I have a 6 wk old and she decides to be awake starting anywhere from 11pm to 1am and then won't sleep until 4 or 5am. So here I am getting no sleep and when I do I can't get myself to get up for anything but feeding her until 1 or 2pm. I am a stay at home mom for right now so it's not like I have to wake up for anything but it is sooOOOooo tiring and I personally LIKE being awake during the day. I've tried adjusting her schedule and it's really hit or miss with this. Every so often we'll get a night that she decides to sleep between feedings and we would have done NOTHING different that day. HELP! It's wearing on my nerves more than anything. Not only am I not working but I feel so lazy and I feel like I'm missing out on the day because I sleep until the afternoon. I feel so stressed out when I'm dealing with her wanting to stay up in the early morning. And then she decides to cry between 3 an 5am. so that makes it worse...
2007-11-08 09:40:31 · 16 answers · asked by throughthebackyards 5 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
With my little one, I slept when he slept. So if he was asleep at 2 in the afternoon, then so was I. I know you said you like being awake during the day, but until she's on a normal schedule, you're going to have to go with what she wants. It'll take a couple of months before she's sleeping at night and only having naps during the day, but you'll get there. I know it's stressful and exhausting, but believe me, it will happen. Just trust me, sleep when your baby sleeps. Good luck. :)
One thing you'll have to do is get your baby knowing when night time is...by that, I mean during the day, if you ARE awake, do things like keep the lights on, vaccuum, that sort of thing instead of making things super quiet and dark. And at night time, get into a routine, bath, changing, story time, quiet noises and low lighting and eventually your baby will know the difference. She'll still take at least 2 naps during the day at her age (my son was nearly a year before he stopped with his second nap).
2007-11-08 09:45:34 · answer #1 · answered by mspp_tcg 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Hi there. I have a 5 week old son and I can COMPLETELY symphatize with you! I too am exhausted from weeks of sleepless/sleep deprived nights. Fortunately, my son will sleep some of the time, just awakens every two hours. I never would have believed that caring for a child is so tiring!!
My suggestions would be similiar to some of the advice you already received... first at feeding time: change her, then feed her and then put her back in her bassinet or her normal sleeping environment. I would keep all the lights either out or low. Do not engage her too much as stimulation can encourage her to wake up (therefore not too much talking, back rubbing, cooing, etc). During the day, I would try to stimulate her more by keeping the lights on, talking to her etc.
It might be gradual, but hopefully you can slowly decrease the amount of time she's up at night as the amoint during the day increases.
2007-11-08 12:58:32 · answer #2 · answered by smiley_girl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One day she will just figure out her night & days.
When she sleeps-you need to sleep.
People told me to keep her up or wake her up during the day but honestly the only thing this accomplish was a cranky baby & me not being able to sleep during the day either.
I don't think the amount of time she sleeps during the day will affect how much she sleeps during the night. But then again this is only my own experience & what I read when I was going through the same thing.
I was worried it would never end but now looking back it wasn't so bad, I think I was just so worried about "am i doing the right thing?" that i couldn't relax and go with the flow & take naps when I needed to. Good luck & if you have a friend or family member who you trust they'd probably love to do a "night shift for you to get some sleep till she adjusts.
2007-11-08 09:48:38 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I find that with new babies it is important to make a big difference in your house between day and night. During the day make sure all the blinds are open and it is very bright and active. During the early evening close the blinds and only using task lighting. Speak less and in lower voices. Try to reduce activity in the evening. The baby will take cues from it's surroundings and realise that night is a time to settle down and sleep. If you have to feed or change diapers during the night, try to do it without turning on the lights, or use only one small light.
We had to do this with our daughter after being in the crazy, noisy hospital for 8 days she did not seem to know what was night and day! This technique worked and we have a great sleeper now at night! She doesn't like to nap a lot during the day but we are working on it ...
2007-11-08 09:49:33 · answer #4 · answered by Alberta Mama 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That's very good advice you got from everybody. I agree with it as it turned my daugther's schedule at the time when she was 2 weeks old (she is 1 month old now). Sometimes even now she has days that she sleeps almost the whole day but even then I do not entertain her at night. Just feed her quietly with the night light on and then I give her a pacifier. If she cries, I do not pick her up - just offer the pacifier again. What helped me a lot is one of those little lamps that also have the noise imitating the heartbeat of the mother when baby was in uterus. I always start it when it's time for bed and the night light is on. In combination with pacifier it seems to have created a kind of a habit. She hears the noise and she knows it is time to sleep. Try it, it might work for you too. (I don't use the light as it distracts her - just the noise.)
2007-11-08 22:14:53 · answer #5 · answered by petyado 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This same exact thing happened to me when my son was this age. I thought I was going to go psychotic or give him to my parents lol. I had a lot of trouble sleeping during the day too as I have never been a "nap" person.
The good news is, is that you can start sleep training with your daughter now. Most experts recommend sleep training 6 weeks or after. It sounds like she still has her nights and days mixed up so try not to let her sleep longer than 2 hours at a time during the day. If you let her sleep longer than 2 hours, her day has now become your night unfortunately. Entertain her as much as you can during the day and make sure the house has enough sunlight coming through if possible. When she starts showing signs of tiredness, let her nap for a little bit. Start a nightime routine..bath,bottle/breast, and maybe a story. CLuster feeding worked wonders for me. That's when you feed the baby her last 2 feedings 2 hours apart instead of 3 hours. It will keep her tummy fuller for a longer period of time. You have to be very diligent in sticking to the nighttime routine and please please remember that it will not happen in the first 2 days. After 3 or 4 days, you will most likely see some improvement. I started this with my son at 6 weeks and by 8 weeks, he was sleeping at night for 5 hours straight at a time. Every 2 weeks, it got longer and longer. He's 6 months now and can sleep for 10 hours straight. It will get better, I promise! Just don't give up on your routine..babies thrive on routines and do so much beter when they know what to expect. Good luck!
2007-11-08 13:11:39 · answer #6 · answered by TJ's Mom 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
After her feedings during the day, instead of letting her sleep, you could try putting her on her belly to get some play time. Play with her a lot during the day and only let her nap once. Then during the night, do the rocking to sleep, etc.
2007-11-08 09:50:54 · answer #7 · answered by Karla 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's called reversal and it's very common. My youngest did it twice during his first 2 months and had colic.
It takes about 3 days to adjust - do not let them sleep longer than 2 hours during the day. At night, don't wake them for anything. Try cluster feedings in the evening to try to encourage a longer stretch at night.
Invest in a copy of "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. It's my baby/child sleep bible.
Fwiw, at 6 weeks we started sleep training with our eldest, and within a week he was only waking up once at night - would have a bottle then go back to sleep.
2007-11-08 09:49:34 · answer #8 · answered by delknee 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
As they say....sleep when your baby sleeps. If she sleeps during the day, then you sleep during the day. You make like being awake during the day, but it's not about you anymore. Another tip is to make night time feedings very boring for her. Don't play with her or coddle her. Feed her and put her back to bed. They say that helps.
2007-11-08 09:48:53 · answer #9 · answered by First Lady 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I had the same problem. Eventually my daughter flipped it around. Something you might want to try is giving her a bath around 7-8pm and giving her a good bottle or if breastfeeding...filling her up....to encourage her to go to sleep and hopefully sleep long. That's what I have always done. It will take some time. It doesn't just happen in one night. Just try to put her on a nightly routine and see if that helps.
2007-11-08 11:05:20 · answer #10 · answered by aLiCia 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