Panic attack!!

[YogaMummy2B]

Blooming heck, this parenting business is very stressful. Advice needed please.
My DD is 3 weeks old and has so far been a very fussy girl! She cluster feeds all the time and barely sleeps. I have a tough time going to the loo during the day as she either wants to feed or be held.
However last night she woke at 2am and had a feed for 1/2 hour then immediately back to sleep. Woke at 4 ish fed and back to sleep after 20 mins of burping and rocking. Then again at 6 ish and stayed awake off and on until about 2 pm. She was feeding lots during this period.
She has now been asleep since 2pm. I woke her at 5pm and she fed for 1/2 hour and straight back to sleep. Tried to wake her again at 7ish to have another feed but she was having none of it! I am breastfeeding.
Is this normal? I'm a little stressed.

Yes, the early stages of motherhood are hard work and stressful. It sounds like you are doing well with it all.
Do not stress that your DD has been sleepier this evening than usual. That is not a bad sign of anything. At only 3 weeks old, she is yet to establish a steady routine and things can change suddenly at any time.
She'll probably be different again tomorrow evening. Don't stress about it, try to enjoy the extra few minutes without needing to feed or hold her.

In general, do not suffer yourself too much on her behalf. It is true that many babies want to be held or feed constantly.
This is natural, but it is not unreasonable to put her down somewhere safe and leave her crying for two minutes while you pop to the loo. You have to look after yourself in order to be able to look after her.
Make sure that you get to the loo as often as necessary. Also make sure that you are eating and drinking enough to keep yourself going.
It won't hurt or harm her to leave her for a couple of minutes while you attend to your own vital needs.

Hi yogamummy!

How is your dd doing now? Are you still stressed?

Hey yogamummy! How are you? Congratulations on your DD.

Absolutely agree with RuthChan that DD is yet to figure out night/day and a sense of her routine. I found with DS that he needed to be held/co-sleep a lot for the first few months and a sling was really helpful for hands free - sleepy nico or mobywraps are a couple I know are pretty good.

It is really normal for a baby to feed a lot at this time as her desire to suckle will be so strong and it will really help with your milk supply. I found clustering feeding really overhwelming in the night when DS had been on off for 4 hours - but this always followed with some sleep and soon settles down, although I know that isn't much comfort when you are knackered (I had super sore nipples after such epic feeds). I always assumed babies just drifted off and found it a bit of a shock to discover this wasn't the case. Hang on in there - you are finding out so much about her and getting to understand how she sleeps/feeds etc. This will change as time goes on so just hold tight and try to go with the flow. I am a total novice to this all but have found that what feels like an age ends up being a fleeting stage and before you know it you are focusing on something new about your baby , smiling, sitting up, weaning! Take care of yourself and your needs. Use any help you can get. Do you have a DP/friends around so you can have a bit of you time (soak in the tub, nap etc)?

Hope you are doing ok. Let us know how you are getting on.

DD freaked me out by sleeping from 8pm -2am one night when she was 3 weeks old and then repeating the trick with a 10pm-4am slot the following night. It did not last sadly.

But don't worry. They like freaking you out in the first few weeks. If she was persistently very sleepy and feeding very infrequently (normal range is anything from about 6 feeds to all the sodding time) for several days then you might want to have a quick word with your HV or GP. But a few long sleepy shifts are nothing to worry about.

It will become less stressful. I'm not sure there was a huge amount I could have done about the stress in the first few weeks. I'd just become responsible for another human being and it freaked me out hugely. Every time I woke up for the first 6 weeks I thought 'Omigod I've got a baby!'. But after about 6 weeks it became clear that she continued to exist even if I didn't watch her all the time (and even if DH took her off for a walk so I could get a nap) and I began to relax. I hope you feel that way soon.

Thanks all, Mumsnet helps me stay sane!
Well she made up for her long sleep by staying awake from 2am to 8am this morning!!
Veronica thanks for the 'all the sodding time' comment, you made me feel a little better in my sleep deprived state!
I think she may like swaddling as tried that for first time at 8am this morning and she went over immediately!