Normal for a 7.5 week old?

[LighteningBolt]

Baby is 7.5 weeks. Is this normal?

He seems to sleep in the mornings (after initial wake up and feed) and then in the afternoons and evenings up until about 10-11pm he is very alert, sometimes clingy but definitely not sleepy. I have read that by now he should be having a few naps and being sleepy before bed time?

Secondly, he seems to be waking every 2.5 hours for a feed even though previously it was every 4 hours. Again, the book I'm reading says he ought to be at 5 hours straight by now.

He is hungry a lot and seems to easy more than the advised amount for 7 weeks (bottle fed).

I'm sure it probably is normal but just checking as the other mums in my NCT group all have a different experience to me!

Sorry typo- that should say he seems to eat more....

I used to hate it when my mum said this but it is true - your baby hasn't read the book 😬 They are all different and you'll find your own routine in your own time. I obsessed over books and articles with my eldest, just wish I'd had a bit more confidence and followed my instincts.

Honestly stop reading books! Babies are individuals they don't follow a manual.

I speak as someone who has had two on total opposite ends of the scale. The first being the textbook baby and the second.....well lets just say she wrote her own book and it was called 'Sleep is for losers'.

I think the weirdest thing is that he's now feeding every two hours instead of 3-4. Surely he should be making progress?

Bin the books.
Drop your expectations.

One day my baby napped for 5 hours. The next day he didn't nap. Does it mean anything? No.

Babies go through phases. They change all the time.

@LighteningBolt

I think the weirdest thing is that he's now feeding every two hours instead of 3-4. Surely he should be making progress?

It isnt "progress" to eat less frequently - not from baby's perspective! As others have said, he hasn't read the book. They're all different so just follow his lead, honestly. They're all over the shop for the first 6 months especially.

If he stops putting weight on, or cries inconsolably - those are the only reliable signs that something needs to change on your end tbh. Otherwise just do whatever works and it will be fine.

I agree stop reading the book if it’s not making you happy. Those books are only good for self validation if it works!

He is making progress - sometimes that will mean feeding more often to build up his strength. Adjust your expectation that sleep=progress.

Progress for babies is not a straight line. I remember thinking I'd cracked it when dd1 slept 10pm -6am at 8 weeks - it didn't last long!

As pp said just be responsive and enjoy any good stretches of sleep that come along as you never know how long they will last. Brace yourself for 4 month sleep regression

I think the weirdest thing is that he's now feeding every two hours instead of 3-4. Surely he should be making progress?

Progress defined how? It sounds like your classic 8wk growth spurt. If he were breast fed he’d be ramping up the frequency of feeds in order to increase supply. Cluster feeding on an evening and being a bit unsettled is also normal.

5 hours between feeds seems an awful long time for such a young baby. The every 4 hours thing is very outdated, 2.5-3 hours is way more normal. I bf but mine fed that often until they weaned just before 6months. They went longer at night, but still only 6 hours or so.

Feed on demand and be led by him :). Like pp said, put the books down. Every baby is different.

You've got a perfectly normal baby op

There's no 'should', your baby is an individual. Let him sleep and eat when he wants to, he knows best.

Just to manage your expectations - do not expect sleep 'progress' to be linear. Expect sleep to be up and down for the next 2 years. You might be lucky and your baby might sleep through fairly early, or they might still wake at 2 years. There's very little you can do to affect whether they're a 'sleeper' or not, despite what the books tell you.

The sleepy morning/wakeful evenings is normal too - my 10 week old goes down for the night around 10pm. I don't see the point in fighting against her natural pattern, her bedtime will creep earlier in time.

Ok thanks everyone. I think as well as the book I'm also being influenced by my mum, who said "why are you still feeding him 8 hours a day with those tiny bottles?" And said that by now she was feeding me and my sister every 5-6 hours...!

@LighteningBolt

Ok thanks everyone. I think as well as the book I'm also being influenced by my mum, who said "why are you still feeding him 8 hours a day with those tiny bottles?" And said that by now she was feeding me and my sister every 5-6 hours...!

Bear in mind that baby milk is different nowadays, its been reformulated over time to be more like breastmilk tbf. So babies digest it quicker. The smaller amounts we feed today are also better to prevent reflux/vomiting.

My DM fed me on evaporated cows milk (!!) and you better believe that kept me very full for hours on end, mostly because it will have been really hard to digest!

You're doing wonderfully OP, try not to take your DM's comments to heart, she doesn't know what she doesn't know.

Ok thanks everyone. I think as well as the book I'm also being influenced by my mum, who said "why are you still feeding him 8 hours a day with those tiny bottles?" And said that by now she was feeding me and my sister every 5-6 hours...!

Yeah. Different time, and what we know about babies has moved on.

My mum was told to feed 8oz formula every 4 hours. In between she would put me in the garden to sleep, and ignore my cries until the clock said it was feed time.

She thought bf was dirty and unhygienic. She was told formula was “scientific”, everything was sterile, measured and controlled.

We know better now. We know picking up babies and responding to their needs doesn’t make them clingy or dependent, or create “rods for our backs”. in fact the opposite- an emotionally secure baby is better equipped for independence. Starving babies by the clock and depriving them of physical contact is just unhealthy.

Feed your baby if he’s hungry. Don’t listen to “back in my day” advice :)