Very sleepy 3 wk old - is this normal?

[monkeynumberthree]

My 3 week old DD3 sleeps brilliantly at night (5hrs straight) but also sleeps for the majority of the day. I have to wake her after 3-4hrs for a feed, but then she frequently only breastfeeds briefly (15mins) before dropping off again. If I can wake her up properly then she will feed for up to an hour. (I am also topping her up with formula due to previous severe milk supply problems). She has a bit of a cold at the moment and is very snuffly. It took her 3 weeks to regain her birthweight so I'm a bit concerned that she is spending too much time sleeping. Not counting feeding time, she's probably awake for a max of 2-3hrs per day. Should I be worried?

She isn't too hot, and with 2 under-fours running riot there's plenty of noise, when she is awake she is very happy and alert, plenty of wet/dirty nappies etc and the midwife commented on how lovely and pink she was so I assume she's not jaundiced. Are some babies just naturally very sleepy at this age?

DD1 and DD2 were both rubbish sleepers so having a baby that sleeps is new to me! Any tips on keeping DD3 awake also very welcome!

[Speedos]

I swear my youngest slept solidly for the first 3 months, I always had to wake him to feed. Eldest never slept. I think if they are gaining weight it's fine.

[monkeynumberthree]

Thanks Speedos, that's reassuring. Did you find any good ways of keeping them awake, or did you just go with the flow?

[doublecakeplease]

Are you on any meds which could make you sleepy and transfer through your bm??

[monkeynumberthree]

No, I'm not on any medication. In fact, I've been drinking the occasional cup of full-caff coffee...

[girliefriend]

My dd was like this, she slept all the time !!!

Her birth was quite traumatic though and I always out it down to her recovering. She started to wake more during the day around 3 months and I was able to get her into a good routine of having a longish sleep in the morning and afternoon.

To this day she remains a fairly good sleeper (now 6yo!) but I put this down to my excellent parenting

[BillyBollyBrandy]

DD2 was like this until 6 weeks and hasn't slept since. Make the most of it

[monkeynumberthree]

Oh, I'm not complaining Billy, I'm delighted she's sleeping so well at night and, with everything to do before Christmas, it's been quite handy that she's slept loads - I just wondered if it's anything I should be concerned about... Having had 2 rubbish sleepers I am very appreciative of it though!

[lyndie]

All 3 of mine did this until 4-5 weeks when they 'woke up' - it was the lovely calm before the storm!

[BillyBollyBrandy]

I remember feeling smug that dd2 was an even better sleeper than dd1.

Then she decided to teach me humility

[Purplehonesty]

Yeah both mine were asleep practically all day and night til about four months. Then they got into a nice routine of two long naps a day.
Nothing to worry about. Contented babies that's all!

[monkeynumberthree]

Thank you all - that's very reassuring that it's normal. She's just been really awake and alert for a good hour and a half this evening (clearly excited about Santa coming!) so that's made me feel better too.

And I won't count my chickens just yet!