How do you get a newborn to sleep?

Becky - posted on 01/24/2009

They showed that DVD to my husband and I while we were in the hospital. WONDERFUL AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Than man is incredible. That's where we learned the swaddle method.

Becky - posted on 01/23/2009

My son had his days and nights mixed up when we brought him home from the hospital. He wanted to sleep most of the day and be up most of the night. We bought a swaddle blanket. He had a bedtime routine...put jammies on, swaddle him up nice and tight and then a 5 oz bottle. I would only give him 4 oz during the day. He would eat that 5 oz bottle and then go to bed. He started sleeping through the night from day 2 at home. I would put him to bed every night between 9:15 and 9:30 and he would sleep until 6-7 in the morning...wake up for a bottle and a change and then go back to sleep until 9. I felt that the routine and the bigger bottle for bedtime was the key to get him to sleep peacefully. He has been great at bedtime ever since. We still have that routine (minus the swaddle...gave that up roughly 5 months ago)...and it works very well.

Barbara - posted on 01/23/2009

Thanks for all the great advice. Kara is 10 days old. We've been establishing a feeding routine. I will def. be increasing her ounces. I also think the idea of establishing different day and night rituals is great.  Hopefully, we will be sleeping 4-5 hours straight soon!

Lindsay - posted on 01/23/2009

I'm not sure how old your baby is, mine is 9 weeks. Within the last week we have upped her feedings from 3 oz. to 4-5 oz. She'll get a few 4 oz bottles during the day, but then starting late afternoon she starts drinking about 5 oz per feeding and she eats every 2-3 hours. I'm guessing by her weight that your baby is younger than mine? But I would definetly start upping her to 4 oz. She'll let you know if it's too much by either starting to get uninterested in the bottle while feeding (if you pull it away does she squirm or fuss?) or she'll throw it all up on you after! lol! I am a huge fan of a bedtime routine. My babies last feeding of the day is between 10 and 12 every night. If she eats at 9:45, then we're up until 11:45 for her next feeding. We then do a warm bath and this seems to be relaxing for her. Some babies may be stimulated by baths...so if yours is one of those, I wouldn't do a bath at night. After bathtime, we go into her bedroom and I keep the lights either off or really really dim. She gets all lathered up with lotion, then pj's then we sit in a rocking chair in her room and she eats a big bottle - for us its a 5 oz bottle, for you it may be 4 right now. After her bottle she's barely awake. I burp her briefly, and then wrap her in a super tight swaddle making sure the blanket is not covering her face. Then I lay her down in bed and she's out for a good 5 hrs at least. I also recomend making her day and night sleep very different from each other. What I mean is that when she sleeps during the day - keep her out near your family. DOn't turn the lights out, don't keep it too quiet, don't rock her in the same rocking chair you use at night...whatever just make day and night different. One last thing (sorry for the serious overload!) for her late night/early morning feedings - make them as unstimulating as possible. Keep the lights out, no talking or playing if she hasn't pooped don't change her (load up on diaper cream and talc free baby powder at her last feeding...sounds gross, but trust me, she'll be fine) Just do as little as possible so that she learns that this is not a time to be awake or play.

Also..growth spurts tend to occur at 7-10 days old, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months - these are all approximates...but will definetly cause your baby to want to eat more and possibly sleep less. THey go through lots of phases and until about 3months will probably not settle into a routine...and may not even settle in to one until much after 3 months. Frustrating...I know! GOod luck!

Jenni - posted on 01/23/2009

We gave our daughter what we called the "knock out bottle" we fed her "as directed, per the doc" thru the day...then at night....BAM...sock it to em (I think we did like anywhere between 4 & 5 oz at bedtime)....seriously, they won't continue to eat if they aren't hungry and since my daughter was 6 weeks old she has SLEPT THRU THE NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good Luck!

Elaina - posted on 01/23/2009

Dido to Michelle - and 3-4 hours is normal.  Then you'll get her down for 6-8 hours, and suddenly it will change and go back to 3-4 hour stretches bc of a growth spurt.  Patience is key here.

The routine will help in the long run.  It helps us to time the routine so she (hopefuilly) falls asleep an hour before us. That way mom can sleep longer streches too!

Iris - posted on 01/23/2009

You might need to add a little rice cereal to a warm bottle of milk, that should make her full and keep her cozy for a couple of hours.  She has to develop her own sleep pattern, we can try all the remedies we want but until she (or her body) is ready to sleep all night there is really nothing you can do.  Go luck!!!!!!!!!!!

Michele - posted on 01/23/2009

start a night time routine (bath, bottle, bed) and swaddle her up nice and snug. How old is she? That may aslo determine how much food and sleep she needs.



Momto 4girls

Pat - posted on 01/23/2009

if she is taking he whole bottle then up it to the next ounce. Now when babies are in your womb they are all snuggled up nice and tight. I always used to wrap my babies tight to make them feel secure. Take one of her cotton sheets and fold it into a triangle. Put baby on it on the folded edge. Fold the two edge peices to create like a little bonnet. Fold one side and totally tuck it under her body. then do the feet with the bottom piece. Finally wrap the side left right around her. You will find she thinks she is being cuddled by her mommy. Word of caution, only put a thin blanket over her in her crib, being snuggled makes them warm.

Joanna - posted on 01/23/2009

Sleeping for 3-4 hours at a stretch is great for a baby that young! Give her a bottle with more food and she will stop when she is full, when she finishes a bottle that is how you can determine if she needs more food.

Crissey - posted on 01/23/2009

My son is 15 weeks and he just slept 8 1/2 hours last week. However since last week one night he woke up every 3 hours and then one night he woke up every 4. Last night he actually slept 9 hours (without crying) Up until about a month ago I had the biggest problem getting him to go to sleep but I started him on a nighttime routine. So about 8 pm he gets his bath and then after his bath he gets his last bottle of the night. He usually eats about 4 ounces every 4 hours but his last bottle of the night I will put 6 ounces in there. Usually he will eat about 5 and that helps him sleep a little longer. But I would try increasing your baby to 4 oz. That will probably help a ton.

Joanne - posted on 01/23/2009

i had same problem with my lil boy i ended up giving him sma white just @ night and then back 2 sma gold during day but he was drinking 7 oz @ the age of 2 weeks old.but gotta becareful with sma caus it can make them very cospated or even quarter of a rusk in there bottle. health vistors dont advise it but just remeber u know your child better then any 1 hope this is any use 2 u

Barbz - posted on 01/23/2009

Id say that it's time to up her intake. Most babies feed every 3-4hrs if theyre bottlefed so it's pretty normal that she's waking when she does. How old is she? Offer her more milk and she will soon let you know if she wants it or not. When I had my first baby,I bottlefed and I was going by the measurements on the back of the formula tin. I'd make sure I didnt underfeed or overfeed and it was when I took her to have a check up that the health nurse told me that all babies are different in what they drink and that the measurements on the formula tin were only guidelines. So yeh,Id up her ounces. It cant hurt :)

Donna - posted on 01/23/2009

If she is drinking all the milk out of the bottle it is time to up her oz . Then she might settle down better.

Melissa - posted on 01/23/2009

you may possibly need to up her food. don't ration she will let you know when she's full. but also remember that sleeping through the night for a baby is anywhere from 4-6 hours not 8-10 like some parents make their babies do by neglecting them. babies should only be left to cry for 5-10 minutes up to at least age 6 months if it goes longer they develop an abandonment feeling.