How to Keep Her Awake

at her age babbies will sleep anywhere from 18-21 hours a day. don't worry about it till she's acouple of months old. her periods of wakefullness will start to increase. theh just watch her cues. start a goood routine for bed times. and be consistant. it might take a little while to get into the right pattern. just make sure it's dark in her room at night and light in room during the day....her body will start to associate awake times and sleep times with the light and dark.

Right now it's not a matter of her having her days and nights mixed up. At this age babies generally sleep more often than not. I would suggest putting yourself on a schedule...do the same things at the same times every day...example: Get up at the same time every morning, eat your meals at the same time every day...at night when it's the bedtime that you want her to have, give her a bath, dim the lights, maybe soft music and put her in her crib. After a while...as she grows and starts sleeping less, she'll become accustomed to that being her bedtime routine and her schedule will follow yours. Probably around the time that she outgrows her midnight feeding..usually around 2 to 3 months old, she'll start sleeping more at night and less durign the day. During this bedtime routine, give her as little stimulation and contact as you can get away with. Example: If she needs a bottle, feed her in the dim light and as soon as she's done eating put her in the crib and walk away. During the day feed her and play with her while she's awake...but she's going to need many naps right now. Keep in mind that babies do most of their growing when they're sleeping.

Babies do have their days and nights mixed up at this age. It is normal and will fix itself with time. Right now she should be sleeping MOST of the time. She is so young still and needs rest in order to grow. She will likely sleep a majority of the time for the first 2 months. ANd then will gradually be alert more and more during the day.

Right now, you just have to try to survive. The no sleep for you is just part of it and it wont last long.

At her age you shouldn't be trying to keep her awake. It will only overstimulate her and make her cry. And make you more frustrated. Just relax and enjoy her. Unfortunatly when you signed on to be a mom you signed on for many many sleepless nights. One day she will suddenly start sleeping through the night and you will miss that quiet time you shared during those night time feedings. You can try laying with her on the bed for her feedings that way you still rest even if you don't sleep.

It is normal for your daughter to still sleep alot during the day since she is not even month old yet. I am pretty sure that she should still be sleeping 16 hours a day. As for keeping her up.....I have no suggestions as I have tried the same things to keep up my 8 week old and she just likes to sleep. Sorry I couldn't help!! Good luck and if you find a way that works, let me know!!

Your baby is only 15 days old, right? Sleep is what she does and it helps her grow. At this age you should expect her to wake every four hours to feed, change, then back to sleep. Trying to keep her awake right now will not be a benefit to her or you. Their bellies are very small and they have to eat small and more often, until she grows. If she slept through the night, at this age, she would be starving and very soiled. As for your sleep, the key is to sleep when they sleep, as hard as that can be, it really helped me. I was young when I had my first child and I know how intimidating it all can be. Best of luck to you!

A.,

Babies get their days and nights mixed up, you won't be able to fix that. Newborns need a least 16-18 hours of sleep, they are growing, so enjoy the time you have with her while she is awake, don't expect to get a lot of sleep at night and when she sleeps during the day take a nap with her, it is okay to do that... especially since she is so brand new, your body needs to heal as well.
And giving her too many baths is not good, plus bathing babies makes them sleepy when they are that young.
Relax A., it is all new, it was all new to all of us at some point, and no you won't have all the answers, none of us do, I don't even after 19 years of motherhood, just trust yourself, stay calm and love your baby, she will start to change her sleeping habits soon enough, and then you will get some sleep.
Goodluck, and enjoy being a mom, it is hard, but rewarding!

Too soon to worry about it. She spent 9 months sleeping while you were moving aroun (during the day) and being awake while you were off your feet (at night). So, it takes a bit of time to get out of that habbit. If she is nursing anywhere from every 2-4 hours at night it is normal and you can't do much to change it at this point. After she he 9-10 pounds and 6-8 weeks, she will start to sleep longer at night (5 hours is considered sleeping through the night) and be up longer during the day.
Good Luck:)

Your baby may still be too young to start working on straightening out her nights and days. I have my baby on a routine of eating, playing, naptime. I do this all day except at night, I cut out the playtime. This teaches her days/nights. She is only 2 months old and already sleeping two 4 hours strecthes at night. Just keep doing what you are doing, soon your baby will learn. It just takes time, good luck!

It depends on how old she is. If she's a newborn, she'll probably be like this for the first couple months. Usually by 3-4 months their sleeping through the night, that's when you want to start getting them on the same schedule. A routine helps. Give her a feeding about 3-4 hours before you want her to go to bed, give her a bath, and then give her another feeding. If you've started cereal, give her some after she takes her bath, a full tummy and warm milk are always good in helping them get to sleep. Make sure the house is bright and curtains are open during the day, and leave just a lamp or night light on when it starts getting late. In the nurserys they do this to try to get them started out right, but some babies just don't want to conform!! If she's sleeping in the same room, that may help a little, sometimes if they see you sleeping they'll get the idea. Remember, every baby is different, you may have a stubborn one, I know I do!! Hope this helps.

A. think of it this way... There are 24 hours in a day, minus the 18+ newborns sleep. That only leaves 6 hours to a day. In that 6 hours your daughter has to eat at least 8 times and be changed, play, etc. So that means if she is awake 8 times a day it is only for no more than 45 minutes. You might try having the daytime awake periods being closer to an hour and the night time ones closer to 30 minutes as a goal. Definitely take the lighting recommendations mentioned by the other moms. Make the rooms bright when she's awake (not asleep) in the daytime and at night try to only turn on a night light or small lamp and feed her, change her, then rock her right back to sleep in the evening hours.

If you like to read at all you might consider the book "Heathly sleep habits, Happy child" by Dr. Marc Weisbluth. You can get it at any book store or online. It's a great help with sleeping through all the ages 'cause trust me it changes frequently.

You can do it! Good Luck,
H.

with as young as your baby is right now, they are not going to know a difference between day and night right now. she will eat when she's hungry and sleep when she's tired. as for sleep, ha, that's very funny. you gave that up as soon as you had that little bundle of joy. just kidding,(well... kinda) soon she will start to figure it out and begin to sleep longer through the night. till finally it will just happen. until then good luck and enjoy those long nights. don't worry you'll get use to it.