any suggestions?before i loose sanity??

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February 19th, 2009, 03:42 PM
1pj

any suggestions?before i loose sanity??

I dont know if ive put this in the right place and i hope i dont sound awful but my 2 week old baby seems to have her days and nights mixed up!She sleeps terrible at night like 3 hours inbetween feeds max and yet in the day can go up to 5 hours!!Is there anyway to swop this around?I cant sleep during the day ive tried and i know when you have a newborn your seemed to meant to not get any sleep but i just thought if shes able to go 4 to 5 hours between feeds why cant she do this at night so i can have a bit of sanity?Is this normal and any suggestions what to do?Thanks in advance!
February 19th, 2009, 03:47 PM
SamiH

i have bubs in arms so not much detail - but they can take up to 5/6 wks sometimes to flip day/night - on avg my exp 3 - 4. hang in there!!!
February 19th, 2009, 03:50 PM
Anila

My 3rd who is almost 4, was just like that, the chn and dr suggested to "be cruel to be kind " approach, and wake her during the day, every time she went to sleep i had to wake her, and keep her busy so she would get tired and sleep at night, after a week, she was on a really good routine and slept all night.

Have you spoken to child health nurse, or a midwife?
February 19th, 2009, 03:53 PM
Kazmar

I think the mix up of days and nights is very common! I remember Annabelle doing it and the MCHN telling me alot of bubs do it ;)
You just have to be stronge and stick to routine ;) Try your hardest to do your everyday things at the same time every day, or around about ;)
Shower, lunch etc. Bubs should fall into somewhat of a routine :)
February 19th, 2009, 04:01 PM
mollycat

DS2 did the exact same thing - not easy to look after a five year old on little or no sleep. I did the cruel to be kind approach - he was only a couple of weeks old - kept him awake as much as possible through the day, took a couple of days and he was in my routine (not me in his). He still woke for night feeds, but wouldn't stay awake half the night. Can make you feel nasty - but in the end it's worth it for your sanity.

Good luck
February 19th, 2009, 05:57 PM
Boo Boo

Try waking for feeds every three hours during the day and get as much milk into her during the day, keep her up for an hour, then sleep for two hours, then wake for feed again, before her 'bedtime' for the night, maybe keep her up for 1.5 - 2 hours....I did this with my DS as he had his days/nights mixed up and it sorted out quick,.....also the idea of getting in as much milk during the day so hopefully they don't need as much overnight....but up to 6 weeks they are adjusting to life, so I would expect things to be up and down until they settle a bit. Hope this makes sense, have a baby on me..

HTH
Laurin
February 19th, 2009, 06:06 PM
~Trish~

I always woke my bubs to feed them every three hours during the day and before long they got into a pattern of sleeping longer stretched at night.

Good luck :D
February 19th, 2009, 06:41 PM
SamiH

Hun, no babe in arms anymore - i posted earlier but very briefly ...

Your baby is only 2 weeks old - when you are awake, she is used to being rocked to sleep all the time whilst you move around during the day, floating around peacefully, and being awake more at night time (which you will prob recall feeling more kicks etc).

It takes time, she will find her rhythm with the family - a couple more weeks at most. I am not for waking babies up unnecessarily during the day - but i do agree with feeding them as much as you can during the day to ensure intake is up to encourage longer overnight stints between feeds. However for a newborn i also wouldnt let them go any longer than 5 hours during the day for a feed.

I have jsut been through it too with a 5yo adn 3yo - its really hard work - the first 6 weeks are the hardest. Sleep as much as you can during the day.

As i said last time, hang in there, it will turn - do all the right things like feed in a room at night as dark as possible for you, without noise and distractions, keep everything calm and quiet, dont talk to bubs, they can feel your love through your touch etc. Send all the signals it is night time, time to sleep :)
February 19th, 2009, 07:18 PM
amberj

My MCHN also said to get a little bit of sunlight on their face during the day, esp in the morning- this produces the wake chemicals and helps in starting to differentiate day & night. Maybe a nice little walk in the am??

Good luck, it will get better, I promise!
February 20th, 2009, 12:29 PM
SamiH

:

My MCHN also said to get a little bit of sunlight on their face during the day, esp in the morning- this produces the wake chemicals and helps in starting to differentiate day & night. Maybe a nice little walk in the am??

Good luck, it will get better, I promise!

Yes, great idea - and for their day sleeps, have the blinds open etc - and pulled for darkness at night time etc.
February 22nd, 2009, 07:41 AM
mittyblue

:

Yes, great idea - and for their day sleeps, have the blinds open etc - and pulled for darkness at night time etc.

I agree here, mine DS is only 2 months and I draw all the blinds when I'm getting him ready with bedtime routine (bath massage feed) and even for day sleeps I darken the room. Lately when I walk into a darkened room he starts yawning and getting sleepy eyes so its been working. Sleep during the day is so hard, I agree, I think you'll get tired enough to catch a few hours here and there soon enough tho..thats whats been happening with me anyway. Good luck mate xox