Baby refused to sleep at night

Since returning home from hospital, our baby has been cranky at night, doesn't want to sleep despite seeing him yawning. First few nights, whenever we put him down into the cot, he will sleep awhile and cry non-stop. We had fed, checked his diapers and all clear. Some days he would prefer to sleep with the lights on or being carried. He sleeps most of the time in the day. I am tempted to wake him in the day frequently so that he will be tired at night. Is this the right method? And is the above all normal for newborn?

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Super Mum

If baby sleeps for >4hrs during the day, wake him up. Feed him well before bedtime too, so the night sleep can last longer. If all the basic needs have been met, then it might be insecurity that makes him cry when he wakes up in the middle of the night and want you to carry him. At a young age, a good swaddle helps a lot with helping baby feel secure!:) My baby didn’t sleep long both during the day and night initially, so it was really tiring. We started getting a routine going, and I also went for baby care training for putting baby to bed. Now at 2 months, we’re doing a lot of sleep training to keep to a routine and get baby to sleep without being carried. That has made a huge difference in her sleep quality, and my sanity. Heh. Oh, I know it’s tempting to keep the lights on, but babies need to learn the difference between day and night by about 2 months, so you need to turn off the lights to help baby know it’s night time, and that sleep must be longer than naps. Hang in there!

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5y ago

Actually I went for the recent Successful Breastfeeding Seminar by Pigeon, and Dr Wong Boh Boi and Sister Lilian were there to teach. Sister Lilian very kindly gave me some lessons after. Extremely effective. Highly recommend both of them