mixed up sleep habits

[Autumn Breeze]

days & nights mixed up?

3 nights in a row now Kate has woken for either her midnight or 2 am feeding and has stayed up untul 4 or 5 am...then we sleep until 8...I am having a vrey hard time coping w/ this...anyone know how I can "fix" this???

[Goldiemom]

Allissa hasn't had too much of a problem with this. Mostly it is because when we do have her awake during the day, we try to keep her that way for a little while. I did have a big problem with it with ds though. Eventually I just found that changing his diaper and waking him up during the day every couple hours, then playing with him, or giving him a nice massage with lotion helped keep him awake and happy for a little while. Slowly it came around to where he was sleeping at night and having most of his wakeful moment during the day. As with any child he did have his rare nights where he just wanted to be awake then. If you don't mind dealing with the possibilities of a cranky overtired little girl for a day or two, I am sure that these things might help. I hope she gets her days and nights straight soon. I remember how frustrating that can be.

ETA: With Adam I think it took almost a week to get things settled into a new routine, just in case you think you might not want to deal with the cranky tired fussy stuff that can come with routine changes. HTH

[Shell_Ell]

What about trying to get her in the sunlight during the day? A friend of mine swore by this. She took her baby out for a walk every day around 12-1 in the afternoon. She says it helped regulate her sleeping patterns... helped her to recognize day vs night? It might be a load of crap, but worth a shot?

Riley has no clear sleeping patterns yet, I'm trying to just roll with it. I don't sleep when he sleeps like everyone says you should. I sleep when he sleeps at night and in the early morning. Course, I don't have another child so it's that much easier. He did sleep a good stretch last night from about 1-5. That was the longest he's slept for me thus far. He's usually up to nurse every 2 hours.

[ZeldasMom]

Originally Posted by Shell_Ell

What about trying to get her in the sunlight during the day? A friend of mine swore by this. She took her baby out for a walk every day around 12-1 in the afternoon. She says it helped regulate her sleeping patterns... helped her to recognize day vs night? It might be a load of crap, but worth a shot?

nak
I am currently reading (or trying to anyway) The No Cry Sleep Solution for Preschoolers and Toddlers by Elizabeth Pantley and she talks about exposing them to sunlight to help with night time sleeping. I believe she talks about doing it first thing in the morning. She is talking about older children of course, but there is a version of this book about babies (I just haven't read it)--I think it's called just The No Cry Sleep Solution.

[wenat]

DS2 has two sleeping places. He's in his amby hammock at night, with the lights off and no noise. And in the daytime, he's in the pack-and-play in the living room, with the 2yo jumping and yelling all around him, and bright sunlight all around. (Or like right now, he's asleep in mommy's arms while I'm semi-reclined -- amazing how much you can still type with a baby in your arms.)

I think that having the two environments helped with his day/night confusion. Plus I have read that exposing them to morning sunshine is the best for getting them adjusted so I do try to remember to open the blackout blinds first thing in the morning.

Of course, I also think I got lucky with DS2. DS1 didn't sleep much (now I realize it was due to his dairy allergy) and so far, DS2 is sleeping about 20 hours/day. Including a long stretch at night -- 11 pm to 5 am last night! (And yes, he's nursing well and is past his birthweight and has already outgrown his newborn sleepers.)

[Autumn Breeze]

nak

hmmm been opening the blinds and such....i guess it tonight is the same we will take a walk in the morning....then stay outside for a bit after ds 4 yr checkup

ty!!!!!!!!!!!

[matts_mamamama]

Mine's up at 3am until about 5!!! Talk about driving me crazy! I definitely do all of the dark, quiet, no diaper unless necessary type things at night and more noise, (not hard with a 2 year old!) and light during the day, but still the 3-5am thing! Perhaps the fresh air/sun would help me too. Something's gotta give! Between 2 year molars and up every 2-3 hours with that 2 hour thing at 3 am, I'm already beat 3 weeks in!! :LOL

[Autumn Breeze]

lol matts mama...I know how you feel!!!

I let the 4 yr old make as much noise as he used too...and sometomes he gets away w/ more, but she is SO used to him she doesnt flinch!!!

[Autumn Breeze]

Ok, last night was better...we slept in the bed, went back there at 11 PM when she was hungry, changed her , and layed down to feed her.

Woke up at 2, she was really squirmy, and she pooped, and calmed down, so I changed her again...but she wasn't interested in eatting (was still asleep)

Woke up at 6 am...again she was really squirmy...no poop....little bit of pee, not enough to wake her by changing her....wasn't interested in eatting....6:30 she finally latched on and 'snacked' til about 7...then at 9 she was stirring again...I changed her...used the booger sucker (poor thing has got some major mucus!) which pissed her off, but then she ate for about 45 minutes...it was a VERY welcome change!