Newborn stage - When does it get easier?

[viviandarkbl00m]

FTM here. My baby is 5 weeks old and during the day he’s a dream, but come nighttime he’s the opposite. A lot of fussing and crying, I know it’s not his fault he’s quite literally a baby, but i’m just so drained. Come evening time I have to mentally prepare knowing what’s to come.

I know having a baby isn’t going to be easy, but when does it get easier?

Ah I'm with a 9 week old at the moment but have the hindsight of a 3 year old to remind me that it's all just various phases to get through.

Is your little one unsettled in the evening? It's very common and I had this with both, what I figured out with my first (and so now do the same) was that she was over stimulated, so I do a very early (not fun for me) bedtime. So around 7 me and baby get into bed, it's quieter, more peaceful, get into PJ's, different lighting and white noise. She is far calmer for it. Before I'd aimlessly stay downstairs with an unsettled baby!

The evenings will get better x

Hi, also awake with a baby! I'm afraid that the answer is 'how long is a piece of string', every baby is different. They start developing day/night knowledge at about 2 months, so make sure you're keeping your night-time environment as dark and quiet (with white noise) as possible to encourage them in this. My first was up all night initially and slept longer stretches in the day, then got the hang of night-time at about 3 months.

It will pass though! Just hang in there and be ruthless about getting as much rest as you can in the day.

These days seem endless now, but will seem so quick when you look back! x

Wow I came on to mumsnet to write this exact post. My 6 week old is a dream during the day naps and when is awake is quiet and content. She has been awake last few days from 1am to 6.30am. When will she get passed this?????? Helppppp!
her twin brother sleeps in the night and awake during the day so when do I rest

It’s very hard and every baby is different. I’m currently up with my 14 month old! I’d say it does get easier once they are out of the newborn phase, they start sleeping in longer stretches and go longer without milk. But you’ll always get some babies that sleep well and through the night and some that are still up many times a night.

Digestion gets better at about 3m. When they can burp life gets better…

i found improvement was only obvious when you look back though.

6m is also a real milestone.
by 1 yr I found everything significantly easier (but we have kids in own rooms from 6m and sleep trained before we 12m)
and once you can ditch nappies its just awesome!

are you ebf or using formula?
With formula it’s easier to start getting them to do blocks of sleep.

also sleep when baby sleeps!!!

Up with a baby too, but not my first one. Honestly it does get easier and these phases become distant blurs one day.
they don’t know night from day so we need to do little things to start to help them understand. It’s not easy, but they will get there at their pace.
keep it dark, try not to talk too much, don’t play with them etc.
Where they sleep at night, can it safely tilt? A big help with a lot of night fussing is to not lie them flat. . I have a next-to-me and we can set it up so it’s not flat and at a slant. This is a massive help if they are fussy. Look up the guidelines to see if your cot can safely do it.
After feeds do your best to get a burp out. There are loads of videos showing different techniques.
I keep my baby upright on my shoulder for 15 minutes after a feed and a burp, just to help the milk go down. (That’s what we’re doing right now!)
are they comfortable in their sleep gear? I love sleeping bags, blankets move about and disturb mine. Just make sure they are suitable for their age and weight.
I change their nappy before a feed. It disturbs them too much from their milk coma slumber to do it after the feed. I find this helps keep a sleepy state better.
a big help is acceptance too. This won’t go on forever. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason with a a baby, they’re just having a fussy moment. Don’t question yourself, be confident, and know you’re doing great.
and I know it’s absolutely no help to say this when youre sleep deprived and handling a fussy baby, but I would do anything to just have one more moment cuddling my other children as babies again. I get emotional that this one will be my last baby and these are my last night time baby cuddles. It’s so hard, but just know one day these will be such precious memories that if you could, you would very likely want to revisit for a moment in time.

I vividly, VIVIDLY remember referring to mumsnet when my first son was about this age.
I read a really helpful comment that said around 8 weeks it gets easier. Me and my husband clung to that! It got us through the first 2 months knowing there's light at the end of the newborn tunnel... and it does get easier and more enjoyable!

You start to understand your baby more- habits. Sleep patterns, how much they should hap/ how hungry they are, all of it. You also find they v v slowly fall into their own routines.

It's bloody hard. My first had colic and slept awfully at night, but by 2/3 months there was a noticeable improvement from that harrowing immediate newborn stage!
It will get easier! And I would recommend for you, to get outside in the sunlight as much as you can in the day. Even if it's grey or raining, just get the mac on and go. That will help regulate you during this frankly stressful time.

Finally, another thing that helped with my first was going to lots of baby groups and finding some mates and ppl I regularly saw, so that I didn't feel like the only mum not getting any sleep. It's nice to share with other work out mums irl 😂

I'm up with my 5 week old too. From experience, it gets better around 12ish weeks. My first was exactly the same, settled during the day then he had really noisy, disturbed nights. It fizzled out gradually and he was much more settled around 10-12 weeks. My second seems much the same, but I'm coping better because I have the experience with my eldest. It gets easier. I think it's all so much harder when you're a FTM. I think the sleep deprivation hits you harder and everything is new. Hang in there, everything is a phase x

10-12 weeks for me. But then it gets harder again. And then a bit easier. It's always changing. Hang in there. You're in the thick of it.

I have 2 and I'm currently up with my youngest (21mo) who thinks 445am is a good time to wake up.

I got 3 kids and from 6 wks onwards they would sleep through the night, I used to wake them up more during the daytime and make sure they have their milk every 3 hours and have the last feed before bed and then if they woke during the night I would give them a soother and they would go back to sleep untill morning.

I have a few children. My milestones felt like:
6-8 weeks when they can smile
3 months when they become a bit human and can hold themselves a bit and take interest in surrounding.
10 months when they can move about
The big one. 3.5 years. All downhill from then.

6.30am and she is still wide awake enjoying her time and fussing when she gets bored!