5 week old awake more, what to do.

[Northtosouth]

My baby is 5 weeks old and has started having longer awake periods which is really stressing me out.
He use to wake up, feed and pretty much fall back to sleep.
He has begun to be awake for longer and not fall straight to sleep after his feed, I really don’t know what I’m meant to be doing with him. Is it ok for him to stay awake ? And how do I know when he needs to go to sleep again? It’s totally thrown me. He’s also started having shorter naps in the late afternoon and early evening is this normal? Thanks, sorry if these are all obvious questions to be asking.

i wouldn’t worry too much about this! every baby is different, mine barely napped even when tiny. when baby is awake you don’t need to do loads, you can just potter about, watch telly, whatever you normally do - if you’d like to do things involving baby then sensory play, tummy time, etc is all great

Cuddle, sing, enjoy the time put him down a bit

Is it ok for him to be lying awake on his own ? Obviously I’m in the same room. He doesn’t cry he will just lay there looking around

Of course it’s fine if he’s awake and laying down, as long as not crying. My approach is just to get on with my day, go out etc. if they’re tired, they’ll sleep

That's what babies do

They're tired from birth and a bit wtf at everything being different but this is when they start to think 'oh this isn't so bad actually!'

Look out for his sleep cues - rubbing his eyes and being grumpy and fidgety.

You'll get better at it. And they don't stay in any phase for long at this age - they're growing and changing so you just have to kind of go with the flow.

Congratulations on your baby

When mine was young I'd try and do chores while he was awake (dishes, mopping etc) and had him in a moses basket or sling so he could watch.

I wanted to rest during his naps and it seemed to entertain him

I’m not being rude but what were you expecting? Babies grow and develop, they don’t sleep forever as they’re humans and not dolls

talk to your baby, stroke their face, use a sensory card, sing songs

You don't have to do something with your baby whenever he is awake though. Just being alive is a sensory experience ! Yes it's ok for baby to lie there awake. When baby starts to grumble, it usually means they're ready to sleep.

Put baby where they can watch you while you do stuff.

At 5 weeks old they should be having 1 hour wake windows.

Mine stopped napping any longer than 20 minutes three times a day at a week old 😬 It was exhausting! But it’s totally fine, especially if your baby will lie on the floor and play/look around (mine wouldn’t!). Honestly as much as possible, do your usual thing and baby will watch. Once mine got a bit bigger I used to chuck kitchen utensils and cloths etc her way and let her help me “clean”.

I divided up the time because I found that helped me get the day in. So depending on their wake windows I'd do x amount of tummy time, x amount of singing to them, x amount of reading stories, x amount of giving them toys to feel or hold, take them on a walk around the house or the garden and narrate what you see, let them look in the mirror at themselves, stick them in a pram and go for a walk around the corner, put them in their bouncer or mat where they can see you and chat at them while you do other things and let them watch you. Let them play in the bath by running the water over their arms and legs etc. Pop them in the pram and go for a coffee. My ds loves our local garden centre because he can see all the plants and they have a fish section and he loves the colours. It doesn't need to be anything fancy literally everything is new and interesting! My ds hated being set down and left to his own devices at that age because he was so colicky and I know that pressure of trying to keep them entertained it can get really draining. I tried to have a plan for the next day so I didnt need to come up with it on the spot.

P.s might be worth going to baby massage classes or sensory classes or mums and tots when you feel ready. Ds hated the actual massage but he just loved watching the other babies and it was nice for me to get out and be around other mummies.

It’s hard for people with no experience of babies to know what’s normal! I had no idea what a five week old was meant to do, or what I was meant to do with them, until I had one.

@Northtosouth I used to narrate everything I was doing, especially hanging out the washing or sorting the dishwasher. Go for tons of walks with the sling or pram. Other posters have mentioned classes which is a good idea in the new few weeks. But mostly just cuddle and sing and read (both reading books aimed at them, and reading out loud whatever you like!)

But you did mean to be rude didn't you?

It's bloody scary being a first time mum! You overthink everything and feel like you're not doing things "perfectly".

Have some sympathy.

Mine was also happy just lying and looking about, I just pottered about with chores, went for pram walks, talked nonsense out loud about what I was doing. Playmats are good at this age as they can lie and look at the hanging toys.

Mine hated tummy time and I beat myself up so much about it, but absolutely do not spend your time making your screaming baby lie on their tummy if they don't enjoy it - some love it, some hate it, and in my experience it made absolutely no difference to development.