6 weeks old... napping/Night time sleep.

[Mammy2myboy]

Hi guys,

Just looking for some of your experiences/advice etc...

My babe is 6 weeks and was recently unwell and we had a hospital admission... so he's understandably a bit all over the place and by no means am I desperate to get in a routine but there are times when he is absolutely exhausted and will not nap...

Just wondering what your babies naps are like through the day. The last couple of days he's been up almost hourly from 1/2am and he's slept whilst laying beside me in bed after his first feed (6/7ish) until 8/9am. Should I be getting up with him after his first feed and putting him down later? I've made the mistake of reading a lot of books so keep beating myself up about times!
I try to be him to nap another couple of times throughout the day. If we're VERY lucky he'll catch an hour. I've tried- letting him sleep on me, putting him in his basket (both awake but sleepy and completely zonked) , I go for a walk but as soon as the pram stops he pings awake- and doesn't always sleep in the pram, swaddled and not swaddled... shhhh' d, patted, swayed, baby carrier (not sling). Any other ideas?
Sometimes he just seems unhappy which breaks my heart. We've not had a proper smile yet (Just sleep smiling!) He's also feeding constantly (breast feeding) and has just started having a formula feed for his last feed to try and help him sleep a little (And so I can sleep!). Any advice/reassurance/experiences are much appreciated? I'd love to know your 'routines' (I use the term loosely! ) and I'm aware that constant feeding is expected for bf babies esp such young babies. Just would love him to get some rest!

Firstly I hope your baby boy is ok after being in hospital.

I have a 6 week old too. We've had a couple of days last week where he just would not nap during the day. I'd feed him (breastfed), he'd doze, then as soon as he unlatched, he'd be awake and cranky. He then got overtired and nothing worked, until he eventually went to sleep at night. Friday was awful but he's been back to normal since then. So there's hope that it's a phase - I'm assuming he was fine / sleeping through the day before this? I have heard that 6-7 weeks is peak cranky time for babies.

My "routine" involves feeding on demand, so there's no set timings, but we roughly follow a pattern of asleep somewhere between 10-12pm. Sleep for 3-4 hours (usually 3), then another one or two wake ups until around 6.30-7.30. After he's awake for the day, the loose pattern seems to be feed, active alert time, feed, sleep. Sometimes he might have another bit of awake time after his second feed, and sometimes (like right now) he'll sleep after the first feed. He's usually awake for slightly longer from about 5-6pm until bedtime - though some days he'll have a nap between then and bedtime, other times he'll cluster feed and maybe doze off for a short period.

We don't have much luck with the car seat or pram for getting him to sleep, though my partner seems to be a baby whisperer and can get him to sleep with a bit of walking around pretty quickly.

It's awful when your baby seems so upset and you can't help him so I really hope this passes quickly for you.

No problem in baby staying in bed later in the morning. At this age get up time in the morning makes next to no difference, so don't sweat that for a moment.

In terms of routine - that is best based around cycles with limited awake time at this age.

So basically cycles of

• wake
• feed
• awake/happy time (about 30 minutes maximum at this age, or until first grumble)
• sleep
• wake and repeat

Awake time should be very short. Basically baby should be sleeping most of the time. It might be baby just wakes, feeds, has a wind cuddle and straight back to slerp. There should be no extended periods of time awake at this age.

Hi guys,
Thanks for your replies. Lallypopstick- I probably should have mentioned, when he was 10 days I was in hospital for 5 days and he stayed with me throughout and then at 4 weeks he was in hospital for 10 days. So when his naps have settled for a couple of days- there has been an upheaval to turn everything upside down again! I do feel like he's still getting used to our house. I think i have been trying too hard in trying to sleep, active time, sleep but did try just topping him up this morning and he had has just over an hour! (Woohoo!) He has been much more settled this morning than i have ever known him. I'm hoping we were going through the 6 week hitch. I have the wonder weeks app on my phone and apparently the last day of our fussy period is tomorrow (phew). Just wondered how much your baby whisperer charges? ;-)

FATEdestiny, Thanks for your advice. It's just so hard to get him to sleep sometimes. He really fights it. Although the last couple of days I've just let him sleep wherever- pram (If he will) on me... in bouncy chair. They're usually catnaps which have me wondering if he's feeling any better afterwards!

My little girl is 10 weeks now but the memories of when she was 6 week are still very fresh :-) I had a similar thing, sometimes she just wouldn't nap for long during the day - 20-30 minutes each time and some days she would only nap 3 times or so. I also thought it was very concerning but then she always sleeps perfectly well at night and on some days she would sleep much more - like 2-3 hours or so and short naps too. I stopped worrying because I think she is comfortable with this schedule and it's me who is being paranoid. She does what she wants really, we don't have any routine and we are happy this way. She actually got much better at sleeping now. I used to go to the park every day at lunchtime so she can just have some sleep for a couple of hours as she wouldn't sleep in her mosses basket during the day at all. I think your boy will also get better at sleep they just need time to adjust and figure it out. But considering he was in hospital maybe he needs some extra rest. My baby had her vaccinations and she had a fever and on that day and the next day she slept for a long time. So I guess if you let your baby decide when he wants to sleep he would catch up. But what I also did when my baby was smaller if she wouldn't sleep in her basket I would just let her nap in my arms I know it's tiring but I just wanted her to have some rest. But again every baby is different so do what you feel is best, you would know best. Good luck and hope your baby feels better soon!

Aww thank you happy mum. It was nice reading your post- sometimes you just need someone to tell you to ride with it. I think my main problem is I can see when he's so tired and it's difficult to get him to sleep once he's hit the over tired mark. I probably just need to get better at spotting him cues...
But I will certainly take your advice and go with the flow. I know what you mean about napping in my arms... but I should probably learn to make the most of those times as they won't be there forever!

I am glad I put your thoughts at rest a bit :) I am sure you will find a solution. I know what you mean about struggling to put your baby to a nap once he is overtired. My daughter is the same. Once she hit this mark she starts crying and if she has just had a feed it means she can only be sleepy. They cannot be bored at this age so only eat or sleep - 2 main reasons for them to cry. So what I do I take her in my arms and give her a dummy and sing to her and she falls asleep after 3 lullabies. Works like a miracle. I think my voice soothes her. Babies love their parent's voices, they feel secure. So this works for me or sometimes I would jusy hold her in an upright position facing my shoulder and walk around the room with her. She would fall asleep quite easily too. But my baby doesn't like sleeping in her crib, once I put her down she wakes up...I really struggle.sometimes. but to be honest like you said enjoy the time when you can hold her in your arms while she naps, such a precious time and it will pass so quickly. I sometimes just watch my daughter sleep in my arms and tell her how much I love her :) enjoy this time and tey to catch up on your sleep when she naps even if it's 20 mins it would still make a big difference. In terms of routine I didn't answer your question. Here is our routine (not strict, I follow my baby not the clock): 9-10am wake up (I take her to my bed at 5-6am so we both can sleep longer), another 1 hour bap at 11am, then at 13.30 then she would wake up but I try to put her sleep again so thay she has good 2-2.5 hours at lunchtime. Sometimes I give her a dummy but sometimes she doesn't need it. Then wake up at 4pm another nap at 5.30pm for 20 mins and then going to bed at 7.30-8.30pm. Then a few feeds at night (she wakes me up when she needs it). I read a lot of books too and sometimes they are confusing but I also read that sometimes babies just drink a little bit or because they are thirsty but next time would feed longrr so I let her feed whenever she wants. I read that you cannot overfeed a breastfed baby. She puts on weight very well too but within the standard. All the best to you and hope you find your own way :))