Bed time

[Annh17]

Our LG is 14 weeks and she has a feed at 5.30, then is awake to 7, we get her on play mat and toys all out. She then gets grizzly as tired, she then sleeps till 9.30 untill her last feed.

Now we don’t put her too bed between 7-9.30 she’s on me, now I think we should start thinking about putting her too bed then and get her up at 9.30 for her feed, what do you all think?????

She sleeps through the night and once she goes too bed, she doesn’t cry or anything it’s like she’s knows it’s her bedtime and that’s it.

I know once that last feed has stopped, I will definitely be putting her down around 7ish, just didn’t know if we should start trying now????

[Unknown8]

Hello hun,

I was told NEVER to wake a baby for a feed whether in the day or at night - from health visitors, drs and even family members who have had children themselves- as if they’re hungry, they will wake you and tell you.

I would advise against it and if baby is tired, she will sleep, at 14 weeks old baby will be relying on that sleep to grow and build immune systems still etc...

I mean I know it’s convenient for us to have baby do what we want but that’s not how it works hun, they don’t understand what’s what yet especially sleeping and feeding and when they should do it, although routines are good, it has be okay for baby, not just for us.

Maybe talk to your health visitor and GP about your ideas and see if that would be best recommended for babies health first..

If baby was older I’d have perhaps said try it but from experience 3 months is too young...

[Annh17 in reply to Unknown8]

See I’ve had health visitors say do wake them and some say don’t. So what we do, is by what baby wants, our LG has got into her own feed and sleep routine and has been like that for a while now and seems too work well.

Just didn’t know if I should try and put her down from 7-9.30 upstairs, but like you say, 6 months they should be asleep where you can see them. C

[Unknown8 in reply to Annh17]

Well I would say the person that said wake them shouldn’t be in the health visitor profession as it seems she doesn’t care about babies well beings from my research and experience...but hun no one can really tell you what you do with your baby, people can only advise what’s best hun,

yeah exactly hun, they all have there own I mean my little one is lively all day and has bottles at certain times and if she doesn’t have them she won’t have them at all but won’t have through the night at all and sleeps through.. but every baby is different!

Yeah hun, I mean in a few months time if she’s not sleeping and waking for feeds etc, I’d say speak to your HV and see if they can advise how to get baby to sleep better and about routines etc...

But I’ve always gone by the if baby is asleep she’s comfy and not hungry if she wakes she needs something like bottles, hugs etc...

I mean my little one is 17 months now so I go by bottle before before then she goes into her own cot and soothes herself to sleep then if she wakes she might get in bed with us but we don’t feed through the night now as she’s old enough to try train that it’s sleep time not food time and it seems be working (this was advised by HV as my little one didn’t sleep through till 14 months old) but with baby being so young she might not understand just yet that’s why they advise you to only feed when they wake up,

Hope I’ve been of some help hun xx

[Annh17 in reply to Unknown8]

We have got a good routine going and I have just let our baby do that.

My Sister in law done, got this book and swore by it, which is great, but I don’t want to be doing things like that, our baby has got into her own little routine, has slept all night from 6 weeks old, cry’s when hungry, nappy needs changing and when she’s tired. Everyday is near enough the same times with feeds and sleeping.

I can’t wait for the day when that last feed stops and me and my husband actually have an evening together, but for now I am enjoying have those evenings cuddles with our LG x

[Unknown8 in reply to Annh17]

Yeah exactly hun, and I can promise you that your evenings will come in time, I thought they were never ending but my LG goes bed 7/8 and we have our nights back, for now anyways lol...just takes time and patience

All I can say about books and advice is take them with a pinch of salt, we’ve all got our own ways of raising children, some better than others some worse, but guidelines are guidelines like baby sleeping on back and things like that which must be stuck to so we don’t put our babies in danger with trial and errors...

If your routine is suiting baby well then I’d say your doing great, I had a hard time getting mine in one due to me being at university full time and my mum and partner mum helping out so for a while she was being raised three different ways because I had no other choice...but I had 6 months left for my degree and I wanted prove to my baby that when life gets hard you don’t just throw everything away, you keep pushing through, but we’ve spent every single day together since and we have good routines now!

Al I can say hun is follow your heart but stick to the guidelines I mean waking baby up through the night at her current age I would say would be disastrous and could affect baby, so I’m glad to hear that your going stick to how it is especially when you know the routine and it works xx

Just hang in there xx

[Hidden]

me and my husband had this debate weather to wake baby up for a feed as he sleeps all night. but we was advised against it.... if your lo is hungry throught the night they will wake up them selfs.... enjoy the sleep because it might not last she might start waking again through the night xx

[Annh17 in reply to Hidden]

I’ve been told never too wake a baby and to also wake a baby. She does start to fidget around 9.30 for nappy change so we feed her then. I just don’t want too stop that feed and then she wakes up during the night for a feed.

We have quite a good routine at the moment and don’t really want to break it, my LG is gaining weight lovely, just the right amount.

I know once she starts on proper food, the night feed will drop, so I might just continue with how we’re doing. x

[Hidden]

I used to do get baby ready for and feed at 6pm put to bed feed at 10pm then slept til 530/6am my 2nd baby was better slept in a little later lol

[Annh17 in reply to Hidden]

Okay, a bit like our LG apart from you put too bed after 6 feed. She sleeps in till 6-7 which is lovely x

[Hidden in reply to Annh17]

I our first was colicky for at least 6w so was really restless and kept her downstairs in a Moses basket til 10pm she was breastfed I switched to bottle and she went to bed at 6. I think you just have to learn and find the best which suits u. My second she was upstairs straight away didn’t have any trouble with her.

[MissEd]

We used to just take our lb to bed when we went a out 10pm. He was having his last feed at 6 or 7 but has been restless so we have added a 9pm feed now too lol

[Annh17 in reply to MissEd]

Okay that’s good, a bit like what we are doing then? How old is your lb? x

[MissEd in reply to Annh17]

He is 5 months on saturday. X

[Annh17]

Oh wow, I can’t wait for the last feed to drop, but I’m not wishing any time away with my LG.

Wow you done brilliantly to continue with uni, must of been really hard for you.

I have never woke LG up during the night for a feed, like everyone says, babies let you know and our LG defiantly does lol.

I’m dreading when she gets a cold and starts to teeth, I don’t want the routine to get blown up x

[Kempton]

It was a while back but my son's evening feeds went something like 5pm, 8pm and then 10:30-11pm. Sometimes he wouldn't wake for the last one so I'd do a dream feed, I breastfeed so his instinct was to latch on. Quick burp abd then we'd all go to bed. His next wake was around 2:30-3am.

Never got him to sleep through and hea now 16 months and still waking in the night for a small feed or cuddle.

[melissof]

My baby had a similar routine to yours when he was around 4 months. I kept offering a dream feed at 10ish just before we went to bed until he didn't want it any more which was at around 7 months. He gradually started drinking less when we started weaning and then one night he just pushed the bottle away and didn't have a sip so I stopped offering it after that. He very rarely woke up during the night because he was hungry after that.

There's no harm in trying and seeing how it goes putting her in her cot earlier. You can always go back to what you're doing now if she's not happy.

It won't be long until your baby sleeps from around 7pm through the night and you get your evenings back x

[Tiffs]

Our LG is approaching 20 weeks and has gone to bed at 7 since around 14 weeks we do a dream feed at 10/10.30 but will drop it at 5 months. She sleeps through and it means we also get an evening as well. Has worked really well so far. I suppose it depends on whether you want some time back for yourselves xx you have to what works best for you.