11 Week Old Needs to Stay Asleep Earlier

Dito on the BabyWise Book... It can be a little to leagalistic but everyone I know that has tryed it swears by it! It worked with my first and I am doing the same with my 5 week old!

I had the same problem with my daughter. What I did was let her take no longer than an hour nap. And try to keep her active. Play with her and such. Then at about 7:30 I would give her a bath with the night time bath stuff by Johnson&Johnson. Then give her a bottle with a little cereal in it and sure enough after that she crashed and haven't had a problem since. We are still on the same routine to this day and she is 8 1/2 months old. Now it takes a lot of work but good luck. Hope it works for you!

Pick up On Becoming Babywise. May help you to adjust her night vs. day sleeping schedule.

She may be going through a growth spurt as well. Keeping a consistent bedtime routine is important for them to learn cues to sleep....however at 11 weeks old she's just learning the cues, she doesn't KNOW them yet. Hang in there mama! My son changed his routine every 10 days to a couple of weeks...so this to shall pass!!

I would first try having the house real bright during the day and as night is comingstart turning the lights and noise down to simulate night fall. Feed and bath at about 8:30-9:00 and lay her down in complete darkness a few minutes after 9:00, try to do this without rocking her. Some noise is great but too much can be keeping her interested. Day and night confusion is always a problem. Also make sure big brother is getting to bed a round this time or is already in bed. This was always the best time for my daughter to get down. Afternoon nap was from 2-4, smetime 5. Best to you and your daughter.

Please don't give your 11 week old cereal. I know lots of people do this, but introducing solid food can actually make the problem worse, because their digestive tracts are not developed enough for solid food yet. Many children develop allergies from introducing solid food too early.

I don't have a lot of advice for you. Both my children were breastfed, and woke up frequently during the night for the first year. They probably didn't sleep through the night until they were 2 years old. That was just their nature. Maybe some of the suggestions you have gotten will help.

:)

She has her days and night mixed up.

Instead of her taking 3-5hr morning nap, you need to wake her after 1 to 2 hours of sleep.

Also, make her stay awake more during the day to tire her out for night.

well hun all i can suggerst is maybe keeping her more active during the evening. as i know she is quite young yet it will take some effort playing with her n keeping her busy looking around start after her first nap n try to keep her awake from then on for the day. good luck with it n also sometimes a peppermit bottle will help them sleep better too.

Get the book on becoming babywise! It is awesome and follow it to a T!!! The concept is feed her then keep her up as long as u can then lay her down by herself no sleep props! She should be able to cry herself to sleep but if u lay her down and still crying after 10 mins pick her up and console her but lay her back down awake and each time u do this the time will get less and less! Then when it is time for bed, feed her and then lay her straight down! No wake time after! That is what gets them to distinguish between day and night! During day after I eat I play for a while then when I eat and don't play I should sleep! At 7 weeks old my daughter slept through the night from 7 til 6:30 am. And she still does. She is 13 months now and takes two naps a day still! Try to feed her at the same times every day and lay her down at same times everyday! But this book helps a lot cuz it let's you know about how many times a day they should be eating and sleeping!!! My daughter loves to play but she also knows when its time to lay down! And by 9:45 am she is grabbing her bear and rubbing her eyes. She sleeps from 10-11 and then she goes back down from 2 - until 3-3:30 and then goes back down from 7-7:30 until 6:30-7:00 am!!!! It is wonderful especially cause I also have a 2 and a half year old as well!!! Hope it works for u!!

See the advise from Jill T. below -- try the book Baby Wise.

I would try cutting her daytime naps short. Sounds like she get plenty of sleep during the day.

I had the same problem with my daughter. She would actually go to sleep at 10:00 PM and wake up at 12:00 AM and she would stay awake until 3:00 AM. We started a routine which is bath at 8:30, read a book and feed at around 9:00 and then put her to bed. She is usually asleep before we can finish the book. Make sure while you read the TV is turned off and the lights are turned down low. We also had to incorporate the cry it out method at first, she needs to figure out how to put herself back to sleep when she wakes up. Hope this helps I know this is a very trying time for you.

You HAVE to keep her awake during the day. My third child stayed up all night and slept all day. I had to make him stay awake so he would sleep at night. It should only take a few days but they will be a little difficult. :)

If I were you, I'd strongly reconsider taking classes right now, with such a little one at home. It's so much stress, and they need you so much right now. School will always be there. Your daughter will only be this young now, and then it's gone forever. Not only that, but your daughter will pick up on your stress, and you will be tempted to make her conform her infant needs to your schedule, which can cause even more stress for you and especially her.

Here's a URL to start with: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070100.asp

Please look at the Dr. Sears' Nighttime Parenting book or other attachment parenting book. The Babywise, Baby Whisperer, and other "baby training" books are geared for the parents' convenience at the expense of the baby...and ultimately is much harder, in the longer term, for the family as a whole.

Babies who cry it out learn not to trust their parents, learn that communicating with their parents is futile, learn that their parents don't really care. They're also so busy being stressed out that they're not doing the important work of learning, digesting, and growing as well as they need to. And it can set them up for sleep issues, even disorders for life. Babies should not have to cry it out. At this stage, crying is an urgent signal that they need you, either physically or emotionally. Don't ignore it. Your emotional response to your daughter crying is there for a reason, urging you to respond.

Really, at this age, what you're describing in terms of her sleep is absolutely normal. Gradually babies learn to sleep when we sleep, and you can encourage this by keeping activities quieter in the evenings and more active during the day. Use lighting/shades/blinds, sound, play activities, etc. to help. T.v. can be very stimulating for a baby. Keep the t.v. off or quiet in the evenings. Read to her, etc. Then, when you want her to sleep, rock her, walk with her, or do other rhythmic movements with her to help lull her. It's what worked in the womb :) Later, as she gets older, she won't need this, so don't worry about creating a "bad habit."

But don't use cereal at this point. She's too young.

Good luck!

L.

By no means am I an expert, but I will tell you to put her on a schedule. It is not a strict one, but have a beginning time (breakfast) and feed every 3 to 3 1/2 hours until the last feeding time. I put my son on a schedule because I am a full time teacher along with being a full time mom of 3. It works. My son goes to bed around 8:30 to 9:00pm and at 7:00am I get him up to go to my mother-in-laws. He starts eating breakfast around 7:30. Now there are exceptions like when he is sick, but the times he eats does not change very much. I started doing this from 6 weeks and it worked. He is now almost 7 months old and it is still working. Also, you might have to let her cry a couple of nights. I know it sounds harsh but if you can do it for 3 nights babies will start a new habit. This was the hardest part but it teaches her to fall asleep on her own and that it is bedtime. Good luck.

I see many people have said look for a book called BABYWISE. This is what I read and that is how I came up with the schedule. Great book. Also no cereal.