Newborn is awake all day(and most of the am too!)

[bonbonpixie]

DD is only 6 weeks (and 5 days) and although is sleeping for prolonged periods - anything from 3 hours onwards until she wakes up for a feed (she is breastfed) these ' night time sleeps vary wildly in their start time. Sometimes 9pm, sometimes 3am but normally about 12am. From this start time she can easily sleep until 12pm the following day (with a couple of wakes for feeds) however during the day she is awake for 7-8 hours plus. A few days ago she was awake for 15 hours with no more than a couple of 10 minute naps. After her 15 hour session she slept for 8 hours without waking once. Surely this isn't normal or healthy?!?!

These prolonged waking periods are really taking their toll on me, as my DH works away during the week I'm doing everything on my own and simply cooking a meal is becoming increasing difficult as she just won't nap!!

Any advice at all would be welcome!! Many thanks

Sling! She will fall asleep in it most likely and you can get a few things done. I have a similar sleep-refusing baby!

Yup, I second the sling idea. One of the best baby things I've bought.

My eight week old DD hates the sling. Everyone kept telling me how wonderful they were and she won't have a bar of it. I've tried a baby bjorn and a Kari me so both structured and fully material.

For the last two weeks I've been doing a bedtime routine. It can take me up to two hours but (knock on wood) it's working and I'm just hoping that at some point it will take less time. I do bath and then a feed in our darkened, silent bedroom. I make sure I put her down awake as she'll wake up upset if she goes down sleeping after just a few minutes. I then stay in the room for 20 mins or so while she moves around in the Moses basket. I leave while she's still awake but if I Go too early she gets unsettled again. The variable is how long she takes to feed. This evening it was an hour but she did have her first round of immunes this morning so I didn't rush her.

She's also dreadful during the day. I'm pretty militant about getting her back to sleep no more than 90 minutes after she's woken up. Sometimes it's out and about in the pram or car, sometimes me shushing her at home. The morning nap tends to last no more than 40 minutes so I try to do that at home. The late afternoon early evening nap may not happen at all. The one that is usually long (three days this week) is the mid morning one. If I'm going to be out and about, that's when I try to go as that helps.

I'll be honest though. The more time goes on, the more I think that the daytime napping issues are my problem and not hers. If I'm relaxed and leaving her be, she'll drop off. If I'm watching her or it's just me and her in the house, we have an issue.

Goodness, this is epic, sorry! Just didn't want you to think you're on your own. Hope some of my tricks might work.

Mums of older ones, tell us this gets easier!!

Should point out that for all my militancy about getting her back to sleep 90 mins after she last woke up, it can take 30 to settle her!

I think you are right and I am the same sometimes with watching the clock. With my 11 week old it is the 2 hour rule with watch for tired signs after 90 minutes. But if I am out and about and have things to do he does nap better sometime. Its pointless trying to settle a baby who isn't ready for sleep yet and it is too soon to worry about a rigid routine. Mine will not self settle in any type of bed place. He just lies there with his little tired eyes open and then cries to be picked up. But if I rock and shush him to almost-sleep and then put him down at just the right moment and carry on patting for a bit then it has a better chance of working.