What sleep patterns should I expect of my 8 week old (if any!)?

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I'm trying to understand what kind of sleep patterns I should expect (or encourage) in my 8w week old and was looking for advice :-)

Generally, my little boy has got night and day sorted, in that he'll go to bed after a bath and breast feed around 8.30 - 9.30 and sleep through till the morning. When I say sleep through, what I mean is that he'll 'wake' for feeds but then go straight back to sleep again - he has no major alert periods during the night. He becomes naturally sleepy at 8ish and I've found that once asleep then he'll normally go 3/4 hours before his next feed which is the longest session all day. He's exclusively breast feed and can wake anything between 2 - 6 times between midnight and 9am. Although I'd love the feed awakenings to be less, I'm actually quite happy with his nighttime 'routine' that he seems to have gotten into.

It's the daytimes that I have no idea what he should be doing! We don't seem to have the same pattern day after day and I'd like to know if that's normal or if I should be encouraging him to nap more during the day. I read somewhere that babies should have a little nap 2ish hours after being awake. I also read that good naps in the day can encourage good night time sleep too, so I'm trying to do the best thing for him. Is this really true? I do spot early warning signs of when he's tired and occassionally he will go to sleep, but more often than not he just won't go to sleep and I spend the next hour or so trying to encourage him to kip. By that point he wants feeding, so he ends up snoozing at the breast (occasionally resulting in a short feed which leads to him eating more frequently) but then won't be put down afterwards.

On the one hand - if the breast gives him a nap which he needs then I'm happy to do so, but on the other hand I don't want to have to feed him every time he needs a sleep. He will fall asleep naturally if we're out and about so I know it is possible for him!

I guess I'm just confused! Should I be putting him down/encouraging him to have a nap when I spot his signals or let him get there in his own time? If he just refuses to nap, should I keep trying or just let it go? If he falls asleep but wakes after 15/20 mins, should I try to get him back to sleep or accept this is all he wants? (I also read that he should nap for a minimum of 1hr for it to have any benefit - true?) Should I try to put him in his crib to nap or let him kip wherever I can? If he naturally gets sleepy for night time between 8 and 9pm, what is the latest I should let him nap in the evening? If he goes for more than 3 hours in the day, should I wake him? How many naps a day and of what duration should I expect?

Whoah that's a lot of questions!!! If anyone got this far - thank you! Hope someone has some advice :-)

I was still going with the flow at that stage... my DS changed all the time so it was difficult to adapt to a pattern cause he'd just change it the following week.

Actually 3/4 hours btw feeds is great at this stage you're doing well !!

On the 1 hr nap thing - news to me. My DS ca have a good 30 minute nap and be pretty refreshed.... always has been.

Having said that all that I would aim to not to have to feed him to sleep...Just my opinion... try to get him into a sleepy routine in his cot/moses if you can. Nothing heavy just dimmed lights, calm room, put the mobile on, leave the room or stay nearby, see what happens and take it from there..

Enjoy your new baby!

Do you know what? If you are happy with the nights, don't tamper with the days.

It seems that he has got himself into a daytime routine that whilst unpredictable for you, works for you at night. I would be very nervous of interfering with it if I were you.

Given that the longest period of sleep is when he first goes down, I know that I personally would coordinate that with MY sleep so that I get the 4 hours consecutive, but that is just 'my' way, not the 'right' way.

And that napping 2 hours after they wake thing is parenting gurus marketing drivel. Get rid of those books. Sounds like you're doing a grand job tbh and responding well to your baby's needs.

Personally I would never 'try' to get him to sleep, just as I wouldn't 'try' to force him to go longer than he wants for a feed. He can sleep and feed on the hop, thereby giving you flexibility to go about your day, rather than being obsessed with the clock and imprisoned in the house at certain times.

I suppose this is a long-winded way of saying go with the flow. It'll gradually all improve without you having to do a thing about it, provided you are patient.

Oh and feeding to sleep is natural. It releases sleepy hormones in the baby. You won't be doing it til he's 18 and it is a lovely thing for you both if you can just enjoy it rather than resent it.

Thank you both for your replies.

MWW - I wish he'd go 3-4 hrs between all feeds! He does this once per day (when he first goes to bed) - then it's every 1.5-2 hrs :-) Good to know that my initial instinct to 'go with the flow' is seconded by others. Whilst I'd like to do a sleepy 'routine' during the day, it's just not feasible with my lifestyle - we're out and about 3 or 4 days of the week and I need to be sure that he'll nap wherever we are.

FNN - Totally agree with the co-ordinating of the sleep thing. I've been in bed with him pretty much since he's been born. Poor DH doesn't really see me in the evenings anymore, but I just have to get those 3 hrs or else I can't function the next day! I was slightly dubious about the 2 hr thing, but as a first-timer it's so easy to fall back on the books (although they are now banned from the house)... I do like being able to just go where I want throughout the week, so if this all sounds normal then I may just keep things as they are :-)

My DD is same age as yours, she often fights sleep during the day and wakes up after about 20 mins of sleep. I always encourage her to have more as I think good day naps stop them from getting overtired. I don't mind if that means a buggy walk or sleep on me but I try to encourage cot sleep for the future. Personally I would totally agree with the 2 hour thing, in that if a young baby (under 3 months) has been awake 2 hours they would need a sleep. Overtiredness in my DD means a very grumpy evening and I prefer her smiles I start and finish our day at the same time to encourage her to feed and sleep in a pattern, which also gives me a bit of an idea when I can get dressed, etc.

I think I am hijacking your thread here - but my baby's the same age, and sounds very very similar, except he only sleeps 3 hours maximum - from about 7.30pm onwards, and I am not disciplined enough to go to sleep then (stupid me).

FNN - I have a question about your advice. Junior gets to a certain point after he's woken where he's not interested in feeding (might have a cursory suck for a few seconds), has a clean nappy, doesn't seem to have wind, doesn't want to play but only seems to want to cry and stare into space. Surely that means he's tired, even if he needs help to nap?

Matsik Have you tried holding him close?

It could be that he is hungry but that your milk supply isn't yet meeting his demands, so the cursory suck is an attempt to get milk but because it doesn't come fast enough he gives up or pulls off in frustration!?

It could be too that he is instinctinvely a bit worried about being left alone in case predators are nearby.

Try staying very close, cuddling and offering food regularly to stimulate supply.

If he is tired then the comfort of being close or feeding should be enough to send him to sleep.

No idea if it would work, but it is a good thing to try first.

Don't worry - I do try hugging! Sometimes he just wails into my shoulder...

I think I have more the opposite supply problem - a fast let-down, which leads to the occasional writhing, spluttering, feeding session. This morning for instance I was quite engorged because he skipped one of his night feeds, and offered him the other side when he started fussing after a bit of wake time...No joy. He did however go to sleep quite quickly when hugged and rocked, and did the same again when he fed again about an hour later. Maybe he's just starting to get the idea?

Actually, that's another suggestion for you tweet - it may be a one off, but when junior woke us at 1 am last night, I kept him in his swaddling, and by the time we got to the feeding chair, he was asleep again, so I popped him back in the basket, for another 2 hours sleep. So maybe don't wake the baby up by automatically taking the blankets off to feed.

Don't worry about hijacking the thread Matsikula - it's useful to hear other people's problems and solutions

DS is in growbags and I just hoik him out of his crib onto me in my bed and then back down again which seems to work. I am considering swaddling though, as he keeps bashing his arms against the side of the crib as he sleeps and I'm worried that this is waking him!