Is it too early to start trying to get my 2-week-old to wake during the day and sleep at night?

[MamaLazarou]

At night, he sleeps for about 2 hrs at a stretch before waking for feeds. He sleeps in a crib beside my bed.

During the daytime, he sleeps in a bouncy chair downstairs with us, or face down on someone's chest (which he absolutely adores. He can sleep for up to 5 hours in this position).

We'd like to start trying to get him to know the difference between daytime and night time, as we'd love him to do his daytime sleeping at night, so to speak!

Any tips please? Is he still too little?

My son was very confused between day and night and it took a number of weeks of persisting with keeping him awake for 90 mins in a very bright room at a time and then laying in his cot swaddled for naps, for him to adjust. And then the usual bedtime routine of bath and BF in dark room at 6.30pm ish.

I must confess with my LO I was keen to get them used to sleeping in their cot from an early age, so I wouldn't have problems later on. But do whatever works for you as the saying goes.

i don't thin k it's too early to encourage it, with dim lights at night, less stimulation etc. Personally I wouldn't expecttoo much though!

Not too early to encourage it but I agree far too early to expect it to happen. It may or it may not.

Is this your first child? Just sleep when he does.

Yeah my little ones woke for a feed twice a night until weaned and even then it was 9 months before they slept really really well at night...

I woke my daughter up every 3 hours for food during the day then let her sleep at night. she would sleep 6 hour stretches from v early on. we had a bedtime routine from day 1 too, I swear by it! not too early for him to learn!

It's not to early to start encouraging it, although it might take a while. Even from week one I never let mine sleep for more than about 2 hrs at a time during the day (meaning that they never went more than about 3 hrs between a feed). I think one big key to longer night sleeping is getting enough feeds in during the day, which obviously won't happen if they sleep for long stretches in the daytime. Sunlight also seems to really help them adjust to day / night so try and get as much light on him as possible during the day (not easy in this grotty weather, but at least try and put his bouncy chair or carry cot near a window in the light)

My DS (now 6 weeks) was more active at night for the first week, then I started doing night feeds only in the dark. He still needs 2 feeds at night (between 10pm and 6am) but I am breastfeeding, so he might not go longer at night

BUT at least he sleeps between feeds and doesn't cry (he lets me know it's time to feed him by upping the snuffling grunting noises that he unfortunately does nearly all night long!)

I never let him go longer than 3 hours between feeds in the day, and in the afternoon and evening I feed him pretty much every 2 hours in the hope that he will go longer at night! (so I feed 14:30ish, 16:30ish and between 18:30 and 19:00) I have had a bedtime routine for about 3 weeks - feed, bath, swaddle, lullaby then bed and 9/10 we can put him to bed with his eyes still open and he will go to sleep by himself without crying. Oh - then I do a 'dream feed' - feed him without waking him at about 10pm, in the dark.

Good luck