My 5 week old has a crazy sleep pattern. Some days she will not sleep all day or at night then she will go a day or two where all she will do is sleep and nothing I do will wake her up. She had been a fairly regular sleeper until week 4 and then it got wonky. How can I get her on some what of a schedule? I go back to work in a week.
So I have just basically kept answering her every cry and grunt. I am letting her set her own schedule. I figure she knows what she needs when she needs it. One thing I found that does help get her into a relaxed mood so she falls asleep after her 8 pm ish feeding is the Johnson and Johnson lullaby Cd. Actually it also puts my husband to sleep! This past few days have been pretty good so I am just enjoying it while it lasts. And if she doesn't fall asleep, well I pop in a movie and get comfy on the couch. If I watched anymore infomercials I would start buying stuff. Thanks for all the advice and support.
Read Babywise by Garry Ezzo. It's all about consistency and getting them on a very predictable schedule. i did that with my baby and we never had any sleep problems and he's 18months old now. Babywise is (in my opinion) the best way to get a great schedule. Good luck!
i can tell you that she is only 5 weeks... generally babies don't sleep through the night until they weigh 13 lbs or more. give her some time to adjust to her new world. good luck.
I hope you get this message. Here's something that might help. Try feeding her at regular intervals. And don't feed her to sleep. Feed her just after a nap and then keep her awake for a half hour or however long until she gets tired. Then put her down for a nap. When she wakes up (don't worry too much about how long the nap was at this point), feed her and keep her awake for a bit more. This way you can put her down for a nap much easier, she will sleep better (because she isn't digesting food, so her tummy will rest), and she will wake up hungry and you can feed her again. Believe it or not, this will also help her to sleep through the night. Feed her just before putting her down to sleep, and once during the night if she wakes up and needs it--but don't keep her awake after that feeding! Put her right back down. With this plan, you should be able to get her to wake up when you want her to in the morning. She will be happier this way (because she's eating "full meals" and not snacking, and her body will get used to sleeping at the same times, more or less, just like you get tired around the same time every night). Try it. It worked for me.
She is still young and her sleep patterns will vary. She should be getting on average 14-18 hours sleep/day. I would suggest that you teach her the difference bt night and day by your actions. For example, after she awakens from a nap, play with her, feed her, go on walks, etc. After she awakens in the night, keep lights low or off, feed, change, no playing, get right back in bed, cuddle but make it obvious that nighttime is for sleeping. My kids always slept better next to me or with my shirt that I'd worn that day in the bed with them so they could smell me. She's so little that she should be taking lots of little naps in the daytime. Make sure she's well fed, clean and run lots of white noise to help her sleep in the day (washing machine, dishwasher, vacuum, radio, etc). It all will even out in time with patience and consistency! Best of luck - we've all been there! :)
Your baby is still a newborn. She'll get if figured out soon enough.
Please do NOT follow the advice of Baby Wise by Ezzo. It's a very unnatural book and some babies have suffered from malnutrition as well as death by following his advice. He's evil.
And at this young age please do not put her on a strict feeding schedule. Babies know when they want to eat and they'll tell you. Nothing wrong with feeding your baby to sleep either.
When my girls were smaller and they didnt sleep well, I ran the vacum cleaner, washing machine or dish washer. Sometimes light music helps them, sleep. Have you talked to her pediatrican bout her not sleeping. Sometimes my girls don't sleep well when there allergies are bothering them. There pediatriacan perscribed 'zyrtec' for them but, I have to give it to them in the morings and at night I give them both over the counter allergy meds. I am expecting another baby on Tuesday so I hope that my baby sleeps well. gl to you with you and the baby.....
That's the joy of having a baby. HA..... Things will change all the time. I have never seen a "normal" baby. No matter what the dr. says.
Hi C.,
My name is D. P. and I have an idea that may help your daughter. I am a Licensed Massage Therapist, (#MT047209), and I am trained in Infant Massage. It has been proven time and time again that even babies can benefit from gentle, caring, professional massage.
The concept of Infant Massage is Swedish based, very similar to that used with people 16yrs and older, (where the palms are used to stretch/relax muscles origin to insertion). The same goes for the infant massage, the only difference being, the finger tips are used to gently stretch muscles, relax tension/anxiety and increase blood flow, which relaxes people of all ages...infants to seniors.
So C., I have available for you either a studio to work at or, I am equipped to make house-calls. Whichever works better for you.
You may either reply to me via this website or my e-mail: ____@____.com. I'd be happy to help you and your daughter.
Once we are in contact with each other, (by phone), I can give you professional references/moms I've assisted in the recent past. Fyi - to help your decision process, I'm also a Birth Doula, I've assisted many moms through labor and delivery. :)
Sincerely,
D. P., LMT, CPT
Licensed Massage Therapist
Certified Personal Trainer
Professional Birth Doula
You can also further help her distinguish between night and day sleep by continuing to do your normal daily routine. Vacuum, watch TV, run laundry. The point is to keep it noisy. I even made sure my kids slept in the bassinet in the day next to the window for light and close to the TV for noise. This helps the brain not enter deep sleep like nightime. It also helps them sleep heavier in the evening since they didn't get too much deep sleep in the daytime. Good Luck!!!
