Mixing up day and night...

Deidre - posted on 07/17/2009

*hugs* Those first few weeks are so very tough. I can honestly say that I wasn't able to enjoy the first four months of my daughters life. I hate it and really wish I had some wonderful memories during that time but I don't, too much stuff was happening emotionally and physically for me.

I definitely suggest keeping lights and stimulation to a minimum in the middle of the night. It may not always work, but it should definitely help with switching days and nights. Also, sleep when she sleeps! This is vital, believe me. My daughter is 14mo old and I STILL nap when she naps most days. Also, unless your doctor finds it necessary, I wouldn't worry about waking her up to feed her, she'll wake when she's hungry (again, as long as there isn't anything keeping her from waking up, cause I know some babies can be lethargic and need to be woken up to eat). But really, until she's about 4wks old I would make sure that you sleep when she sleeps.

Bedtime routine is also good but if that adds too much stress (I know I wouldn't have been able to do it before my daughter was 8wks old) than don't bother. It is very nice to do the same thing every single night but at 1wk old that is the least of your problems.

So, get one or two nightlights and only have one on in the kitchen where you make her bottle (if you do that) and one in the room where she sleeps. And have that be the only lights on when it's dark to help her associate dark = quiet. During the day, have usual noises going on around her, curtains open to let light in, going outside, etc.

Good luck!

BTW... I just noticed this was posted about 2wks ago which would make your daughter 3wks old now... I hope things have improved some!

Michelle - posted on 07/17/2009

Just try to limit her naps during the day. Try to get her on a schedule for a 1-2 hour nap in the morning and maybe a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. We work hard to keep our little one up until at least 7pm before we start our "bedtime" ritual which is bath, pj's, bottle, then I lay her down while she is still awake. She falls asleep. That's what our 5month old is used to. We keep her active in her walker, jumperoo, outside, tummy time....you can start her in a walker with a blanket supporting her when she can hold herself up...my 5month old goes all over the house now...btw, we don't have stairs, but if we did I would block it off and keep a close eye on her. I LOVE her walker!

Lydia - posted on 07/05/2009

Hey, Jenny. My daughter did this for a while after she was born. I kept the lights off as much as I could during the night and tried to keep any stimulation to a minimum. My daughter is a little older than yours so I would try to keep her awake during the day. I would let your daughter sleep when she's tired and try to get her to fall asleep more during the night. Eventually she will turn herself around. I know it's tiring, but stick with it. Good luck.

Bridget - posted on 07/04/2009

We started a "bedtime" routine with our son. Our pediatrician recommended this to me when we were still in the hospital. Every night at the same time we give him a bath and would make sure he ate a good amount. This help him straighten his nights and days out very quickly. Hope this helps.