Can I help my my 2 week old sleep more at night?

[Blue2014]

I know I'm probably expecting too much - but my 2 week old sleeps all day without being disturbed but the second we take him up to bed at night he's awake all night. I'm breaking.

I know nothing about babies so any tips or recommended reading would be great (ideally not Gina ford)

[babyblabber]

Not much you can do but my 1st was the same.

Try feeding every 2 hours during the day. And so also letting them nap for more than 2 hours during the day.

Apart from that we started following the baby whisperer (Tracey Hogg) from around 6 weeks and this is really when things changed. It's a very relaxed routine, easy to follow and not the end of the world if it goes wrong. Can try again at next 3 hour interval.

[BreatheDeep]

Newborns generally have their days and nights mixed up. It takes them a while to switch it around. You can encourage it by keeping the house light, bright and noisy in the day and quiet, dark and calm at night. However sometimes it's the silence of night that makes babies less sleepy (it's noisy in the womb!) so a midwife recommended we use low level noise in the bedroom overnight when our first wouldn't sleep - we used a radio set to radio 4 on very quiet and it helped him adjust.

[babyblabber]

Ah, NOT letting them nap for more than two hours during the day!

[SilverLinings2014]

Congratulations on your little boy.

It takes approx 12 weeks for a baby's circadian rhythm (their body clock) to establish. You can help by getting him as much daylight as possible. I have a December baby (now 2yo) too so I know it's not easy this time of year. Can you put his Moses basket in a window during the day where he'll get as much daylight as possible? It should help encourage his body clock to establish day/ night, even if he sleeps through it. But you probably won't see an immediate improvement.

[Blue2014]

Thank you everyone and I'll get that book too

[heateallthebuns]

Ah blue! It's so tough at first!!! I think look forward to the first smile! It happens just as you're about to totally loose it through lack of sleep!!!! Also, they get a bit more manageable at about 12 weeks. And you're more used to the lack of sleep by then yourself as well!!!! I can remember at six weeks thinking oh my god 12 weeks is so far!!! But it got easier!

If you don't know any other mums it might be good to join an nct group to meet other people in the same boat!

[sestra]

Our DS is 2 weeks today and we're in the exact same situation!

He usually sleeps for 2 or 3 hours at the start of the night, then wakes up and refuses to sleep properly again. He'll fall asleep for 10-20 minutes here and there (usually when breastfeeding) and as soon as we put him down in his cot or bassinet, he starts squirming and fussing and then crying.

In the day he naps for longer, but then we're busy working/making meals/running errands, etc!

It's so stressful to function on such little sleep!!

[golfmonkey]

Congratulations! Don't expect too much initially but you can encourage good sleep habits. Whether these help I really think depends on the baby's temperament. Both mine have been very different despite doing things 'wrong' for number 1 (who is a way better sleeper) and 'right' for number 2 who is a frickin nightmare even at 8 months.

Keep everything dark and quiet 7-7 and bright and noisy 7am-7pm.

Don't change nappies at night unless baby has pooed.

Don't worry about feeding to sleep for the first 12 weeks, but do try to think about getting him to sleep without feeding/rocking after this time. Don't beat yourself up if you can't.

Start a bedtime routine - eg bath, book, feed, sleep (which can be switched round to feed, bath, book, sleep after 4 months or so).

Use a dummy if you want.

There are something called the 5 s's, have a Google and use them when baby has his witching hour in the evening.

Go to bed as early as possible and nap if you can.

You might end up with a brilliant sleeper, you might end up with an awful one. I think it's a bit luck of the draw. I might get criticised for saying this, but the parents I know who can tolerate listening to the baby crying seem to have better sleepers. I have no problem with the theory of letting your baby cry a bit, but I am just way too soft and can't personally do it. And I have a seriously shit sleeper! Who to be fair has made some progress but very slowly.

Hope some.of that helps xx

[Shadowboy]

My now 5 week old did the exact same! She often took between 1-6hours to get back to sleep.
I found going out in a sling in the day helped as did doing things during the day and having a noisy house in the day and quiet, dark house at night. Last night she slept 6 hours in a block! It might be a one off BUT she's getting there slowly

[Heirhelp]

Get her in sunlight during the day. If he weather is bad then put her Moses basket in front of the window. Definitely keep noise and light to a minimum on a night time. Babies often feed more at night as the are trying to increase your milk supply and they have to feed on a night for this.