2 week old waking frequently

[thebigbadmouse]

I?m having to get up so often to feed my 2 week old baby boy, a couple of nights ago I had to get up five times! I?m so exhausted that last night I fell asleep feeding him in the chair and I woke up horrified and terrified that I might have dropped him. He just won't settle in his cot and I don't know what to do! Can anyone help?

he is 2 weeks old - it is perfectly normal. Lie down next on a bed to feed him rather than sitting in a chair - it's safer when you fall asleep.

lie down next TO HIM on a bed...

have you tried swaddling him? also putting a muslin cloth under his head that smells of you?
We used a dummy early on too just becuase he was using me as a human dummy and I had very sore nipples

Thanks ChasingSquireels, but I'm worried about co-sleeping - won't it spoil him?

It is completely normal. I also did the waking up terrified thing because I couldn't remember putting them back in the cot.
I found that tucking something in the cot that smelled of me helped quite a lot with ds and not at all with dd, worth a try.
Ds wouldn't settle in a moses basket and only started to sleep a little better when i shifted him to the cot. Dd loved the moses basket and didn't like the cot. It's a bit of trial and error to find out what suits.
Congrat by the way

You cannot spoil a two week old.

sorry i missed the bit on not settling in the cot, i just focused on you falling asleep feeding him - perfectly common, but in a chair can be dangerous, hence my comment re feeding him on a bed.
newborns wake alot, newborns need feeding alot, it does pass.
Some people are happy co-sleeping, some aren't. But you CAN NOT spoil a newborn, just can just respond to their NEEDS.

I think you have to do what is right for you. If your top priority is getting some sleep then co sleeping is a good idea if you follow the co sleeping guidelines carefully (someone who knows more about it can tell you what they are!) If , like me, you weren't comfortable with co sleeping then getting a newborn to settle itself will happen, but does take time. I used to feed mine to sleep and then ever so carefully lay them down on the bed, swaddle them, pick them up and put them in the moses basket or cot. It didn't always work but eventuall y they got the hang of it and now at 3 years and 8 months I have 2 excellent sleepers (for now!!)

actually I used to swaddle, then feed thinking about it

It's a very odd baby that DOESN'T wake up almost continually in the first six weeks or so.

Don't worry, you get used to the sleep deprivation after a while - honestly, you do go through a slightly schizoid phase but then once you are through it, you just suddenly become a milky automoton.

do you have any help in the day? Is your other half still on paternity leave? The key is to get as much rest as possible when the baby sleeps in the day. So go out for walks/in the car, park baby in porch, ack garden if still asleep and lie down on the sofa. Get other people to bring round food if possible, dont make visitors cups of tea, get them to make it, don't do any cleaning either
It does get better around 8 weeks I found.

glad to have found this thread - sort of - ds slept wonderfully for first two weeks but on day 21 tore up the rule book - won't sleep during the day except in my arms, and even then, nowhere near as much as he used to.

might try finding something that smells like me for his basket, any other suggestions as I am going nuts without my daytime nap!

two weeks old? how lovely! enjoy those cuddles they pass so quickly. Don't worry about the tiredness, every new mum suffers it. It does pass

so, what, just spend... how long? sitting on couch? adorable as he is (and he is very adorable) that does get old after 3-4hrs!

mmm yes. i see your point! But.... they really do grow out of it - just keep trying him in the moses basket -maybe one day he won't protest

oh and could you bring his crib d/s?