Author Topic: A time for newborn  (Read 768 times)

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Offline astretch

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A time for newborn
« on: October 07, 2007, 06:37:41 am »
I have a baby that is a week and 1/2 old.  She is currently being breastfed.  We are wondering if we should wake her up after her feed to do A time or should we let her sleep?  Currently, she is getting used to her new schedule that we've put her on of feeds every 3-4 hours.  We are also supplementing her with a bottle at 2:00 a.m. so that mommy can sleep. 
Thank you for your help.
Adrienne

Offline *Nicola*

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Re: A time for newborn
« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2007, 10:08:53 am »
Hi Adrienne and welcome to Baby Whisperer  :D

Such tiny newborns will often sleep most of the day (as this is what they need to grow and develop) so it can be difficult to 'wake' them up to do anything  :)

After she has her feed you could do a nappy change and give her some cuddles, wrap her up for bed and them put her down for her nap.   It is likely that she will be drowsy/near sleeping for most of this time but it is still termed Activity time.  Ideally, the time she is 'up' for between naps will be 1 hour but this will include feeding, changing, cuddles, wind down and into cot for nap again. 

Ideally, you would be looking to put her down into her cot 'awake but drowsy' so that she begins to learn to fall asleep independently, but this may not be possible if she is really sleepy.  Concentrating on the structure and schedule is really important at this stage so having Eat, Activity, Sleep and You time in a continuous repeating cycle will benefit you both and  help you get some structure into your day.   :)

You may find that at this age a 2.5 - 3 hour EASY works well and fits in with your day and your DD's feeding needs well, but you will see what works well for you all  :) :)

Hope that helps a bit.  Good luck  :-*
Mummy to 2 beautiful kiddies. 

A baby is born from the dreams of your heart, and becomes the love of your life.