Newborn stays awake at night?

Question

My daughter is 9 days old and she cries and wakes up at night. I know its normal for babies that young to wake up at night but i feed her, change her, hold her and its like she wants to stay awake. she cries if i put her back in her bassinett or if she loses her pacifier. sometimes she cries even when i hold and entertain her. she's nothing like this during the day. in the daytime if she's fed and clean then she sleeps all day. she goes right to sleep. she rarely cries in the daytime unless she's cold or naked. should i try to keep her awake during the day so she'll be more willing to sleep at night?

Answer 1

Don't keep her awake too much during the day since a baby that little needs her sleep.

Babies generally tend to be more fussy during the night. I'm not sure why this is. When my daughter was born, we were up really late with her. Sometimes until 5 am. Know that it gets better.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Congrats...our 2 week old daughter has the same problem at different times during the day. We were told that a baby has about three hours of continuous fussiness during a 24 hour period.

One thing that might help when her chord falls off is to give her a bath before putting her to sleep at night.

We have also thought about keeping her awake during the day but as long as she does not look like she is in pain then we will just deal with it. Also, around our daughter's ages, is when they start their growth spurt.

Sorry I wasn't much help. Hang in there.

Answer 3

Yes keep her awake more during the day, but newborns usually need sleep round the clock, all day all night and just wake up for feeds and nappy change. Its a bit surprising she wakes in the night, just feed her and change her, then leave her to cry herself to sleep. Or you could try a rocking basket stand. Also tell your healt visitor or doctor and see what they say.

Answer 4

Don't bother trying to keep your baby awake during the day...all you'll succeed in doing is making her uncomfortable and she'll wind up falling asleep anyway.  There is no keeping a sleepy newborn awake.  Your best bet is to interact with her when she is awake during the day, keep things light and bright, have her nap in a part of the house that is bright and not quite (playpen in the living room) and at night keep things quiet and dark and interactions should be dull.  All babies sort out night and day in their own time and there isn't much you can do to speed it up.  I spent many weeks sitting up with my son all night long, watching every crappy late night movie on TV, in the dark with the volume turned waaayyyy down lown.  After awhile you begin to feel like you are the only person in the world still up.  Your baby will sort it out in a few weeks, in the meantime, hang in there and know that there are literally THOUSANDS of moms out there doing the same thing you are!

EDIT:  The reason that she is different in the night is that is when her body is telling her to be wakeful...like your body tells you to be wakeful during the day.  Day and night mean nothing to a newborn.  Our bodies response to day and night is biological and babies do not yet produce the hormones that regulate day and night wakefulness.  By 8 weeks she'll have it right.

Answer 5

do not keep her awake during the day!! she has her days and nights confused right now and she will eventually straighten them out herself. things you can do to help is let her nap in a light somewhat noisy area during the day. at night close her curtains only keep a nightlight on in her bedroom. when you get up to feed and change her in the middle of the night...do not talk to her or turn on lights...try an d do everything by nightlight.

Answer 6

you need to try to put her on a schedule.  Many babies will get their nights and days mixed up if not.

http://www.lpch.org/DiseaseHealthInfo/He...

"Newborns often wake to eat every 2 to 3 hours, although breastfed babies eat more often than bottle-fed ones. If your newborn has gone more than 4 hours without eating, you should gently get him out of his crib and begin to talk to him. Try undressing him, changing his diaper or turning on lights and soft music to wake him up."

http://www.newborn.com/Articles/Sleep2.h...

Answer 7

yeah try to keep her away during the day

Answer 8

Completely typical for newborns to have their days and nights mixed up. Make the nighttime soothing and peaceful for her but do not try to play with her at night. Just do what needs to be done with nightlights only and hold and swaddle her until she can get back to sleep. During the daytime, play, talk, massage, shake the rattle and love on her. She'll soon get the idea that night is for sleeping.

Answer 9

she is only 9 days old...good luck trying to keep her awake during the day.

get her on a good bed time routine. bath, bottle, burp, bed. depending on her daily sleep/feed schedule, it should be the same for night time. so if she is waking every 3 hours at night, same as day, then that is fine.. feed,change burp, bed again...when she wakes in between feedings, check her diaper, and soothe her back to sleep but try not to pick her up...hush her, give her a soother or whatever.

