Evening Feeding / Sleeping Issues
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Printed Date: 18 August 2025 at 12:15pm
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Topic: Evening Feeding / Sleeping Issues
Posted By: M & M
Subject: Evening Feeding / Sleeping Issues
Date Posted: 26 June 2012 at 11:54pm
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HELP!
My 3 month old is a fantastic feeder and sleeper during the day but in the evenings she is a fussy cluster feeder and won't go to sleep. I have been waking her at 7am for her first feed of the day and then she is normally back in bed by 8 and wakes at 10 then down at 11 and up at 12 down at 1 and up at 2 down at 3 and up at 4. She then normally won't have another sleep after this (sometimes she will) She then has her big awake time and plays, has tummy time, coos and talks and feeds pretty much once an hour. She won't go to sleep before 10 and I know she is tired she shows plenty of tired signs but if we put her down she just grizzles for a while before fully crying. During the day I put her to bed awake and she goes to sleep no worries. The only way I seem to get her to sleep is to feed her to sleep and put her down. She can get really upset the later it gets though and some nights she won't go down till after 12. The fact that she sleeps through the night I am very grateful of but awake from 4 till 10 is a long time and till 12 is even more. She cried and pulls away while I try to feed her before eventually giving in and feeding. I still have milk so it's not that there is nothing there. What can I do to get her to sleep earlier and not get so overtired? Do other people have babies that stay awake for such a long time in the evening? |
Replies:
Posted By: Bizzy
Date Posted: 27 June 2012 at 8:25am
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Sounds normal to me. My kids are all older now but evening cluster feeds seem to be the norm. I'm pretty sure its related to the long sleep at night they have. ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker"> 
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Posted By: chocol8
Date Posted: 27 June 2012 at 8:56am
| Had a similar issue with my baby who I was sure was cluster feeding but was difficult to feed at the time. Eventually I tried putting her to bed at about 7pm (instead of insisting she fed until 10pm - she would fuss at the breast but then latch on, feed, latch off, fuss, latch on, repeat etc) until she fed to sleep - and lo and behold she went to sleep! Still woke once in the night for a feed which I was happy with. So perhaps try putting her to bed a bit earlier and just see what happens? (we did leave her for a few minutes to cry, I'm no sure if you're comfy with this). It made a big difference to my wellbeing, as evenings were becoming so very stressful. Good luck! Trust your instincts. |
Posted By: Danda08
Date Posted: 27 June 2012 at 9:20am
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My twins did exactly the same. The only way they would sleep during that time was on us. so we just sat and watched tv till they would settle in their cots at 11pm. Frustrating at the time but looking back I should have stressed less and enjoyed the cuddles. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Alexisj15
Date Posted: 27 June 2012 at 9:36am
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My 8 week old does the same, We are letting it slide because she sleeps 7 solid hours at night. We arent normally ready for bed any earlier than 10pm anyway ------------- 
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Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 27 June 2012 at 9:56am
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Yep My almost 3 month old does that, can not get her into bed, but we do the same as Danda and sleep her on one of us at that time & she will doze. Soon as you put her down though she'll wake.
Just ride it out, it won't last for ever. ------------- Kel http://lilypie.com"> 
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: Hopes
Date Posted: 27 June 2012 at 12:53pm
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Totally normal! My 5-month-old has just only in the last month or so grown out of that. I'd just roll with it for a little longer. -------------   
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Posted By: M & M
Date Posted: 27 June 2012 at 10:47pm
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Thanks all,
I just needed to know other babies do it as well. I also wonder whether she is going through a growth spurt as last night was a pretty terrible night. Tonight was much better and less fussy but still in bed by 10 with a couple of naps on me. I've had my crumpet and my milo and now to bed for me. |
Posted By: Nats-mum
Date Posted: 28 June 2012 at 12:45pm
I'm so pleased to read this M & M because it's exactly the same as my 10 week old and she's been doing this routine since around week 6. Sometimes it's midnight that she'll go down, other times it's 10.30pm (and she won't have had a nap since 4pm). The good news is is that her last feed seems to be around 9pm these days so I'm just hoping that her bedtime will move forward in the coming weeks or months. She sleeps through til 7 or 8am so for now, I'm also just enjoying the cuddles and playtime while watching TV before she finally goes down for the night.
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Posted By: CJsays
Date Posted: 12 July 2012 at 9:18pm
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You're lucky she settles herself during the day, maybe she just associates sleep time with the breast, i would just go with that for now, plenty of time to change it later, but would be nice for you to get her down earlier and faster so go with the breast i say! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: shannon11
Date Posted: 16 July 2012 at 8:20pm
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Yip my now 3 month old was the same and I discovered that we were trying to keep him up too long!
He now goes down at 7pm without a fuss and wakes 1-2 times in the night which I can totally handle. He starts cluster feeding from about 4pm now and seems to work a treat. Definately had to get a night routine down pat too which now consists of feed at 4, feed at 5, feed just before 6, then bath, cuddle then final feed before bed. He can be hit and miss with the day sleeps but I honestly don't worry about it cause he's happy enough and sleeps at night. Some days he can sleep 3-4 hours in one sleep and other days he might have 3 x 45min sleeps the whole day. Just go with the flow. 
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Posted By: AnzacAugust
Date Posted: 07 August 2012 at 12:48pm
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First things first, check for hunger.
Once you know baby is not hungry try putting to bed way way early. I mean around 5pm treat every feed after that like a night feed - dark room etc. - this can help with the circadian rhythm. Over tired babies show sleepy cues way to late, try putting baby down after an hour of wake time. Most babies will only have a 45 minute nap between the 4ish and 7ish feeds, try to time it so that will give you an hour - hour and a half before bed, Try also to be very consistant with daytime feeds and bedtime routine.,it does help ( I'm not suggesting you don't feed baby, I'm just suggesting you ensure a full feed ) Hope that helps, but most of all it's normall, my boy is 3 months too, it's only been in the last 2 weeks that we ave been able to get him to bed at 6:30. ( he now sleeps 14 hours tho!! ) |