So what exactly is supposed to get easier after 6 weeks?

[HelgatheHairy]

So I've read/heard about how the first 6 weeks are the worst, things get easier after 6 weeks etc

Well DD is 6.5 weeks and no one has told her! She's exactly the same as before, cluster feeds, won't nap unless held, wakes every 2 hours at night, has a fussy hour (or two) in the evening when I have to walk around while feeding her. Why is 6 weeks supposed to be this magical number - what's supposed to happen??

Should add - she is getting more and more alert every day. She is spending longer in her swinging chair and loves the lights on her mobile above her cot (not that she'll sleep in it at night - we co sleep). So I'm not worried about her developmentally - just curious really.

Think someone's been having you on! I found it got easier after 12 weeks though, much less frequent night waking, no cluster feeds, etc.

Mine is 14 weeks and it's only recently getting easier. She sleeps for longer blocks overnight and naps in her bouncy chair rather than being held which isn't perfect but so much better. I was expecting her to magically change overnight at 6 weeks but she had other ideas. It actually got worse before it got better because of the introduction of colic, which is only now tailing off.

Hello helga

You need a sling, seriously. Both mine had all naps in it - first till 4/5 months ish and my 12wo is still going. Both mine have wanted to be held permanently but with a sling at least you can eat dinner and make tea!

Don't know about 6 weeks, really, it's been gradual easing of demands with mine rather than one dramatic improvement

For me things didn't get easier they just changed in where the difficultness was! I had a cluster feeder for 18 weeks and still go through spells of 2 hr waking at 10 months (teeth!) And I got so down with people telling me every week that 8, 12, 14 etc was the magic easier milestone. I found it easier just to focus on what was happening now and what I didn't need to do to put pressure on myself. Enjoy the lovely time with your baby I strangely miss the cluster feeding cuddles now I have a crawling ds.

Oh yes a sling is great when they're at the refusing to be put down stage.

People just make these numbers up. Ignore them

For me personally, the newborn stage was a breeze and ds just slept and ate. It gets harder

Haha, DH got obsessed with the whole 6 week thing, literally counting down the days, until I pointed out that it was very unlikely that DD was going to wake up a different baby exactly at the 6w point!

IMO, 8-10 weeks was when things started getting noticeably easier, and by 12w we were all almost human again.

With my first baby I started counting down to the magic six weeks from week one then got low when I realised absolutely nothing had changed at that point- I was still exhausted and baby still feeding round the clock and not putdownable!

The intensity eased for me both times around 12- 16 weeks but every baby is different. Just get through it day by day.

Hmmm not sure I'd agree with it getting easier at 6 weeks! For me, it got easier when DS was 3 and started nursery

I'd say around 10-12 weeks things get better (not necessarily easier) just because your baby starts to enjoy being in the world - smiles, makes noises that AREN'T crying, gets a bit more mobile, realises how interesting their hands and feet are, etc etc.

Also, it makes you happier because they move on from being a pooing, feeding, sleeping (yeah right) 'thing' to being your baby who you can have fun really interacting with.

Thanks all. I has started suspecting the 6 week thing was a myth. Possibly made up to give mothers (and fathers) something to aim for. When we get to 12 weeks (like a few of you mentioned above) and nothing changes will I be told its 18 weeks?

She is lovely though.

I think the ages just get upped and upped until they leave home. Every stage is hard in it's own way.

Please don't stress yourself out by

Hahahaha. I was told this with DC1. All 3 of mine have gone a bit mental at 6 weeks - either refluxy or colicky or worse sleep. And the novelty of a new baby is wearing off; sleep deprivation is building up.

I thing 2-3 months is when I have started feeling things are getting easier. Hang in there! You are doing a great job .

Sorry posted too soon!

Don't stress yourself out waiting for certain weeks I have done this ds is 4 months 2day and have myself in a right state a few times as he doesn't sleep through and I stupidly thought because other peoples babies had that he would.
I have found that going with what my ds needs works best for us both and he has been fine.
My ds only naps swaddled with white noise in a quiet room has never slept in a bouncy chair or Moses basket but will sleep in his swing for the odd 20 min period.
Keep posting on here the ladies are very helpful and knowledgable and because of them I feel I can enjoy my ds more.
FWIW around 9-10 weeks my ds started napping on the sofa beside me before that he would only settled being held and walked your baby will change but only gradually at their own time.
HTH

Definitely more like 6 months than 6 weeks for me! Still waiting for her to go to nursery!

Mine ignored the six week rule also. I remember feeling hard done by at the time, especially when it came to sleeping at night.

Oh and in terms of sleeping through, more like a year!

I think by 6 weeks you sort of feel more confident with what you are doing but both mine felt much easier from 3 months, longer stretches of sleep, more regular feeding times (although everything was subject to change). Anyway, don't be lulled, it isn't necessary easier, just... different!

Mine are older teenagers now but what I remember is that after 8.5 weeks (not 6) I felt better and more recovered and that made me more relaxed and the baby easier to deal with.

Good luck - it's early days - and it really does change - sometimes because you become more experienced and more able to deal with the troubles as they arise from crying at the school gate when you wave them off to hugging them when their first girl friend dumps them

I don't think things get easier as such, but the shock of giving birth has worn off by now and you start getting into a routine a bit more, you are learning to cope with the dramatic change to your lifestyle, which now revolves round a tiny, amazing human that you created, and includes getting little sleep for the foreseeable future.

I have a sling so I can at least make myself tea. I just need to remember to use it more.

The lack of sleep is bad but I'm dealing with it. Not helped be our dog going loopy and barking his head off for an hour at 4.30am. Thankfully we're rural and don't have close neighbours!

Gah. I was told it got easier in stages:

1. Baby reaches birthweight. A lie.
2. 6 weeks. A lie.
3. 12 weeks. A lie.
4. 6 months when baby starts to wean. A lie.
5. When baby starts to crawl so they tire themselves out during the day more. A lie!!!!

I'm just glad there's lots of grungy clothes in the shops. Suits the circles under my eyes.