Explain newborn awake time & getting them back to sleep

ds was in ICU for 10 days when he was born premature... they had him on a set schedule every three hours wake him- change him- feed him- back to sleep....

now that he's home(since last friday night) he starts to rustle close to every 3 hours so we have been able to change/feed him on the 3 hour marker.... some times he goes back to sleep - but durring the day particularly it seems like he sometimes stays up-

how much is he allowed to stay up when he does durring the day?

and at night he seems ok with night changes except for the 3 am one he has issues with going back to sleep... any tips?

Re: Explain newborn awake time & getting them back to sleep

Follow his lead. When he needs to sleep, he will. When he wants to stay awake, he will.
It's actually great that he's waking every 3 hours to eat - that was one of the keys to getting our daughter to sleep through the night.

Re: Explain newborn awake time & getting them back to sleep

I think it depends on the baby. My son was the same way with night feedings. He would get up every 4 to 5 hours from day one and go back to sleep after feeding. He would stay up more during the day. I would always let him nap during the day with the lights on and same normal daytime noises so he wouldn't get his days and nights mixed up. He never did but again I think that depends on the child. It will take a while but eventually he will probably make his own schedule. HTH!

Re: Explain newborn awake time & getting them back to sleep

Re: Explain newborn awake time & getting them back to sleep

First of all, congrats! Your DS is gorgeous!! My DD was in the NICU for 8 days. She was also on a 3 hr schedule when she came home. I basically let her do her own thing. At night time, if she didn't wake up then I did not wake her. She never went for more than 4-5 hours without a feeding by doing this. At first she slept alot during the day and then she started to figure out her days vs. nights. By 6 weeks old she was sleeping thru the night!!

My advice [based on my experience with DD] is to let DS take the lead. If he is not a colic baby then he will probably dictate when he wants to sleep and when he doesn't. My DD would take naps throughout the day for the first few months. All she seemed to do was eat, sleep and go to the bathroom. Right now, since DS is less than 1 month old, I would just let him do his own thing and enjoy him! Snuggle him, kiss him, feed him, change him, repeat.

Congratulations Mommy!!

Message edited 5/6/2009 10:26:51 PM.

Re: Explain newborn awake time & getting them back to sleep

DD was like that too.

She was in the NICU for 5 weeks and was on a 3 hour schedule at first, then as she got bigger and ate more, every 4 hours.

She came home on every 4 hours too. As she got closer to her due date, she would stay up longer during the day after eating.

I agree with the PP, let her tell you.

Congratulations!