I have a 5 week old baby and am having trouble getting into an eating & sleeping routine?

Question

She seems to sleep most of the day and stay awake most of the night. Whilst she is awake, she crys for feedng sometimes every half hour. I am breastfeeding her, but have tried expressing and giving her the milk in a bottle to make it easier for her to feed at once, but this did not make any difference. If anyone to can offer any advice it would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Begin to teach him the difference between day and night.
Some infants are night owls (something you may have had a hint of while you were pregnant) and will be wide awake just when you want to drift into dreamland. For the first few days, you won't be able to do much about this. But once your baby is about two weeks old, you can start teaching him to distinguish night from day. When he's alert and awake during the day, play with him as much as you can, keep the house and his room light and bright, and don't worry about keeping down ordinary daytime noises like the phone, TV, or washing machine. If he tends to sleep during a feed, wake him up. At night, try not to play with him when you go into his room for a feed. Keep the lights and noise level low, and don't spend too much time talking to him. Before too long he should begin to figure out that nighttime is for sleeping.

Good luck.

Answer 2

It's great that your breastfeeding so keep going with it - don't let anyone convince you that the baby will sleep better if bottle fed. My baby (6 months) is fully breastfed and now sleeps from 8pm till 6am but it took her a while to get into that pattern. Don't fret! You should feed on demand for at least the first 6 weeks as the baby is just adjusting to being in the world rather than get them into a routine. Its perfectly normal what is happening to you. Do speak to your health visitor and I'd also recommend a book by Annabel Karmel called "Complete First Year Planner" which gives great advice on sleeping, feeding and development without suggesting any strict routines. I have 9 friends (through NCT) who all had babies within a month of each other and the mothers that got their babies into a strict routine from a very young age (i.e. took Gina Ford advice) are now having problems coping with the babies as they develop and require new patterns. Believe it or not, you will very soon get to know your baby so well that you will know the difference between a tired cry, a hungry cry, a bored cry etc and you will have a better idea of his/her natural patterns. I have a brilliant health visitor and it makes all the difference. If you don't think your health visitor is doing a good job of advising you, call your local health authority and ask them to put you in touch with someone more experienced, or perhaps the hospital where your baby was born or your GP could help you find a good health visitor. Also buy the Annabel Karmel book complete first year planner, as it will make you feel more reassured. Good luck! And don't worry so much - you'll look back and realise "everything is a phase".

Answer 3

It's hard to get such a young baby into a routine. It sounds like she might have her days and nights mixed up (which is quite common).

My suggestions would be:

Start a bedtime routine so she starts to understand that, for instance, "First I get a bath, then I cuddle with mommy, then I go to bed."

Increase the amount of breastmilk she gets per feeding if you can. She will still be getting the same amount of food, just feeding less frequently (thus being able to sleep longer).

Swaddle her at night and DON'T during the day. Keep her in a high-traffic, loud, bright area by day, and the opposite by night.

I hope this helps. Good luck! I hope you get some sleep soon!

Answer 4

It,s a hard time with a new baby and its very early days to think about routine just yet.Try to "go with the flow" for a few weeks.If breastfeeding is difficult for you is there anyone you can talk to to make sure your positioning is right etc?

Try to sleep or rest when baby is sleeping and enlist the help of friends family or partner to help you so you get some rest.
If you live in UK make use of your health visiting service for advice - that's what they are there for.

Remember these first chaotic weeks don't last forever.I have three kids and felt totally lost and bewildered following the first one but things do fall into place.

Answer 5

SNAP!!!!!
My daughter is 5 weeks old today!
We do have a general routine through the night (she feeds on-and-off until about midnight then has a change & feed about 5am then again at about 8-9am)

We've tried to do what the first answer suggests and keep her in her moses basket in the dark. Obviously she still gets changed & fed (breast) but we try not to talk to her or stimulate her and put her straight back down.
During the day (from about 9am) we play with her whenever she's awake and try to keep her stimulated and in a light environment.

Hopefully this will teach her that night time is quiet time for resting and daytime is for play.
I must admit we give her a dummy (pacifier) at about 1 week. This really helped, as she would feed for comfort when she was already full then be sick from overfeeding. The dummy worked wonders and also enables me to settle her by holding her in a feeding position with it.

Answer 6

It's very tiring I know and you think that things will never change, but they will and she will settle. She is very young yet. Try to keep her awake during the day as much as you can and feed her the hours your health adviser has suggested. In the evening giver her a bath and try to settle her down in a quiet and relaxing atmosphere. When she wakes for her night feed, do not turn lights on or make a fuss, gently feed her and put her back down as quietly as possible so as not to disturb her. She will settle into a routine soon. Just be patient. If you are short of sleep, try to sleep whenever she sleeps. Good luck.

Answer 7

For babies this young it is hard to develop a routine, I have had 2 kids and it took about 8 weeks for both of them. My second born was a lot like you describe.

Firstly, make sure you make play time during the day, this will encourage your baby to realise when day time is and when night time is.

Also, give her a night routine, and do it every night...make bath time at night, if you have trouble settling put a chamomile tea bag in the bath, this will help relax her and be mild enough for her skin. When she comes out, you can give her a baby massage (there are heaps of books on it), and then a cuddle, feed and bed.

If she tries to feed that often, make sure she is getting enough feed in one feeding and think about a pacifier. I know there are a lot of pros and cons to these, but my child health nurse said in situations like this they teach the baby not to use the breastmilk as a comforter.

When she wakes during the night for a feed, don't talk to her, give her cuddles...but feed her, burp her, change her and put her back to bed. She will get the hint that night time is not play time

Answer 8

I am 2 weeks from giving birth and I have been reading ALOT of the baby magazines. Two tips that keep coming up are 1) a bath before bedtime (with the baby lavendar bubblebath) 2) Taking baby for a walk between 12-4pm (something to do with them getting natural light and adjusting to daytime)- if you can't get out for a walk then feed baby by a window (so they still get the light).
I have no idea if they work, but I will be trying them in a few weeks.

Answer 9

You probably won't want to hear this but babies very rarely have a routine at 5 weeks. Mine certainly didn't. You just have to persevere and feed on demand. My little boy started sleeping through the night at about 3 months. You can start to establish a bedtime routine now, even though she still wakes during the night. I gave mine a bath every night, and a bottle before bed, he now knows that as soon as the bath comes out it's bedtime. He is 8 months, and sleeps through the night now (except for last night, he's teething) and has a perfect routine. Just grin and bear it at the moment and eventually it will just fall into place.

Answer 10

Hi, unfortunately, at 5 weeks, babies still want to eat ALOT. How long is she feeding? Do you feed her on both sides or just one? She may be falling asleep before she gets full, try tickling her feet if she falls asleep so she will continue to eat. Try playing w/ her more during the day so MAYBE she will get used to being awake more...She should start getting better about feedings by 3 months or so, she'll take in more at each feeding and that will last her longer...also, you can try taking in more calories, that way your milk will be "richer" or more filling for her. Good luck, hang in there it will get easier!