bath (after her feed so she has a nice full tummy) follow up with a massage, dress, then cuddles and into bed. Whatever you choose to do be consistant and do the same thing at the same time everyday, soon bubs will get the message. I don't know how you feel about them but sometimes a baby wants to suckle just for comfort rather than food and in that case you might find a dummy helpful. |
Posted By: Natalie_G
Date Posted: 30 March 2009 at 1:59pm
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The cluster feeding time around 6-9pm is normal, Arianne is only just starting to come out of it now.
Ariannes evening routine is 5.30 bath (has been since born) 6pm feed, has a little play then around 6.30 its bed time. She will usually sleep for around an hour then wake up for another feed. She still wakes around twice in the night. I am changing her routine a little so we are all over the place at the moment. But consistency is the key, I only started with a routine around 2 months. Good luck hope all goes well. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 30 March 2009 at 2:08pm
| we try to do the feed play sleep routine during the day (3-4 hourly) and then between 5 and 6 I try a feed, play, bath, massage, dress for bed, kisses, off to room for a quiet feed, cuddle, into bed, music on (ipod) and then usually I have to rock a little. Usually all done by 7.30 |
Posted By: jano1
Date Posted: 30 March 2009 at 7:01pm
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Thanks for your replies. I am sticking to my guns and have fed and put her down for 7pm tonight. Here's hoping it works, so far only 1 peep from her. I don't need a rigid routine and am not expecting too much (after all she is only a wee baby), just want to have some of my evenings back so i can relax. ------------- http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=UBB&utm_campaign=tickers"> |
Posted By: FionaO
Date Posted: 30 March 2009 at 7:15pm
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Hey, sounds very normal.
we've always had finley is a routine but in his first few weeks he would not really go down much before 9, stick with it, keep doing what you're doing and they do settle down. Don't change what you're doing though, just keep repeating it. Took us probably nearer 3 months to get our evenings back and possibly a bit longer before we can know put him down around 6.30 and not go up at all. ------------- 
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Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 30 March 2009 at 7:48pm
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Good luck and don't worry you will have your evenings soon. The first few you won't know what to do with yourself -------------
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Posted By: RBsMama
Date Posted: 30 March 2009 at 9:02pm
I'm with everyone else and say just try to do the same each night. Rhys was going to bed late and not sleeping from 3-4pm until 9-9.30pm as well when he was the same age as your little one. It's hard, but it does get better. One day at a time. Now he's in bed between 7.30-8.00pm and Cuppatea's right, you won't know what to do with yourself  ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">  http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: jano1
Date Posted: 31 March 2009 at 7:56am
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Well she was awake from 1.30pm til 10.30pm last night, no sleeps and very calm. I'm sure she needs a couple more hours during the day? ------------- http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=UBB&utm_campaign=tickers"> |