Day and Night Confusion

As a first time mom, I was struggling with my baby’s sleep! The person who told me I wasn’t going to sleep ever again, was right! The first couple of months were the most difficult! My baby was sleeping all day, but when it came to night sleep it was horrific. Baby would be up and alert! It looked like he wanted to play and nothing else. I was exhausted! I would rock him to sleep, give him the pacifier, but after a couple of hours he would be up again.

Day and night confusion is something not all first time parents are aware of. When baby starts to move around in our tummy, do you recall them being more active while we were lying down and getting ready to sleep? My babies were both more active at night than during the day and that’s because during the day we are awake and running around doing things. Our movement during the day is what puts baby to sleep, but when we are ready to wind down, getting ready for bed, they are up and ready to play. This is exactly what happens when they are outside of our tummy and the reason why we expereince day and night confusion!

Day and night confusion can last up to 8 weeks, therefore, it is important to help baby recognize daytime as play time and nighttime as sleep time. Does this make sense? Here is a couple of tips to help you with day and night confusion:

• During the day, try to keep lights on, curtains open and have the television on
• If you have people over, continue conversations and interact with baby as much as you can
• When bedtime comes around, dim the lights down and lower the noise level
• A quick and simple bedtime routine helps baby calm down such as, bath, milk and diaper change

At this age, you want baby to sleep and you can help them sleep better by making these small changes in your day/night routine. Also, baby’s internal clock is not yet developed the first couple of months of their life and the above tips can really help you and your family get some rest.

If you have any questions regarding day and night confusion, do not hesitate to contact me.

Anita Patel
Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant
info@hushbabyhush.com
(416) 885-2235
www.hushbabyhush.com

April 10, 2018