Sleeping - Nixa, MO

I agree with the previous post. You will probably hear about sleep training and if that is right for you, then give it a try. But for me with all three of my kids they slept when they were tired and they were up when they weren't. I would try keeping her up a little later and see if that makes a difference. My doctor told me once, rest when they rest, because that might be the only time you get. You are not alone in this problem my youngest is ready to stop napping, I know this because he stays up too late at night, but he can't quite make it through the day without falling asleep.

Don't do the keep her up later trick because she will get overtired...you're right about it backfiring....she might be hungry...are you breastfeeding?

Wendy,
First of all, I am interested in knowing how you are doing with feeling closer to your daughter. I wrote to you on your last post when you said you wanted your old life back. Did you talk to your doctor?
Anyway, at that young of an age, she will sleep when she wants to and no schedule should be forced upon her. She needs around 20 hours of sleep a day, so when she is awake, play with her. Soon she will be smiling at you and this will melt your heart!! When she is asleep...you should also be trying to sleep, even if it's in the middle of the day. When I had my son (who is now 16 weeks) I truly realized why women take 12 weeks off of work...they need it because sleeping is not happening in their life much until then.
Stay strong...you can do this. It is not uncommon that she wakes up ant says up until 11pm. She doesn't know it's night time yet. Give it time.

She's just going through a growth spurt and when they do their sleeping habits change. You'll have to roll with the punches so to speak until you all find something that works for you. If you want to try "keeping her up" do it in small intervals, start with 10-15 min. and 5-10 min. longer each day. If you try 2 hours all at once she'll get overtired and you'll be in for the fight of your life! I know life is exhausting right now but you just have to tell yourself that she'll only be this young once and soon enough she'll be sleeping through the night and a whole new set of challenges will present themselves. Watching them become awesome little people is soooo worth it though! Best wishes and I hope you can get some rest!

this sounds like your daughter is going through a growth spurt. and around this time babies are up for 10 hours. she might just be hugery when they go through growth spurts they well eat every two to three hours. I have a 12 week and she did this at 3-4 weeks then 6-8 weeks of age and know at 12-14 weeks she is doing it again. these are growth spurts each baby is different. I know i breastfeed my daughter every 2-3 hours nd we also had to start infant cereal in the evening before bed because she weights 13 pounds 8 ounces. she was born 8 pounds 15 ounces so she has jumped 5 pound in 3 months which is ok but breastfeed has been a little bit difficult because she won't take a bottle which I don't mind but it is hard to get the house work done. if all else falls ask he doctor.

She will change habits like a wet diaper for awhile. Just adjust the feeding times and try to sooth her back to sleep without waking her up. Feed without talking just rubbing her eyebrows or back.

Good luck

She is hungry. She has grown and is ready for another feeding.
You could try what I used to do with my babies (and grand babies)
Just before bed, give her a bottle of formula with a little rice cereal mixed in. You will need to make the hole in the nipple a little larger for this. I used to insert a toothpick in the hole, then put the nipple in boiling water for just a minute. Take the nipple out of the water, allow to cool, then remove the toothpick. Now, that was in the old days. They are making the nipples out of different materials now, so this may or may not work. You'll just have to try it. If it doesn't work, you haven't lost much.
Or
mix up about a teaspoon (no more than that) of rice cereal with some formula, and feed it to her in a coated spoon, then give her a small formula bottle.
Either way, this will fill her up a little better and hold her off a little longer.

As newborns grow, they need more milk, but their tummies are so tiny, that there is no way they can hold enough milk to keep them satisfied through an entire night.

I had one baby that was sleeping through the night the first night we brought her home from the hospital. While it was heaven for me, the doctor said it was not good for her, and had us wake her up at least once in the night for a feeding.

So ..... your little angel is normal. She's just hungry.

Babies are "tough" little things to figure out. My Grandson is 4 months old, the kids are always asking "Mom what do we do" I tell them, you will figure it out.
As your baby gets older she will get more active, then she will sleep better. Wear her out with love and play at night. Feed her good and then "pray for a good nights sleep"

Good luck !!

I don't really have much advice for you except that I know she will grow out of it. I SURE do know how you feel. I am 37, Louie, our little angel is 2 and he is finally just now sleeping thru the night. I work full time 1st shift, my husband JR works seconds, so when Louie would always wake up in the middle of the night all the time I didn't get much sleep. Looking back I think I was a zombie for the 1st year till I got used to him the routine. All I know is that we spoke to the Dr many times and he said that each child is different and this happens. We made the mistake of letting him have juice when he was about one. Yes, it was almost sugar free, but what we didn't realize is that it was rotting his teeth and also keeping him awake. We now give him water (he just wants something cold to drink and finally got used to water). The Dr. said that it wasn't so much the juice but just his routine. So we were instructed to give him benadryl...even at an early age. It helped for a long time which helped me get more sleep to accomplish my goals and my chores thru the day, but then Louie got used to the benadryl and it actually started to keep him awake. Being new parents to an only child, we did not realize this either. Louie is our only child - we were not expecting him. JR and I were both happy with the thought of NO children ar all, but when Louie came along, WOW, what a wonderful, wonderful gift from GOD. But, we are stopping with perfection !!!! :) We don'give him anything...I think he sleeps NOW through the night because he gets wore out at day care or with grandma etc..
OK...about your other "child" - your dog. We have 4 big dogs. Infact, I have rescued strays and volunteered at the Humane Society (Before Louie)...All of them are about 85 pounds. They were so much work when Louie was a baby. I tried my hardest to spend time with them and still did for them like before, but didn't do as much. They changed for the worse. They felt neglected and actually got crabby. Now that Louie is older and loves the dogs (he's crazy about them), I can spend time with them like I did before - Louie helps me with them...they are back to their old selves. Try to give your baby as much as you always have !! By the way, GOOD Choice on the lab. They are my favorite and I have 2. All of them take away my stress when I get home from work and they do more for me than I do for them. I hope motherhood is all you hoped for, and I know that precious little one will grow out of NOT sleeping. GOD BLESS. MEL

