If your baby is wide awake at night and sleeping all day, you’re not alone. Many new parents spend hours awake with their newborns when they’re desperate for some rest.
Newborns wake for a variety of reasons, including hunger and discomfort. While sleeping through the night is the dream of most parents, waking frequently to nurse, bottle-feed, or comfort your baby is normal at this age. Newborns need to eat every 2 to 4 hours to gain weight during those first several months of life.
But if your baby is wide awake for extended stretches of time after being fed, changed, and cuddled, there’s plenty you can do to encourage them to get to sleep.
Why newborns sleep all day and stay up all night
No one knows why newborns often have their nights and days reversed. And newborns sleep so much (around 16 hours a day) that it may seem like they’re always sleeping – except when you’re ready to crash.
You may have noticed during pregnancy that your baby was still and quiet during the day, but had a dance party in your uterus as soon as you lay down. When you’re standing up and moving about during the day, gravity is pulling your ማህፀን ውስጥ(ዩትረስ) down, compressing your baby a bit and soothing them into sleep (just like swaddling a newborn). Once you lie down for the night, your uterus stretches out some and your baby has more room to wiggle – which they take advantage of.
If your baby sleeps during the day and seems to be more active at night while in the womb, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be a night owl once they’re born – though it may impact their sleeping patterns in those first days and weeks after birth.
Labor could also disrupt your newborn’s sleeping patterns, especially if you had a long labor and delivery late at night. This usually lasts only a few days, though.
Some babies may sleep less at night because they’re mimicking their mother’s rest patterns. For instance, research has shown that if a pregnant woman doesn’t rest well during the second and third trimesters, their baby may not rest as well after they’re born.
How to get your newborn to sleep at night
These tips can help you create an environment and routine that will encourage healthy sleep habits as your baby gets older.
- Meet your baby’s needs during the day. Newborns need 8 to 12 feedings over a 24-hour period and plenty of bonding time with their caregivers. If you make sure your baby is eating enough and getting plenty of attention during the day, you may have more luck getting them to sleep at night.
- Watch for signs your baby is ready for sleep. Waiting until your newborn is overtired can actually make sleep more difficult. Signs that they’re sleepy but not overtired include rubbing their eyes, yawning, looking away from you, and fussing.
- When bedtime (and nap time) rolls around, keep your baby’s room quiet and dark, and use only a soft light or a nightlight for nighttime feedings and diaper changes. Talk to them quietly and move slowly. Be brief and boring rather than engaging. Consider getting blackout curtains to keep your baby’s room dark when it’s time to sleep.
- Be patient. Most babies adjust to the family schedule with time and a consistent routine. In the meantime, when your baby is just a few weeks old, try gently coaxing them into following a more reasonable schedule.
- Keep in mind that your baby may sleep well one night and terribly the very next night. You’ll have good nights (and days) and rough ones for a while. But as your baby’s nervous system matures, their sleep cycles will lengthen and they’ll sleep more at night rather than during the day.
How to keep your newborn awake during the day
It isn’t uncommon for newborns to establish a routine of sleeping the day away and then being awake when the sun goes down. There are a few things you can do to help your baby reverse this habit.
- Differentiate between night and day. Just as you’re trying to keep nighttime calm and quiet, create an environment during the day that lets your baby know it’s time to learn and play. Open blinds and curtains, play and interact with your baby, and don’t be afraid to be a little noisy.
- Establish a wake-up time and stick to it, even if your baby was up most of the night. Sleeping in may seem like a good thing, but it won’t help you reach your goal of sleeping soundly at night.
- Wake your baby for regular feedings during the day. Your little one needs to eat between 8 and 12 times every 24 hours. If those feedings don’t happen during the day, many babies will make up for it overnight. (Newborns need nighttime feedings, so you won’t be able to eliminate those, but making sure your newborn eats regularly during the day may help you stretch the interval between nighttime feedings to every three or four hours.)
- If your baby often drifts off during a feeding, they might not eat as much as they need to during the day. Keep your baby alert during daytime feedings by rubbing their back, playing with their toes, and undressing them so they don’t get too cozy.
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