How Much Sleep for 5 Week Old?

[clearjade]

Hi everyone, just wondering how much does your baby sleep during the day at around 5-6 weeks old?

I'm worried that my boy is not sleeping enough 'cos he keeps himself awake even when he is sleepy during the day. He can yawn until tears come out of his eyes and his eyes will half-close and roll up in his head then the next minute his eyes will be wide open and awake. He will do this for a long time, I usually end up breastfeeding him lying down so that he will fall asleep and sleep together with him on the bed or he will also wake up. With this method, he will sometimes sleep 1/2hr or 1hr.

If he falls asleep when normal breastfeeding (deep sleep, mouth open and hands limp) during the day and I put him down to sleep in his cot, within 5 minutes he will be wide awake and crying until I pick him up and he will be wide awake again.

This pattern has been going on for about 4 days now, previously he could nap for 1 - 2hrs at least twice or 3 times during the day. I do swaddle him so he doesn't startle himself by throwing his hands up but lately he is stronger and seems to throw off the swaddle quite easily. Should I wrap him up tighter?

How much should he be sleeping at this time?

 

[P4nic]

I m also interested in this topic. My gal used to sleep 1 to 1.5 hrs after every feed in the day but as she grows (abt 6 weeks now) she seems to be more awake in the day.. Even after her feed. I have to coax n carry her before she is willing to sleep.. Same she will wake up shortly n get startled easily. I wonder whether this is normal. I noticed that for nite time she has progress from 2 hr feed to now 3-4hrs feed.. I worry she might not have enuff nutrition? I m feeding her formula milk for the nite. I hoe this is normal..

 

[clearjade]

P4nic, my boy is on total breastfeeding so I dont't have any experience with formula to share. I took him to the paediatrician for a check up in case he was sick but he's fine.

The paediatrician said my boy's become used to being carried and soothed all the time plus the constant feeding has made him extremely fussy (I ended up feeding him every hour 'cos I thought he was showing hunger signs and it seemed to soothe him). Now need to re-adjust him back to a 3-4hr feeding schedule so that he can digest and rest in between feeds.

Also found this information which has been helpful to me, it has a guideline on how much sleep babies need at different ages: Baby sleeping requirements*-*Huggies Singapore

 

[Edwinie]

P4nic, my boy is on total breastfeeding so I dont't have any experience with formula to share. I took him to the paediatrician for a check up in case he was sick but he's fine.

The paediatrician said my boy's become used to being carried and soothed all the time plus the constant feeding has made him extremely fussy (I ended up feeding him every hour 'cos I thought he was showing hunger signs and it seemed to soothe him). Now need to re-adjust him back to a 3-4hr feeding schedule so that he can digest and rest in between feeds.

Also found this information which has been helpful to me, it has a guideline on how much sleep babies need at different ages: Baby sleeping requirements*-*Huggies Singapore

i feed my baby every hour too because he cries so often. now i'm going to let him cry and then spread out the feed.. bad habits created by parents. =(

as for sleep, i realise my son sleep longer on his tummy. it seems that he can turn his head himself so i'm no too worried about sudden infant death syndrome. right now, every time he sleeps, regardless day or night, we will put him on his tummy. he doesn't get shocks in that position. try it! if u do it the first few times, do observe first.

 

[clearjade]

Edwinie, I agree, the bad habit I created resulted in me almost giving up on breastfeeding and switch to formula when he was waking up every hour in the middle of the night and day and I had to constantly carry and soothe him all the time. Couldn't even put him down to use the bathroom or he would start bawling.

I do feel a bit nervous to be feeding him at longer intervals because I'm worried about his growth and whether he's getting enough milk. But he is sleeping better and still has good pee and poo output daily so I'm waiting until his next check up at the end of this month to make sure he's growing well.

So now when he cries, I just check to ensure he is comfortable (tummy full, diaper is dry, burp him if needed or rub some warming cream on his tummy which the paediatrician gave and give him wind drops as a last resort) and if he continues to cry then I just leave him be.

I also realise he cries when he is overstimulated and can't sleep and after about 15mins of crying he will nod off and sleep for a few hours. Seems to be his way of 'letting off steam' before relaxing so my constant feeding actually interfered with this and gave him an upset tummy.

