I have a 5 week old baby and am having trouble getting into an eating & sleeping routine?
Answers:
Begin to teach him the difference between day and night.
Some infants are night owls (something you may have had a hint of while you were pregnant) and will be wide awake just when you want to drift into dreamland. For the first few days, you won't be able to do much about this. But once your baby is about two weeks old, you can start teaching him to distinguish night from day. When he's alert and awake during the day, play with him as much as you can, keep the house and his room light and bright, and don't worry about keeping down ordinary daytime noises like the phone, TV, or washing machine. If he tends to sleep during a feed, wake him up. At night, try not to play with him when you go into his room for a feed. Keep the lights and noise level low, and don't spend too much time talking to him. Before too long he should begin to figure out that nighttime is for sleeping.
Good luck.
Well you should make sure daytime she is awake a lot, wake her up, give her stimulation and feed on demand, then get a bedtime routine with a bth, quiet talk, put her down, then feed whenever she wakes but keep the lights off and talk quietly if at all, and put her straight back dfown afterwards.
Your on the babies schedule for sure. Very difficult, but try and keep her from sleeping so much during the day. I tried this with mine. If the baby is full before bedtime, it will sleep longer during the night. Make sure she is not crying just for feedings. Could be gas, or just the the baby wants mommy nearby.
you should speak to your health visitor.
You're worrying about a problem that doesn't exist. This is perfectly normal. If you continue the same routing the baby will eventually adjust. It may take a long time, or it may not. Just keep at it.
Shes too young for a routine don't fret until she's 6 months-This is all new to her
No matter how good a sleeper your baby is, you're bound to run into a problem or two eventually. It may be something health-related, such as a cold or an ear infection, or something rooted in your baby's behavior, such as head banging or night terrors. The good news is that most of the things that interrupt your baby's sleep are temporary; the bad news is that while they're happening, neither you nor your baby is likely to get all the sleep you need. To find out what's behind the most common sleep problems in infants
Breastfed babies are more prone to night waking because breast milk is easier to digest than formula: Their stomach empties out, they get hungry sooner, and the hunger wakes them up. Also, if you're in the habit of nursing your child at bedtime, he may have a hard time falling asleep on his own (and getting back to sleep when he wakes up at night) because he associates breastfeeding with sleep.
more detail refer below web:
To wean your child from night feedings, gradually shorten the time he nurses each night by one minute and lengthen the period between feedings. Change the time you nurse so it isn't near the time your baby falls asleep, and, if you can, have someone else put him to bed so he doesn't smell your milk.
You probably won't want to hear this but babies very rarely have a routine at 5 weeks. Mine certainly didn't. You just have to persevere and feed on demand. My little boy started sleeping through the night at about 3 months. You can start to establish a bedtime routine now, even though she still wakes during the night. I gave mine a bath every night, and a bottle before bed, he now knows that as soon as the bath comes out it's bedtime. He is 8 months, and sleeps through the night now (except for last night, he's teething) and has a perfect routine. Just grin and bear it at the moment and eventually it will just fall into place.
My ethos: I am a mother of four, two of which are twins and I breast fed all of my children.
My personal theory on why babies sleep all day and wake all night is:
While they were in the womb, they were constantly being rocked to sleep by your daytime walking, and moving around.
At night, things get still, no rocking and the baby wakes up.
They hold onto this pattern after they are born and it takes awhile for them to re-adjust.
Being that she is five weeks old, she may be growing through a growth spurt, and your body/milk supply may not be caught up yet, and that could be the reason she is hungry every 1/2 hour.
Good luck! It gets better!
A stiff shot of bourbon.
It's hard to get such a young baby into a routine. It sounds like she might have her days and nights mixed up (which is quite common).
My suggestions would be:
Start a bedtime routine so she starts to understand that, for instance, "First I get a bath, then I cuddle with mommy, then I go to bed."
Increase the amount of breastmilk she gets per feeding if you can. She will still be getting the same amount of food, just feeding less frequently (thus being able to sleep longer).
Swaddle her at night and DON'T during the day. Keep her in a high-traffic, loud, bright area by day, and the opposite by night.
I hope this helps. Good luck! I hope you get some sleep soon!
Really sympathise with you! Its a tough time. My advice would be though to try to extend time between feeds. If she get lots of big feeds in the day trather than snacking she should be able to last a good 4-5 hours. I appreciate its tough to do when she keeps crying for food but you could start slowy. Extending the waiting time by another 5-10 mins. Wish yu all the best. Hang in there!
My mother use to tell me that you put a baby on a schedule not the baby putting you on one.
My only advice I can give you is she may need something other then breast milk.
My daughter when she was over 2 weeks old had cereal also in her bottle. I have done this with my grand son and he sleeps very well. It fills him up, faster and longer.
When my daughter was born (16 years ago) I was taught to make sure she finish her bottle and to not go to sleep, most of the time that maybe where the problem comes from.
How can you keep her awake enough to finish her bottle.? My grandmother being very old fashion use to tell me to thump her on her foot, NO IT DOES NOT HURT HER. Just wakes her up enough to finish her bottle.
It's very tiring I know and you think that things will never change, but they will and she will settle. She is very young yet. Try to keep her awake during the day as much as you can and feed her the hours your health adviser has suggested. In the evening giver her a bath and try to settle her down in a quiet and relaxing atmosphere. When she wakes for her night feed, do not turn lights on or make a fuss, gently feed her and put her back down as quietly as possible so as not to disturb her. She will settle into a routine soon. Just be patient. If you are short of sleep, try to sleep whenever she sleeps. Good luck.
