5 week old waking every 1.5 hours all day and night, help!

[nightowlmostly]

Hi, my 5 week old is waking up in this routine all day and night pretty much. Once he slept for 3 hours, but only the once!

Now I know he's only little, and this is probably to be expected, but I am really struggling with the lack of sleep, my DH is working so even though he takes him for 4 hours now and again so I can sleep for that long, it's taking its toll.

Everything I've read says that we could expect him to be going for 3 or 4 hours at a time, and if he would even do that I'd be so happy!

If anyone has any advice that could help I'd be grateful, we are going a bit mad.

Thanks!

Just to add, I don't expect to have him in a routine as such yet, just to sleep for longer in one go! He is ff, but won't take more that about 80 mls at a time yet, so I think that's part of the problem. I am reluctant to try to force him to eat more than he wants.

Is baby sleeping with you or in Moses basket?

Thanks for replying! He's in the moses basket by our bed.

He might sleep better if in with you.

Although at 5 weeks, dd rarely went more than 3 hours.

Does he seem hungry? Upset? Wind when waking up? Dd used to have terrible wind so couldn't sleep for long.

Swaddling might buy you a bit more sleep. I just put dd on a blanket and tucked it over her arms and behind her, so legs were still quite free. (sorry, that's a crap description)

Have you ruled out factors like silent reflux, food issues (e.g. does he have a runny nose, skin rash or other signs?) how's his general demeanour when awake, how much time is spent happy and alert versus upset etc. The first 6 weeks or so can seem like constant growth spurts with no gaps between. (Growth spurts being times of fussy behaviour and needing lots of cuddles and reassurance as well as food.)

My first did this, I remember the bone-crushing tiredness well. They do have very small stomach's at that age, and I am sure you have been told this before (not all that helpful when you are exhausted, I know) but it does get better.

Try this check list:

Swaddle
Put a t-shirt that you have worn under him in the moses basket so that your smell makes him feel safe and hopefully sleep longer.
Sling for in the day (to get things done) or for DH when you need a decent amounts sleep on the weekend
Wind
Too hot
Too cold
Raise mattress (reflux)
Try heartbeat sounds/white noise etc.. (I bought slumber bear for DD2 (11 weeks old) and she has been a good sleeper from the beginning)
Change of formula - if very windy, bringing knees to chest and crying lots he could be allergic, so speak to GP.

Co-sleeping if you are comfortable with it could be a short-term solution. If you are a relatively still sleeper you could sleep with him on your chest.

Some people swear by cranial osteopathy for correcting any birth related malpositions that can affect feeding and sleep patterns (pretty sure this was DD1's problem as she didn't feed well on one side as she couldn't turn her head properly).

People don't generally admit to this, but lots of people on here have (me included) put their babies on their tummies to sleep. I have an Angelcare monitor with sensor pad for detecting breathing movement and with DD1 there was the odd time when I put her on her tummy as she always slept better that way (in my defence she was waking every half an hour and I was so tired I had started hallucinating).

both my dds woke this often at that age. I coped by co-sleeping - or by letting them sleep on their sides. I remember the bone crippling tiredness - it does pass honest!

Make sure you sleep in the day when they are sleeping to get that extra odd hours sleep and hopefully it will get better within the next couple of weeks.

Hello again, sorry I've taken ages to come back, my parents are here visiting to give me a bit of a break, so haven't had a chance!

Thanks to everyone who has offered advice, I think a big part of the problem is wind to be honest. Maybe if he wakes up after a short time due to wind, he'll eat a little bit because he's not that hungry and then go back to sleep. Then he'll wake again because he's hungry again too soon as he didn't have that much the time before.

Last night I did let him sleep on my chest for a little while, he seems to be happier on his front but I don't want to do that all the time. I'm sure it's ok safety-wise, but I'm keen for him to be happy sleeping in his moses basket if at all possible.

I've read that at 6 weeks a lot of the wind trouble will get a lot better, so here's hoping! Any advice about helping with wind would be wonderful, it's getting stressful when he's in pain and I can't fix it!

My daughter slept on my tummy for at least the first 11 weeks because of her windy tummy. She was def too young for habits and then slept well in her cot for the next 2 months..... (she woke a lot later but for other reasons). Don't worry about habits, just do what gets you the most sleep. For now,