Days and nights mixed up?

lolad5 · October 2015

Is anyone else having their LO be an angel and sleep all day then up and screaming wanting to be held all night? I'm not sure on how to help her get on the right schedule and be settled. I keep it bright during the day, I keep music on or watch television so there is noise, i feed her often. Even wake her for feeding if she's sleeping too long. Then at night I try to keep things dark and somewhat quiet. She is still up and on like a lightbulb. Is it normal for a 3 week old to want to be coddled and held also? She won't sleep in her crib at night much anymore. Mom needs some sleep too and I just need some advice or reassurance that it's common (I'm really trying to do everything I can). Thank you all in advance!

jwebbbber45678 · October 2015

I've heard it can take a month to two months for newborns to adjust appropriately to day and night. My baby also prefers to sleep cuddled with us and really dislikes the crib. All of this is due to the fact that they spent nine months in the womb. In there they were active at night and sleeping during the day. They were also curled up real nice and warm and tight and could hear your heartbeat. Your baby is still fresh out of the womb and trying to adjust to a world that is shockingly different from the only other place they have known. A crib is a vast, empty, lonely place for them. Try swaddling your baby to help them feel more comfortable in the crib and keep your days active and bright and your nights darker and quiet and eventually things will change. Just give it time though, these are all big changes for our little ones.

paine0925 · October 2015

This was exactly our issue - some things we changed that helped GREATLY:

- give a nice warm relaxing bath at night, massage oil into her skin, swaddle her up, fresh diaper, then a nice good feeding before laying her down for bed

- swaddle swaddle swaddle - she hates her arms swaddled but won't stay asleep unless they are. It makes the biggest difference for us.

- the longer the feedings the longer she sleeps afterward. if she feeds for like 6 min then she will be back up within the hour. If I can get her to feed almost 20 min, especially getting milk from each breast, she will be out for almost 2 to 2 1/2 hours

- strong loud white noise on at night time, like ridiculously loud. I currently use three noises, a white noise machine, a loud air purifier (simply because it gives off loud white noise) and "rain" noise off my phone from an app - it makes the room sound like one big ocean wave

- keep it nice and cool in the room

- doing tummy time or keeping her awake for about 2 hours prior to bedtime (wear her out a bit - bath time helps with this)

- clear her nose out with saline and a nose Frieda so she breathes really good

- lastly, the biggest thing for us... Keeping her upright for bed. She HATES being laid flat, refuses to sleep in the crib, so we have her sleep in a rock n play and on the really rough nights we have had her sleep in the car seat (she loves it) - I hate to do that but it was the only way to get her down.

Every time I think we have it figured out, she will throw us a curve ball and be up all night so this stuff helps us but by no means guarantees us she will sleep good.

Good luck!!!

melco19 · October 2015

I'm still trying to get my guy switched around, but no luck. He aleeps amazing in the bright, loud room... And doesn't sleep at all in the quiet dark room.

Sarahm8687 · October 2015

I'm with @paine0925! These are all similar to what I do and it helps tremendously! My little lady had days and nights mixed up too. Only difference is that I put her to bed in her Mamaroo.

kbiala · October 2015

How many hours are your LOs naps during the day? Ours was sleeping 3-4 at a time. Our ped told us to try to wak him up after 2 hours & let him sleep at night. This along with swaddling, white noise, bath time routine, etc all helped in transitioning. Also, during nighttime feedings make sure it's dark & that you don't talk to your LO much, signaling its not time for play.

cmlsu · October 2015

You may also be going through the 3 week growth spurt... give it a couple of days. I found knowing when the growth spurts were expected helped me deal with when she would be needy for a few days. Hang in there!

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