Getting My Baby to Sleep at Night

2-1/2 weeks is still very young--though I know you're feeling exhausted and wanting some much-needed sleep. Have you tried to keep her awake in the evening? Don't let her nap, just keep playing with her and talking to her and moving her and wiggling so she doesn't get comfortable and fall asleep. (This is hard to do--you will SO MUCH WANT to snuggle a comfy sleeping baby.) If you get her to be awake more in the evening, then when she has the last night feeding she should be good and tired and sleep for awhile. But if you let her fall asleep between 9:30 and midnight feeding..she probably won't. (JMHO)

Are you waking your daughter up at 12 for the feeding? If so, I would stop. Some pediatricians recommend you wake a baby every 3 hours to feed, but my pediatrician said only to do that during the day, and at night, let your baby pick his or her own schedule. Feed her for the last time at around 9-9:30, or possibly even 10-10:30, and then let her sleep as long as she will until she wakes up and asks for food. This may make it easier to get her back to sleep when she wakes up hungry.

Hi T., You want your baby to eat! The more she eats the more she will GROW. Thats what we all want right? We want our little babies to grow. If she wants to eat then feed her as much as she wants! My baby is 11 months old and is a breastfed baby as well, and she will awake sometimes half an hour after going to bed and want to feed again. Maybe it is just a comfort thing, but that is ok too. If she needs comfort then it is my job to comfort her. Mine hated the pack n play. We finally started co-sleeping and she did so much better, but that is a choice some moms don't like and I respect that. Mine also hated the paci and would NEVER take one. She used me as a paci and still does! Your little girl has no sense of a schedule yet, but it will come in time. Every baby is different. Maybe your son was a good sleeper, but that does not mean your daughter will be. Just hang in there and know there are millions of other moms up in the night too! Most babies don't sleep through the night until closer to a year old. Mine is 11 months and I am still waiting for her to start sleeping through the night! Good luck!

2.5 weeks seems a little young to have the last feeding at midnight, especially when breastfeeding. Every kid is different, but I would expect a little one this age to get up two to three times in the night to eat. Basically, what I am saying is at 2.5 weeks, there is no "last" feeding. I would not wake her up to eat, but having a 2.5 week old sleep from midnight until morning is quite long without feeding.

My kids were all different - my oldest didn't sleep through the night until he was nine months old, my middle son at six weeks and my youngest at about four-five monnths. All were breastfed. Hang in there!

Hi T.,
I highly recommend the book Baby Wise. It sounds like you're on the right track but i think the book will help. I implemented Baby Wise with my first child and she was sleeping through the night at 8 weeks. Several of my friends have used baby wise and all of their babies were sleeping through the night at the very lastest 12 weeks. I'm in my 40th week this week for our second child and i'll be useing babywise most definately!
N.

T.,
No one of my three kids slept through the night until they were close to a year. Sorry, I know that isn't encouraging. Here are my suggestions: Feed her more often during the day, maybe every two hours instead of letting her go three. Swaddling: I found with my youngest that swaddling very tightly helped a ton, also, try to set up a bedtime routine, even though she is very young. Maybe give her a bath, feed her, then swaddle her, something around the same time every night. I don 't know if this will help, but I wish you the best. :) Keep us updated.
M.

My 2 week old does that too. But he's up every 2-3 hours so I just let him do some comfort nursing, which can lead to some problems for me, but he eats well and often. After a bit, I pop him off and just rock him while patting his back, he will usually fall asleep after a bit, but I find it's just one of the "fun" parts about new babies. *this is my 3rd little boy at home* She'll eventually let you sleep, good luck.

I would try letting her cluster feed during the day, I always made sure I was feeding every 3 hours. Then as we got closer to bed time I would try and keep them up...(yeah really hard when they are this old!!!!) Then try and get two good feedings on before you try and put her down. I am not sure if this will help, but I thought I would share.

She may have her days and nights confused which is why she is not wanting to go to sleep at night. It is always a struggle in the begining!!!!

Good Luck!!!!

The first 3 months are the hardest for sleeping. YOu basically have to accept that when they're that young, they aren't on any kind of schedule. At night at that age, they're normally up every 2-3 hours, just like the daytime. So, if she's not going back to sleep, and she's crying like that, you may have to try her in the swing or bouncer seat until that next time she wants fed, and then get her into her bassinette or crib afterwards.

