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[Bluebella]

Hi,

I have a 5 week old baby boy, and I'm in the process of trying to establish a bedtime routine, of Bath, Massage, feed, bed, which seems to be going quite well, but when baby does settle, he is only going to sleep for 2 hrs at a time, then waking up crying, so I offer to feed him (breastfeeding), which he is obviously hungry as takes a feed (He feeds every 2 hrs or so in the day).

But, should he be sleeping for more than 2 hrs in the night? I mentioned it to my friend and she says that sounds too frequent...???

Thanks for the advice! xx

All babies are different.

I think big (boy) babies may often feed every two hours in the night. HIs tummy is so tiny, he can't really get in much at once, and needs to come back for more later.

Hopefully he should begin to have more in the day, and sleep through the night - with time.

Congratulations on your baby boy.

This is all a long time ago for me now and I'm sure someone who knows more will be along soon, but 5 weeks is still very tiny and I'm not sure he even knows the difference between day and night at this stage. So if he feeds every two hours during the day, then it is reasonable for him to do the same (roughly) at night. I don't know how you feel about co-sleeping, but it may help you to get more sleep yourself, as you don't have to get up (and, if you're good at it... which I never really was, don't really even have to properly wake up) in order to feed him. Personally, I keep on with the routine (it'll stand you in good stead later), but continue to feed on demand through the night.

Oops, should have said 'personally, I would keep on with the routine, but...'.

i think every 2 hours at 5 weeks sounds about right. my baby did the same at that age, imagine how small his tummy is.

from my experience, 2 hours seems right.. i seem to remember being told they have a growth spurt around 6 weeks so will feed quite voraciously. I do remember being glued to the sofa.

They are all different and the only advice I can give is to just go with the flow. They all go through the night eventually and there will be a day when you get more sleep (although my mum says you never sleep the same when you have had dc and I think she is right!), don't compare to anyone else around you because inevitably you will always feel like the one with the baby that sleeps the least! The routine sounds like a good place to start, i found it really helped make me feel better (the whole bath, bed thing) because it was a way of splitting up the day and night.

Good luck and enjoy your baby, the baby days pass so quickly!