Getting your newborn to sleep longer

Notice I didn't say sleep through the night - not quite happening here yet!

But I did want to share some things that have worked for us and let other newborn mommies know that there is light at the end of the sleepless tunnel - and it's not the sun rising yet again.

We are getting about 7 hours straight right now (11 weeks), 1 feeding and then back to bed for another 4 hours. (7pm - 7am)

First off - wait until you get over the peak of fussiness at around the 8 week mark. Don't even bother getting hopeful before then (sorry). We had a few 5 hour stretches before that mark that got us all excited only to have our sleep hopes crushed the next night. Spare yourself the pain

Get your baby out of your bedroom and into their own room asap. (If you are into co-sleeping, you'll have consult with the co-sleeping experts for tips - I don't have any experience with that. ) Both you and your baby will get more restful sleep the hours you do get to sleep. With Jake we had him in his room in his crib at 5 weeks. We dragged our feet with Max and didn't get him out until around 10 weeks. The very night we did though - huge difference in sleep quality (and quantity) for all of us.

Now, before I go on with the next part, I have to say that I am a CIO believer and have had much success with it with Jake. If you are not into CIO - this still might be something you are up for, maybe not.

Let the baby fuss a little. Babies do that. Notice I said fuss, not cry. At this point you know the difference. You know what a whine is and what a cry that you have to respond to is - trust your instincts. And then push yourself to let the baby fuss a little longer than you normally would at bedtime. Seriously - look at the clock. Set the kitchen timer if you have to. Until I did that I didn't realize that I was going into him after LESS than 1 minute of fussing. Fussing!! It just feels like longer when it's your baby. Right now, three minutes is acceptable to me and works toward getting him to learn to self soothe (small steps).

Now let me tell you - Jake fussed. He was a whiner and he had an adorable little cry as a newborn. Max YELLS. (Get IN HERE and FEED me!) DEMANDS. Still, there are differences in the cries/fussiness even with screamer babies.

The next few things are all from being a huge Weissbluth fan because it worked so well with Jake.

-Bedtime routine, I started around 7-8 weeks - nothing major just the same steps every night before bedtime so he starts to get cues that it's time to sleep for a long time - I change him into PJs, sing to him, rock him. I spend about 2 minutes with him in the room before I leave. Longer than that I realized that I was keeping him UP instead of helping to fall asleep.

-Put the baby down happy and awake

-Don't let them get overtired (1.5hrs of consecutive awake time tops)

That's pretty much it. Within a few days of being consistent (consistency is key) with these things we went from 4 hours to 5 the next night 6 the very next night and 7 hrs the following night.

Last thing - all babies are different but I hope this help someone!

Re: Getting your newborn to sleep longer

Thanks for posting your tips! We're having some sleep issues and DS is just about 4 months. I go back to work in 2 months so I'm giving myself plenty of time to get him to sleep for more than 4 hours at a stretch. Right now he's been up since 6:15 and he will not nap.

Re: Getting your newborn to sleep longer

Sandra,
Im laughing over MAX YELLS!

Great info!
I will have to look this up down the rd


Ok, can you post new pics please!!

Re: Getting your newborn to sleep longer

Posted by Smileyd17

Sandra,
Im laughing over MAX YELLS!

Great info!
I will have to look this up down the rd


Ok, can you post new pics please!!

Re: Getting your newborn to sleep longer

Thanks...DS is 3 months tomorrow and we are trying to be consistent. I agree with putting him in his crib...we started that at 8 weeks and even though we have to put him in the swing after the first 4 or 5 hours he falls asleep its still better than nothing.

Re: Getting your newborn to sleep longer

Posted by BabyAvocado

He does! He sounds downright indignant at times!

I was like what is Debbie doing on this thread - something I don't know yet???

Ok I will share some new ones...