How can my newborn stay up for 6 hours??!!!

amother

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 12:33 am

How??!! Yes I know she’s overtired!!’ I CANNOT get her to sleep!!! She’s 6 weeks old, every night from 7-1 she’s up. I feed her and hold her and rock her and swaddle her and sing to her and WHATEVER I can to settle her and she will be up for 6 HOURS straight!!! I am loosing my mind!!!! How can I get her to sleep????

amother

Periwinkle

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 4:52 am

Ok, get your tomatoes ready - but read my whole post before aiming TMI

My DD was a nightmare of a newborn when it came to sleeping. 9 months along I can tell you she never morphed into an angelic sleeper, but I think we've finally worked it out. I did the following in order to remain sane.
A newborn is allowed to cry. I fed her, changed her, swaddled her and put her in her bassinet THEN LEFT! I sat there timing 2 minutes before popping back in for a pat/rock/replacing paci etc. It was extremely unpleasant to hear her crying for those 2 minutes, but I just could not sit in tears trying to hold her to sleep every single morning, afternoon and evening. She was not a huge fan of the paci, but I kept popping it back in until she learnt to use it as a soother. It wasn't a miraculous solution; it took time to see results. She would cry for an hour in 2-minute intervals, then 45 minutes, then half an hour etc until she BH finally learned to just fall asleep. There is no harm in letting a newborn cry for maximum 2 minutes at a time - my friend took her 3mo for sleep training and was told this explicitly.
I am not talking about a baby who will settle in your arms and then sleep well once transferred to a bed. I am talking about the kind of 4 week old who will be up for 9 hours straight no matter WHAT you do.
You may now aim and fire... Shooting Arrow

amother

Periwinkle

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 5:54 am

You don't have to follow my advice, but just saying my DD has developed perfectly normally thus far BH and is a happy, sociable baby who obviously loves her parents dearly. My mom raised 6 kids allowing them to cry sometimes and we are all of above average intelligence and perfectly fine emotionally. So OP, if you need your sanity, there is no harm at least trying my suggestion if you are comfortable to do so.
Hatzlacha and hoping you find what works for you ASAP!

amother

Papaya

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 6:43 am

I had a few kids back to back. One of them was like this also at 6 wks. I felt like I would lose my mind. And I was going back to work and afraid I couldn't cope. I put my baby on his belly and walked away for a minute just to compose myself. He fell asleep instantly. Only on his belly. Every single time. I was up constantly checking on him but it was in a way more restful than the alternative. He's my best sleeper. He just didn't want to be held by me as a baby. Now he's quite snuggly but needs his alone time too.

It seemed that me holding him was overstimulating him.

amother

Burgundy

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 7:18 am

amother [ Periwinkle ] wrote:

There's a big difference between allowing a 6 week old to cry and a 9 month old!! And I'm thinking that maybe you feel comfortable letting your baby cry is because your mom let you cry, maybe it dulls sensitivity.

amother

Periwinkle

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 3:03 pm

amother [ Burgundy ] wrote:

Lol

I let my 6 week old cry in 2 minute intervals, my now 9 month old self-settles BH by now! I was just offering a suggestion, knew I'd get tomatoes Laugh

I'm not gonna start explaining what a kind, sensitive person I actlly am (I think?), just found that comment quite funny... Hatzlacha OP!

healthymom1

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 3:06 pm

Her days and nights are mixed up
That's normal. You rocked her all day inside and she slept and at night when you laid down she got up.

Try to keep her up more during the day and help her switch to regular day and night

amother

Scarlet

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 3:07 pm

amother [ Burgundy ] wrote:

Which baby never cries for 2 minutes straight?? Every normal baby does that, that's what they're supposed to be doing. Never allowing babies to cry is more damaging to them then letting them cry for 2 minutes.
One of my babies cried all day long, even if we held him. I figured if he anyways cries when he's being held, I might as well put him down and give my hands some rest.

FranticFrummie

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 3:10 pm

It is very common for babies to have days and nights mixed up. I mean after all, they just came out of 9 months of darkness!

Is your baby wide awake and interested in the world, wide awake and cranky, colicy, hungry, or fussy? You need to troubleshoot what's going on.

If your baby is just wide awake for no good reason, try to keep him up during the day. Take walks outside, or at least hold him near the brightest window in your house. A sun lamp might be a good idea, too.

amother

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 4:43 pm

I know it’s normal to have nights and days mixed up, but being up for 6 hours straight? I never had a baby who was able to stay awake for that long. 3 hours MAX for a newborn.
She’s very fussy/cranky when she’s up for that long, I would imagine she’s overtired but I just can’t get her to settle down.

amother

Scarlet

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 5:10 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Maybe her stomach is bothering her. Would you try giving her mylicon? If you put her on her stomach she's not more comfy?

tothepoint

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 5:29 pm

OP, that is so, so draining!

Look into gentle sleep training. Yes, sleep training is doable even for 6 week old babies. Something like the PUPD method (pick up, put down) is very gentle and effective for newborns.

And of course, you have to look at the bigger picture to troubleshoot anything that may cause her to be fussy. Is she sleeping in a dark quiet environment? Does she have a good napping schedule during daytime? Do you put her in for the night when she is tired but NOT overtired? Personally all of my kids slept alot better on their tummy, yes I know it’s not advisable

amother

Mint

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 7:11 pm

At 6 weeks I swaddled them and put them in the motorized baby swing on the lowest setting. They always fell asleep if they weren’t hungry or too wet.
At that age I would have to turn off the swing to get them to wake up to eat... the constant back and forth movement kept them in a deep sleep.
I invested in the swing early on and it was so worth it. Lasted for a few kids. Get the best on the market!

thunderstorm

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 7:22 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Yes. My second child had colic and was cranky and cried from exactly 6 PM to 12 PM without falling asleep. It started around 6 weeks and stopped at 12 weeks. During the day he had a normal schedule and didn’t fuss.