Newborn play time?

[Erlouise]

Hi ladies
feeling a bit confused and deflated at the min! Had baby 2 weeks ago and everything was going swimmingly until bubba needed to put weight on and the midwives were adamant we needed to force feed baby … anyway this has turned into horrendous reflux for bubba and we’ve just managed to settle her after a few bad days of no sleep and she’s back to being content..

however, my main question is just around newborn play time and alertness. My friends baby is one week older than mine and been seeing videos online of bubbas 2-3 weeks old who are wide awake throughout the day kicking their legs around on play mats, doing tummy time, looking at the black and white books etc..
This is not the case with me! My baby just sleeps constantly…. She wakes for a feed or nappy change, then we have some cuddles and she’s back to sleep again. Even if I tried to lay her down on her play mat she would just be fast asleep…

should my baby be more active and be having more play time or am I just looking too much at what others are doing? I know every bubba is different but really feel clueless and like I’m not doing a good job at the min!!

I think your baby could have jaundice
What are the whites of your babies eyes like? Skin tone?
Any yellowing?

I mean, yes they generally do sleep and eat and not much else but the fact your baby lost weight and is so tired - this is ringing bells as this is what happened with my son and we got readmitted to hospital for jaundice and low weight and we're put on a feeding plan.

No jaundice the midwives checked that and when we was in the hospital the other day for the reflux they checked her over and we’re happy with her health wise etc

Also she is fully back up and over her birth weight

It's been a while but I don't remember my babies playing at 2 weeks' old.
They fed and and slept.

Ok that's good then. I don't think I'd be worried - sounds all good :) they change very quickly at that age so a week's difference is quite a lot!

Losing weight and regaining it in the first 10 days is normal.

Stop comparing your baby to others.

Step away from social media.

Newborn babies eat and sleep. They might cry. They have very short periods of wakefulness in between sleeping and eating.

But they don't play. They just don't. Anyone who says otherwise is lying.

If your HV is happy and your baby is gaining weight and mainly contented then sounds like things are going well.

Newborns sleep A LOT. Cuddle your baby. They'll let you know when they need more interaction and 'play time'!

Congratulations on your baby ❤️

I was so busy with my eldest that my second born went into a sling when he was born and didn’t emerge from it until he was about 5 months old. I honestly wouldn’t worry about it. If I could go back in time to when I had my first baby I would just lounge around under a quilt all day, feeding and cuddling baby, watching the vicar of dibley and eating a selection box. Don’t worry about what others are doing, you are doing just fine. Xx

Babies can only stay awake for 1-1.5 hours at this age. Sleep is crucial to their brain development. My favourite book is Baby Wisperer Solves All Your Problems written by a paediatric nurse. Ignore social media, anyone can put anything on the Internet.

It took until about eleven weeks for DC1 to actually join the world, whereas DC2 was making piston legs when they were dangled from about six weeks old, could also support their own head lying on their tummy from birth, slightly spooky. DC1 just slept and if ever put on their tummy they head-butted the mattress and screamed 😜 Never actually managed to crawl either…

So given that they had almost identical birthweights, care and parents I’d say how engaged they are depends totally on the baby. Also, they both lost a good amount of weight and the wriggler took quite a bit longer to regain it. You’re definitely not doing anything wrong.

PS. Sleepy DC1 (15) went straight from bum-shuffling to walking at 14 months, they’re claiming they can now crawl but won’t prove it. Enjoy the peaceful cuddles😍

Babies are different. My first would be awake for 3hrs at a time even at around 6 weeks. Was and still is (almost 2) a low sleep needs baby.

My second, now 6 months, slept sooooo much until around 3 months, literally coukd be sleeping 20hr a day at 2 months.

Take your babies lead. Spend hours chilling, cuddling baby watching films/netflix on the sofa with snacks. And out on leisurely long country walks with baby in a sling, listening to podcasts with a deluxe hot chocolate!

Don't worry about chores or cooking either. You're on maternity to look after & raise your precious baby, not look after the home. It will only be a matter of months before baby is more demanding, enjoy your relative chill time whilst it lasts!!!

Of course newborn babies don't play, honey.
They just eat and sleep.

My first was a live wire, terrible sleeper, cried loads, and was lying looking round the room just hours after his birth.
My second was awake for about 5 minutes a day, if that, until they were about 6 weeks old (or more, I forget!) vastly differently anyways.
Just embrace the peace, you are one of the lucky ones with the 'easy' babies

No way do babies play at 2 weeks old. Honestly I'd enjoy the fact you've got a baby that sleeps. Mine was and still is a sleep fighter, I'd have killed for him to sleep like babies are supposed to 🤣

Your baby is doing what matters.
Eating too grow, sleeping to grow, pooping so she doesn't pop. Eating too grow, sleeping to grow. Pooping so she doesn't pop.

Honestly totally normal at this age.

Newborns do not play!!
Bubbles makes me cringe 😬
Force feed????

My baby was the same, she slept all day every day. Family joked that they'd never seen her eyes open until she was about 4 weeks old. I even googled "can babies sleep too much?" which seemed very funny 5 months later 😂

If the midwife's and health visitors are happy with baby and you don't feel there's anything wrong then there probably isn't, just a chilled sleepy baby.

Some babies are really alert and some babies just aren't. I get comments all the time now about how happy and alert DD is with people, she just needed a bit of time to adjust to the world.

Thank you ladies for all your responses, it’s nice to know that it’s normal and that I’m not doing things wrong! i do love cuddle Time just as much as baby does. Doesn’t help when everyone around you keeps telling you that you’re creating a bad habit and that you’re setting yourself up to fail when she’s older!! I do wish people wouldn’t mKe comments like that to new mums but just glad to know that what I’m experiencing is just normal!!

@Erlouise enjoy those cuddles, they really don't stay small for long. I have to wrestle my 3yo for a cuddle these days, and it's fleeting! Have you got a big festive tub of Celebrations you can tuck into while cuddling and staring at your gorgeous newborn?

HV said not to worry about tummy time until baby is about a month old x

DD1 was incredibly alert from day 3 and would certainly kick and flail her arms (happily) if put down on a blanket for a bit. Literally every midwife and HV (and a couple of other HCP, we had one or two little health issues) commented on how alert she was in those early weeks – she was the odd one out, your sleepy newborn is the much more standard version!