3 week old who thinks night is day!

[Chooster]

I'm posting for a regular MN-er who is too tired to make it to the PC! Her DS is only 3 weeks old but is awake most nights from about 8pm to 4am ish and is getting upset during this time, guessing from being over-tired. At about 4am he then will sleep for a few hours. She says he doesn't really sleep a huge amount in the day and reckons he's only doing about 10 hours in 24.

Is there anyway to help him realise that sleep in not for the weak and should be enjoyed! Or is he just too small to do anything with at the moment??

All I could do with DD's at this stage was keep them with us downstairs until I went to bed and then keep the lights out int eh bedroom and cosleep, that way I got some rest while they played.
IS she BFing? Could it be a growth spurt?

It is a bit small but both of mine got the idea at about 5 or 6 weeks of night = quiet and day = playtime.

Having said that my 4 months old has now decided that 4-6am is playtime for some reason....

babies can't get the night/day rhythm before about 6wo as they only start producing melatonin then. Probably a good idea to start distinguishing day and night for him now but he's not going to be able to get the hang of it for a few more weeks.

If he's crying for hours starting in the evening, that sounds like classic colic.

Thanks Chooster, you are a star! and to you other ladies for your advice, guess I'll have to see what the next few weeks bring!