6 week old suddenly more tired than usual - normal?

[AngelDog]

DS is 6 weeks old. He doesn't have a sleep routine, but has his own pattern of wake up - feed - awake time - get to sleep again (after a lot of effort on my part as he usually fights sleep).

Normally he'll stay awake for about 1.5 hours before needing to sleep again. The last couple of days, though, he seems to have been more tired and only able to stay awake for about an hour. On one occasion, he went straight to sleep after only about 40 minutes awake (never happened before).

I don't think he is sleepy in the way which would suggest a medical problem. He wakes up at the same sort of intervals as normal for feeds. He is feeding enthusiastically as usual, and is putting on lots of weight and producing lots of wet / dirty nappies. When he is awake, he is as alert as usual, not drowsy - but is apparently not wanting to stay awake for as long as usual. He has also sometimes fallen asleep very quickly, which is completely out of character (although some of the time, he has been back to his normal sleep-fighting self.)

Is this normal, or should I be concerned?

He has learnt to smile in the last couple of days , so I don't know if the effort/excitement of that might be having an effect. Also his feed/sleep cycle has been disturbed by various things in the last few days, so perhaps that could possibly be the reason?

Any advice gratefully received.

At 6 weeks they have a growth spurt- they eat more, sleep more, and often learn to do something new. (you said he's starting smiling). Can last a few days but will be back to normal again soon- don't panic- it sounds like you're doing a terrific job

mine did the same - apparently they grow when they sleep! for a few days/a week, he slept for hours just waking up for food before falling asleep again! enjoy it . put your feet up, it won't last forever!

Totally normal, for the first 3-4 months their sleep does vary I think in my experience (three DSs) as they go through growth spurts - if they are unwell and sleepy then they don't want to feed either and they are just sleepy all the time, dropping off as soon as you get them up, etc. This happened to me with DS1 when he was 12 weeks. You should be able to tell the difference.

Thanks for the encouragement. We've had a couple of hideous days, but for some strange reason he has been completely normal at night! One advantage is that I've got better at soothing the little sleep-fighting monster back to sleep - plenty of practice!

I've ignored the HV's advice to get him to sleep by putting him down in his cot & leaving him to cry.