Should you wake a napping 6 week old?

If she sleeps better in a dark room then stick with that Mmmmm. Whatever works and gets you through the day is the best approach!

Great to hear things are getting easier! One more thing I just thought of, no idea if this actually works or not but to help my children sort out their day/night rhythms when they are young babies I've always done day time sleeps with the curtains open so the room is light.

Hi Mmmmm I know when you are feeling desperate it seems a long way off but like other posters have said, around the 3 month mark is often a tipping point when things start to get easier. Which is a good thing because by then you can be half crazed with tiredness! I personally would wait until then to really try for a routine but like kiwispiers says, there are things you can do now to help. From the daytime nap timings you've given, I wouldn't be doing any waking of bubs during the day. Are you able to try and sleep a bit when she is in the daytime? I find it easier in those early few months to adjust my schedule to my baby rather than try to adjust their schedule to mine - hope that makes sense! It's totally normal for your baby to be up until the time you've said in the evening, it's when they tank up on food so it's a busy feeding time. It doesn't last forever. Not sure what your husbands routine is but I find it really nice that bubs is up until then as it gives my husband a chance for cuddling and bonding when he gets home from work.

oh the other thing you can do now in preparation for a sleep schedule is to focus on developing sleep associations. When you see your baby is ready for a nap, go through a routine of settling (things like going into a dark room, swaddling, a cuddle a song and then putting to bed). Your baby will associate these things will feeling sleepy/falling asleep and later they will be cues to their body that it is nap time, which greatly speeds up the whole process. Watching carefully for the earliest tired signs (that first yawn or wide eyed stare etc) helps you allow enough time for the wind down routine rather than your baby getting overtired to the point they need rocking/feeding to sleep, or just fall asleep in their bouncer etc.

sometimes, but in the scenario you describe, imho no. your baby sounds like a normal, average 6 week old. As she gets older, her bedtime will become earlier but newborns generally do have quite a late bedtime and often need to clusterfeed for a few hours in the evening to tank themselves up for the night. I found the book "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child" very useful in understanding sleep patterns. According to Dr Weiisbluth ,who is a paediatrician and well known sleep researcher, you can't expect a baby to be ready to fit a pre-determined schedule until 12-16 weeks, after that point their circadian rhythms are more developed and a 7-7 or 6-6 type routine with predictable naps is common. what worked well for me in the first 3 months was to watch for tired signs, as per the baby whisperer books, to ensure I didn't miss the sleep windows, and to sometimes wake my newborn if he/she slept for longer than 2-3 hours during the day, to ensure they had enough time to eat. Generally babies that age are ready for a nap after approx 90 min awake time, although its better if you pay attention and figure out where your baby fits into that. Usually the better they nap by day the better they sleep at night. My wee girl is 3 months now and we've got as far as predictable wake time, first nap and bedtime, I hope to get her onto a predictable sleep schedule at around the 4 month mark although I'm finding it harder to focus on her with my toddler usually taking center stage, much easier with your first baby! Both my babies are in pretty light sleep from around 5am, which generally has been when they flutter, mutter, wriggle, grunt and groan and are easily woken. Again according to Weissbluth, this is quite normal, the deepest sleep is usually the first 4-6 hours after bedtime. Personally I don't feed on a schedule as i think its better/safer to follow your baby's cues regarding hunger, especially if you are breastfeeding ,as different babies will take different amounts each feed (and your supply and milk content fluctuates during the day) so some will need to feed more frequently than others. I haven't found it a problem to feed on cue and nap via a schedule. ps evelyn, put a basket with your nappy stuff and a change mat next to your bed, then you don't even need to get up for that :), I actually don't even change my baby's nappy at night (except when she was a newborn and still pooing at night) we just feed and straight back to sleep, no chit-chat, ;) <em>edited by kiwispiers on 12/01/2013</em>

I don't wake up my baby sometimes he sleeping 2-3 hours. We don't have much routine, he is 2 months and one week, feeding every 1 hour sometimes 45-30 mins unless sleeping. The only good thing he is sleeping during night with 2-3 feeds until around 7 am.We are coosleeping so its fine i don't need to get up only to change his nappy . Before i tried to wake him up during the day but it was silly idea as he get moody later so i left him as he is. Babies are clever they follow instinct.,

Mmmm, I am not sure. I must admit I am in a similar position, but I figure, babies grow when they sleep. So it can't be bad. Do you know how much your LO eats each feed? Is LO feeding regularly enough? If food is going in, I figure let them sleep... Let's see if anyone tells us otherwise!