How to Keep Newborns Awake During the Day

It can become frustrating when your newborn confuses day with night, and does most of the sleeping during daytime hours. Not only could this disrupt your daily routine, but it also does not allow your baby to get situated onto an appropriate sleeping schedule, because newborns that sleep during the day might be more awake at night. To help your baby get on track, you can keep your newborn awake during the day.

Instructions

    • 1

      Keep your newborn's room, and other rooms in the house, illuminated. This does not mean you have to place the crib in the direct sunlight or beneath a lamp, but you want your baby to be someplace that is light so that your baby is not coaxed back to slumber by a dark room.

    • 2

      Avoid soothing consistent sounds, such as background music, that might make your newborn want to go to sleep. It is good to play soothing, steady music at night when trying to get your baby to fall asleep, but not if you are attempting to keep your newborn awake.

    • 3

      Don't leave your newborn in a swaddle during the day. Take your baby out of the swaddle in the morning and do not put your baby back into the swaddle until it is bedtime. If you are concerned about your baby catching a draft from being without the swaddle, layer your baby in warmer clothes.

    • 4

      Keep your baby engaged and stimulated. Play with your newborn by making noises with rattles and other toys, or touching your newborn's fingers and toes.

    • 5

      Avoid placing your newborn into devices that will rock your baby back to sleep, such as mechanical swings. Reserve things like swings for the evening.

    • 6

      Keep your newborn on a consistent feeding and napping schedule. Newborns typically need to feed every 3 to 4 hours, and they require a lot of sleep. However, you can make sure your baby does not nap for hours and hours as part of adjusting to being more awake during the day.

    2. Previous:

    Next:

    • When are babies usually able to sit up by themselves?
      Most babies are able to sit up by themselves between 4 and 7 months old. However, theres a wide range of normal development. Some babies might achieve this milestone earlier, around 3 months, while others may take a bit longer, up to 9 months. Heres
    • When Do Newborns Stop Sleeping All the Time?
      Newborns seem to sleep all the time and not at all. Newborns sleep cycles are much shorter than an adults and occur in a fairly regular round-the-clock-pattern. Your infant will still require lots of sleep as she gets older, but youll find that shell
    • What Is Sleep Regression?
      Is your formerly perfect sleeper suddenly waking up in the middle of the night or wailing every time you put her down at her regularly scheduled naptime? You may be facing a case of sleep regression. Here’s what sleep regression is, when i