![]() Then, when you get up with her at night, keep your engagement minimal. Draw the curtains to block out light, and turn on a white noise machine to muffle startling sounds. Turn off the television and other distracting noises. To get her in the mood to sleep, start your evenings off calm and quiet. One obstacle that could be keeping your newborn awake for 3 hours at night is that it’s simply too “exciting.” Maybe you turn on the lights to change her diaper, or your evenings are filled with loud sounds. With my baby, I aimed for about 45-90 minutes of wake time between his last nap and bedtime so that he had enough time to feel tired by then. If she’s supposed to sleep soon but her latest nap is running long, cut it short to give her time to be awake. That said, the exception I’d make is the one close to bedtime. I’m not normally a fan of waking a sleeping baby, no matter how long the nap has been. ![]() You’ll learn effective tips and strategies to finally ease her out of your arms:ĭoes it seem like your newborn can sleep through the whole day, including close to bedtime? This could be preventing her from settling for bedtime and sleeping long stretches at night. That said, don’t keep her awake longer than 90 minutes-this ensures that she also doesn’t get overtired.įree resource: Does she only sleep in your arms? Join my newsletter and grab a free chapter of my ebook, How to Get Your Baby to Sleep Without Being Held. The longer you can stretch her wake time, the more she can sleep longer at night. Then, when you see her showing signs that she’s tired, you can begin to get ready for her next nap. Engage with your newborn during the dayĭoes your newborn sleep in long stretches during the day, only to be awake all night? Use the daytime hours to engage and play with her and keep her from taking another lengthy nap again.įor instance, you can do tummy time, sing songs and make faces, or place her on a play mat or infant seat. Take a look at these tips that can help:ġ. Whether she’s awake too long during the day or at night, you can shrink her wake time and help her sleep longer and more frequently. Or vice versa: she’s sleeping the whole day but not getting enough rest at night. Maybe your newborn is awake all day long, even if she sleeps well at night. So, if you find yourself in the same predicament, rest assured you’re not alone. Only later did I find out that 3 hours was a long stretch for a little one to be awake. I simply assumed he’d fall asleep when he was tired. Other times, he was awake but not crying, making me wonder how long a newborn should stay awake at a time. Next thing I knew, he was cranky and overtired, setting off a vicious cycle of an overtired baby who just wouldn’t sleep. Here he was-a newborn awake for over 3 hours at a time, getting passed around visiting family and friends. I didn’t realize that newborns shouldn’t be awake for long stretches until several weeks after bringing my baby home. How to handle a newborn awake for 3 hours straight She’ll go from one feed, skip a nap entirely, and be ready for her next one without sleeping once. In fact, sometimes she’s not even sleeping between her feeds. As grateful as you are that she sleeps when she should, you also know she shouldn’t stay awake this long during the day. Or she does sleep well at night-at least for a newborn-only to be awake and fussy all day. She could be awake during the “witching hours” before bed, unable to be soothed for hours at a time, despite your best efforts. As much as you appreciate the long breaks during the day, you dread the evenings when you know you’ll be awake for most of it. Maybe she was asleep all day, only to be awake for a long stretch at night. Whether during the day or at night, knowing that your newborn has been awake for 3 hours is never easy. ![]() Is your newborn awake for 3 hours straight and not sleeping between feeds? Learn how to help your fussy baby and shorten the wake times.
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