Encouraging my newborn to sleep at night

Hey All

I have a 6 day old bub and just got home from the hospital 2 nights ago. He is such a lovely baby and only crys when hes hungry. He feeds and sleeps well during the day sometimes for up to 4 hours but then when we hit around 10.30 he wants to be fed until after midnight then wakes up for feeds every hour. Is there any way to change this pattern so we get sleep at night and hes up a bit more during the day?? Any advice would be great as I am soo tired!

Thanks

Hi,

Congatulations smile

There is nothing you can do to force a baby to sleep, but there are a few things you can do to try and encourage better sleeping at night......

Give bubs a nice warm bath in the evening followed by a massage, super tight wrap and a big feed. At night feeds keep lights low and minimise interaction with him.... Lots of gentle touches and cuddles just no talking or cooing!

Continue something like this over a few days and hopefully you will notice a difference! It worked for me smile

Because it was so hot when I had DS and upstairs didn't have aircon I would have him nap downstairs where it was alot lighter and noisier. He didn't nap for very long, but he would sleep a bit longer at night. I think 4-5hr blocks by around 5wks and he slept through by 2mths, exclusively BF. He never became a huge napper until later on but his night time sleeps were really good so I was happy with that. Maybe make his day sleeps lighter and noisier? So he associates daytime with action and nightime with darkness and boredom smile

I was told that you can't do much until they recognise day and night themselves at around 6-8wks...SORRY! You have to learn to sleep/nap whenever they do and you will feel much better. I found it really hard to fall asleep when you are waiting for them to wake up again. So go to sleep as soon as they do as you can never predict how long it will be.
My only advice is to keep it dark at night, feed and change in minimal light so they aren't woken up with bright lights.
Goodluck!

Just go with what he wants for now. My little man was like that and now for the past week he's gotten better with his days and nights. He feeds often and sleeps for no longer than 1 1/2 hours during the day and then at night he does 2hours to start with and then 3 or 4 hours in the middle of the night. I keep him entertained during the day, make sure he has heaps of play, tummy time etc.. and then at around 7pm he takes a bath with his daddy, maybe has a massage and then we have quiet time for the rest of the night. I give him a good feed, rest for a little bit then have a bath. Then he might want a top up and off to sleep. It's hotter now too so he's thirstier so I try to keep him cool otherwise he'll wake up thirsty. He will slowly get into a better rhythm don't worry about it for now. Start with a bedtime routine if you want, feed, bath, wrap, cuddles, bed or whatever you feel is right for your baby smile

Oh and congratulations if I havn't already said so smile

A few things I did to help was to keep the room light during day time naps and keeping the room as dark as possible during you night feeds. Plus like the previous person has said, try not to chat/play with baby during the night and just focus on getting him back to sleep. A good swaddle will help keep baby cozy (I used the ergo pouch). DD was sleeping 10 hours through the night at 4 weeks old so it is possible to have a really great sleeper! and even before that I was only getting up 1 or sometimes twice a night in the first weeks. Good luck!

Congrats!

Spending some time outside each day can help too I think, even if it's just a short walk in the stroller, or just a walk around the house and yard.