New mom here

[cvd16]

Hi everyone,

I'm a first time mom.. my baby is 2 weeks and 4 days old.

I just have a couple questions!

1. Is it too early to attempt to sleep train my baby?? She sleeps very well during the day (in her deep deep sleep) but at night around 7pm to 10pm ish is when she's the most fussiest and she wakes up 3+ times in the middle of the night. Will my baby eventually figure out the difference between night and day?

2. How can I avoid her spitting up? She is always spitting up after feedings. We feed her a combination of breast milk and formula through bottle.. we give her formula when my breast milk supply becomes low. I am only pumping because I like to see how much my baby is drinking. I did not have much luck with breast feeding.

3. My baby also gets hiccups several times a day. Is there a way to prevent this?

 

[donnarobinson]

Congratulations on your new baby
With regards to sleep training it is to early to sleep train as such but it's not to early to try and teach her night from day
Some tips keep the day time bright and normal noise .. talk to her lots etc
Bedtime keep it quiet avoid direct eye contact I find helped keep the lights dim just enough to see what your doing they say u can start to try and get a routine from 6ish weeks
We do bath bottle bed
She will eventually start being awake more in the day and sleeping at night. X

With the spitting up some spitting up Is normal however if it's excessive or she seems in pain visit a dr as she might have reflux

And hiccups are normal they will get less as she gets older but my second baby got hiccups a lot he had reflux not sure if there is a link x

 

[cvd16]

So when my baby is in her deep sleep in the afternoon, should I move her to the living room (where there's more light and TV), and wake her up? or just let her sleep and play all the loud noises in the background and hope she wakes up? In that time of day, it seems like she can sleep through anything lol.

 

[noon_child]

Fussy evenings are very normal and if it's only from 7-10pm I think she actually sounds like quite a settled baby (I know this isn't much comfort while you live through it, but just hang on to the idea that it is normal and could be worse). Most babies are a little muddled and often fall asleep more quickly in the day and seem alert at night but At her age waking through the night isn't all about being muddled up, it's actually because she has 24hr needs. In a week or so you may notice she gets less sleepy in the day as she becomes more alert but this won't necessarily co-incide with less frequent waking at night. Anyone who has ever owned a young puppy will tell you that even they need feeding multiple times a night and letting out to go to the toilet, and they are more advanced than our tiny babies who are much less independent. Sleep training won't work at this age because when she needs you she needs you, and her survival instincts are telling her to call out to you and get what she needs and these are stronger than any training method.

 

[AmandaBanana]

Fussiness between those tiems is completely normal.
It's often called the witching hour!
My lo would purple cry during these times. He grew out of it within a month or so.

Hiccups are extremely common. Everyone told me different ways to get rid of them. But why? Unless they are hurting the baby, they are just hiccups.

Babies spit up. You can't really do much to avoid that. It's not an issue either unless it's actual vomitting.

As for sleep training, I would say that is way too early. Doesn't really sounds like baby has confused day and night. Babies that young just wake up often because they still have such little tummies and have needs they want met. Feeding and love are two things they just want you for!


You and baby will be okay the newborn phase I found the hardest but they grow out of it quick!

 

[Emsabub]

My little girl is exactly the same, gets hiccups, has reflux. They gave me gaviscon for that at baby clinic but the hiccups I've found usually happen if she's lay down too soon after feeding for a change or sometimes just randomly! I know every baby is different but if I let her hiccup for a little while then put her on my chest or shoulder and pat her back they usually go within 5 mins. Good luck! My baby has been like this since around the same time but it will get better!

 

[donnarobinson]

I wasn't stating that it wasn't normal for baby to wake up at night by the way obv babies wake at night I just ment if u think she had night / day confused those were the things that would help x

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I wouldnt sleep train till at least 6m (very least!) And its all normal.

 

[jessmke]

Your baby sounds very normal. Babies wake often at night to feed, their little tummies can't hold very much so they eat little and often. I know the sleep deprivation is hard, but believe me you will get used to it, and it is far too early to early to sleep train. My baby is 10 months old and wakes anywhere from 3-8 times at night and we are just now thinking about maybe doing some gentle things to encourage her sleep longer stretches at night. The absolute bare minimum age for sleep training according to most "sleep experts" is 6 months, but most will recommend waiting until closer to a year.

It is VERY common for babies to be fussy and unsettled in the evenings, it is called the witching hour. You just need to ride it out and it will pass. My LO did this in the evenings from 8-10 pm, she stopped by the time she was 6 weeks old.

It doesn't sound like your baby has day/night confusion, but there are some things you can do to teach your baby that daytime is ok to be awake and interactive, and nighttime is when we sleep. During the day interact with your baby a lot while she is awake, when she is eating during the day you can make a lot of eye contact, talk to her, and interact with her. When it is nap time put her down in the living room or the area of the house where activity happens. Don't make noise on purpose to try to wake her from her naps, but just go about your normal household activities while baby sleeps. Then at night when she wakes to eat keep the room as dark and quiet as possible, and don't make eye contact or talk to baby or do anything to engage her. She will learn that you are fun and engaging during the day, but at nighttime you are boring so she may as well just go back to sleep. This won't necessarily help her to "sleep through the night", but it might help prevent her from waking up at night and being wide awake and wanting to play or interact with you. She will still wake frequently at night to eat, but the idea is to teach her to just go back to sleep once she has eaten.

Spitting up is normal for babies, if she is spitting up excessively she may have reflux so you can always mention it to your doctor, but it's just one of those unfortunate things you just have to live with when you have a baby.

Don't worry about the hiccups, they are common and babies aren't bothered by them. They aren't harmful in any way so even if there was something you could do about it, there's really no reason to bother.

 

[noon_child]

I just want to add, that if you WANT to make eye contact with you're LO at night go ahead and do it. It is not going to suddenly create a baby who never sleeps at night, it just might be like the others said that if she is having an alert period it encourages her to want to play. Eye contact is an important part of bonding and showing your baby that you are responding to her, so please don't feel like there is a "rule" that says you can't and if you do you will create a bad sleeper. It is just one of the suggested methods for babies who are very active at night to reduce their stimulation.