Sleeping in the Night

Too soon to get a baby on a schedule. And once you think that they are on a schedule, they change it on you in a second!

I really feel like it's so early, just be patient, he'll get it. My daughter is 11 weeks, and still doesn't get it 100%, but is getting it little by little. At 4 weeks, I think it's too early to expect it. Good luck.

Hi Y., Many babies have this day and night mix up. You could try to wake him during the day. He is still very new and you just may have to go with his schedule and try to nap when he is sleeping. Grandma Mary

I know, the first 6 weeks are very hard. I would fall asleep in the middle of nursing him some nights! He will eventually learn day and night on his own, but this also worked to excellerate the process. Swaddle him during the night, but not the day. I love Kidopotomous Swaddleme products. Also, I didn't bother changing his diaper during the night. I would do it before bed and first thing in the morning. He never got diaper rash and it helped not rouse him any further. Hope it works!

I know it sounds mean - but I would do everything I could to keep him as awake as possible during the day - try unwrapping him if he is wrapped in a blanket. That helped alot - so then he was tired at night. I gave the same advise to another mother & she also said it worked. I know they say don't wake a sleeping baby - but during the day I did so we could both sleep at night

The first few weeks can be very exhausting and frustrating, so realize you are not alone. Many babies confuse night and day. I read a great book on sleep when my first was born and it really helped tremendously with his trouble sleeping, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". For the first few weeks he says your baby should never be awake for more than two hours consecutively. I noticed that when my babies slept properly during the day, they also slept better at night. It doesn't sound logical, but it works. Good luck, and remember, this time will soon be over and your baby will be sleeping soundly before long. Try to rest when he does!
S.

Check out the Baby Whisperer book by T. Hogg. I swear by it and it really gives you a common sense routine to follow w/ babies. Goodluck!

Hi Y., In order to change nite to day you have yo wake your baby in the day time so that he will learn the difference. This has to be done about a half hour at a time.Your baby is just at the right age to do this. Donot be discoureged as this will take time. Just take one day at a time as he completes his second month it will get easier.I hope this advice helps you. Jackie

i remember a spirt like that... I reminded myself that he was only 4 weeks old! LOL but that said.. what I think did help, was during the day I had lights on, no darkness, so his body set itself physiologically. At night I always had things dim or dark. I fed him every 2 hours during the day whether he was alseep or not, by the time night got here he slept because he was so relieved no one was waking him up every 2 hours to eat. I didn't worry too much about full feedings, I learned quickly that some babies can get all they need in as little as 5 minutes. As long as he's healthy and still gaining weight that 's all they watch,, I had feedings that were more frustrating for me lasting 3 or 4 minutes, but then way him on the scale he was 2 ounces more. My lactation consultant said that was perfect. He's a little tike and their tummies are super tiny too. Don't worry. And waking them every 2 hours, not a big deal during the day sometimes they won't even wake up they just instinctively start to suckle. and that small they can't halp but fall back to sleep, thats what they do, all they do at that age. :) Hope this helps.. Good luck

I want to suggest a different way of looking at this "problem".
Maybe the baby is doing what babies do. A five week old baby is not big on training, they want a need (their body as well as their cognitive development) to feel a regular connection with the world around them. Forced sleeping (or forced waking) is as bad as force the force feedings that promoted the current obesity crisis. As they become more attuned to the world outside the womb their wake, sleep patterns will reflect night and day patterns.

As hard as this sounds, the reality and priorities of a baby are not necessarily compatible with the reality and priorities of the parents. But if you are the primary caregiver for this child, the baby's needs rule your needs (as far as it can be reasonable).

I feel that you might be struggling with a more complicated problem related to lack of family support (be that your partner or extended family), lack of appropriate childcare help, unfair job situation that forces you to move your child into a 9 to 5 schedule as quickly as possible, and maybe all of the above together and more. If this is the case, none of these issues are your babies fault nor is the baby designed to respond to this undue stress.

Here are some things you can do:
if possible sleep when the baby sleeps. I know you might feel like there are always a millionthings to do but you will only do them well when rested. This will allow you to wake up at night without completely exhausting your energy.

make a routine of care that includes other people. If you have a partner, decide if he (or she) will take the day or the night responsibility. If you are single, reach out to your support network and see who will help you rest during the day so you can be more rested for night time activities.

Some ways of promoting the development of a sense of day in your baby are:
Take the baby out for walks during the day. Being exposed to sunlight and daylight will help develop a sense of day and night.

allow the baby to nap anytime during the day. but when you need to do stuff, have the baby napping neaby (ideally close to your body) the sleep during the times when you are active will not be as restful for the baby and will help further understand the difference between day and night sleeping.

