Dannii, you have been given some excellent advice here....Ashton is only 6 weeks old and it does take some time to get a Baby into a routine and as a baby he will wake at all odd hours for a feed.

It's great he is getting use to noises around the home that is a plus...but maybe his day time naps should be in his room so he gets use to knowing that this is the place he sleeps and maybe not so bright, might help.....and only  when he is awake then have him in the lounge room, so he associates the difference between night & day.

I wish you well, but give it time.

Regards Janice

It used to drive me crazy to until I would put him down at night for his cat nap as Francis also did not sleep through the night at all, so I picked him up and brought  him to bed with me, and it was the only way either of us were able to get a good night sleep...   I stil had to wake to feed him, but at least in between we managed to sleep well.. Then for his naps I'd stick him in his bed during the day...

It was easy in for me to finally get him back to sleeping in his own bed once we managed to get a routine going..

I wish I could tell you a better way but it was the only way for me, to be able to sleep... Oh and I slept every minute I could when he did.. :)

I actually don't agree with controlling the feedings.  I don't know if you are breast of bottle feeding but if you are breastfeeding you can't control when a 6 week old baby eats.  They need to eat whenever they are hungry which is all of the time.  In my opinion the best thing you can do is establish consistant nap rountines.  Same time same place every day.  A child will sleep better at night if they are getting enough sleep during the day.  A 6 week old baby I hate to say is going to wake at all hours of the night.  It is only 6 weeks old. 

Hi Dannii!  There are some great books around that can help.  One that mums at playgroup highly recommend is Tizzie Hall - she has a website and a book and they detail routines for all age babies - one mum found that after 4 days on teh routine her son slept through (wish mine worked that easily.... ) so it's worth a try.  You could also try I think it's "Sleep Right, Sleep Tight" and there are lots more.  If you can find something that works for you let us all know!

This is from out of ur blog ur latest one!

You have to keep him awake towards around 3pm in arvo till its bedtime later otherwise he is not going to get in a routine he has his nights and days mixed up. We used to take off the nappy, put on the nappy, take off the clothes, put on the clothes, anything to keep them awake to reverse this. It worked. From 4 weeks of age both my two have slept through the night. U just keep unwrapping them, Un dressing them, changing nappies. Take them off put them on. Also your milk will be of poorer quality through the nite than the day. Around 6pm i found was the worst feed and as it got on through the nite it was of poor quality. So we need him awake most of the arvo till probally 8pm at night to sleep through to about 6am or so with maybe one feed at night.

Hi Danni

I remember you on here with all your questions during pregnancy..haha...now the BIG dilemmas begin! I know how you feel about the lack of sleep...it can be excruciating!! Especially when you are woken up every 2hrs through the night, be alright if you got 2hrs sleep, but it takes 1hr to feed and then you've got to fall back asleep again, and it seems by the time you've managed to fall asleep he/she is crying again for the next feed! May I recommend contacting the Australian Breastfeeding Association 073844 8166 - regardless of whether or not your breastfeeding. They are mothers themselves and are excellent support and you can ring them anytime of night or day.  

Be careful in setting routines that you do not become too rigid with them and check with the ABA but I'm pretty sure it's normal for him to still be feeding every 2-3 hrs at this age.  If you stretch him too long you may find your milk drying up. Sleeping during the day yourself is not going to help encourage him to be awake.  Easier said than done though.

When you say you cannot wake him when he drifts back off to sleep - try tickling his ears- I used to clean out his wax with my fingernail, which would help wake him.  continue to tickle his ears throughout the whole feed.

He may be waking frequently if he is not getting enough milk.

Here is an assignent for you:

For a whole day/night I want you to record the time you feed him and how long he fed for.  This might help to see what is going on.

 It's going to take a lot of perseverance and consistency on your part. It may take a few weeks at least. So here goes, this is what I do to get them in routine.

Feed every 4 hours. If he wakes during the day before that, wait until the feed is due. It can be flexible tho, up to half hour each side. He may cry and fuss waiting for it. Then just keep the 4 hour routine going. Same every day. Same same and more same lol. At night if he gets sleepy, do what Izzy has said. Wake him so that he gets his whole feed. Keep going with the routine no matter what. This is the hard part, it might take a two weeks or so for him to get the hint. He'll begin to learn when his feeds are and sleep around them. you are doing the right thing with keeping things bright in the day and dark at night.  Not giving in is the key, even if he's driving you nuts at first. He will get the routine. Your doing a great job and he will settle in to the routine as long as you stick to your guns.

There are sometimes day cottages attached to large hospitals that run day visits. I found they were fantastic. You go to lunch while they do the settling and help establish the routine for you. I found they were a big help to me, worth a try even if it's a lunch break lol. They deal with routines and have a ton of experience and advice.

Cath xxoo

Our Dr suggested doing one hour of sleep and one hour awake with Jedd during the day.

So if he slept I gave him one hour to sleep during the dya then I was to wake  him up and keep him awake for at last an hour. Then he could sleep if he watned to.....I kept this up for about 3-4 days and it worked.

It is exhausting though. And very hard to keep awake a baby when your already very tired as well.

Good Luck

You may be able to help him out by controlling his feeding. I think he is waking up often at night because he gets hungry so by day time he is so exhausted and just want to sleep.

This isn't easy, I know, but try your best to help him feed well at night. Some of the things you can do to help him stay away is to unwrap him, maybe even take his shirt off of it's not too cold. It's very common for babies this age to fall asleep in the middle of a feed.  What I've done with my son was to feed him and when he fell asleep, I unwrap his swaddle. The sudden feel of the air on his skin wakes him up slightly, and then when he falls asleep again, I unsnap his shirt to expose his belly. There were nights when I even had a baby wipe and swiped it on his forehead just to get him to eat. After it stops working, I stop and change his diaper. Again, the cold air snaps him awake and then that's enough to finally get him to eat enough.   I had to do these things with my twins too, though not to such an extent though, thankfully.

It's a lot of work, but you can try it out to see if he sleeps better/longer between feeds at night.