Should I be worried...? Not sleeping in afternoons (bit long - sorry!)

[SprogletCooking]

I have a 4 week old DS who just does not seem to need sleep during the day. I'm worried that its because I'm just doing something wrong (like trying to settle him too late in the evenings)... Im a new mum so be gentle!

He will quite happily (or so it seems) go from about 9am until about 5pm (only having maybe one or two 20min naps in between) where he will then sleep for about an hour. He then gets a feed at about 6pm and will maybe nap again for an hour between 6:30 and 8pm. This is all downstairs.

He then has his bath and night time feed at about 8:30 to 9:30 before we start to get him settled. He's then normally asleep in his cot by about 10:30pm and will usually sleep until about 2am where he wakes for a feed (and where I usually change him) he'll then go back to sleep for a couple of hours until he wakes again for food and a change at about 5am. This is then repeated so he wakes at 7am and then 9am.

If I take him out in the pram in the afternoon then he will sleep while we are on the move but he will wake as soon as we get home normally. He refuses to sleep in his moses basket in the house during the day if I put him down at the same time as I go out with the pram.

Has anyone any ideas? I've asked my HV's but they all just say that some babies dont need as much sleep but everything I read says he should be getting more then he is!

Thanks for reading this all!

My DD really didn't start to settle into a napping routine at all until she was way past 10 weeks old. She seemed to go forever without sleep. 4wks is very little and they tend to want to be near you and not in a moses basket.

Is he breast fed? DD always caught sneaky sleeps whilst she was on the boob.
You'll probably find that as time passes he starts to gradually start settling on his own (be it in the same room as you at first) for a little day time sleep.

As soon as My DD started nodding off in her bouncer or falling asleep in her pram/car seat I would gently put her up in her moses basket in her room (with blackout blinds) and sit down stairs with crossed fingers hoping she would sleep just a little!!

Eventually she stayed asleep for 40 minute periods, and gradually I started to introduce naps roughly every 2-2 and half hours during day. But getting her to that stage again was gradual and every day was different.

Keep going, He'll get there soon

Is he happy the whole time he's awake? It may be that you're misinterpretting his cries for sleep as cries for hunger... But I would've thought at that age he'd fall asleep on the boob if that was the case... Also every time he falls asleep are you trying to put him down? It could be that he is chronically overtired which prevents him from sleeping (crazy little things), you could try letting him sleep on you so that he gets some good long naps and then you may find he finds it easier to sleep longer??

Thanks guys!

I'm not really expecting him to have a regular sleep pattern, just to sleep more then he does during the day. However he is pretty regular at the moment.

Yes I am BF the little mite - I dont think he actually falls asleep on the boob, but he does get quiet and settled on it. Should I try encouraging him to stay on it longer so he sleeps?

I'll try letting him sleep on me during the day a bit more and will stop putting him in his basket (maybe try letting him sleep on his mat so he can see me and be closer to me as well).

He seems happy enough - he suffers a bit with wind and that seems to be the only thing that really upsets him (although I could be wrong as I'm completely inexperienced!)