Day/Night Confused???

It takes time... your baby is only 1 week old and a newborn.
For now... feed on demand. This is important...they are needing to feed, it is a 'building-clock' time for them to get enough nutrition/calories in order to develop and grow and gain weight. A baby wakes for survival- to feed.

They also "cluster feed" which means it can be even every hour... but they need this. Both my kids did that as babies too. I would NOT feed according to a "schedule." It has been shown & proven, that babies who are fed only according to a schedule, has failed to thrive... and it affects their development, their growth, and their "bonding" which is so crucial in a newborn. In extreme cases, the babies developed attachment disorders and developmental problems.

When my son was born, my daughter was almost 4 years old. My son had a GINORMOUS appetite and fed constantly. I had no sleep, I know how you feel. But it's so important to feed.. they are not doing it to manipulate you. They are just a newborn. On top of that, my son had bad jaundice when he was born...and he had to stay under the blue-light apparatus when we brought him home, for 24-hours everyday, for about 2 weeks. It was very hard on him and me. I was only allowed to remove him from the blue-light for nursings. But we had to keep him under the lights, for his jaundice to normalize. It was very arduous. He would not want to STAY there, much less be away from me. It really put a damper on our 'bonding' and my ability to just carry him/cuddle with him. And he'd cry. SO day and night, I stayed beside him, talking to him, keeping him company, patting him, so at least he'd "know" me and feel reassured, while he had to stay under the blue-light. I got NO sleep. I kept to his bedside as much as possible. Plus, I had to take him in every couple of days for blood tests. PLUS, on top of that, I had to spend all my extra time with my daughter too.

In retrospect, be very glad that your baby is feeding well, and is healthy, and that you can hold her. Her day/night mix up will stabilize. She is too young now, to know any better.

Sure, a boob puts a baby to sleep. This is normal. It's not her doing it on purpose... when a baby is full, they get sleepy. Just like an adult. Right? Now... what you may want to do is make sure your baby IS latching on properly, and is actually getting enough intake, and if you are producing enough milk... since it's only been 1 week. Sometimes, a baby constantly feeds because they are not getting enough intake or they are not latching on correctly. THus, they are always hungry, and waking. When she nurses... is the entire areola in her mouth? Do you actually see and hear her swallowing? If so, then she is probably getting enough.

But, a baby needs to feed when they need to feed. They are doing it by pure survival and they are growing at a quick pace... thus their intake amounts has to keep up with their growing.

All the best,
Susan

Congratulations on you LO - you're doing great! To help realign her "days" and "nights", keep the rooms she's in bright and stimulating during the days. Have some music on, play with her, etc. Then at night, keep it dark and quiet. Don't engage her - just feed her and change her as needed, then put her back down. This helped w/ my DD.

As far as using the boob as a pacifier... You might want to either give her a pacifier or help her find her thumb or fingers. Babies suck for comfort.

Good luck!

Congratulations on the new baby Girl! I also have a newborn (2weeks) and I asked our pediatrician in the hospital how to switch the day/night thing. Our daughter was also confused. Our pediatrician said it may take up to three weeks, but the best advice she gave was to feed on a schedule/ or demand, which ever came first, every two hours during the day. This seemed to help her go to 3 hours between feedings at night. I would say she has almost made a complete transition to proper day/night by two weeks of age, but we are still working hard on the day time feedings. Best of Luck!

well, the first couple of weeks my daughter at every half hour for half an hour during the day, and every hour or two at night, so...
Someone told me that wearing your baby helps to align your biorythems. A good sling could help. All they do at this time is eat sleep and poop... so try feeding her more during the day and waiting a little longer at night. Are you co-sleeping? I found I got the most rest when we co-slept cause I could just whip out the boob without waking up fully...
I have heard that formula fed babies sleep longer at night... Maybe a bottle of formula before YOU go to bed to get a couple of hours in? Just nurse her on demand during the day so your supply doesn't lessen... on the other hand, formula is super expensive (compared to nursing) so up to you...
Anyway, good luck.
R.

I would try to really start waking her up about 5pm maybe a bath and try to keep her up and stimulated for as long as possible...a little work now for rest later.