5 week old hasn’t slept

[Becproc23]

I’m having a nightmare with my 5 week old today. He was awake a lot during the night, not necessarily crying, just eyes wide open and fidgeting. He was also cluster feeding aswell, which he hasn’t done for a while.

I thought he would be exhausted, but no, with the exception of about 30 minutes this morning and 30 minutes this afternoon when I took him out in the pram, he’s been awake all day, crying for food for a lot of it too. It’s driving me mad, I have a headache, nothing seems to be settling him. I broke down earlier cause I’m just so fed up. Surely this lack of sleep isn’t good for a baby?

How about skin to skin? Sit or stand up, gently bounce, skin to skin. I used to go bra less and hold DC1 inside my t shirt when he was tiny. Later got a stretchy wrap carrier which was even better.

Oh bless him definitely not enough sleep for a 5 week old in the day. And also poor you, it's rough to have an upset baby all day. I've been there. I was so oblivious to how much babies needed to sleep that my poor little mite cried for weeks before I worked out I had to actively and intensely encourage his naps. I just assumed they would sleep when tired 🤣

When mine got in such a state I would shush loudly in his ear. He also gets that cheek to cheek comfort then too, whilst also rocking him. (Also I could sort of get my frustration out in the shush which helped me stay calm)
Some other things that worked, because it wasn't always the same things, white noise, swaddling, patting.

Side note im sure there's a 5 or 6 week growth spurt which might explain the cluster feeding and being extra fussy.

I think there's a growth spurt around 6 weeks which could account for the cluster feeding and wanting fed all day. It doesn't sound like a fun day at all, but I don't think he will be harmed by his lack of sleep!

Make sure you get some water into you OP, it sounds as though you could be dehydrated.

Have you got a chance to put your feet up, feed and catch up on some tv?

Poor you, that sounds tough. My son never slept as a newborn either without A LOT of effort and it got even harder at 4 weeks as he was so alert and struggled to switch off. In the end, we found he needed a sling, a dark room, white noise, movement and a series of osteopath appointments. It was intense, but he slept and he was happier for it and screamed a lot less. It got better over time. You’ve got this!

I remember this at 5 weeks with dd1- now 10!
she was an amazing sleeper before - and after the 5 week patch
I remember she just would not sleep and was exhausted, I put her in the pram and basically walked in the rain all day , anytime the pram stopped , the eyes would fling open again !
I actually cried that day while walking in the rain wondering where I went wrong !
Any way it only lasted a couple of days , she was going though a growth spurt so once we got over that , all was well again
check out the wonder weeks app, had my two children down to a tee

I had exactly the same thing and it can drive you crazy! I tried everything to get her to sleep in the day, bounce on a pregnancy ball for hours, walk up and down in a dark corridor, singing, bouncers, rockers, pram, osteopaths and none of it worked. The only thing that did the trick was to pop her in the sling and go walking. It was brutal as it was January and freezing and snowing but she slept - as long as I was walking. I wore sunglasses to hide the tears and listen to podcasts 😂

She was difficult to get down to sleep at night until recently (she’s now 2) and naps have always been on the move the the car or buggy or they just don’t happen. Believe me, I have tired 😅

Hopefully your baby will find it easy to go to sleep overtime but if not then you just have to work with it. Easy to compare to other babies who just fall asleep so easily but we are all different and it’s easier to adapt to their needs.
Sending hugs 🤗

How are you today @Becproc23?