At night have a routine for putting to bed. as you repeat this routine (over months and years) the baby will associate certain things with sleep.

If the baby wakes up at night, do not ignore him or her, but treat them in a calmer way, speak very little, sing sleep songs, keep the lights very low. This will further develop a sense of what happens during the day and at night.

Never leave a bay to cry alone. This behavior makes no sense, crying is the baby's key communication system and if they cannot get a response using it, their attachment behavior can be stunted.

Finally, this is the hardest job you will ever do. Nothing compares with the privations and stress brought upon by parenthood, but your result really are proportional to your efforts, especially at this early stage.

Good luck

What will work the best is to keep the lights off at night, so if your nursing him, nurse him in your bed till he falls asleep again and then put him in his bassinette or crib.

Don't talk at night, just feed him quietly in a sleeping position.

keep him swaddled

During the day, the opposite, make sure the curtains are pulled back, plenty of light, feed him un swaddled, in a cool area, and after wards or inbetween each breast burp him and
sing a song to him to keep him entertained.
holding him away from the body a look at him.

warmth makes them sleepy
( now don't forget he is still a baby,and needs to be kept comfortable and warm)

this should help do the trick/

good luck

M

I would say just go with his schedule for now, try to keep things dark and quiet when he's up in the middle of the night, and bright and noisy during the day. Both of my kids put themselves on a sleep-through-the-night schedule between 8 and 10 wks. Hang in there, though, I know how crazed that lack of sleep can be!

My son was the same way. He had his days and nights messed up. He would be up all day, then sleep all night. Then sleep all day and up all night. It drove me nuts. This is what I did. Don't let him fall asleep anymore during the feedings. Once you see he starts to sleep, stop feeding him and wake him back up. Tickle him, undress him (this may not work as its getting warm out now). Use a cool wash cloth if you have too. But wake him up. He more then likely isn't ready to sleep through the night yet anyway, so your still going to have to be up. But once you get his days and nights worked out it will make a difference. He is getting older now so he should be into spending more time during the day awake. He still will sleep quite a bit so I wouldn't start a morning and afternoon nap time yet, but that isn't to far off. By 3 mos both my kids were on a morning afternoon nap and bed by 7. Once you get his days/nights straight everything else will fall into place.

Hello Y.,
Congradulations on your new arrival. Your baby sounds like my 10 month old.He still occassionally wakes up to play at 3.When he was a month old this was his time to play he thought.I just has to give him his pacifier and let him know he wasn't getting picked up.Give this a try

I know how hard it is with a baby that doesnt sleep good. My daughter is 6 months and still wakes every 2-3 hours to nurse. But babies as young as 4 weeks need alot of sleep, so trying to "keep them awake" during the day might not work. And most babies are awake at night in the womb for some reason, so your baby might just still need some time to get used to being outside the womb. Not all but most babies start to sleep longer and have more of a routine by 3 months. So my advise woul be to give it a little while before you consider sleep training. Good luck, hang in there, try to take naps whenever you can!

yes, play with him during the morning hours to keep him awake it will be hard but in the long run you will enjoy a few zzzz's

At only 4 weeks old, there is probably not too much you are going to do to get him on a schedule. In a few months he will start needing less sleep during the day and therefore sleep more at night. Good luck, I know it is not fun to be exhausted, but enjoy your little miracle! Congratulations!

With our daughter, we made sure she knew day was day. I wouldn't hold down the noise during her day naps. I'd keep it light and bright in the house. I'd play music while we nursed. I'd wake her from a nap so she didn't miss a feeding. Then around 5 or 6pm. I'd dim the lights, make the house darker and quieter. I'd put her down and when she woke in the night. I didn't interact with her. Just feed her and back down to sleep. Or, comfort her and back down. It's important to let them know it's not social time. However, your babe is only 4 weeks. Be patient, he'll get it!

I think he is still too little to understand. The first few weeks can be difficult this way. Just work to keep him up as much as possible during the day. talk to him, play with him and try to keep him stimulated. Hopefully it will help. Good luck.

My only suggestion right now is that if you are home with him and you are not responsible for other children, try to take a nap with him during the day. He will eventually fall into step with your regular non napping rhythms. Some babies take much longer than others. Try to have patience and remember that this is a brand new world of which he is only beginning to experience.

I commend you for your efforts to gradually switch your son to sleeping during the night and having a longer waking period during the day. Did you notice he was more active at night while inside you? Did you seem to get more kicking and punching going on while you were laying down? If so, he's just carrying on the pattern he fell into while inside your body.

