Any babies need more than 12hrs of night-time sleep?

[Lukie]

Just wondering as I put DD to bed at 6pm last night ( I had had enough) and since we have roller shutters I managed to get her to sleep til 7:50am (in my bed from 9pm onwards). She gets very cranky in the late afternoon and we usually just kill time from 4/4:30pm onwards. What if I just put her to bed earlier like I did last night?

Oh I should point out, she isn't sleeping through the night. She wakes frequently for feeds which is why I have been co-sleeping lately. She is fussy and sleeps 50mins through the day and is very hard to resettle so by evening I am just exhausted and so little patience.

[Lukie]

Bump:confused:

[EquineMum]

I don't profess to be any kind of expert, but IMO, no baby fits into the 'ideal' mould, there are some who can go to bed at 6pm, others 7pm, 7.30 etc. Go by the signs that your DD is giving you - if she's tired, then don't keep her up - put her down. My DS didn't have a stable bedtime until he was about 8 months old. Prior to that, it could be anywhere betwen 6-8pm depending on what he'd done during the day, how his naps went etc. As it is now (he's 14months), if he is yawning his head off after a big day at 5pm, I'll put him down for a 1/2 hour powernap until 5.30 and have him wake up happy and refreshed to continue with the night until bedtime at 7.30. If I don't do that, he's feral and grumpy and lucky to last until 6pm.... :yes:

Each bubba is different - my son has taught me that! He never went by any of the 'routines' or 'timings' I read about, no matter how much we tried to stick to them - he insisted on doing things his way and is MUCH happier - will go down at 7.30 pm and sleep through until anywhere between 6 and 7.30am :D If your DD needs more than 12 hours, then give it to her!


Good luck!!:thumbsup:

[Harriet]

I am thinking she needs more sleep during the day. My DD also didn't have much of a routine at that age - she slept a lot during the day and was very unsettled in the evening. I would suggest having a look at how long they're meant to be up for at a time at that age (I can't remember but it wouldn't be long). One of the sleep books would have some basic routines you could follow. But yes let her sleep as long as she wants:)

[Lukie]

Thanks for the replies ladies.

Unfortunately, it isnt as easy as putting her to bed for a powernap in the late afternoon. She will not settle after 4ish in the afternoon. Even if I rock her to sleep and out her down. So the only way I can give her some sleep at this time of day is in the sling or in my arms, and on this particular day I already gave her a sleep in the sling because she woke after one sleep cycle and wouldn't re-settle, so I couldn't have her on me again...

She usually starts grizzling after an hour of awake time, occasionally we get to 1.5hrs as suggested for 3month old babies.

Anyway, its just one big mystery and try as I might to understand what's going on with her at the moment, I dont think I will.

Thanks all the same :)

[PippaG]

My DS has always been a shocking daytime sleeper and even now at 7 months he's the same. He is usually in bed for around 6:30pm each night, used to be 7pm but then he cut out his 4:30pm nap. I figure as he isn't getting much sleep during the day, he just cat naps, and he's tired by the evening and will sleep well, then I don't see the problem. I've got friends with babies roughly the same age as DS and they go to bed later but have some good 1.5-2hr sleeps during the day so it would all even out.

[PrestonPie]

many mums will tell you that anywhere from 4pm to 5pm is 'feral hour' hahahaha especially when they are really little bubbas.
sad but true, many many bubs decide to grow fangs and horns at that time of day.
i used to put my little man in the pram and go for a walk or get in the car and go to the shops for a wander, anything to keep him out and occupied.
they often grow out of it (mine did) but you need to stick to a solid routine so it allows them to grow out of it with the confidence they know what's going on.
good luck and keep your chin up.