Does anyone have any tips on Keeping a baby awake in the day so that he/she will sleep at night?

Question

Our Daughter sleeps almost all day then about 12:30am or 1 am she is up and crys up a storm

Answer 1

Don't bother trying to keep her awake during the day. It's not good for her, and it probably won't work. Instead, try waking her frequently to nurse her, then let her go back to sleep if she wants. At night, keep everything very quiet and low-key. Don't turn on any lights (even a nightlight) and completely darken the room if you have outdoor light leaking in. She'll get it over time.

Answer 2

That sounds normal. Babies have to nap through out the day, even toddlers must nap durring the day. Their bodies and systems are growing at such fast rates that they run out of energy and must recoup.

If you want her to stop sleeping so late in the day, change her schedule around so she's napping late morning and going to be earlier at night. Or you can try keeping her afternoon nap shorted by waking her up after an hour or two.

Babies pretty much make up their own routines based on what their bodies need. But you can help a little by tweeking it some.

Usually infants wake early in the morning between 5am-8am, and then nap around 10-11 am, for about an hour, and then again around 2. You should avoid naps after 4pm, or long naps in the after noon, an hour or two is okay. Just remember that the younger your baby is, the more she must sleep. Newborns DO sleep all day, because their bodies demand it.

Keep her occupied during the day with fun things to see and feel and experience, but dont expect any young infant to stay awake for more than 6 hours at a go.

You cant change it all in one day, it'll take a couple weeks to get things squared away.

Answer 3

Try the book...the no-cry sleep solution by Elizabeth Pantley. She has some great tips for sleep problems. The most important thing I learned from her is that sleep problems are only problems if they are a concern for you. They are not "problems" unless you feel they are.

Obviously a baby that has day and night confused or wakes every 1-2 hours would be a problem for anyone. But 1-2 night wakings can be normal up to a year of age and 1 feeding can be normal up to 2 years. Don't let other people's perception about how your baby sleeps determine how you manage the "problem".

Maria

Answer 4

Wow I wish you would have given an age, believe me makes a BIG difference. But ok I'll try to cover most ages. If she is a newborn to 3 months it is best to sleep when she sleeps and get as much rest as possible because no matter WHAT you try if she's tired she'll sleep. Once they reach around 3 months old to right around 6 months you can try but not limit to the car ride keep her up as much as you can one day and let you or your wife sleep then that night ride her all night I know it seems a little eccentric but TRUST me it does in fact work to turn around bad sleeping patterns. Just take some bottles a couple diapers and play some soft music as you ride and she will sleep when she wakes DONT talk to her other than to let her know its ok, go back to sleep, you know just to ease her mind. Now if you just CAN NOT do the ride and sleep try keeping her OUTSIDE as much as possible during the day and include her in activities even if your just sitting with her in your lap pointing out everything and if she starts acting tired wipe her face with a cool washcloth and show her something stimulating like colorful or patterned. Fresh air and a long day out will both make her super tired for the night. Now If she's older say 6 months and up I know some of these may not be an option thats why i'm trying to give you a couple different options so, anyway the outdoors option is also great for this age seeings at this age they seem to be so inquisitive, also you can try a water play day a long day in the water will have all of you nice and tired that night take plenty for her to "explore" water toy's , squirty's, water balls are ALWAYS amusing. Let her take about an hour nap and then wake her up and get her right back in. Believe it or not if you can't get to a pool or don't have a pook the bathtub makes a WONDERFUL place for a baby to play in her bathing suit for a while. I hope any of these can help you out I know how exhausting it can be for parents when they have to juggle a baby , work, and family. Good Luck hon and if you try any of these options let me know which one worked best for you. **** Oh and please IGNORE people like Amelia who OBVIOUSLY has NO clue what she is even talking about, she probably doesn't even have a child, and we must learn to overlook ignorance in people. So you will have the occasional person who ACTS like they KNOW ALL about children and yet doesn't know squat. You have to experience a child to give any helpful opinions on subjects like these, sorry if she put you down as a parent I truly would LOVE to be a fly on the wall of some of these people when in fact its THEIR turn LOL*****

Answer 5

This is a tuff one....cuz babies tend to do what they want most of the time. How old is the baby? Sometimes it just takes them time to adjust to your time frame for doing things. About the only thing that you can do is try to stimulate them during the day. Don't just let them sleep cuz they are asleep. Inconveinice them a little bit. Wake her up to eat and then find ways to keep her awake for as long as possible.........but know this. She is growing and changing and this will get better as you work with her. Sorry you got no sleep last night. I hope that it gets better.....and remind yourself that you can do it cuz people have done it before.....and lived to tell the tale.

Answer 6

the best way for you to keep your baby awake during the day and to sleep at night is during the day make the environment that the baby is in bright,colourful, and have lots of toys or items that will keep the baby amused for a while and then at night time make everything as dark as possible so that the baby will soon be bale to differentiate from day to night

Answer 7

you didn't say how old she is. if she's still an infant, she needs 20 or so hours of sleep a day, and its normal for her to wake up at night for feedings. if she isn't then try exposing her to the sunlight. it will tell her that its daytime and she should be awake. you can do things with her like let her look at toys, or take her to the park and let her watch the other kids, or play around the swings/slide if she can.

Answer 8

Awww. Poor you. You had a baby and now you are inconvenienced. Get over it!!

Babies set their own schedule. It is natural. They are not meant to sleep through the night. I am so sick of parents who do this type of thing. What the hell did you expect? Did you think you'd push out a baby and it would just sit quietly until you felt like interacting with it. I feel very sorry for your daughter. I've known another family like this. They forced their newborn on a schedule. They refused to feed her except on their own schedule and as she got older they punished her for things like playing with her food...even though she was little more than a year old. If she woke in the middle of the night they'd ignore her. That is abuse. And forcing a baby to stay awake for an entire day is abuse.

Answer 9

My kids adjusted to a normal sleep cycle in their own time. I know it's a pain when you want to sleep and baby decides they want to play. You didn't say how old she is - makes a difference. But yes, you can spend time with her, playing with her or whatever to keep her awake. No guarantee that that will work. And again it depends on her age.

Answer 10

I found that my daughter didn't like to sleep with her feet uncovered...so I left her socks off of her until I wanted her to take a nap. She eventually became accustomed to being awake during the day.