The reason I ask, is that my son was in the "posterior breach" position in my uterus, or "face up". So, his backbone was aganist my backbone and pressed against it while we both were laying down. He did most of his calisthenics (kicking and punching" while I was laying down sleeping, and the pattern continued after he was born. I, too, was begging for sleep.

I'd do two things: Hold him off for a little while for his feedings during the day, change his diaper, walk him around, make sure he's really awake and really hungry. Also, and I know this isn't always easy but it's much easier with your first than subsequent babies, SLEEP WHEN THEY SLEEP. This in and of itself won't help him switch to night time, but at least you won't be so exhausted.

Hope this is helpful.

This is normal for such a young baby. You may want to do day and night sleeping in different places. I never let my sons sleep in their crib during the day--only at night. A bouncy seat is a great day-nap alternative. Also, leave the room light during the day and dark at night to ensure a more sound sleep. Try to keep him awake during feedings and wake him if you need to. Best of luck!

Y., this happened to me at first too. The one thing that really helped was making sure that I made sure that there were 'day' clothes and 'night' clothes. I had my daughter in onesies and pants during the day and put her in sleepers and swaddled her tight at night. My daughter was born in February, so I had to keep her covered during the day. But now that it's so hot, I've been putting her in dresses and shorts during the day and I still put her in sleepers and swaddle her at night (of course, she doesn't tolerate her arms being swaddled, but I still swaddle her body and legs). Hope this helps!

He's only 4 weeks old sweetie! I was lucky. My little girl was sleeping through the night at about 8 weeks. But some children take months, even years before they sleep through the night! I think one two hour period of waking at this stage is great. Keep the play light during this time. Sing, read books, keep the lights low. He'll realize in no time that this isn't playtime and that he needs to get back to sleep.

You'll hear it over and over again: SLEEP WHEN HE SLEEPS. You need your rest too. Don't be afraid to nap or just lay down and rest during the day.

The only advice I can give you is to keep his daytime naps to 2 hours or less. If he is sleeping longer than that, wake him, especially if he is due to eat. If he is falling asleep while he is eating, try different things to wake him, such as burping, changing diaper, taking clothes off, etc. At night, try to keep any feedings or diaper changes quick with minimal stimulation. Keep the room dark and don't talk/play with your son. Hopefully he will be able to be coaxed back to sleep and soon realize this is what is expected. Also, for daytime naps, keep lights on, tv on, etc. Don't make it so dark and quiet, you want his sleep to be somewhat disrupted during the day. Hope this helps!

Unfortunately your baby has no idea between night and day and there is nothing you can do to "start a schedule" for approximately 4 months. You can keep lights dim during feedings, don't speak to him much during night feedings and use little light. In the morning open up shades, let light in, turn on music to signal a new day has begun. But 4 weeks is WAY too early to expect anything from your baby in terms of sleep patterns. It will sleep when it wants to. (And eat to0.) If he is sleeping, there is no need to wake him to feed. If he was hungry, he'd be awake. Patience is the key. This will pass before you know it and onto to something new... Good luck!

Yes, this is an extremely rough time. From what I read and who I've talked to, newborns don't know the difference between night and day for about three months. Don't worry about putting your son on a schedule, he'll adjust naturally. Also it's best to let him sleep when he's tired (my daughter slept 12-16 hours a day when she was first born and woke up a lot at night) so he can grow.

I was exhausted for the first nine months (my daughter's 10 months old) and I slept when she slept. It sucked but I needed it. I also breastfed and had her sleep in the bed with me for 5 months (it's dangerous but it allowed me to sleep more during the night). After that we tried the Ferber Method to teach her to soothe herself to sleep but it's not recommended until 4 months (some moms wouldn't recommend it at all). Now she sleeps through the night (unless she's teething). A schedule is important but don't worry about that until he's 4 months old. It'll be all right just let him do his thing and make your husband do weekend duty.

he's too young to sleep train. they have no idea about night and day until about 3 months old.

He WILL outgrow it. Had the same problem 25 years ago. Rest when you can. If you are emplyed outside of the home at the moment I know this can be brutal. But their neurological systems need to mature. Just remember you WILL NOT have this problem in a month. Hang in there. I send you moral support.

My little boy had the same problem. Our pediatrician advised feeding him agressively during the day - every 2 1/2 hours - at night feed him in very dim light and don't talk to him, basically don't stimulate him. It worked for us. Good luck!

4 weeks is pretty young to start anything. I would get an extra nap during the day for yourself, sorry to tell you that, but at this age, they need what they need. It will sort itself out soon as he gets a little older, and has the ability to better respond to cues that you are giving him.