Hi,
My first child is 2.5 years old and I now have a 2 week old. I can't seem to remember how to help a newborn adjust to sleeping at night. I know that you can't possibly expect a newborn to sleep all night OR to even conform to certain sleep patterns. But, I just can't remember how best to deal with the nights. So far, she just wants to sleep all day. She sleeps heavily and only wakes for feedings. At night, she is much more restless and even though she may seem tired she is super restless. I try to help her switch her days and nights by taking her outside and keeping her in lighted areas in the day. She continues to sleep all day no matter what. At night, she grunts a lot and writhes around and can't seem to get comfortable. I have tried swaddling and she seems to really hate that. I am now trying a sleep sack that she likes better but she still wakes up very often. Basically, the only way she sleeps for long periods of time is if she is lieing on me or is in her boppy seat. I would like for her to transition to her own sleeping space but that seems impossible for now and I worry that if I continue to sleep with her every night she will never transition to her own space.
I am just not sure what I can expect or how I can help her sleep longer since a) she is a newborn and b) she was 3 weeks early and wasn't ready to come out. I am so tired and just looking for some tips. I have also tried gripe water and mylicon when she seems gassy. thanks for any advice you can offer.
My baby wasn't crazy about swaddling either. Continue to keep her in well lit areas during the day. Play with her during the day (sing songs, move her legs about, my daughter liked her wriggle time) and then of course not at night. You're doing fine. You'll see an improvement in a couple of weeks. Mine finally slept a 4 hour stretch at 4 weeks. Keep up the good work!!!
Mine is now 7 weeks so I know what you're going through. I found that trying to keep him up for at least 3 to 4 hours prior to bed time helps and I also put Lavender lotion on his outfit everynight right before his last feeding for him to go down. Between these 2 he will usually sleep several hours after he first goes down. We are now down to only 2 feedings at night and they now fall about the same time every night. If you start the bedtime process around the same time every night it will help you and your baby to get on a schedule. It may take a few nights but like I said my son is now on 2 feedings at night and we have been like that for a while now. Good Luck.
Being outside could be making her sleep harder during the day. my little one does sleep hard outside I guess he is just super relaxed out there with all the sounds
read healthy sleep habits, healthy child. this book helped me a lot with what was realistic to expect and what was normal behavior. a little hard to read, so i just read the parts that were applicable at the time by age and condition (i.e. reflux and colicky babies.) good luck!
I do not recommend that you use this book until she is a little older, but the Baby Wise book is great for getting them to sleep at night. It sounds to me like she's doing exactly what is normal at this age. I think you've already been given some good advice. This too shall pass! Just keep loving her and holding her...she'll grow up before you know it!
This helped my little one: feed her as soon as she wakes up as much as possible and then do whatever it takes to keep her awake for at least 15 minutes. At night, skip the wake/play time. Also, the No Cry Sleep Solution book by Pantley has great ideas to use without having to let her cry it out. I've seen huge changes in just a few days. Highly recommend!!
