my 4week old ds only sleeps 30mins during the day then cries for hours, sometimes not even that and 4hours during the night, is it normal?

[michelle89]

hi
my 4week old ds seems to not want to sleep, he is bottle fed, hes drinkin 150ml every 5hours which is normal amount, for past 4 days after his feed hes either not going to sleep or sleeping for 30mins then wakin up. when hes awake hes crying/screaming. nothing seems to stop him, cuddles, bouncer, doesnt need changing, dummy, not to hot or cold. we have been giving him colic drops but they dont work, he sleeps mainly ok during the night, he sleeps for about 4hours. at one point he didnt sleep for over 24hours! during the day i cannot do anything like eat/rest/washing etc, my dp is at work so im on my own. any advice?

5 hours between feeds is a very long time for such a tiny baby. Could he be hungry?

There is no 'normal' with babies, they are all different.

Saying that, I agree with Mcflumpy that 5 hours between feeds is a long time. Are you feeding on demand?

And not sleeping for 24 hours is a bit odd too.

You poor thing, you must be exhausted. Has your HV been around to see you?

Agree with Mcflumpy and MmeLindt - 5 hours between feeds for a 4 week old is a very long time. Too long, IMO. My DD was bottle fed almost from birth & fed every 90 minutes initially! Only small amounts, but she didn't move to a 3 hour cycle until about 8 weeks. All babies have such individual needs.

Maybe try feeding more often. You may end up wasting a bit of formula if LO doesn't finish each bottle, but at least that way you'll know whether it's hunger. Sleeping soundly at that age, in my experience, is often only achieved when their tummies are full.

Do speak to your HV too though - she may well have some other ideas (e.g. reflux/ lactose intolerance/ ear infection).

Hope things improve soon.

i also think at this age demand feeding is best as they go through so many growth spurts its recommended every 4 hr feeding but in all honesty its not nice for a new baby to have to wait that long for food my ds was every few hours if his draining his bottles it means you may need to up an ounce and feed more often

your not doing anything wrong but demand feeding is definitely best you cant get a routine going this young at all it needs to be around the child's needs even if it means every hour small doses of milk it gets easier and feeds as they get bigger tend to become the around every 4 hrs but just not this young

Hi michelle it sounds like hunger and overtiredness. If you're not sure if hungry, try feeding every 2 hours and putting down for a nap every two hours to get the sleep back up (so awake for an hour which includes feeding, nappy change etc then get to sleep by any means possible - rock etc etc). That should help your baby catch up as when they're tired, they'll fight sleep.

At 4 weeks my DS went through a period of not sleeping for hours and hours - looking back we'd allowed him to get overstimulated by evening visitors, over eager grandparents waving toys at him and not recognising when he was tired. Poor thing! By puttin him on a napping schedule we were able to sort it out - I was feeding on demand and offering if he went more than 3 hours.

Tut - I meant overtired they'll fight sleep and putting not puttin!

hey thnx for the advice, i dnt think ds is hungry, he dnt finish a bottle as it is, he leaves between 29-40ml and he cries frm the minute i put him down until his next feed, plus hes ok at night, usually he sleeps fine between 12am and 9-10am, it just seems to be between 12pm and 12am ish. hes got better since using a different colic drops but still not sleeping much. i would ask hv but they keep missin appointments, not turning up, tellin us an appointment and meaning a different day and not letting us no, they are litterly useless and it was the midwife that said feed him every 5hours becus he wasnt wakin up for feeds and not drinkin a full bottle. its only been these past few days hes bin like this, i feel a bad mum cus i dno what he wants

Look at the size of his fists - that's about the size of his stomach - of course he can't finish 150ml but he can digest it extremely quickly - he should be feeding every 2 to 3 hours possibly more often. When he cries offer him a bottle.

a 4 week old sleeping for 9 hours at a stretch is extremely unusual - I'd be feeding him at 3am and at 6am - babies can feed int heir sleep you know.

he is hungry and overtired if you ask me. try to offer him the bottle far more often than you are doing.

he will also growth spurt around 4 to 6 weeks so will need to tank up on food.

i offer him the rest of the bottle an hour to 1h30 after his feed and he jst spits it out and throws up, iv got my mum havin ago for over feeding him saying i should leave him all night with out a feed (apparently thts wht she did wit me) she said "stop forcing him to feed" askin her about him crying she says hes jst getting used to everything and he'll settle dwn. the midwife saying feed him every 5hours and you sayin every 90min to 3hours, im confused soo much, i must of changed his feed times at least 10times in 4weeks! no wonder hes confused nva mind me!!

michelle it's pretty out of date advice to feed every 5 hours. Do you eat/drink/snack with 5 hour gaps? Babies get all of their food and from milk so will need it more often.

Try giving him smaller amounts more often - so every 2/3 hours in the day and 3/4 hours at night. And help him nap regularly, that way he'll catch up on missed sleep.

You shouldn't leave a baby that small without a night feed IMO.

Babies cry because they need something - be it food, sleep, warmth etc.

my ds had an ounce of feed every hr at that age then 2 ounces every couple of hours he also used to suffer from terrible trapped wind also check his tongue as he could have thrush of tongue which makes feeding painful and wont finish feeds and will cry with hunger my ds had this at that age a feed every hr was needed just small amounts until antibiotics had cleared it

never leave all night dont listen to others advise when baby is this young regarding lengthy feeds demand feed at this age is definite best your doing well baby is just small have you tried swaddling in blanket as maybe he likes the comfort of closeness they did spend along time huddled inside

but if his tongue looks like there is milk that is stuck and doesn't come off with your finger then could be thrush get it seen to quick as this could be why not finishing bottles although only 2 ounce bottles may be needed and feed every few hours

your both learning its new to you both just dont get to anxious maybe dont use colic drops as these could be giving belly ache if settled through night i would say its not colic he would be screaming all the time feed regular through day keep upright for 10 mins after feed wind after every ounce some babies just suck in more air and need to be winded regularly through the feed also my ds needed vari flow teats as the number 1 teat was too slow he sucked in too much air causing him to be belly achey and not finish feeds also

and regarding routine babies can be started on night routine from 8 weeks as they recognise day to night but again feeds still need to be given through night just bedtime can be established from this age

5 oz bottle seems a bit big for 4 week old baby id go to 2 ounce bottles and cut feeds to every 3 hrs if drains bottle make it 3 ounces etc bottles seem to big

Michelle
You are not a bad mummy, you are just exhausted. None of us know what our babies want, it is all guess work.

Every 5 hours for such a wee baby is too long, and I suspect he is drinking too much at once if he is taking 150ml, because he is really hungry.

Try feeding smaller amounts every 3 hours.

Don't listen to your mother's advice about not feeding at night. He is far too young to do this.

Do you have a mother and baby group in your area, where you can go and speak to other young mums?

Does he sleep if you put him in the pram and take him for a walk?

my little boy is three weeks old too, he is feeding 4oz every 3 to 3.5 hours and does not always finish bottle. He is also whittery after feed but i know its wind as he cries out in pain with a sharpness ( if you know what i mean) My problem is through the night imso tired i dont always make sure he gets enough milk before putting him back to sleep. He has now started staying awake between 1-4am which is killing me. He just wants to stay awake and for me to walk him about!