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Babies schedule before and after birth
I know that genreally a lot of people find the baby sleeps a lot during the day and is more awake at night because your movement during the day puts him to sleep. Does this relate at all to their schedule after they are born???The reason i ask is with me being on bedrest, my guy is on my schedule. He's an early bird, very active all day and sleeps all night. Will I be so lucky that he will keep his schedule??
thats neat... I was wondering that too. I'm praying its not true because my little sleeps most of the day unless hes hungry. We will see come April. Anita
ok so now i went searching. i found this on baby center . com and i find it very interesting and hope fully true.
My baby is up all night and sleeps all day. What can I do?
Written for BabyCenter Malaysia
The BabyCenter Editorial Team answers:
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You're not alone! Lots of babies, especially newborns, are night-time babies. These little night owls don't seem to understand that they are supposed to be active during the day and sleeping at night. In the daytime, things are more manageable. Your baby sleeps much of the time, wakes to feed, plays a little and goes back to sleep. During the night, however, everything changes. She's awake and won't go to sleep. What makes it even worse is that many of these babies tend to cry a lot during the night hours.
Interestingly, you can often predict in pregnancy whether your baby will be a night owl. If your baby was active at night in utero, she will probably be the same way after birth. If she moved around a lot during the day throughout your pregnancy, she'll probably be active in the daytime after she's born. This isn't true for all babies, of course, but it is a good guide.
So what can you do? Not much, unfortunately - especially during the early newborn stage. You may have to turn into a night owl yourself, but rest assured things will soon get better. When your baby is a few weeks old, if the same problem is persisting, you can do some things to reset her clock:
• First, get her up in the morning at a normal waking time rather than letting her sleep in to make up for lost night-time slumber. It may be tempting to let her sleep so you can either catch up on a few winks yourself or get a few minutes of peace and quiet, but you'll pay for it the next night.
• Throughout the day, play with her as much as you can. Even if she's sleeping soundly, wake her for feeds.
• Keep the curtains open in her room and be your usual noisy self. Don't turn the ringer off the phone or avoid turning on the television. This will also help ensure that your baby doesn't become the world's lightest sleeper and force you to spend the next 10 years of your life tip-toeing around the house when she is sleeping.
• Don't play with her at night. Keep her room dark, with just the minimum amount of lighting for feeds and nappy changes. Be quiet and soothing. Move and talk in slow motion. Essentially, be as boring as possible.
Suzanne was faced with this situation with her daughter Annie. During the first two nights in the hospital, Annie was awake much of the time. Suzanne thought the hospital environment was keeping Annie up and that once they got home, she would change to a better routine. But nothing changed. During the day, Annie would wake to be fed and would quickly go back to sleep for another one or two hours. The late evenings and early mornings were a different story. Annie was awake and upset and would sleep for only 20 minutes at a time.
After two weeks, Suzanne decided something needed to be done. She kept Annie in a Moses basket in the living room with her during the day. She often sang to her. Everyone who came to visit was encouraged to hold and play with Annie. At night, Suzanne put her to sleep in the cot in her room. She closed the curtains and turned off the lights. When Annie woke up, she kept her in her room and turned on a low light.
After three days of keeping to this pattern, Annie began to sleep longer at night and be more awake and alert during the day. She was still more unsettled at night, but she began to sleep in longer stretches, up to three hours at a time.
Just like Annie, your baby will soon learn that daytime is for fun and night-time is for sleeping. The process may take several days or even up to a few weeks, but if you stick with it, you'll soon have yourself a daytime baby.
My baby is up all night and sleeps all day. What can I do?
Written for BabyCenter Malaysia
The BabyCenter Editorial Team answers:
Send to a friend
Printable version
You're not alone! Lots of babies, especially newborns, are night-time babies. These little night owls don't seem to understand that they are supposed to be active during the day and sleeping at night. In the daytime, things are more manageable. Your baby sleeps much of the time, wakes to feed, plays a little and goes back to sleep. During the night, however, everything changes. She's awake and won't go to sleep. What makes it even worse is that many of these babies tend to cry a lot during the night hours.
Interestingly, you can often predict in pregnancy whether your baby will be a night owl. If your baby was active at night in utero, she will probably be the same way after birth. If she moved around a lot during the day throughout your pregnancy, she'll probably be active in the daytime after she's born. This isn't true for all babies, of course, but it is a good guide.
So what can you do? Not much, unfortunately - especially during the early newborn stage. You may have to turn into a night owl yourself, but rest assured things will soon get better. When your baby is a few weeks old, if the same problem is persisting, you can do some things to reset her clock:
• First, get her up in the morning at a normal waking time rather than letting her sleep in to make up for lost night-time slumber. It may be tempting to let her sleep so you can either catch up on a few winks yourself or get a few minutes of peace and quiet, but you'll pay for it the next night.
• Throughout the day, play with her as much as you can. Even if she's sleeping soundly, wake her for feeds.
• Keep the curtains open in her room and be your usual noisy self. Don't turn the ringer off the phone or avoid turning on the television. This will also help ensure that your baby doesn't become the world's lightest sleeper and force you to spend the next 10 years of your life tip-toeing around the house when she is sleeping.
• Don't play with her at night. Keep her room dark, with just the minimum amount of lighting for feeds and nappy changes. Be quiet and soothing. Move and talk in slow motion. Essentially, be as boring as possible.
Suzanne was faced with this situation with her daughter Annie. During the first two nights in the hospital, Annie was awake much of the time. Suzanne thought the hospital environment was keeping Annie up and that once they got home, she would change to a better routine. But nothing changed. During the day, Annie would wake to be fed and would quickly go back to sleep for another one or two hours. The late evenings and early mornings were a different story. Annie was awake and upset and would sleep for only 20 minutes at a time.
After two weeks, Suzanne decided something needed to be done. She kept Annie in a Moses basket in the living room with her during the day. She often sang to her. Everyone who came to visit was encouraged to hold and play with Annie. At night, Suzanne put her to sleep in the cot in her room. She closed the curtains and turned off the lights. When Annie woke up, she kept her in her room and turned on a low light.
After three days of keeping to this pattern, Annie began to sleep longer at night and be more awake and alert during the day. She was still more unsettled at night, but she began to sleep in longer stretches, up to three hours at a time.
Just like Annie, your baby will soon learn that daytime is for fun and night-time is for sleeping. The process may take several days or even up to a few weeks, but if you stick with it, you'll soon have yourself a daytime baby.
funny cause i was wondering this. even though i am not on bedrest, my little guy is up like all day and sleeps all night with me. he never wakes me up kicking at night. hopefully you get some good answers that we can read about this.
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