Newborn...Three Questions

[LikeAnAdventCandleButNotQuite]

I have a three day old daughter, and three questions, if anyone can advise...

1. How much sleep? She seems to sleep whenever she's not feeding/winding. What can I do at this age to encourage more 'awake' time, during the day? Asidefrom her bath, she has only been fully alert for tiny periods of time.

2. Any wonder tips on keeping her awake enough to take a feed? She dozes on and off her feed (Bottle)

3. Playtime - would she get anything out of laying on her playmat, lying under her mobile, or is that for a bit later on?

1. How much sleep? She seems to sleep whenever she's not feeding/winding. What can I do at this age to encourage more 'awake' time, during the day? Aside from her bath, she has only been fully alert for tiny periods of time. *Fantastic! Enjoy it while it lasts. Next week she won't sleep at all.

2. Any wonder tips on keeping her awake enough to take a feed? She dozes on and off her feed (Bottle) Don't bother. She'll eat when she's hungry.

3. Playtime - would she get anything out of laying on her playmat, lying under her mobile, or is that for a bit later on? Just snuggle her close and enjoy her. Plenty of time for her to play by herself.

Enjoy the calm before the storm My dd was incredibly sleepy for about 3 days after birth, I'm not sure if that was down to any drugs I had in labour (pretty sure I had pethidine as well as an epidural). SHe soon woke up and became more alert. I think it's too early to try and amuse her tbh, you can put her under the playmat but I doubt she'll even notice at this age. And congratulations :) A new baby for Christmas must be lovely.

Newborns are supposed to sleep all the time, don't worry about it. Dozing on and off while feeding is normal too.

Don't try to keep her awake or over-stimulate/play with her. All newborns need is to feed, sleep and be cuddled.

DD3 slept all the time for the first few weeks, as apparently I did, don't worry about it they will sleep as much as they need and some babies need a lot. You don't have to panic about bathing her, dd3 didn't have a bath until 5 weeks old as she was never awake long enough, just changing her clothes and nappy exhausted her. Awake time will come you don't need to encourage it.

Not sure about the feeding as I breastfed so it was easy enough to put them back to the breast if they fell asleep quickly.

They don't focus very far at first so the best place is in your arms looking at your face. As she gets older she will enjoy a playmat

Normal. Awake for a maximum of 20 mins at a time is normal at this age - over the next few weeks she will become slowly more alert. Having said that keep an eye on her nappies - she should be having at least 6-7 wet or dirty nappies a day, any fewer and she may be dehydrated which would make her more sleepy - contact your midwife. Plus see how she is when she is awake, if she is alert then that is good, even if it's only for a short time.

I doubt she'd be able to focus on a playmat or mobile just yet :) She will like you singing or talking to her and maybe carrying her in a sling or just holding and rocking her :) I think advice is to undress them for feeds and tickle their feet, maybe even stop to change their nappy halfway through a feed if they are falling asleep. But if midwives are happy she's getting enough milk I wouldn't worry.

Congratulations!

Congratulations

Please leave her to sleep! Newborns sleep all the time (when they're not feeding) - perfectly normal and good for their development! Try and think of the next few months as the fourth trimester an make everything as womb-like for your baby (warm, quiet, soft sounds, fed whenever they want ...) During these very early weeks, I would personally wake the baby for feeding, i.e feed on demand, but not let more than 3 hours go past without offering a feed.

As long as she is gaining weight and producing wet and dirty nappies, I'd let her doze off and wake and just keep offering her milk everytime she wakes. If the feeds are very short and she's not taking much milk, you could remove some of her clothes to cool her down, tickle her feet a bit when she dozes etc to encourage her to feed.

I wouldn't worry about the playmat, though it might be somewhere soft to leave her if you need to put her down. It won't do her any harm

Congratulations again But please try and relax - your baby knows what she's doing

My DS slept for about 20 hours a day as a newborn, enjoy it while it lasts!!

She doesn't need any stimulation yet, as others have said having cuddles and listening to your voice is enough.

RE feeding, mine were bf and I fed on demand. Dozing on and off while feeding is fine.

Congratulations

A "what the buggery's going on with the baby, then...??!!"-type book may be very useful to you! I certainly found a How To manual invaluable to answer all these - and a multitude of other questions - on dealing with a small baby.

Penelope Leach's book is very popular

I liked Robin Barker's Babylove as a non-prescriptive, helpful and reassuring manual.

What To Expect In The First Year is also very popular among parents.

No doubt there are others, but you only need one. They really help with those "Eek, why is the baby doing that?!" moments.

Good luck!

All totally normal for the first couple of weeks, you can put her on the playmat if you want but she probably won't do very much for a while.

I breastfed but I think with bottle feeding you're recommended to feed on demand in the first couple of weeks at least.

Congratulations!

Babies sleep all the time. Seriously. Just let her sleep and try and get some sleep yourself.

If your baby is dozing off towards the end of her feed I wouldn't worry too much, but if she's dozing off just a little way in, try undoing her clothes, tickling her feet or stroking the side of her face.

I wouldn't bother with a playmat for a while yet. My three didn't really like theirs until they were about 8 weeks old or so. Tiny babies are most comfy when they're being cuddled, so get some cuddles in! They also love faces, so holding her a little way away from your face (they can't focus very far when they're little) will be entertainment enough for her.