I am 2 weeks from giving birth and I have been reading ALOT of the baby magazines. Two tips that keep coming up are 1) a bath before bedtime (with the baby lavendar bubblebath) 2) Taking baby for a walk between 12-4pm (something to do with them getting natural light and adjusting to daytime)- if you can't get out for a walk then feed baby by a window (so they still get the light).
I have no idea if they work, but I will be trying them in a few weeks.
at five weeks, you would be probably the only mother in the world to have a routine, there is no real routine for at least a few months, don't worry, feed the baby when its hungry, maybe your breast milk isn't rich enough, eat more calories, and also, sleep when the baby sleeps, i have a 21 month old and we still don't have a proper routine, chill out and don't worry, it will come in the end but it is a little soon
good luck and get some sleep!
It's great that your breastfeeding so keep going with it - don't let anyone convince you that the baby will sleep better if bottle fed. My baby (6 months) is fully breastfed and now sleeps from 8pm till 6am but it took her a while to get into that pattern. Don't fret! You should feed on demand for at least the first 6 weeks as the baby is just adjusting to being in the world rather than get them into a routine. Its perfectly normal what is happening to you. Do speak to your health visitor and I'd also recommend a book by Annabel Karmel called "Complete First Year Planner" which gives great advice on sleeping, feeding and development without suggesting any strict routines. I have 9 friends (through NCT) who all had babies within a month of each other and the mothers that got their babies into a strict routine from a very young age (i.e. took Gina Ford advice) are now having problems coping with the babies as they develop and require new patterns. Believe it or not, you will very soon get to know your baby so well that you will know the difference between a tired cry, a hungry cry, a bored cry etc and you will have a better idea of his/her natural patterns. I have a brilliant health visitor and it makes all the difference. If you don't think your health visitor is doing a good job of advising you, call your local health authority and ask them to put you in touch with someone more experienced, or perhaps the hospital where your baby was born or your GP could help you find a good health visitor. Also buy the Annabel Karmel book complete first year planner, as it will make you feel more reassured. Good luck! And don't worry so much - you'll look back and realise "everything is a phase".
Stop feeding it!
Try to make her awake in the day by playing and talking to
her.You're breastfeeding,so you need to feed her more frequent than bottle feed.Breastfeed babies are always hungry.If you don't have enough,add formula.Try to make her full before bed,this might help.
Hi, unfortunately, at 5 weeks, babies still want to eat ALOT. How long is she feeding? Do you feed her on both sides or just one? She may be falling asleep before she gets full, try tickling her feet if she falls asleep so she will continue to eat. Try playing w/ her more during the day so MAYBE she will get used to being awake more.She should start getting better about feedings by 3 months or so, she'll take in more at each feeding and that will last her longer.also, you can try taking in more calories, that way your milk will be "richer" or more filling for her. Good luck, hang in there it will get easier!
For babies this young it is hard to develop a routine, I have had 2 kids and it took about 8 weeks for both of them. My second born was a lot like you describe.
Firstly, make sure you make play time during the day, this will encourage your baby to realise when day time is and when night time is.
Also, give her a night routine, and do it every night.make bath time at night, if you have trouble settling put a chamomile tea bag in the bath, this will help relax her and be mild enough for her skin. When she comes out, you can give her a baby massage (there are heaps of books on it), and then a cuddle, feed and bed.
If she tries to feed that often, make sure she is getting enough feed in one feeding and think about a pacifier. I know there are a lot of pros and cons to these, but my child health nurse said in situations like this they teach the baby not to use the breastmilk as a comforter.
When she wakes during the night for a feed, don't talk to her, give her cuddles.but feed her, burp her, change her and put her back to bed. She will get the hint that night time is not play time
SNAP!!!
My daughter is 5 weeks old today!
We do have a general routine through the night (she feeds on-and-off until about midnight then has a change & feed about 5am then again at about 8-9am)
We've tried to do what the first answer suggests and keep her in her moses basket in the dark. Obviously she still gets changed & fed (breast) but we try not to talk to her or stimulate her and put her straight back down.
During the day (from about 9am) we play with her whenever she's awake and try to keep her stimulated and in a light environment.
Hopefully this will teach her that night time is quiet time for resting and daytime is for play.
I must admit we give her a dummy (pacifier) at about 1 week. This really helped, as she would feed for comfort when she was already full then be sick from overfeeding. The dummy worked wonders and also enables me to settle her by holding her in a feeding position with it.
She's only 5 weeks old, perhaps she needs a little more at night time. Why don't you breast feed during the day and at night substitute one of the feed's for formula milk.only a thought
It,s a hard time with a new baby and its very early days to think about routine just yet.Try to "go with the flow" for a few weeks.If breastfeeding is difficult for you is there anyone you can talk to to make sure your positioning is right etc?
Try to sleep or rest when baby is sleeping and enlist the help of friends family or partner to help you so you get some rest.
If you live in UK make use of your health visiting service for advice - that's what they are there for.
Remember these first chaotic weeks don't last forever.I have three kids and felt totally lost and bewildered following the first one but things do fall into place.
I wish I could advice you but a babies sleeping patter is diffrent from babyto baby give it time and the baby will get used to the day night patterns you exibit
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