Answer 10

It sounds like she might be colicky.  My second daughter was.  It's so frustrating.  Never keep your baby awake in hopes that she'll sleep better at night.  I have learned with experience that the better they sleep during the day, the better they do at night.  Give her some time, she'll eventually learn the difference between night and day (that might be the only problem!).  Try establishing a good nighttime routine for her.  Johnson & Johnson's Lavender line is great.  Give her a nice warm bath (sponge bath if she still has her cord of course), sing her a song, give her her last feeding, make sure she is swaddled tight (bot not too tight) and see if that helps.  When she wakes up, try to keep the noise to a minimum, and keep it as dark as possible... Change her, feed her, swaddle her, and back to bed.  Make sure she is staying swaddled.  My pediatrician explained to me that at that age they move around spastically in their sleep, and if the blanket comes undone and she whacks herself in the head with her arm, she'll wake up startled basically like "what the heck was that?!"

Hang in there.  I know you probably want to rip all your hair out.  She's just trying to adjust to life outside the womb.  Before you know it, she'll establish a good routine, and be sleeping longer periods through the night.  Good luck.

Answer 11

no please don't try to keep her awake in the day time. she is tooooooo young. she will adjust by herself slowly but surely. Not a good idea. you should try to sleep whenever she is sleeping in the day time. don't worry about the chores around the house. let them wait but your 9 day baby is your priority. sleep when she sleeps and don't keep her awake in the daytime. she is only getting used to her new world.  

Answer 12

Just give it some time.  She might not be on your schedule yet, but she'll adjust by herself, without the stress of you trying to MAKE her adjust.  

She's only 9 days old.  Enjoy the special time you have with her, day or night, because pretty soon you'll miss these days.

Just continue to feed her, change her, whatever you need to do.  When she wakes up at night, keep it simple.  If she doesn't fall back to sleep nursing, try to rock her back to sleep.  Don't play with her or try to stimulate her at night, and keep the lights dim at night when she wakes up.  

She'll adjust her nights and days really soon, just hang in there.

EDIT:  Why she's different at night than during the day is that she seems to have her days and nights mixed up.  She's sleepy during the day, but alert during the night.  At night, she probably wants to get up and play with you.  Just keep doing what I said, and she'll adjust and start being alert during the day and sleepy at night.

Answer 13

She's 9 days old, give her a break! Trust me, the schedule thing will work itself out. But yes, that's not a bad idea, try keeping her awake around the evening hours, that might help..but she is only 9 days old!

What i did, was keep my son downstairs all day and it was nice and bright in the house, naps were taken in the pack n play downstairs too, then around 10pm or 11pm I would take him upstairs to his room and put him in his crib, with only a nightlight on...and yes he would stay awake for a while, while i was walking him around, but they eventually get tired and will go down to sleep. Good luck!

Answer 14

YES TRY TO KEEP HER AWAKE. MAYBE YOU SHOULD DIM THE LIGHTS DURING THE DAY. MAYBE THE LIGHT BOTHER HER AND SHE FINDS COMFORT IN SLEEPING. AND SINCE THE NIGHT IS DARK JUST KEEP THE ROOM ILUMINATED AND MAYBE SHE WILL SLEEP. OR MAYBE SHE IS CONFUSED DOESNT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DAY AND NIGHT. HOPE I HELPED.

Answer 15

Most if not all babies at this age are bad night time sleepers-it's all very new for them! Don't try to keep her awake in the day time-she's only 9 days old and plain won't understand what you're doing. Just stick with what yuou're doing-it will take time for your daughter and you to get into a routine. Some babies are at their most alert in the night. My youngest and middle sons were! Good luck and congratulations on your daughter!

Answer 16

she has a bit of the day/night reversal going on which is very common in newborns. She will adjust. But don't keep her up all day! Too young for that.

But make a clear distinction between day and night in your house. Dont try to be extra quiet when she is napping during the day, have her nap in a pack n play in the living room (or area you spend your time) with sunlight etc. Then at night, bring her to her room, maybe give her a bath and slow things down. Relax with her in and read her a story in dimmer light. Maybe some soft music.

Do this each day/night and she will eventually ease into a better schedule.