Longer Stretches of Sleep

My sister-in-law gave me advice and it worked. We would wake her if she was sleeping by 8:30 at night. Then try to get her down for the night between 9:00 and 10:00 pm. This started her on a nighttime schedule. Then if she woke in the night we used a 15 watt light bulb instead of over stimulating with the bright lights. We would change her diaper, feed her then put back to bed. Minimal talking to decrease stimulation only at night. She is sleeping well.

I have read that sleep begets sleep and sleeplessness begets sleeplessness.

I'm really a believer in following your child's lead, but with 2 other children, I understand your need for sleep. Have you tried playing with her a little while after her daytime feedings, so she gets used to a little activity during the day and no activity or stimulation at night? My mom always told me to play with my babies for a little while after daytime feedings, so my babies wouldn't mix up day and night and I never had a problem. Good luck!

I literally just walked in the house from a doctors appt with my 7 week old and asked him the same question while I was there. He said to start waking her up every 3 hours during the day to eat. That she will still likely wake up in the night for a while but eventually should start getting on the new schedule.

I hate to tell you this but it is difficult to get a 6 week old on a schedule. In fact, I believe they should sleep when they are tired b/c that means that they need it for some reason. My first slept better at night than during the day. In fact would have a big cry everyday around 7pm. I thought that was pretty normal until I had my second. She enjoyed sleeping mostly during the day and keeping us up at night. Now it is the exact opositite. She sleeps at night but doesn't take great naps during the day. My opinion is to never wake a sleeping baby. you may just want to sleep when they do; although that is easier said than done. I think I just got used to not sleeping. Good luck!

I never woke my daughter up, figuring a sleeping baby is better then a fussing one, but do you play music or white noise while she's sleeping? I always have a lot of kids around during the day also and find even now at 9 months my daughter sleeps well if I put her music on. Even at night I put a CD in and put it on repeat. If it stops she'll actually wake up at that time. Sometimes they get so adjusted to the noise that when it's quiet it wakes them up. My daughter was one of those overtired screamers so waking her up from a any type of rest was asking for hours of trouble. If you use the same CD everytime she'll identify it with sleep and settle down faster as she gets older. I still use the same CD with my 9 month old, and with the running and screaming that the older kids do, she doesn't even twitch. The music goes on she listens for a few minutes and then sleeps for her naps, and then in the evening when everyone else is asleep, she sleeps first and because her music is on she doesn't realize when the house gets quiet.

I highly recommend using the Miracle Blanket. I promise you, it WORKS! www.MiracleBlanket.com or The Nesting Place in Grapevine (among other locations in the Metroplex).

Best, S.

make sure when she sleeps during the day that she is in a room with natural light...don't put her to be in a dark room unless it is at night...sounds simple, but it makes all the difference.

I have a six week old myself and am currently going through the same issue. Recently,as bad as this may sound, i have started to let her cry for about ten minutes or so during the day. I dont mean cry like when she wants or needs something, i mean cry when she is bored or restless (i can already tell the difference) Amazingly, it has worked, for the past three nights in a row, she has slept most of the night! Before this, she would sleep all day and be awake all night!! I mean literally all night, from 11pm to about 9 am or so!!!! My husband just went back to work so i became desperate to get her to sleep being as my husband works nights and has to sleep days. So, i have her day and night!!! During the day, i have to get my errands done and at night well, i have to sleep! So, i was really desperate to get her to sleep!! Bottom line, try to keep your baby awake during the day,play with her, walk with her, change her outfits and play dress up, whatever it takes to keep her up. Even if she gets a little fussy from not being able to sleep, thats okay because she will sleep at night like she is supposed to. Good luck!!

My daughter did the exact same thing when she was that age, and she was preparing to sleep through the night. We woke her up when we knew it would normally be about time to have a feeding, and then when she was done eating, we put her back to bed and made it really quiet so she knew it was time to sleep. She may be overtired for a day or two, if your kiddo is prone to that problem, every child is different, but she won't do it for long. In my opinion, it is preferable to have her tired for a couple of days and sleeping longer stretches at night as a permanent result than sleeping longer during the day and waking up at night. It didn't take long for her to adjust her internal clock, just a few days. Hope this helps. Good luck!

I would recommend you let her get maybe an hour, then wake her up. That way, she gets alittle rest, but will be tired for the evening. That is what my husband and I did for our daugther. She will probably be tired or whiny for a few days until she adjusts, but it will work. Hope this helps!!