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Let's share newborn tips!
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amother
Taupe


 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:33 am
I was thinking we could help each other out by sharing tips that helped us with a difficult newborn. I don't mean the obvious things like to feed her and to change her diaper, but things that may be less known or even specific to your particular baby that someone else might find helpful as well.

I'll start:

1. One of my babies had to burp twice after each feeding. He was an extremely easy baby and rarely cried, but 2 burps were a must with him.

2. Several of my babies became much, much calmer once I eliminated chocolate from my diet. This was not an allergy, just something that made them uncomfortable during those early months, maybe because it's a known reflux trigger. I wouldn't be surprised if this were true about many unhappy babies.

3. One of my babies would cry all night long in the first few weeks of her life. I didn't even go to bed; I just sat on the couch and nursed her since that was the only thing that kept her quiet. Every now and then, I would put her down in her stroller and lie down on the couch to try to sleep for a few minutes, but she would wake up screaming right away. It was very tempting to me to just tuck her into bed with me and go to sleep with her latched on, but I was afraid I would roll over on her or otherwise endanger her. Out of desperation, I did give in and take her into bed with me, but I set my alarm to ring every 10 minutes. This way, I was able to sleep but didn't have the chance to get into a deep enough sleep to endanger her. I know some of you are saying that it's not worth it if you have to wake up every 10 minutes, but I can assure you that it's SO worth it when the alternative is to stay awake the entire night. I would always be back asleep within seconds.

4. Some of my babies liked lying across my lap on their stomachs while I very gently bounced my knee up and down in tiny little motions. I could even work on the computer while they slept on me that way for a long time.

Hope this helps someone else! I'm looking forward to hearing tips from others as well.

Signed,
Ima of a not-so-happy newborn
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bsy




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:40 am
Following
I'm trying to get my 6 week old to sleep at night more instead of from 8am to 12pm. I know the obvious advice is to wake them up after 2 hours of daytime sleep. But HOW pray tell do you wake up a newborn and keep them awake?! It just doesnt happen!
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amother
Lime


 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:40 am
These are great tips. I'm currently on maternity leave with a 3 week old and my baby is very fussy. He's already on unloving, zantec and gripe water but it'd not really helping.
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pesek zman




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:41 am
Newborns can't be awake for longer than 2 hours at a time. If they are they get crazy and overtired and it's harder for them to fall asleep

Newborns love white noise since it mimics the sound of the womb

Babywearing keeps them close and your hands free!

No need to change pee diapers overnight. It just wakes them more
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mha3484




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:42 am
One my babies was sleeping decently until 8-10 weeks and then all the sudden he was up every 2 hours. I had gone to the ped for something unrelated and she told me its likely gas and to try a probiotic like florastor or gerber soothe. She was right. A few drops of the stuff and he slept an extra hour.
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pesek zman




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:43 am
bsy wrote:
Following
I'm trying to get my 6 week old to sleep at night more instead of from 8am to 12pm. I know the obvious advice is to wake them up after 2 hours of daytime sleep. But HOW pray tell do you wake up a newborn and keep them awake?! It just doesnt happen!


Why is the solution to wake them after 2 hours? I never heard that! I've always heard the solution is to get them to eat more during the day, and to stretch feedings out if/when they can
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bsy




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:44 am
pesek zman wrote:
Newborns can't be awake for longer than 2 hours at a time. If they are they get crazy and overtired and it's harder for them to fall asleep

Newborns love white noise since it mimics the sound of the womb

Babywearing keeps them close and your hands free!

No need to change pee diapers overnight. It just wakes them more


What happens if you don't change wet diapers? My baby leaks and gets all wet
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bsy




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:46 am
pesek zman wrote:
Why is the solution to wake them after 2 hours? I never heard that! I've always heard the solution is to get them to eat more during the day, and to stretch feedings out if/when they can


Because most babies do one stretch of 4 to 6 hours. So you want that stretch to be at night. By limiting daytime sleep, you help shift the stretch to nighttime. They also eat more during the day if they're up.
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Iymnok




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:49 am
Try anything to shorten the daytime naps.

Read "The Happiest Baby on the Block". Those 5 S's have helped a lot.
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thunderstorm




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:51 am
From the day I come home from the hospital I make sure that during the day, there is sunlight shining into my windows and if it's cloudy I turn the lights on. At 8 pm I dim the lights of my bedroom and only put on a low lamp. My baby recognized the difference of night and day pretty quickly . She also tends to cluster feed starting around 5Pm until 9pm. She did this with nursing and with formula . After 9pm she is done with feedings until about 2 or 3 am and sometimes goes until 5 am depending on how much she ate earlier in the day. During growth spurts she eats more often.
I lay her down in her crib with a pacifier, every night around the same time and after a few minutes falls asleep. No rocking or feeding needed to get her to fall asleep. I'm not sure if she is just an easier baby or if because I started this routine immediately and did it every day that she adapted. (I always feed on demand regardless if it's day or night. She usually gets hungry every 2-3 hours by day.) She is 15 weeks old
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bsy




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:51 am
Iymnok wrote:
Try anything to shorten the daytime naps.*

Read "The Happiest Baby on the Block". Those 5 S's have helped a lot.


