3w old - good daytime sleeper, awful nighttime sleeper

[Maddys_Daddy]

Hello Everyone,

Long time since I've been here - back with my 2nd.  DD is just over 3w, BF, now nearly 9lbs.

Routine is becoming established - often we see something like this

7ish - Wake/E
7:30-8:00ish - A
8:00-9:15 - S
9:15-9:45 - E
9:45-10:15ish - A
10:15-11:30 - S
11:30-12:00 - E
12:00-12:30 - A
12:30-2:00 - S
2:00-2:30 - E
2:30-3:00 - A
3:00-4:30 - S
4:30-5:00 - E
5:00-5:30 - A
5:30-6:30 - S
6:30-7:00 - E
7:00 Bedtime routine (bath, lotion, book, bed)
7:30 - S

At 8pm, it will often take her anywhere between 45min-2hrs. to fall asleep.  She will settle and fall asleep for 5-15 minutes before waking.  80% of the time she can be S&P back down quite quickly and easily.  When she finally settles down, she will remain asleep for 2-3 hours.  For example, last night:

8pm - Sleep
10:30 - woke - tried DF then
11-12pm - S&P
12pm 3am - Sleep
3am - E
3:30am - S
5:30 - E
7:30am Wake

Her activity time seems short (about 30 minutes max), but she yawns, fusses a bit, gets swaddled and goes down quite easily during the day and sleeps for 75mins consistently.

Here are a few things that are running through our heads:
- Is 75 minutes long enough for daytime naps or should we be pushing for more?
- Is 30 minutes enough awake time?  We'd love to push it more, but she goes down so smoothly when we see her signal (yawning)
- Is the bath too stimulating at night?

Input and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Matthew

[Erin M]

Hi Matthew!
At 3 weeks old, there's a good chance that she's still trying to sort out her days and nights.  I notice you say she's a great daytime sleeper, she might be having that alert time in the evening because of it.  My ds would sleep for ages in the day and once 10 PM rolled around, he was usually awake and fussy.  If that's the case, there's not a whole lot you can do about it -- you have to just wait it out, keep her in the light as much as possible during the day (we used to let ds nap in the pack and play in the living room) and keep things low key at night.  They generally straighten it all out by 6 weeks or so, so not too much longer!
At her age, I'd say that 75 minutes is long enough for naps if that's what she's giving you.  Will she fall back asleep if you pick her up, or put her in a swing or something? 
30 minutes could be enough awake time for now -- actually, looking back at your routine, we count eating time as part of awake time, so you've definitely got enough. 
You could try switching the bath to the morning for a few days to see if it makes a difference at all.  Or skip it entirely and see if things change. 

[Maddys_Daddy]

Hi Erin,

Thanks for the suggestions.

As is probably the case with many babies, she sleeps much better when being held - not so much in a swing.

We've replaced the bath with a massage, which she seems to enjoy and keeps her calmer as she approaches sleep. 

As well, we've noticed over the last few days that she is rooting and wanting to eat all of the time, so we are making sure that she is eating on demand which is taking up a lot of her day. 

It's good to know about eating being part of awake time - she is a good eater, solid latch, and is happy to finish both sides.

We're just riding this out, enjoying the time when she still can't talk back, and trying to keep as much of routine as possible, so when she's ready to jump aboard, it will, hopefully, be an easier transition.

Thanks again.

Matthew

[ZacsMumme]

I think 3 weeks is classic GS time

As Erin said it is common for LOs to have a wakeful fussy period. Often it's evenings, but not always.

Enjoy your newborn snuggles, they grow up too quick sounds like you guys are doing great!

[Erin M]

It sounds like you're totally on the right track.