It's so hard when they are little and you have another one to take care of during the day - gone are the days of "sleep when the baby sleeps." I agree with swaddling her if you haven't tried; I also think not waking her up at midnight if you are is right. I'm not sure it will help at this early in the game, but the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" has helped me a lot with kids' sleeping.

Check out Dr. Karp's "Happiest Baby on the Block." You can just Google the 5 S's. They are amazing.

Actually, here's a link to a blog post someone did about it that is quite hilarious and well explained: http://www.jennepper.com/2009/06/happiest-baby-on-block.html

sounds like gas. try sitting her up for 10 to 15 mins. before you lay her down.

good luck

Babies go through a growth spurt at 2-3 weeks and tend to want to eat more frequently. Perhaps that is what is going on with your daughter. Also, since breastmilk is very easily digested, she's going to have to eat at least every 2-3 hours. Very few babies go longer than that on breastmilk - especially at such a tender age. If you're feeding her at midnight, then she should be hungry at 2am. That's just how newborns are. I think it's best for you to just feed her when she's hungry and hold on to the fact that the frequent feedings won't last forever. I am totally feeling you and your fatigue - my son is 4 weeks old. It's tough to breastfeed so often, but in the end, it's totally worth it.

Good luck!

T.,
First let me say, it gets better! I remember giving my son his last feeding around 10:30pm, and going to bed knowing I would be up in another 2-3 hours. What I am seeing you say is that she won't sleep after that particular feeding? Does she sleep well after other feedings? It could be that her schedule is just messed up right now...It will eventually iron out, but if she's not falling asleep, I would consider the environment. Keep the lights low or off, swaddle her. Some of this I think is just a new baby. However, if she seems hungry, go ahead and feed her again. Have you ever seen the DVD Happiest Baby on the Block? This helped me a lot.

First, I'm not sure what you mean by "last night" feeding. Isn't she up every 2-3 hours around the clock at this age? She should be. Second, if she wants to eat more, feed her! She's only 2 weeks old and isn't used to needing to ask to eat. In the womb they are never hungry because of the constant stream of nourishment. Third, wait on pacifiers until at least 4-6 weeks. They interfere with breastfeeding and can have a horrible effect on supply because you are trying to teach her to be content with sucking on nothing instead of taking milk from you (supply and demand makes enough milk for baby).
So, any time she wants to eat, pick her up and feed her. If you are lucky enough that she's already sleeping a little more at night, then be greatful and let her "tank up" by nursing as much as she wants at midnight. Let her nurse to sleep and then put her down.

Also, she may not be comfortable in the pack n play. You may want to find a co-sleeper or go straight to the crib (still kept next to the bed).

Good Luck! :)

Hi, I'm sorry I haven't read your other responses so I'm sorry if I'm repeating anything. Newborns are newborns...they aren't really settled yet and it seems to take a while before they begin to have a schedule....I was lucky with my son he started sleeping through the night at 7wks old....but most babies take a little more time... I remember before he slept through the night it was rough...I just had to take naps when he took naps to get my sleep and rough it during night time. Eventually he seemed to work out his own schedule and I found him falling asleep around the same time every night. At first It would be around 12am consistantly....then 11-11:30...and then 10 and then around 3-4mos he was going to be consistantly at around 8:45, 9. so I think it will just take time. and also, it's about experimenting once she gets a little older...there would sometimes be a week when Hayden wouldn't fall asleep before he was put to bed...so I would put him in his crib around the same time and if he fussed for a little bit, that was ok. after 10 minutes or so he would fall asleep. hope this helps good luck and congrats on the little one!!!

so is she fussy for the two hours between midnight and 2? if so... i'm sorry! that sounds hard! sounds like colic to me, which we had with both babies...

hylands makes a great colic homeopathic you could give her, also just holding her with firm pressure on her stomach and bouncing is great to help with the pain. we had one of those giant yoga balls and we'd sit on it and bounce up and down with the baby... waaaaay better than rocking chair, swing, or anything else, and so much easier than standing and bouncing!

also try taking dairy out of your diet for a few days and see if that helps-- cow milk protein is harder to digest and may be causing some tummy trouble.

get a babysitter or a friend to help and get some zzzs during the day-- you need some rest! take care and hang in there!