Newborn awake all night. Asleep all day.

[Timetogrowup2016]

My beautiful baby girl was born 16th February and is 3 weeks old today.
She was born premature at 35 plus 3 days for induction for pre eclampsia. I would of been 38 weeks plus 3 days today.
She's generally very good. During the day we feed her every two hours and during the night every three unless she shows signs of being hungrier quicker. She is formula fed from birth and takes between 1oz to 2oz at a feed (30-60ml) anymore than that and she projectile vomits so at the moment it's small frequent feeds until her stomach is able to handle more.

During the day we feed her and she goes back to sleep in her moses basket or bouncy chair straight away. No crying and no fussing etc.
However come 1am at night she thinks it's party time. We struggle to get her back down. My oh managed to settle her about 2am. She wasn't sleeping but she just laid their making noises but not crying. I slept on sofa as I couldn't sleep through the noises she makes. At 3am my oh fed her again and at 4 am he left for work so I took over as she was still crying after a bottle. I rocked her,swaddled her,I tried another bottle at 5am which she took and changed her but she was still awake until 7am. At 6:30am and very tired I got frustrated and I feel guilty but I put a dummy in her mouth. Took her a few times of spitting it out but as soon as she took it she just lay their sucking it and eventually fell asleep. We then slept from 7-8. Feed at 8. Back askeep from 8:45-10:30 for both of us.
In the day I have curtains open , tv on etc and talk to her whole feeding. During the night I use a lamp and try to limit interaction to change,feed,quick cuddle and back to moses basket.
She just doesn't settle easily at night though.
I split night shift with oh. He does 9pm and 3am feed. I do 12am and 6am feed. Which means I go to bed about 8pm so I get four hours sleep before she wakes. However it means u rarely see oh Monday - Friday as he works but insists on helping during the night. Bless him he only had three hours sleep last night. At the weekend we get a lie in each and we take turns napping during the day at the weekend. But I miss our evenings together and feel like I'll never get my life back! This does change right ?

[Hopelass]

Didn't want to read and run. I'm no expert and I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be along soon. I had this with my DS and honestly I had forgotten about it. He's 2.5 now and there are so many stages and phases they go through but at the time they seem to last an eternity. This will not last. I promise. I know it's tough but you sound like you are doing the right things keeping daytime noisy and bright and night time quiet and dim. I did this also and it worked with DS. I think it took a week or so but it felt like years. You have a lovely supportive DH so take heart that you will get through it and it's for such a short time that I promise you will have forgotten about it before you know it. Congratulations on your little one

[MaisieDotes]

She will gradually stay awake for little periods during the day and over time you'll be able to guide her into having her wakeful periods when you want her to have them.

BUT... not yet. Unfortunately (and I have DC3 here beside me who is 5 weeks today so I feel your pain) this is normal and won't really change until after the six week mark.

You could try stimulating her after her daytime feeds and keep her awake for 30-45 mins but it may or may not work.

If this is your first baby and you've no older DC to take care of my advice is get a sleep during the day and just take the nights as they come, you can watch Netflix or whatever- it really doesn't make much difference at this age if there's light or noise around.

Honestly, this bit goes so fast! You'll be through it before you know

[ispymincepie]

I know others will disagree with me but I see a connection between her not settling at night with you trying to limit interaction. She's not even supposed to be born yet, has no concept of not being a part of you still and is still so very, very young. Unfortunately it's normal for a baby to be totally dependant on you to comfort them to sleep for a long time and this will be even more evident as she was early. As others have said, try to sleep whenever you can, it definitely gets easier, just very gradually.

[Gracey79]

Can you get her out in the pram in daylight? Think that's supposed to help

[sepa]

My baby is 4days and I am having this. May have found our breakthrough by chance of moving rooms to give OH a chance to sleep...

Is your house dark at night? Last night 2am came, moved lo to hallway to move rooms (she was in hallway with a low light level) and feel asleep in an instant. I then had a dim light on for the rest of the night and no problems

[sepa]

Forgot to add though that this may just be a 1 time thing

[jessplussomeonenew]

When they're born babies don't have a day-night melatonin cycle like adults, and it takes a while for this to develop - at least 6 weeks. You can't really rush it but you can support it by making night different from day and making sure you spend time outside every day. I wouldn't cut back on cuddles at night, though you can make them quieter and calmer than during the day. Most babies settle best when they can feel the warmth of your body and hear the rhythms of your heart and breathing, just as they have for the months in the womb. Taking turns is a great idea; it's frustrating but it won't last forever. You will get your evening time back, but your baby will never be as small or as dependent on you as she is now, so go with the flow and enjoy the snuggly time as much as you can.

[waterrat]

I agree that at this age the baby needs contact at night. They do settle into a normal pattern but there was no way either of mine wpuld have gone into a moses basket at 3 weeks...They just wanted to be held!

I know it's not for everyone but I Co slept for the first few weeks especially with dc2. Had her tucked in crook of my arm with me lying on my back ....no big blankets or duvets anywhere near her.....worked very well to settle her

[mrsjskelton]

We had this and straight away amended our actions. We bought a battery night light so it was only just light enough to feed. The lamp was far too intense and bright. We bathed her earlier to establish a change - then just quick nappy change and feed before our bedtime. We also get up, washed and dressed when she does around 6.30 so that a clear night and day are established. She was totally nocturnal for the first fortnight!