Newborns can only stay awake for two hours...

[newmum234]

I’ve read this in several baby books now. My newborn (almost 3 weeks) is living proof that it’s not true! He’s been awake since 8 this morning, has barely slept since then and has been crying on and off all morning. I’ve fed several times (formula), burped and changed his nappy - now thinking of feeding him some more formula to see if that makes any difference, even though he’s technically not due for another hour or so. I’m just a bit worried that it means he could be unwell? What do you think?

He sounds over tired, at that age they really should only be awake for upto about 45 minutes at a time (Google baby wake times). When they're awake they build up cortisol which is broken down as they sleep. The longer they're awake, the more cortisol build up, the harder for them to fall asleep.

Maybe try some new methods of getting baby to sleep? For us the best way is stroll or rocking in the pram, putting in a.baby sling or a ride in the car seat

Sometimes they need a little bit of help to drop off. Your little one is probably at the point where he's waking up a bit now, out of the constant dozing phase!

Try full tummy, clean nappy, and then a lovely cosy cuddle, lots of rocking and swaying and shhhhing. Pop him in a sling if you have one!

Yep, newborns can only be awake for a short time before getting over tired. At that age I'd wake my DC at 7am and feed, they'd then go back to sleep between 8/8.30 am. I've always found sleep begets sleep, so if you can get into a loose routine it might make him more content. Some prefer a more 'on demand' approach, but I found getting into a sleep and feeding schedule made me feel more confident and defo resulted in more chilled out babies, as they were rarely over tired. It could also be a growth spurt, so he won't sleep as much, be more clingy and want to feed more often.

Its so hard isnt it? I got my self into such a stress everyday going through exactly what you describe. I learnt that my baby could only really go 45-90mins of being awake, and I also learnt to look for very subtle sleepy signs. For my son thats the first signs of general unhappiness when ive sorted everything else and the first yawn (although this doesnt always happen). When I see these things I start with sleep interventions, like rocking, singing to him, and a dummy.

This works 9 times out of 10, though it isnt fail safe - the other day he was awake from 10 - 5pm. That was awful!

Keep going though, you're doing great!

I’ve only recently discovered this (due to another MN thread) and dd3 is 5.5 months now, but the huckleberry app is amazing - i timed my naps and feeds for 3 days, it tells me when she’s due a nap and i now know exactly how long the pre-nap feed takes so factor that in to timings and she’s never overtired.

I’m not saying there aren’t still odd days that make no sense, but overall it’s revolutionised day sleep for me to 3 predictable naps.

Oops *dd2
Invented myself an extra child there...

Ahahahahaha. My DD would have had something to say about that. She never slept. From birth getting her to take a nap at all was a battle - my entire day used to be spent trying to get her to sleep - and at night she never slept for longer than 3 hours at a stretch, and that would be a really good night - 45 minutes at a time was more usual, and I remember a particularly bad time when she only sleep in 20 minutes bursts.

She's 8 now, high-functioning autistic, and still an insomniac. She's exceptionally bright and utterly lovely though - I think it's just her.

Also totally agree with @MrsMcTats with 'sleep begets sleep'. My son has a loose day time routine (hes 7 weeks old), if I can keep him to this routine then it'll be a nice day. If I miss the first nap I know the day is probably going to be a bit of a battle.....

Thanks. I’ve just changed his nappy again and given him 100ml of formula then a burp and cuddle. I’ve now put him down in his carrycot so hopefully he will now nod off!

Should babies be in a darkened room to nap? He’s in the lounge but I could close the curtains if that might help?

I dont put my baby in darkened rooms for daytime naps at the moment as he sleeps perfectly well in the lounge. I do wander when I should start though...

If hes happy where he is i'd keep him there

It doesn't have to be dark now but would he get off better if you cuddled him or took him out for a walk? He's perhaps a little young to be put down and expected to get asleep on his own. Most babies don't learn to self settle for a long time

I should say i've found it to be trial and error. Also a swaddle helps. I remember my mum telling me swaddles should only be for night sleeping, but I use it all the time for every nap.

My lo refused to nap for a while as a newborn. I realised we were missing her cues and she was actually exhausted! Daytime naps were always just as the room was (curtains open or closed) until we could put her down in her bed alone at 6 months. Since then it's been closed to keep the room darker/quieter/cooler or cozier.

Agree Lets. Swaddling, whore noise and using a T-shirt DH has worn (if dad is around) as the sheet in the carrycot should all help

Have you tried walking in buggy/sling/rocking to sleep?

Mine used to nod off in their own until about ten days old, then they’d need help getting to sleep. They could only do 90 minutes awake.

My DS would do this sometimes but generally in the evening.
For example, he would wake at 5pm and I'd try to put him down for a nap (white noise, dark room, rocking) at about 6pm /6.30pm to no avail. This would continue every 45 minutes or so until he would eventually get so grumpy and over tired that he would scream and scream and then fall asleep from exhaustion at about 1am. It would happen from about 5 weeks old until maybe 12 weeks old or so. Not every night thankfully. It was woeful. Now at 5mo he is still hard to get down for a nap but it takes 10 mins rather than hours!

My 4 month can only self settle at night ie when it's dark and his white noise is on. For day naps he always needs to be cuddled and patted or walked in his pram. I think for smaller babies it's rare that they can put themselves to sleep

Also how often are you feeding?

I remember calling the midwife in tears when my DD would be happily up for 9 hours a day, just would not sleep! In the end aggressive sshhhing and gentle bum tapping did the trick. She was perfectly happy through the day but by about five would have a meltdown an absolute overtired mess

would he get off better if you cuddled him or took him out for a walk? He's perhaps a little young to be put down and expected to get asleep on his own.

I gave him a 10 min part burp/part cuddle after feeding then when he was looking drowsy, I put him in his carrycot. Do you think I should try more cuddle time?

He’s been down for about 15 minutes now and is making the occasional small noise but is hopefully drifting off.

Another thing - do you try to keep the noise down when your baby is napping during the day? DH and I have been chatting and watching TV as normal but could that be overstimulating him? I did read somewhere that it’s good to carry on normal household noise when they’re sleeping, so they don’t need to have absolute silence to get to sleep...

He probably won't be able to fall asleep by himself, its a skill babies have to learn and most don't manage it for several months. If i were you I'd cuddle him off to sleep and then pop him down in his cot, that'll likely work better than waiting for him to go off by himself, as he'll probably end up getting very upset instead!

Also how often are you feeding?

@GreyishDays I’ve been feeding whenever he wakes up crying and demanding food, which is about five/six times a day. This is in line with Aptamil formula’s recommendation (it says on the bottle that at 3 weeks old they should have 5 feeds a day).

However, the midwife said I should really be giving him eight feeds a day at this age, which would involve waking him up to be fed.

What do you think?

My baby will not sleep with absolute silence! To the extent we've had to move a radio into his room when trying to get him down for the night. Radio 4 is a key part of bedtime!

My babies would never sleep in the day if I put them down in a cot while they were still awake. The first month or so is called the fourth trimester - as in, they need to be held and cuddled as if they were in the womb still. Mine slept in the sling or in my arms.

I think you might be a bit optimistic with the putting in carry cot to sleep. Some babies will have this, many don’t. Mine would only sleep in arms/buggy/sling at that point. Poor wee thing needs to sleep.

I wouldn’t wake to feed unless the baby is not gaining weight as it should.