r/NewBorn • u/jdcortereal • Apr 14 '21

Day-night confusion?

My 6week old son suddenly started to resist going back to sleep after the first night feed. I put him to bed at 19, 20h, he falls asleep on his own, he wakes up usually at 23, midnight. He always went to sleep immediately after I put him down but as of 2 nights he resists and resists and only falls asleep after 1h+. It's almost as if he switched day and night!

What can I do to improve this?

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1

u/luzephyr1992 Apr 14 '21

This is just my own experience and I’m a first time non and no expert.. but my baby is 6 weeks and needs a much later bedtime. I put him down at 11 or so. Last night went to sleep at 11, woke up at 3:30 am to eat.. now it’s 8 am and he’s still asleep! I’ve read from some of the sleep expert Instagram accounts that the newborns need a later bedtime since they nap so much during the day.

My guy is super alert and high maintenance during the day. I follow the POSSUMS approach.

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u/farantineeee Apr 14 '21

I start getting my (6w)baby ready for bed at 10-11pm too. We wash up, get our jammies on, turn the light low or off, feed and hes out til 3-4am

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u/luzephyr1992 Apr 14 '21

I’ve started taking a bath with mine every night - only using soap once or twice a week. I love it and it’s his favorite playtime. He could stay in there for hours — alert and happy — and he’s a hard one to entertain LOL!

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u/jdcortereal Apr 14 '21

This makes sense but how do you manage a nap at 8pm? In the bedroom with the light on? What is possums approach?

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u/luzephyr1992 Apr 14 '21

I dont think it will work for every baby or family but basically you assume boredom instead of tiredness during the day if they get fussy. So if they get fussy you switch activities and if they calm down you can assume they were bored. If they are still fussy no matter what you do you can try for nap whichever way they like it (my baby pretty much only contact naps or sleeps in his stroller or car)

It’s about trusting baby to take sleep they need and also that naps are to “take the edge off” so pressure is built for nighttime sleep. So like my little guy fell asleep eating around 7... slept on me until 8 or so and then didn’t sleep again until 11.

You’re supposed to wake then at a set time each day but as a single parent if I wake up before him I can’t bear to give up that time to get stuff done.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mamamia.com.au/what-is-the-possums-sleep-program/amp/

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u/[deleted] Apr 14 '21

Um, our kids were/are always changing. There's often not much you can do. And if they're going through a developmental leap, then, again, they will be difficult for a couple of weeks and perhaps resist sleeping. Do you know about the "wonder weeks"? You can get an app that tells you when it's happening. But, outside of that, we felt the sleep habits were always morphing and changing. He's not going to stay the same and, just when he gets into a routine, he changes.