if your DC had his days and nights mixed up...

DS is 6 weeks old. I think he has his days and nights confused and I'm at a loss of what to do. I've tried keeping him up in the day, opening windows, taking him out, keeping him near the tv/sounds/lights. He has been sleeping since 3 pm, and he has been sleeping from about 3-midnight the last week or so, and I had been waking him up every 3-4 hours to feed him. After he eats, he goes right back to sleep. At night, he wakes up himself to eat every 2.5-3 hours (he is FF). After he eats, it takes about 1.5 hours to get him back to sleep (at least)! What can I do? Yesterday he slept from 3-12 (with me feeding him every 3-4 hours), and after a 1 am feed he was cranky, awake and grunting/crying until 2:45. He fell asleep around 3, and then woke up at 4:15 to eat! He then didn't fall back asleep until close to 7 Please help!!! I tried swaddling And unswaddling, and sleeping in crib and the rock n play. I can't tell whether he sleeps better swaddled or not- it's hit or miss. Sometimes a binky helps, but other times he cries every 5 minutes when it falls out for me to keep putting it back in What time do you think I should put him in bed for the "night"? At what hour should I stop to wake him up to eat? I've been stopping around 8 and then letting him wake up. I also tried a "nighttime routine" which started with a bath. It seemed to help, but then his skin got way too dry so I can't do that. TIA!!

Message edited 6/28/2012 8:48:25 PM.

Re: if your DC had his days and nights mixed up...

DS is 9 weeks, my pediatrician told me the same thing with my 5yr old too, feed them as much as you can during the day, every 2-3 hours. Then in between that I was changing his diaper so he was up for a little bit every 1.5 hrs. I did that for awhile and it worked maybe within 4/5 days, try tummy time to keep him up too. I even would strip him or change his clothes and wipe him down with a wipie to wake him up. I just started swaddling him again, (he didn't like it at first) and he sleeps from about 11pm-9/10am. That only started at like 8weeks. I was letting him sleep long stretches during the night, he'd wake at 4/5am but that stopped when I swaddled at 8weeks. Hope this helps you a bit :) good luck mommy hope you're sleeping through the night soon!!

if your DC had his days and nights mixed up...

Maybe try changing him about an hour after he's done with his feeding? DS always wakes up when he's being changed. Also, for my DS bath time doesn't make him sleepy - it makes him all awake and excited. If your DS is the same way, maybe aim to have bath time at 3pm to keep him awake and then move it later and later every night to keep him up.

As far as getting him to stay asleep, what worked for us was swaddling and a white noise machine (although the a/c worked best for us). Good luck! It won't be this way forever, hang in there!

Re: if your DC had his days and nights mixed up...

Fun isn't it?
My DD is 7 weeks and I have been forcing a night time routine on her lately. Even if she sleeps a lot during the day I do everything in my power to keep her awake from 6-8pm (it's her older sister's "crazy time" so her loudness helps keep the baby up!). Older DD goes to bed at 8pm, then I nurse the baby, rock her (I never do this during the day), swaddle her tight, put on white noise and put her to bed in a dark bedroom. Fingers crossed it is starting to work. She'll sleep from about 9pm-2am, nurse then sleep about 3am-5am. After 5am she starts squirming and whining but I will take 9pm-5am with only one feeding!!!!

if your DC had his days and nights mixed up...

I like to do baths in the mornings, so I tried a 10 minute massage as part of the nighttime routine. That could be an option for you. Do you try to wake him after his daytime feedings? DD always falls asleep but during the day I try to wake her and once she's up she'll stay up for a little while. I also find that when DD stays up for a long time in the evening she gets overtired and we have a harder time getting her to sleep. Maybe encourage a little cat nap in the evening and then wake or do a dream feeding.