Is this normal?

[youaremychocolatecake]

My 3.5 week old sleeps all the time. He has a few awake periods but they're very brief. He must sleep 20 hours out of 24 I reckon, or that's how it seems. He's gaining weight and feeding well but my first child never slept very much at all so this is a bit alien to me. I keep worrying something must be up with him? Or do I just enjoy it while it lasts? TIA

My second child seemed to sleep all the time, much more than my first. I remember worrying about it too but I don't think it lasted long (not sure how long, that period is a bit of a fog!) I think I got quite a lot done in that time though so make the most of it. If he is waking for feeds and seems alert in the periods he is awake I think it is probably nothing to worry about.

My little boy slept constantly (unless feeding) until he was about 3 months. FIL didn't see him awake for 8weeks and that included coming everyday for 2 weeks when DH went back to work.

Then I had another baby who didn't sleep at all!

DD slept all the time, our family all commented that they'd never seen her eyes as she was always asleep. Lasted until she was a couple of months old I think. I worried about it at the time, but she was fine, so I say make the most of it while it lasts.

It's good to hear I'm not alone, maybe I'll justake the most of it before it changes :) x

My dd was like this...I saw the GP with her, as my instinct said it was dodgy. She was my third baby, and it didn't sit quite right with me.
The GP impatiently dismissed me as a neurotic new mother, and told me most newborns sleep a lot.
Still I was not sated with his reply though...so I talked to my HV instead. She took me seriously, and referred me on to the children's hospital for tests.
It actually turned out that dd had a chronic UTI contracted in the womb, and she was really ill. That's why she slept so much. She has scarring on her kidneys as a result of it, and spent her first three years on daily antibiotics to prevent further damage lest she get another.

I'm not trying to scare you, but it can't do any harm to get it checked out. Trust your instinct.

Mind you - I had to wake dd to feed her - that's how much she slept.

I had this with dc2 and was so worried. My mum thought I was mad and told me to enjoy it. I checked with GP who also looked at me like id taken leave of my senses. I think if they are not showing any other signs which might cause you to worry then it's fine. I remember thinking I can't wait for dc2 to start being more awake and of course when she was I longed for the days when she slept all the time :-)

Enjoy while it lasts!

My DD was like this until about 8 weeks.

Thanks for all the replies. Guess I should make the most of the p&q x