I like Heather B. below, have had incredible success with the book "On Becoming Babywise". It does a great job explaining sleeping and eating cycles. The idea is to feed the baby every three hours, keep them up a while after eathing and them napping them. It helps to stabablize their metabolisms, and pretty soopn they are sleeping longer at night. I have had three children and used the book all three times. A life saver!
Good Luck

Babies have a growth spurt around six weeks. If she's hungry, let her eat, otherwise just go with the flow. She's too young for a schedule, and she will work it out.

Good Morning Wendy, Babies are all different in their sleeping, eating, crying stages. I can only go from experience's we have had.

A little one like yours could be sleeping maybe 2-3 hrs in the morning then take another nap in the afternoon. Then go down like your little one does and be up several times at night. Or they could nap only once for 3-4 hrs during the day and sleep all night for a while. Babies habits change so quickly at times, anything is possible.

Our daughter in law bathes her 7 month old at night, gives him a warm bottle and lays him down after @ 7:30 / 8 pm. He usually sleeps through until about 4-5 am. Then he will switch and be up at midnight until 1-2 am and sleep until 7/8 am. He does the same to me during the day. Will take possibly an hour nap one day in the morning, and long nap in the afternoon. Next day he might sleep 2 or 3 hrs in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. :( He has a 3 yr old brother who is going through day time sleeping battles with me now....lol He needs his afternoon nap, or Nana Needs him to have his afternoon nap. But he will tell me Don't worry bout me Nana I am fine lol

What your precious angel is doing is what babies do. They keep us hopping and guessing what to do now!
I really, really suggest getting a CD player and get a Baby Einstein CD with baby lullabies and keep it playing softly in the babies room. It is so soothing with classical music.

God Bless you Wendy, it will get better I swear.
K.
ps our eldest son's name is Drew ;)

Congratulations on your new baby. All I have to say is let her take the wheel on sleeping patterns at this point. She will adopt several sleep patterns the first 6 months or so. This early it is really hard to get a solid routine down. With the change in her eating and growth spurts, she will settle in to her own pattern after a few months.
Good luck!

Babywise has been a wonderful book for us and for the parents of my 17nieces and nephews. It gives you a great idea of how long your child should be able to sleep during the day and night at each age. It will also tell you about watching out and attending to growth spurts, teething etc. I highly suggest reading it before you are in the habit of waking up several times a night for months to come.

D.,

Congratulations on the birth of your new baby. Newborns are exciting, but a lot of work! I got REALLY good advice from our pediatrician when our first son would not sleep at night. I, like you, was trying to keep him up during the day so that he would sleep better at night. However, our pediatrician said that babies are exactly opposite of adults - the more sleep they get, the more they want to sleep. Therefore, let your baby sleep as much as possible during the day, and she will sleep better at night. I know it seems impossible that this would work, but believe me, it does! My son went from sleeping an average of four to five hours at night to sleeping close to nine. I am now using this piece of advise for our new four week old son, and it is working equally as well. Believe it or not, I have to wake him up several times during the day to eat - If I didn't do that, the poor kid would never eat! I hope this advise works for you too!

Good luck and I wish you good sleep!

A.

Hi there!

My husband and I will be adopting soon and a friend of mine told me to read "Healthy sleep habits, happy child", by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. She used the book with her child and she said it was a lifesaver! I've starting reading and it and it really makes sense. He says the sooner you start with healthy sleep habits the better. I believe he said you can start as soon as 6 weeks of age. Good luck!

H.

My son is 10 weeks old. He did the same thing. She'll go back to her schedule. Mine has veered off of it a couple times but will go back after a day or two. She's going to start staying awake longer during the day. Don't worry it will all work out.

One more book I would recommend is "Good Night, Sleep Tight: The Sleep Lady's Gentle Guide to Helping Your Child Go to Sleep, Stay Asleep and Wake Up Happy" by Kim West. At this point, your newborn is too tiny to be on a schedule, but once she's about 3 months old, you'll be able to start sleep training her. This book is nice because it tells you how to start your baby off on the right foot, but has advice for kids with sleep issues up until age 5. She also tells you how much sleep babies need at each age (11-12 hours at night plus 2-3 naps during the day that last 1-2 hours for a six-month-old, for example). And like one of the other moms commented, sleep begets sleep, so let her sleep as much as she can. Congratulations! I know it doesn't seem like it now, but you will eventually be able to sleep through the night again (mostly).