how much should he sleep

[samanthajm]

My 8week old son,in the last week, has started to sleep for most of the day and still sticks to his night routine of roughly 1am/4am/8am. He only seems to be a wake for a couple of hours in the morning while he gets bath etc.then he gets so tired that he is a sleep while i dress him.He only wakes for a feed.He has suffered bad reflux and colic since birth and in the last week has been put on ranitidine for his reflux.could this sleep be a side affect?hv said there is no side affects.im worried that he isnt getting enough stimulation to help him develop as he is always a sleep.

If you're worried Samantha have a look at Gina Ford's The Contented Little Baby Book for suggested sleep routines and see how he compares. All babies are different and they do need a lot of sleep at that stage, so I wouldn't worry TBH.

To cab: i will have a look at her book. Just bought the baby whisperer. Thanks for your reassurance. think im just an over anxious mum.Thx again

Samantha I must have a look at the baby whisperer myself - I'm (very early stages) pregnant again and my sister swore by it. Best of luck xxx

TBH - I would alwasy say do the bath at evening time as it does seem to exhaust them when they are tiny. I would bath at 6pm then big feed and then settle and bed.

Morning routine would be focused on keeping them awake for a while, so a little while under an activity arch then out for a walk would be ideal.

cab, havent read much yet but im hoping it helps us. Congratulations and thank youxxx

To soapbox: Have had to bath him in mornings as he always seems to leak through nappy and it goes everywhere but think ill try the night bath as hv has recommended it.ive tried the toys for stimulation but he gets cranky as he is so sleepy. I just find it strange that he is only being like this now.i know i have to get into routine with him as i let him sleep in his pram until we go to bed which is usually after his 1am feed

Nothing wrong with 2 baths Sam. Because of the heat, mine was in the bath more often than not . Be veeeeery careful about being freaked out by "the books". Some handy hints in there though. All babes different but I do agree with soapbox that a nice bath, boob or bottle then bed between 6-7 is a good pattern to get into. That's the one which will remain constant right the way thru the ages - except for the boob thing of course

I would not be worrying too much about rountine except with feeding. Babies sleep alot, some babies more than ohters. some don´t sleep and mothers never sleep. It is said that wise souls sleep lots as babies

would not image a milk on the market would make babies sleepy? would not be allowed.

They do get cranky when small. Slings can help - good for sleep and for activity because you are close by.

thanks for all the advice. I wouldnt be worried about his sleep if it hadnt changed in the last week. he use to be quite a wakeful baby probably due to his reflux etc but i worry about the medication he is on and if its making him sleepy.need to talk to hv i guess.im trying to get into a routine but finding it hard.had all the intentions of bathing him at 6pm etc and its now 8.30 and his dad is feeding him and we havent managed to give him his bath yet.We have just moved house so its all hectic here. No excuse though

sorry havent read through all the posts so am probably repeating what has already been said - but my ds2 is 12 weeks and is only just waking up!! i swear he was only awake for 2-3 hours during the day until a few weeks back. there was nothing we could do about it- short of prising his eyes open he just wanted to sleep and sleep. ds1 however was the complete opposite, so i really do think that your one is just the way he is and he will gradually be more awake during the day - and probably will always need more sleep than other babies (yippee!) hth

but sorry, don't know anything about the medication so hope i didn't sound like that wasn't important factor

I'd check out the medication with the doctor just to put your mind at ease, but they do sleep loads when they are tiny. I managed to forget this between having ds and dd, and spent ages hovering over her Moses basket worrying she was sleeping too much. Maybe he's also having a growth spurt - I seem to remember that 8 weeks is a significant time development/growth wise, though that might be complete rubbish.

thanks you have all helped put my mind at ease as much as it can at the moment.Thinking he maybe going through a growth spurt as he just always seems to be hungry as well.I know a pharmicist (cant even spell now ) so might check out the medication.i wish i would just relax and enjoy but he just seems to go through an awful lot of problems.

my first dd just hardly ever slept make the most of it!! they wouldn't give you medication if there was a real problem with it i am sure, if a side effect was drowsiness they would think it was helpful to the mother. i have just had dd 2 who is a little better at sleeping but gina ford was a great help to me first time around and i shall definitely be using it again, good luck.

jsut read in the Baby Whisperer that babies go through a growth spurt every 3 to 4 weeks, I bet your baby is going through a big growth spurt and needs the extra sleep especially if eating a lot.