# Newborn sleeps all day, up all night



## KLM99 (Aug 9, 2007)

Anyone have tips for switching a day/night confused baby? She's a week old, and sleeps all day (wakes up every 3 hours just to eat). Then of course, she's wide awake all night. She's impossible to wake up - I feel like I've tried everything.


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## Manfa (May 27, 2007)

I had this problem too. What I did was, I made a point of keeping my son awake after his daytime feeds. (You might choose a different time to keep your baby awake, I decided it would be after feeds because I think its good to keep things very predictable for them.)

Eye contact, light and talking all rev up the brain to say "be awake, stuff is happening!". So, in the daytime, talk to him and make eye contact LOTS at the times you would like him to stay awake. Try not to jiggle him about to keep him awake though.

Or I would lay him on his mat with his nappy off and let him have a kick (William hated this to start off with, but grew to love it very quickly). You could also try taking a layer of clothing off if it is very warm, as that makes babies drowsy. Or you could crack a window or take him outside and sit in the garden if the weather is mild, so he gets some fresh air, taht also helps to keep them awake.

(Obviously, if he really wants to go to sleep, allow it and accept that getting him to get his days and nights the right way round will just take a little time. In the meantime, don't try to do hsewk etc in the day when he sleeps. GET SOME REST YOURSELF. This is so very important, most especially for BFing mums.)

Conversely, at night, don't speak to him or make eye contact and keep the lights off or as dim as you can manage. I admit I felt a bit mean initially but I made up for it by holding him close and comforting and loving him that way if he needed it instead and we had our days and nights sorted out within a couple of weeks. He still woke at night (still does sometimes) but he was a champion and only woke once, going straight back to sleep after a snack.

I really HTH. Sending good thoughts your way.... It's still quite fresh in my mind just how tiring it is when they dont know day from night!


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## dctexan (Oct 18, 2006)

Bumping this because I am in the same boat. My DS is almost 3 weeks old and he sleeps A LOT during the day and not so much at night even though we have lights on/activity during the day and only very dim lights at night (I cannot breastfed in total darkness, not skilled enough yet). I would love to hear from others about this issue.

*KLM99* - Have you and your little one worked it out?!


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## quetinha (Jan 5, 2007)

I'm crying for an answer as well boohoo.
Mine isn't sleeping all day - but he won't sleep at night either. Tonight he wants to nurse every half hour or so. He'll drift off to sleep just to wake up in a few minutes to want to continue nursing. It's got me very close to giving up and giving him formula.


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## hipmummy (May 25, 2007)

Your babes are what we call normal. There is nothing wrong with them this is what they do. While in utero,During the day your were moving a lot. This put them to sleep. At night you rested and they partied. Do as the previous poster did and make sure they get proper daylight. Keep the light low and the house quiet at "night". Don't give up. In a month this will be a lot better and by 12 weeks you may even have a routine. Good Luck!


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## ex-stasis (Nov 29, 2004)

We went through this with our second dc... it was really hard! Finally we resorted to keeping him awake from 6pm till as long as he could manage.. typically to around 9-10pm. We did lots of baths, diaper changes, etc. It was difficult... but it seemed to be the most effective. THEN I had to go to sleep as soon as ds did, to take advantage of the first longest sleep of the night.


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## Stace (Jan 4, 2007)

Yup, this is entirely normal. Just keep them on a consistent routine and they'll straighten themselves out by the end of the first month or two.


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## KLM99 (Aug 9, 2007)

I just started reading this thread, and realized I was the one who started it...lol! That seems like so long ago. My daughter is 5 weeks old now and every time I think we're getting into a sleep pattern, she mixes it up







For a while she was sleeping all day and not at night, then she'd be pretty much up for 3/down for 3, then she did a long AM nap and a long afternoon nap, and now she's sleeping much less than she ever did. Oh well - we're managing fine and as long as I'm not exhausted, I'm just going to let her sleep when she wants to.


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## PatchChild (Sep 1, 2006)

As best you can, keep nights dark and quiet and days bright and busy. It can be hard for those nights for a while when babe wants to be up and playing though.

It is so normal though. They all sort themselves out in the end though.


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## EdnaMarie (Sep 9, 2006)

That happened to my SIL with her fourth baby. She kept the room as light as possible. The baby slept in the same room with the other kids playing. At night, obviously, no lights on at all, and she slept with the baby so that she could just sleep while he sucked on her breast and then laid still. He straightened himself out at about one month old. She tried keeping him awake but had little luck.


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