To ask you to help an anxious first time mum?

[AnxietyTown]

Would you be concerned about this?

My 2 week old has basically slept all day. He is still moving/stretching and opening his eyes but only fleetingly before he's zonked again.

He hasn't woken up himself for a feed since lunch time but I have managed to get him to have one (half asleep) but jiggling him around enough for him to wake to have a bottle but I kept having to actively try and keep him awake until he'd had the bottle.

We did have a particularly bad night the other night where he was up with trapped wind until 5am! But that was the night before last and he slept pretty well last night.

I know babies can sleep a lot, but the longer he's sleeping the more anxious I'm feeling!!

He doesn't have a temp or seem unwell in any other way.

Am I just being PFB?!

Definitely seek advice when you can, and keep making to feed, it may be normal for your baby, especially if they’re small, or it may be something else.

My second baby didn’t wake to feed you cry much, and wouldn’t latch on at all, but everyone put it down to her being small and therefore having very little energy.
She slept a lot - too much really - and it worried me so I called my MW as I was still under them, and they took bloods and called me an hour later.
It turned out that even though I didn’t think she was very yellow, she had extremely high bilirubin levels so she was very jaundiced and had high infection markers.
She needed to be under constant lights for days, had blood cultures done and was put on various IV drips.
It was very distressing, and I’m still not over it fully, but she made a full recovery (though she did end up banana coloured!) in a month or so time.

I hope it’s nothing, and you’ve just got a baby who loves to sleep.

Waking! Stupid phone.

XPost - Glad he’s more awake, maybe he’s just a night owl?

@AnxietyTown yes, sorry the worry now never stops it just changes with each phase. Glad he is awake more now. Babies are funny little things.

Yes. This is life now. Sorry!

Oh yes. The worry is permanent. Just make sure you don't stress yourself unduly. Just you wait until they have figured out how to roll.... just as you've changed and dressed them on your bed.

My first: didn’t sleep longer than 45 mins at a time for the first 2 years of life. She’s 4 and hates sleep still.

My second: hardly saw him with his eyes open the first 6 weeks of his life. He’s 6 months now and loves sleeping.

They’re definitely all different and newborns can be very very sleepy. I wouldn’t worry too much but definitely speak to a health visitor if you’re concerned. Do full nappy change - cold wipes on the bod etc - to wake when a feed is needed.

My son slept all night the first night home and I was texting my mum in a panic because I didn't know what I was supposed to do.

Glad he's more awake now. The worrying never stops - it just changes.

Mine is the same sometimes OP. HV told me he was just having a growth spurt that day. He is 7 months now and still has days like that every now and then.

I have two now, nearly 3yo and just turned 1yo, and the worry is nowhere near the first few months with my PFB. There is always a worry about something (is he eating enough? is he eating too much? is she too loud? too quiet? are they sleeping too much? not enough? where are they? why are they suddenly quiet? have I ruined them forever because I did/didn't do XYZ?) but as they get older they get much easier to read and EVENTUALLY they learn to talk!

I found both tiny babies so hard because all their cries sounded the same to me and they couldn't even reach towards something they wanted. My 1yo obviously can't talk but I almost always know what she wants because of the noises, faces and gestures she makes. And also because we've spent a whole year establishing what she's usually like and what she's usually doing at any given time. So I feel like I know when to really worry and when I'm just fretting about stuff.

So please don't think you'll always be worried about him the way you are now. It's so hard when you haven't had any sleep and don't have any perspective. I'm quite an anxious person and my PFB just sent it through the roof (he didn't gain weight, didn't feed, we went back to hospital, big drama, he ended up totally fine) but actually a lot of having a newborn is just objectively worrying because they are WEIRD THINGS. There's always a worry, and it does change, but it won't always be like this for the rest of your life.

I was told to strip and blow on my new bien to wake them for a feed
He's probably having a sleepy day after rough night
But always check with professional