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NYCGirl80
I love my kiddies!
Member since 5/11 10413 total posts
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Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
I need advice for my 6 week old. I know things will change a million more times, but...
Last week I started to get more diligent about putting DS on an eat-play-sleep routine. He had been going to bed at around 8 or 9pm, which was fine. But now he's turned his 6pm naptime into his bedtime. This makes bathing him very difficult (I prefer to do it when DH is home so I have an extra set of hands), and means he's waking up at around 4:30am ready to go for the day.
Is there any way to attempt to push his 6pm bedtime back an hour or 2? I tried keeping him up tonight but he was so cranky I had to lay him down. I can't deal with a 4:30am wake up every day!
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Posted 3/14/13 6:10 PM  |
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Long Island Weddings
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headoverheels
s'il vous plaît
Member since 6/07 42079 total posts
Name:
LB
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
Sorry, but for a 6 week old, that's normal. 
Try feeding him at 4:30 in the dark, quietly, and putting him right back down. He may nap again for an hour or so.
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| Posted 3/14/13 6:20 PM |
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NYCGirl80
I love my kiddies!
Member since 5/11 10413 total posts
Name:
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
Posted by headoverheels
Sorry, but for a 6 week old, that's normal.
Try feeding him at 4:30 in the dark, quietly, and putting him right back down. He may nap again for an hour or so.
I tried that for the past 2 days but he'd fall asleep for 5 minutes (literally) wake himself back up and fuss for a bit, repeat, repeat, repeat until I took him out of his crib. 
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| Posted 3/14/13 6:23 PM |
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JennZ
MY LIFE!!
Member since 8/05 25463 total posts
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Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
At 6 weeks, there is no routine. Its what they want when they want it. You will only make yourself (and inturn ) the baby nuts. Good luck.
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| Posted 3/14/13 6:35 PM |
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Sparrow
LIF Adult
Member since 11/10 6826 total posts
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
Posted by JennZ
At 6 weeks, there is no routine. Its what they want when they want it. You will only make yourself (and inturn ) the baby nuts. Good luck.
I have to agree. DS is also 6 weeks and he has no real sort of schedule. During the day he naps (randomly, when he falls asleep, he falls asleep) in the pack n play in the living room. When DH and I go to bed around 1030 I bring him to our room and put him to sleep in the rock n play. Luckily, he usually goes to bed without too much trouble and gets up every 3-4 hours.
It's random though. Some nights after I change and feed him he goes right back to sleep, others he's up and fussing for a long time. Just when I think he's getting into some sort of routine it changes. I'm not brave enough to even attempt putting him in the crib until at least 3 months. No way am I getting my butt out of bed in the middle of the night to go to his room and tend to him. I try to get him back to sleep without waking myself any more than necessary.
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| Posted 3/14/13 7:36 PM |
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ANR1211
My loves
Member since 2/11 2131 total posts
Name:
A
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
You're lucky that he has as much of a schedule as he does. DS is 6 weeks tomorrow. Tuesday he went down at 9:30 and was up at 2, 4 & 8. Last night he went down at 9 and was up at 12, 3, 4, 5, 6 & finally at 7 I took him downstairs for the day.
I don't think there is much to do for now -- I tried to keep DS up today, but I had a doctor appointment at 10 this morning and my doctor is terrible at keeping appointments so I didn't walk in the door until 12:30 -- DH said DS had just gone down, so we let him sleep while we ate lunch and then I went upstairs to nap for a few since I was up all night and came down at 2:30 to find DS still sleeping -- apparently DH let DS sleep the whole time I was gone too, so he slept from 10am-2:30pm when I woke him up. I've been fighting him to stay awake all day and I just put him to bed at 8pm.
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| Posted 3/14/13 8:09 PM |
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PregowithTwins
My boys turned 8
Member since 5/11 2451 total posts
Name:
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Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
Babies are babies... when they are this young there is no way to control it.
I would wait until about 3-6M before trying to put on a more routine schedule. I also would not recommend bathing daily at that age as there skin drys out so quickly
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| Posted 3/14/13 8:27 PM |
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TessMike214
Gabriella Aubrey born 3/26!
Member since 5/10 2440 total posts
Name:
Tess
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
Do you give him a bath before bedtime?
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| Posted 3/14/13 9:02 PM |
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Champ
2 little ladies
Member since 1/11 2918 total posts
Name:
Rose
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
When he "naps" at 6 dont put him in his crip, keep him in a central location in the house so he learns that his is not bed time.
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| Posted 3/14/13 9:57 PM |
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InShock
life is good
Member since 10/06 9258 total posts
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Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
Sleeping from 6 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. is amazing at 6 weeks old!!
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| Posted 3/14/13 10:45 PM |
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OhBoyorGirl
LIF Adult
Member since 2/12 1789 total posts
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
Posted by InShock
Sleeping from 6 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. is amazing at 6 weeks old!!
ITA! I know 4:30 is early, but if he is down at 6pm then the whole night is yours! I also wouldn't stress about bathing him nightly. Do sponge baths as needed if it is easier on you without your DH. At 6 weeks, he really doesn't need daily baths in the tub.