What did you find works to shorten the daytime naps?
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gamanit




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:55 am
I found baby carriers to be life changing. I liked this one https://smile.amazon.com/Infan.....;th=1 - my babies calmed down in a matter of minutes and if they were tired fell asleep really fast. Transferring them became easier with practice. In the middle of the night if baby was cranky was still worth it to get up and walk around with the baby carrier for ten minutes.
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pesek zman




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:55 am
bsy wrote:
What happens if you don't change wet diapers? My baby leaks and gets all wet


Then you have to change him. That wasn't my experience.
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amother
Taupe


 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:55 am
bsy wrote:
Following
I'm trying to get my 6 week old to sleep at night more instead of from 8am to 12pm. I know the obvious advice is to wake them up after 2 hours of daytime sleep. But HOW pray tell do you wake up a newborn and keep them awake?! It just doesnt happen!


I feed them whether they're awake or asleep. If they fall asleep at the breast, I express a little with my hand and the increased flow usually wakes them up enough to eat more.
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amother
Amethyst


 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:57 am
Big tip: Not every cry from a newborn is because they have cramps. No, no, no!

If your baby is fed, clean and burped... He/she is probably TIRED. And they usually need help falling asleep -- swaddling, quiet, patting, paci.

NOT CRAMPS.

(Yes, babies can have cramps. But it is RARE. Many, many times I've seen people torment their newborns with squeezing tummies, and biking legs, and feeding tea, etc., due to cramps when the kid just wanted to go to sleep. I even had a cousin pick up my baby and try that, and I told her, "he is tired." Held him all cozy, though he fought for a minute, and a second later, bam! asleep. Tip: tired babies often fight against pacies and resist sleep for about a minute, then they are out.)
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amother
Taupe


 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 8:58 am
amother wrote:
These are great tips. I'm currently on maternity leave with a 3 week old and my baby is very fussy. He's already on unloving, zantec and gripe water but it'd not really helping.


Does he have signs of reflux or is the Zantac just to cover your bases? (I don't know what unloving is.) If he has clear signs of reflux, frequent smaller feedings tend to be better than larger feedings more spaced apart. Also, Zantac doesn't stay in the system very long and many babies do better with a PPI.
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pesek zman




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 9:01 am
amother wrote:
Big tip: Not every cry from a newborn is because they have cramps. No, no, no!

If your baby is fed, clean and burped... He/she is probably TIRED. And they usually need help falling asleep -- swaddling, quiet, patting, paci.

NOT CRAMPS.

(Yes, babies can have cramps. But it is RARE. Many, many times I've seen people torment their newborns with squeezing tummies, and biking legs, and feeding tea, etc., due to cramps when the kid just wanted to go to sleep. I even had a cousin pick up my baby and try that, and I told her, "he is tired." Held him all cozy, though he fought for a minute, and a second later, bam! asleep. Tip: tired babies often fight against pacies and resist sleep for about a minute, then they are out.)
m


Which is exactly why they can't be awake longer than 1.5 -2 hours
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amother
Maroon


 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 9:15 am
pesek zman wrote:
m


Which is exactly why they can't be awake longer than 1.5 -2 hours


This totally changed my life.

I looked at my husband and said, do you realize this is the first time we are sitting together during supper since the baby was born?

He had been screaming every night from 5-9. Once I modified his awake time he became a different baby.


Last edited by amother on Tue, Oct 23 2018, 11:46 am; edited 1 time in total
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Ruchel




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 9:16 am
Try to get them used to be put in the bed and not rocked.
Sleeping further from you makes a big difference (not smelling you) BUT giving a cloth with your smell also does (put it flat on the mattress and so it cannot move, safety wise).
Don't count feedings (yes they'll pester you at hospital) and don't look at the clock at night so you don't get stressed
Don't listen to people telling you you "have" to (desinfect/boil/go out/not go out)
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amother
Aquamarine


 

Post Wed, Oct 17 2018, 9:20 am
Iymnok wrote:


Read "The Happiest Baby on the Block". Those 5 S's have helped a lot.


I second this! I was much better with my last two, because I swaddled, etc.
You can watch a video too
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