My 2 week old daughter is a wonderful sleeper during the day. The problem is that she does not sleep at night. She is usually up from around 9pm - 3am.....without sleeping at all. I have been trying to wake her up every 2-3 hours during the day to eat. But beyond that it's so difficult to keep her up during the day. She's still so little. Also, she seems constantly hungry at night - never satisfied (I'm breastfeeding). My son was a terrible sleeper but I don't remember it being so bad at night. Any suggestions to get her to sleep at night????
Thanks
My daughter didn't get her days and nights right until she was 3 months old... everything I've ever read is that many babies are like this based on how they experienced life in the womb. I wouldn't try to make her conform just yet - she is too little! Great book on sleeping is "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child", one that I wished I had had from the beginning.
Two weeks is still newborn, and newborns do their own thing. Every baby is different and every *day* can be different with the same baby at that age! Go with the flow and remember the wacky schedule won't last forever. She'll gradually fall into a night-sleeping pattern over time, and you can full-on "sleep train" in a few more months if you want. Enjoy your wee one and congrats! (As a sympathizing P.S. to the "never satisfied" eater...my newborn girl had a binge where she nursed for fourteen hours with seriously no more than 40 minutes between any of the feedings. Crazy!)
I think at the moment you may have to go along with this , it's hard to get a baby into any sort of routine before around 6wks. They have no idea of the difference between day and night unfortunately, you will probably find over the next few weeks she will start to become more routined & then you can work on it.
I remember hearing that you need to make sure they get enough calories in during the day so they can sleep longer at night. I breastfed on demand but remember trying to get my 'confused' baby to eat more frequently during the day...hated to wake him up every couple of hours if he was sleeping but it worked in a short while.
Hi,
I have been told by the lactation consultant I've gone to that you have more milk at night. So you have a very smart little one. It might be rough with another child but as best you can just follow her schedule and sleep when you can when she is also. My baby was the same way and around three months she started sleeping throughout the night. It's wonderful. It might seem like forever until you get there again but it'll happen before you know it. Since it sounds like you're breastfeeding on demand, have you thought about bringing her in bed with you to eat while you sleep? I highly recommend it. Good luck!
My son was a good sleeper during the day as well (as are many newborns). My pediatrician advised us not to let him sleep more than 4 hours during the day - to keep him from getting his days and nights confused. This worked great for us. I swaddled him for naps and night time, so when waking him during the day, I just unswaddled him. I encouraged a regular bed time by making sure he was awake for approximately 2 hours prior to putting him down for the night - which was about 9:00/9:30pm - so I could get the maximum amount of sleep possible. When she starts sleeping for longer stretches, you can try putting her down around 7pm.
Regarding constant nursing - it sounds like you have nursed before, so you are probably aware of when you supply is ample, versus sparse and when she's eating versus nibbling, however, sometimes constant nursing means that your supply is low - it should be higher at night; however, that is only if you are getting sleep. My supply suffered in the beginning because my son was always so sleepy (suck suck snooze). Anyhow, as long as you are getting some sleep, drinking plenty of water, not drinking caffeine and don't have any health issues, such as low iron - the constant nursing should be beneficial to your supply.
congratulations on your new little one!
They do get their days and nights mixed up in the beginning...eventually they do figure it out.
What helped us to move in that direction was using natural light (at least, what little there is in New England during the winter!!) I put the baby's car seat in front of a window to help expose him to the light during the day, and kept the room dark at night.
Use whatever you can find that will help her to sleep - for my son, we used the swing, swaddle, white noise and kept the room dim. Between that and the daylight duuring the day, he eventually figured it out.
Good luck!
E.
Hi P.,
At 2 weeks your little girl is still a newborn and needs mommy. I'd try taking her to bed with you at night and see if that works. I'm sure she'll fall into an easier schedule for you as she gets older, but for now, I wouldn't bother fighting her sleeping habits. Let her sleep as much as she wants during the day, and try co-sleeping at night.
I know you mentioned you're breastfeeding, perhaps she isn't getting enough milk from you? Have you thought of trying a bottle along with the breast feeding?
Good luck.
I have a 3 week old and just went through this. The thing that helped me the most was to swaddle him tightly (but only at night) and wake him every 2 hours during the day to eat. I also tried to keep the room bright during the day. He's now sleeping from 10pm-3am, eating and then going back to sleep until 7 or 8. Good luck, I know you must be exhausted.
I think you've gotten good advice. Perhaps she's feeling a little gassy, and that's why she's constantly nursing at night. Are you laying down with her in bed? That might irritate her esophogus and cause her to want to nurse more. You can try having her sleep in a swing, carseat, or snuggled up on your chest. 6 hours just seems like a long time for such a little one to be awake, even during the day! She'll probably still sleep more during the day than at night for a while, but perhaps this would help. Good luck!
Congratulation on your baby. Babies do not know day from night. When my son was born he was waking more often at night and sleeping longer during the day. I woke him more often during the day and he then slept longer during the night. When I went to the pediatrician for his first visit, they were pleased that I had adjusted his schedual. Good luck
