thread: sleeping patterns

  1. #1
    Registered User

    Mar 2005
    Sydney, NSW
    3,352

    sleeping patterns

    Hi!
    My baby is 1 week and I just wanted a bit of advice. Can't remember for the life of me, what I did with my eldest daughter, but I don't know how long theyre meant to have awake time and if she sleeps all day, will she not sleep at night? Yesterday she woke at about 7pm and was up until midnight. Then she slept (iin between feeds) until about 12.30. then she had one sleep after and has now gone to sleep at about 5.30pm. I am wondering should I not let her sleep in teh afternoon or is it too early to worry and should they just sleep all the time?
    thank you xoxoxo

  2. #2
    Registered User

    Nov 2004
    Copenhagen
    617

    Webbmeg, congrats on your new bubby! I reckon it is too early to worry. Newborn babies sleep and eat and that's about it. Although my memory is fast fading and it was only 5 months ago.

  3. #3
    BellyBelly Professional Support Panel

    Nov 2005
    QLD
    3,068

    Hi Meg

    Your baby is fine. She will sleep when she needs to at this age.
    As long as she is feeding well there is nothing to worry about.
    One way to know if she is getting nough to eat is to keep an eye on how many wet nappies she has. If you are using disposable nappies it is sometimes difficult to tell if they are wet. You may need to pull then apart to be sure.

  4. #4
    Melinda Guest

    Hi Meg,

    Coco won't know the difference between night and day yet and it will be a little bit before she does (it's great when they work that one out! LOL). Right now all she will want to do is feed and sleep mostly and have little bursts of awake time, so I think Alan's advice is great - just let her go with what she needs right now and don't worry yet about her sleeping patterns - she will need a lot of sleep ATM.

    Over time you'll probably start to notice a bit more of a pattern emerging and she'll start to work out that night time is time for a bigger sleep, rather than during the day. As the weeks progress you'll probably help her work this out if you have your own little evening routine and basically by the fact that the house is quiet and dark etc of a night time and it's not during the day!!

    Good luck Meg!

  5. #5
    Registered User

    Feb 2005
    Mid North Coast NSW
    2,504

    Emma had no pattern at all at that stage. She seemed to sleep better throught the day and I got all kinds of advice on how to 'fix it'. I just let her go and now (at 9 weeks) she sleeps brilliantly at night. She wakes for a feed usually once, then straight back to sleep. I would say just let her find her own pattern, it may take a while but she will work it out

  6. #6
    Pietta Guest

    I was exacty the same with Ryley- he was all over the place to start with and then one night at 7 weeks he slept through!!

    Trust your instincts and you'll be right

  7. #7
    Registered User

    Mar 2005
    Sydney, NSW
    3,352

    thank you all for the advice!! It's not that I expect a pattern yet, it just is at night she WILL NOT settle in her cot and I spend the whole night with her in bed feeding on and off.
    Im going to try feeding for longer (this is difficult as she is hard to feed for more than 15 mins) and hope if she's more full at night she might settle.
    xo

  8. #8
    BellyBelly Professional Support Panel

    Nov 2005
    QLD
    3,068

    Hi Meg

    One other trick you could try is to put the top that you have been wearing in the cot your baby will be able to smell you and this may help her to settle

  9. #9
    Moderator

    Oct 2004
    In my Zombie proof fortress.
    6,449

    I must say I tried to following the Baby Whisperer by reading her books and watching her show, but it made us both miserable. I think my bubs is her own little individual.

    I'm all for going with the flow and reading and reacting to the signs that bubs gives. I know that some of my early problems with her were due to me missing some of her sleep signs.

    Astrid

  10. #10
    mooshie Guest

    hi meg

    i remember posting back last year about sleep/play guidelines, my mchn gave me a leaflet with it and i posted it on here, this is the link:

    https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...light=routines

    i hope i did that right, i just searched for it then copied and pasted it.

    good luck - it is hard to remember everything isn't it after a bit of a gap between kiddies.

    btw i adore the name coco it is georgeous