Sleeping Infant

Hi K.,

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Good luck. D.

Hi K.,

I have 3 kids, with 1 due in Aug. It will take a little time to adjust your daughter to the correct sleeping schedule, but the best thing for you to do is to wake her during the day, after you think that she's slept long enough, and then when she goes down at night, make sure her tummy's full & her room dark & quiet. That may help. If she gets tired & ready to fall asleep before "bedtime", then try your best to keep her up. She will eventually get used to the schedule. I had to do this with all of my kids. I have had to do it frequently lately, since my husband's work schedule has shifted a couple times in the last year. I am anticipating doing it again this summer, when my husband should be going to a "day" shift instead of the "evening" shift. Good luck & God bless!

I am also a new mother to a 6 week old daughter. My daughter was doing the same thing, and I found that upping the ounces in her bottle from 2 oz to 4 oz helps her sleep longer during the night. Also, you should try to keep her awake a little longer in the evening right before bed so that she's more tired.

My daughter was the same way (maybe its a girl thing!!) What I did was wake her up during the day. I know they say to never wake a sleeping baby but I did. I would let her nap for about an hour at a time, 3 times a day and then she began to sleep better/longer at night. It was not easy though. It took about a week to get her habits to change and she was more fussy in the beginning b/c she was tired, but it was worth it for me to get some sleep at night. I would also feed her about every 2 hours during the day, that way when it came time for her to go to bed, she had alreday had about 20-24 ounces of milk.

Good Luck

Dear K.,

I found that the most effective thing was to make sure there was a very big difference between your interaction with your baby during the day and during the night. When she is up in the daytime, make sure there is lots going on, light sound etc. Talk to her, sing to her, play with her. When she wakes up during the night however, keep the room as dark as possible, keep everything very quiet, feed her and hold her, but don't play with her. She will eventually get her days and nights sorted out so don't worry.

I hope this helps

L. P

I'm sure you have heard/tried this, but just try to keep her awake anyway you can during the day, and if you can, sleep when she does, so you can make it through the nights a lil better. Try sponge baths and light tickling to wake her up. Of course you can't bathe her all day, but it might keep her awake for a little longer at least once during the day or every other day (you don't want to dry out her newborn skin, either). put lotion on her or anything stimulating that you can think of to try to keep her up for longer periods of time! Good luck, and eventually, even though it may seem like forever, she will get onto the right schedule. If you are nursing, your milk will also help her stay awake during day and sleep at night. Its made for even THOSE type of needs, too! God made it the right way! Congrats on your baby! Cherish every moment, it doesn't last long!

don't let her sleep so long during the day. It might take a while but her clock will work itself out. But you need to get it taken care of before she gets too much older!
Good Luck

Do you have a night light in her room? Go ahead and take it out or turn it off and just use it when you go in to feed and change her during the night.

Light signals the body that it's time to wake up. I've heard of studies that indicate night lights may also contribute to ADHD because of sleep interference.

When you go in during the night, have minimal conversation and eye contact, as well. Eye contact is also another invitation to perk up and take notice of what's going on.

D.

Don't worry. This too shall pass. I would not intentionally wake her during the day but I would not keep the house quiet either. I would not worry about putting her on a schedule she will settle into a pattern and so will you with some give and take and your daily routine. At night I would keep things calm and dark and quiet so that it is easier to get back to sleep. you might consider moving her bed into your room or sleeping with her in your bed. The less distance you travel at night the more sleep for everyone. Especially if you are nursing you can at least catnap while nursing laying down--can't be done with a bottle. mostly enjoy your baby. You really will miss the special time together in the middle of the night some day.

Understand that she is behaving perfectly normally and it WILL naturally get better with age! Give it a few more weeks. This week, my 11 week old just started sleeping 6-8 hours during the night, with one feeding at 3am. It can change for the better very suddenly. Here are some ideas:

First, there is nothing wrong with the long daytime naps - for heaven's sake, DO NOT try to keep her up in the day. Sleep begets sleep. If you make her overtired, she will just get worse at night. PS - remember, you are going to want those nice long daytime naps over the next couple of years!!

Second, establish a routine for bedtime. I know it is hard at 6 weeks because you feel like it all runs together. Pick a "bedtime" like 7pm. Change her, pjs, lotion, book, etc. If you want, try to darken the room (but leave it lighter for naps). Then feed her and put her in the crib.

Third, if you are nursing, drink lots of water and eat a snack about 1 hour before bedtime. Or maybe delay a bottle feeding a bit. Either way, try to make her bedtime feeding a heavy feeding.

Fourth, as someone recommended to me, make sure she has sufficinet activity during the day. She is just getting ready to be alert more oftern, so after a nap, play with her, talk/sing, read a book. Really differentiate that awake time from sleeping time. At 6 weeks, she may not seem to respond much, but she is connecting with you even when she doesn't show it. It may be a little hard at first at this age, but ahe will be much more awake in 2-3 weeks. Then make night feedings very quiet and serene, little talking, dark room, etc. I know with a little one and such frequent feedings, there is the temptation is to nurse in front of the tv with all the lights on, etc. but she really needs the comforts of night.

Finally, I was reminded recently of a great book - Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child - or similar title. It will help now, but especially in the later months. Good luck.

This could fix itself. At 6 weeks, it's going to change a great deal from month to month. She needs her naps, two a day usually. If she's nursing at night, she will continue to wake up a couple times of nights, it's just the power of the boob.

If your daughter is breastfed, I would recommend cluster feeding her before around 10-11pm. Cluster feeding (frequent feeding over a period of time) was usually good for getting one stretch of 4+ hours for my daughter.

well i guess i agree with what some are saying and not with others. My suggestion is to make Night time truly night. Let her wake you up to change or feed but don't get her up.... just feed her in the dark and changer in in the dark (well almost dark) don't talk to her sing or do anything else that you would do during the day. Pick her up, feed her, change her and lay her back down. Any indication it's day time gives her the miss information it's day time. Personally i didn't do anything to her daytime. Most children will automatically adjust their daytime with the night time. Prob. the prob your having is she's up to much during the night time so she sleeps more during the day to make up for it. If you need to set next to her bed with your hand on her to get her back to sleep than do just don't pick her up. The least amount of stimulation the better so she will get back to sleep quickly and she won't need to sleep more during the day. A lot of children sleep alot during the day mine slept for about 3hrs each nap. 3 times a day and still slept through the night. Good luck

My daugher did the same thing. Try putting a CD on in her room on low. I would sleep in the living room, with her in her playpen, with QVC on low. It occurred to me that she slept well when there was some light and noise in the house. However, at night time when the house got quiet, she'd wake up. It took about 2 weeks before she would sleep in her room, with a night light for any length of time.
M.