10pm to 2am - Newborn Awake!

[Coates1989]

Hi All,

Long time reader, first time poster.

We have a nearly 5 week old DS! He is generally ok from 9.30am to about 7pm with Naps, feeding etc. Some short, some long.

But we get to about 9pm to 2am, and he turns into a frantic, feeding frenzy with him. He has trouble settling and over the last few nights hes had an instance of projectile (appreciate we may have misread the wind signs).

From 2am, he then sleeps ok (ish) and we have even had a 3.5 hour stint of sleep (one off tho!).

Not sure if anyone has the same situation? And if so, is it something we can help with? Or is it just a case of riding it out?

No help I'm afraid but between us we'd have the perfect baby. Mine now 12 weeks old sleeps soundly up until the 1-2am feed then he's awake after that. I call him the gremlin as after midnight he is one! 🙃😂

You might just have a night owl - DD had a “bedtime” of 1am. It was a case of riding it out and sleeping when I could. Her bedtime slowly got earlier (e.g. 11pm by 7/8 weeks I think?).

Congratulations on your new baby! And solidity

Thanks for the comments. Riding it out is what we thought.

Hopefully weeks 7/8 we will see a difference!

I'm with you! Ours will not sleep more than two hours in one go, and then it's 50/50 whether she'll go back in the snuzpod or if we need to co sleep. I long for a sleep of more than two hours. She's coming up to 4 weeks so super early days. Literally take it one hour at a time!

My DD was the same - she was awake between 10pm and 2am. Rest of the day she would just nap. It was around the three month mark that her sleep schedule started normalising somewhat.

I guess she was a night owl too - I think it's because she was born at 10pm.

Thanks all for the comments.

Another issue we seem to have is relating to the fact he turns into a bit of a feeding maniac and just very unsettled in this time - we assume its colic related, trap wind related, or just the "unsettled" moment.

Any advice on how to deal?

Are you formula feeding or breastfeeding? DD was a colicky, sicky baby (but gained weight and was never diagnosed with anything so apparently not a problem! ). In the evenings she would sometimes insist on being breastfed, even when she’d just been fed, and she was clearly uncomfortable. If I feed her too much at those times she would just be sick and scream even more. So even though I generally BF on demand, on unsettled evenings I would try other things to calm her rather than just automatically BF her, making her have a break. DD only rarely did lengthy calm cluster feeding; this was more like colic/pain/reflux/wind which she tried to soothe by feeding but that just made it worse. If that sounds familiar, try rocking/walking/cuddling for a bit rather than BF if he’s agitated and you’re sure he’s already had a good feed. (In general though BF babies this age should be fed on demand, don’t let him get too hungry).

Otherwise for windy colic type symptoms you can try bicycle legs, tiger in the tree hold or just rubbing his tummy. You can also try gripe water or Infacol although I don’t think they did much for us.

Also if BF, it can help to make sure he gets a good feed from each breast, right to the fattier milk at the end. Watch for intermittent fluttering motions before you switch sides.

If you have concerns that he’s in pain or not growing well, check with your GP.

Good luck!

Babies are programmed to feed more at night as that’s when human lactation hormones are higher. It’s a cruel blow from Mother Nature and something you just need to ride out. Good luck!

It's just a phase luckily although not so much fun whilst it lasts. My first went through a similar horrible phase and then her bedtime got earlier and earlier naturally.

If you are breastfeeding, the Kellymom website is a fantastic resource for all things breastfeeding.

It does pass. Me and DP have one very clear memory that we still talk about 2 years later, DD had gone to sleep fine one night at aroubd 4/5 weeks old, she woke up at about 11ish and stayed awake until around 6 am. We were exhausted. It does get better OP

Great to hear we arent alone and it does get better soon - when he cant settle I put him in the sling that settles him, hope this wont cause any problems?!

Also he isnt totally up all night as he tends to sleep 2am, then wake up at 4am, 6/7am etc.

Definately sleeps longer at night but just at times inconsistent - just crying for a long sleep