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| Posted 3/14/13 11:12 PM |
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Strawberry2468
It's summatime
Member since 3/09 4739 total posts
Name:
Christine
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
Posted by Champ
When he "naps" at 6 dont put him in his crip, keep him in a central location in the house so he learns that his is not bed time.
This is what I did. I kept tv on too. It was witching hour too so they were fussy.
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| Posted 3/14/13 11:47 PM |
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Mrs213
????????
Member since 2/09 18986 total posts
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Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
I don't know where you have him a that time (crib or pack n play etc) but I would keep him in the living room or whoever with you and don't pit him in his "bed" until bed time. But I do the 6 weeks a bit early for a baby to get into any kind of schedule. DD didn't really fall into a set sleeping pattern until Sandra between 10-12 weeks so don't stress yourself too mush abou it 
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| Posted 3/15/13 3:16 AM |
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MLP85
LIF Infant
Member since 9/12 292 total posts
Name:
Mandy
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
I agree with keeping him in a loud, bright area. Baths tend to wake my son up a little so perhaps that can help after his 6pm feed?
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| Posted 3/15/13 10:33 AM |
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cloddy
Holiday 2011 photo
Member since 8/05 8088 total posts
Name:
Kristen
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
Perfectly normal. Don't try to change it, but work with it. Give a brief feeding like PP said and back down. Eventually the goal is that DC will not need that 4 feeding and will connect the nighttime sleep with the 5-7 and go 12 hrs.
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| Posted 3/15/13 12:59 PM |
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MrsT809
LIF Adult
Member since 9/09 12167 total posts
Name:
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
Posted by Strawberry2468
Posted by Champ
When he "naps" at 6 dont put him in his crip, keep him in a central location in the house so he learns that his is not bed time.
This is what I did. I kept tv on too. It was witching hour too so they were fussy.
I agree with this. Do naps in bright, loud places like the living room and then at bedtime keep it dark and use white noise. I would do a diaper change after daytime feedings, put him on the playmat, etc. Show him that it's much more fun to be awake during the day. Other than that, sleep when you can!
My saving grace when DD did that was that DH would get up with her after I fed her. He would hang with her in the early morning before work and then once she was back to sleep he would put her back in the bassinet.
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| Posted 3/15/13 1:12 PM |
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Pomegranate5
LIF Adult
Member since 2/11 4798 total posts
Name:
Pomegranate5
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
I think it is amazing that he sleeps for that long every night!!! If he wants to wake up at 4:30 there really isn't much you're going to be able to do about it at this age. When DD was 6wks she would sleep in the middle of the living room during a loud conversation when we had guests over and there was nothing I could do to wake her, so it might be something you just have to deal with for a few more weeks.
My only suggestion is to try to dream feed him before you go to sleep and see if that holds him over for a little longer.
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| Posted 3/15/13 2:48 PM |
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NYCGirl80
I love my kiddies!
Member since 5/11 10413 total posts
Name:
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
DS does not sleep from 6-4:30. If he did I'd be happy! He usually wakes around 12 or 1 for a feeding and then again at 430. And I do not do nightly baths, just once or twice a week but its hard when he falls asleep so early. Also I have him nap on the light but it doesn't matter bc come 6pm he just conks out! It is nice to have the evening to eat dinner w DH but I'd rather him go to bed a bit later just by an hour or so.
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| Posted 3/15/13 3:39 PM |
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InShock
life is good
Member since 10/06 9258 total posts
Name:
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
I think you should work on getting him back to sleep at 4:30 instead of moving his bedtime. Do you feed him without making any sound? No diaper change (unless poop)? No light?
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| Posted 3/15/13 10:27 PM |
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gina409
TWINS!
Member since 12/09 27635 total posts
Name:
g
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
ur 6 week old sleeps better than my 14 week olds lol
i agree with other posters about pushing that"nap" and keeping it light etc
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| Posted 3/16/13 12:07 AM |
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NYCGirl80
I love my kiddies!
Member since 5/11 10413 total posts
Name:
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
Thanks all. In thinking about it, I don't think the problem is the time he goes to sleep, but rather that he takes his last bottle around 4 or 4:30pm. That just seems so early! But we'll see. I know things will change a million more times. Thanks for the advice!
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| Posted 3/16/13 3:38 PM |
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MrsT809
LIF Adult
Member since 9/09 12167 total posts
Name:
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Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
Have you tried feeding him at 6pm? I thin it's normal to get cranky around that time at that age. I would maybe do the bath then feeding starting at 6. Maybe that would keep him up close to another hour and get him to sleep a little longer before his first waking.
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| Posted 3/16/13 4:48 PM |
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LiveItUp
Love my babies!
Member since 8/11 4096 total posts
Name:
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Re: Need advice...Baby falls asleep too early
Posted by InShock
Sleeping from 6 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. is amazing at 6 weeks old!!
This. When dd was six weeks I was lucky if she slept from 9 to 2:30. Now at 5 months she still wakes up around 4:30 or 5 for a feeding. And that's with her going to sleep around 8 or 9 so it sounds like you have a great sleeper! Over time she got better about falling back to sleep for an our or so if I keep it quiet and dark.
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| Posted 3/16/13 4:49 PM |
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