It’s Late Night, The Baby Is Awake.. Now What?

It's Late Night, The Baby Is Awake.. Now What? 

Before I had kids, I'd always hear about the loss of sleep and drinking coffee more. All of that had definitely happened but I still need help. When the baby is up late at night, what do I do?

I'd love to sit here and tell you that I have all of the answers but the truth is, I don't. I've learned a lot about having a newborn. You will lose lots of sleep, you'll change a lot of diapers and drink more coffee. I now find myself drinking coffee at hours like 3 pm and 6 pm because I know my son will be up.

I think mom and I tried keeping him up longer before nightfall and it worked one night, but I'm still planning in case it doesn't work tonight. I often find myself being up with my son during those late nights. I'm not upset at mom, she's with him all day and deserves as much sleep as she can get. She also wakes up to breastfeed in the middle of the night as well. While we're up, my son is so playful and full of life. He doesn't fall asleep until about 2:15 am. My question is, what to do while he's up?

This may seem like an easy question, but I don't know if playing with him is the right thing to do. I try to keep him occupied with a toy that won't' make him go too crazy and watching TV hoping he'll doze off. Is this the best way? I'd love to play with him but it feels counter-productive to play with him when I want him to sleep. What do you do when your newborn doesn't want to sleep and is staying up late at night? Let me know! I just want to make sure I'm doing all of this the right way, and I secretly want to show mom I have all of the answers!

Help me be an awesome dad by sending me your suggestions @BigDawgDreDay.