Baby Seems to Have Days and Nights Mixed Up

Congratulations on the new, precious baby! Unfortunately, the mix up of day and night is just part of the plan. It will take a couple of months (6 weeks to 3 months) for the little one to get it straight. The first 2-3 weeks are lots and lots of sleep, and it always seems the non-sleep parts happen at night!!! But according to my pediatrician, it is never to early to start acting on a schedule. For us bedtime is 7pm. So always (still-even with a 3 year old) we start bathtime at 6pm, then stories or quiet games so they know the routine. I would suggest just getting through the first month, with taking as much help as you are offered...from hubby feeding at night, to the neighbor coming over to hold the baby during the day so you can catch a nap. Then start focusing on a schedule. It will turn around! Consistency is key.

Congratualations on the birth of your baby, at 9 days old that is pretty normal, it will take him sometime to get adjusted. From my experience when I was pregnant, my babies were moving around in my tummy when I was in bed and during the day they were less active, so I knew that they will have there days and nights mixed up. Also the 2 1/2 hour naps at night are pretty normal as well. What worked for me was swaddling my babies really good at night time, and also getting him on a schedule is really important (eating, bath time, nap time etc). I read the book "baby wise" and it really helped me with getting my kids on a schedule. It could be another 2 months before you actually see some changes in his sleeping pattern. Good luck with everything

My first son was the same way. He started sleeping longer at night about 6 weeks old. The midwife told me that it takes a few weeks for their bodies to start producing melatonin. After a few weeks, we started making him stay awake more during the day & setting him down more. He loved to be snuggled with us & would wake up more when we set him down. My 2nd son is now 3 months old & we never had this problem. He started sleeping good at night at 2 weeks old, just waking when he was hungry & going back to sleep. You never know, each baby definatly is different. Their newborn stage goes by so fast. Enjoy every second, even the rough times will soon pass.

We had the same issue when DD was born. A newborn is never going to sleep all that long at a stretch, but you definitely want that 3-4 hour stretch happening at night, and the 45 minute naps in the day! DH and I were just too exhausted to fix it--we'd just nap when DD did, regardless of when that was. BUT, my cousin came to visit us when DD was 6 weeks old and TOTALLY sorted this out for us. The trick is just to keep the baby awake more in the day. This will annoy the baby (LOL!). But seriously, it only took 2 days of my cousin having the stamina to deal with a crying baby sometimes (for instance, there was NO sleeping allowed after dinner until about 8 or 9 at night. This involved sometimes poking the baby when she started to fall asleep!). The concept sounds simple, but it does make for a rough 2 days, since nobody likes to hear a crying baby (she didn't cry ALL the time, just for 30 minutes at a time or so when she wanted to sleep and Haley wouldn't let her). We definitely needed some help to be able to swing it, but it made ALL the difference in the world. GL!

Welcome to Motherhood!!!! It is going to be the BEST journey of you life. While it is very hard, it will be the most rewarding thing you will EVER do in your life! Give it sometime...every baby will have their days and night mixed up for a while because at night time when you were still and sleeping is when the baby would be awake in your belly and during the day while you were up and moving...he was sleeping because of the moment.
Give him sometime, but what worked for me with my first daughter was I put her in the baby bjorn facing outwards and walked around the hospital (my mother-in-law was having surgery), but you could do it at the mall or anywhere that has bright lights and a lot of different things to look at and she stayed awake looking around and from that moment of she had it figured out. Now she was around 12 weeks old when she figured it out.
Just remember to sleep when he sleeps. Let me know if I can answer any questions.

I echo the six weeks to three months mentioned; he'll get there! My advice is to keep your windows WIDE OPEN during the day and let the sunshine in - Congrats. K.

Congrats on your new little blessing! As you've read from the other responders, most newborns go through this phase. My youngest is now 7 weeks, but we just dealt with this as well. During the day the kids and I didn't "tip-toe" around and kept the rooms well-lit. Also, as hard as it seems, I woke my baby up every 3 hours to nurse. During the evenings, we dimmed the lights, turned TV off (if baby was in that same room), and begin bedtime routine with bath, lullaby, etc.

Lots of moms like the book Babywise. I just took bits and pieces from the book and adapted them to each of my kiddos. For example, the eat/wake/sleep cycle is very helpful. The first several weeks the "wake" period might only last 15-30 minutes and could consist of a diaper change and a few minutes of cradling in your arms while you sing or just talk to your little. As they grow, the "wake" time increases.

Good luck and feel free to email me with any questions/concerns you might. Children are such sweet little miracles. Enjoy each and every day! Motherhood is the best journey but isn't always the easiest.

Very, very normal. It will be a bit before he has normal sleep patterns. It is really important for a baby to sleep so it is good that he is napping well during the day. My second baby slept better during the day than at night for a while. We just kind of went with what she needed; however, it was difficult. However, she was the perfect little sleeper at 7 months and still is at one. My first started sleeping through the night at 3 months; however, would wake up on occassion (and still does at two) in the middle of the night for unknown reasons. I would just try to keep it brighter during the day so that he can start to adjust. Just be patient; it will come. Good luck!

There is a book called On Becoming Babywise that is great. your baby is a little small to start on a Babywise schedule, but try eat, wake, sleep during the day. It means keeping baby awake during feedings and a few (maybe 15) minutes afterward, but it will help immensely. Good luck!