4 week old

[Roopoo]

Just looking for a bit of advice
DS is 4 weeks old and apart from being fed changed and cuddled spends his time in his moses basket.

Should I be doing more with him?
Should I be attempting a routine?

Keen for answers on this one too so will check back :)) x

You don't need to do much with a newborn to keep them happy. As long as they are cosy and warm and fed etc they just want to be near you and cuddled. You really can't cuddle a new baby too much!

Nothing wrong with a bit of fresh air though so bundle your baby up and enjoy the nice autumn weather.

Do you keep the Moses basket in the same room as you at all times?

I'm sure he'd rather be looking at you than at the ceiling.

I spoke to my baby everyday about random things and now she's 14 weeks on Wednesday and age laughs smiles gurgles all the time and chats away in baby talk and She's being doing that a few weeks now,

My friend has a little boy who is two weeks younger than my little girl and she hardly talks to him he's always in his Moses basket or pram and he doesn't baby talk hardly smiles and my friend will sit and say why doesn't my lo do all this and I honestly believe its because she doesn't communicate with him that often, all I have to do is say I love you to my baby girl and she smiles and the that's it blah blah blah from her hehe
Xx

The more you interact with your baby, the more they will interact with you. It must be pretty dull for him just looking at the ceiling all the time, don't you think?

Routines aren't a thing you HAVE to do. Most babies will get themselves into a rhythm of things, so just leave him to it. A lot of people stress about "needing" a routine, and its really not a big issue.

I agree with posters who say you get back what you put in from now on :) .... talk non stop in excited tones when they're awake. They will learn to smile and laugh... my ds is 5 months old and I chat to him non stop going on about whatever it is I'm doing and singing along to whatever song I have in my head.

When he was very small we didn't tend to use the Moses basket much. We had / have a bouncy chair and he'd sit in there watching whatever was going on, I'd move him round the house in it watching me.

As he stayed awake longer I'd put him under a play gym and let him have a kick about :)

I used to lay dd on her playmat for 10/15mins at a time at that age. Id also sit her in a bouncer for a bit and she would sleep in the moses basket.

She slept a LOT though.

Routine wise she fed every three hrs in the daytime, and I would generally swaddle her and put fown for a sleep after 45mins awake time.

Night time she had bath and bottle and down into the basket at 7pm and we dimmed the lights in the living room. We woke her (or she stirred) at 10.30pm so we fed and changed her and took her to bed. She would then wake about 3 for another feed and go back til 7.

Agree with goldplated that the rocker/bouncer chair is a good idea as it lets them watch you while you go about doing stuff.

If you don't have to do anything though, hold your baby, look into their eyes, sing to them, smile at them, make silly faces, whatever! They will just enjoy being with you because you are the most important person in their wee world.

fights urge to have another baby

Thanks for the tips.
I do hold him a lot etc it just worried me that he sleeps so much and seems to spend all day sleeping in his basket.
If he's awake then I hold him I would never leave him awake in his basket.
I will try to keep him awake more and use his bouncy chair and play mat.
How long should he be awake between sleeps now do you all think?
Sorry for the inane questions I have total brain block.

I would imagine 30-45 mins awake maximum at that age. It obviously increases as they grow, but it does seem like they are never awake when they are so new.

DD at 8 months was doing 2.5-3 hours awake at a time.

Now, at 11m she bloody hates naps!!

I wouldn't try to keep him awake

They sleep a lot in the first 2 weeks. That stops. You'll wish it hadn't.
As long as you're chatting with them when they're awake (carrying in sling, facing in bouncy chair) they'll be fine.

Thanks
I was a zombie with pnd with DD so feel like a first timer.

Use the sleeping time to make food and freeze it - the sleeping won't last! But is normal now (as long as they are waking to feed and gaining weight etc etc). Sleep is good for them - it's when they develop their brains and grow.

Bouncy chairs are great, but I think there are probably limits to the lengths of time they should be in them for at 4 weeks, due to the amount of support they get. Have a look online for more on that maybe.

When they are awake, as others have said, your face and voice is great entertainment. I don't think their vision is that well developed yet, so also try some black and white stuff - there is a nice squishy book called faces, which makes a nice crinkly noise too. Watch your baby closely and see what they seem to like and just do more as they seem more alert - don't let the big industry focused on 'developing' your baby make you think you need to do more than that! 4 weeks is very little.

Agree that fresh air is good - especially as apparently natural light helps them learn it's daytime, which then helps them learn it's night time, which should eventually lead to sleep. . . . . Plus babies love to look at natural things like tree leaves (difficult this time of year)

On routine, I wouldn't worry about it too much yet. The main advice I would give is to look out for when your baby looks tired, and then get them to sleep asap - avoids over tiredness. I did a bath every night from about 5 weeks, not at a set time but at a time that seemed to work for the little one each day. For my benefit as well as theirs, to mark the transition from day to night, which could get a bit blurry with all the feeding!