2+ moms-- talk to me about baby's sleep habits

shockleyh · August 2011

So, my baby sleeps about 4-5 hours at a time during the day, but only 2-3 hours at a time at night. Seems like she has her days & nights mixed up? Is this common? Other than spending time with the blinds open during the day, is there any way to get her days & nights sorted out? TIA!

Jen&Peter · August 2011

Totally normal. Babies really don't have a "schedule" or able to really be put on a schedule until 4 months old. Of course there are exceptions to everything and all babies are different. The best book I have purchased is Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. I bought it when I had DS1 and have used it ever since. Love that book!

sapphirewolfkdv · August 2011

My LO is the same way. He sleeps a lot during the day and not a lot during the night. And he's a month old already, so I'm desperately hoping he learns to sleep through the night in the nearish future.

livalil319 · August 2011

Wake her up during the day to feed...don't let her go more than 3 hours asleep. No guarantee but it may help. Try not to tiptoe around too much during the day, but keep night wakings very dark and quiet. You can also try some white noise, like a fan in the room, at night to help with just how quiet it can be. It is very normal for them to mix it up though, and it takes a few weeks to work it out in their little systems. Good luck. Don't worry... it will pass

tiff012982 · August 2011

Jen&Peter:
Totally normal. Babies really don't have a "schedule" or able to really be put on a schedule until 4 months old. Of course there are exceptions to everything and all babies are different. The best book I have purchased is Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. I bought it when I had DS1 and have used it ever since. Love that book!

I second this. I bought this book and love it! I have been told to wake her up during the day (make sure they are eating within their 3-4 hour time frame) but let her sleep at night.

rylee1 · August 2011

I wake my son up after 3 hours during the day and let him sleep at night. This has worked for us and he typically gives us a good four hour stretch at night. I try to get his last feeding around 10pm before I go to sleep and then he'll wake around 2am and 6am to feed.

TexasBrideOct04 · August 2011

Yep, I think it's pretty normal. Our little girl seems to have her days and nights mixed up. I'm working on fixing it!

I don't let her go more than 3 hrs between feedings during the day. (She's EBF so I don't think she'd go much longer than that anyway.) She has a long awake period at about 10:30PM and this is what I'm trying to fix. So far, not much luck. But she does go about 4 hrs from midnight to 4AM or so.

Definitely keep the lights and sound on during the day and don't turn many lights/tv on at night so he gets to know the difference between the two.

Good luck!

Stellasmom · August 2011

I don't put dd in quiet places during the day to nap. I don't swaddle her during naps. Since she has a big brother she goes where we go during the day. I will bf her as often as every two hours during the day to "fuel her up" for the night. At night I Put her down in her crib (which isn't used during the day) swaddle her and darken her room, leaving the ceiling fan running.

eesome · August 2011

Yes, very normal. Both my kids did the same thing. My daughter can sleep for a 4 hour stretch in the day, but at night-- it's 2 to 3 hours.

As far as getting her days/nights switched, it will just happen naturally. My daughter is already starting to stay up more in the day with the exception of her daytime naps.

eesome · August 2011

Stellasmom:
At night I Put her down in her crib (which isn't used during the day) swaddle her and darken her room, leaving the ceiling fan running.

This too. During the day, she sleeps in her newborn napper in the pack n play with just a light blanket on her. At night, she is tightly swaddled and sleeps in her crib with the room dark except for a nightlight. I also use a sound machine that plays ocean wave noises.

shockleyh · August 2011

Thanks for all the suggestions!! I will definitely try this stuff out & report back. I just don't know how to make much more noise during the day.. I'm not big on watching TV & DH works all day.. so short of talking on the phone & banging around in the kitchen we have a quiet house! O_O

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