My mom also recommended letting him sleep on his tummy as long as he's supervised, will try that sometime

 

[Edwinie]

Edwinie, I agree, the bad habit I created resulted in me almost giving up on breastfeeding and switch to formula when he was waking up every hour in the middle of the night and day and I had to constantly carry and soothe him all the time. Couldn't even put him down to use the bathroom or he would start bawling.

I do feel a bit nervous to be feeding him at longer intervals because I'm worried about his growth and whether he's getting enough milk. But he is sleeping better and still has good pee and poo output daily so I'm waiting until his next check up at the end of this month to make sure he's growing well.

So now when he cries, I just check to ensure he is comfortable (tummy full, diaper is dry, burp him if needed or rub some warming cream on his tummy which the paediatrician gave and give him wind drops as a last resort) and if he continues to cry then I just leave him be.

I also realise he cries when he is overstimulated and can't sleep and after about 15mins of crying he will nod off and sleep for a few hours. Seems to be his way of 'letting off steam' before relaxing so my constant feeding actually interfered with this and gave him an upset tummy.

My mom also recommended letting him sleep on his tummy as long as he's supervised, will try that sometime

right now i'm timing his feed at every 2 hours minimum. aiming for 4 hours. if he cry looking for food before the time is up, i'll distract him. sometimes he will manage to sleep 45 minutes more, which shows that he is able to wait! i'm trying to increase the volume so that can last him longer.

i pump my milk out to feed him, so it's not so tiring for me. if i sleep, there will be someone who can feed him.

 

[Edwinie]

i told my mother-in-law, who helps me take care of him when i'm out, to make him wait for 2 hours. but she say she don't want to see him cry. then i say if we don't do it, he will continue to feed so often and we will all be tired. then she said it's ok because she's at home and she's free... -_-'''' that's y if i'm home i'll purposely time him!

i think she will spoil him next time... i'll be the devil then!

 

[clearjade]

My mother in law is like that also! Old folks say if babies cry too much they will suck in too much wind and get a tummyache so she would keep coming into my room whenever he cried to ask what's wrong and to soothe him.

Only after we spoke to the paediatrician and he said that it's a myth that she stopped coaxing and soothing him. It really helps to have endorsement from a doctor, otherwise she would have never listened to me

 

[PTB7476]

I m also interested in this topic. My gal used to sleep 1 to 1.5 hrs after every feed in the day but as she grows (abt 6 weeks now) she seems to be more awake in the day.. Even after her feed. I have to coax n carry her before she is willing to sleep.. Same she will wake up shortly n get startled easily. I wonder whether this is normal. I noticed that for nite time she has progress from 2 hr feed to now 3-4hrs feed.. I worry she might not have enuff nutrition? I m feeding her formula milk for the nite. I hoe this is normal..

they are going through growth spurt now Baby Growth Spurts and Sleep

i am feeding my boy FM at night too and FYI ..FM is more filling than BM so it is quite normal that she is stretching it to 3-4hrs if you give enuff...some babies can even stretch 6hrs based on BM at night so as long as they are growing... it should be ok ...i am aiming to stretch his feeding time at night to 5-6hrs but without success haha

mine also dun sleep well during day times cos it is hot... if it is raining or windy day like today he will sleep 2-3hrs after each feed of 3hrs ...depends

 

[HouseYve]

My son is 15 mos old now. I remember when he is a few months old, he slept almost immediately after I fed and burbed him. We fed him whenever he cried, after a while you will understand a hunger cry. But I can remember a few sleepless night when he would not calm down just kept crying, I believe it was due to cholic pain. I know there are believe out there that if you keep soothing your baby, he or she will grow up to be demanding baby. But there is also publication that mentioned up to about 6 months old, baby is not manipulative yet. Meaning that they don't know how to use their cry to get what they want yet. It mentioned that by soothing the baby whenever they cry when they are younger than 6 months, they will build self confidence. They understand that their caregiver will always be there to help them when they need, be in hunger, be it discomfort from wet diaper, be it tummy pain. So it recommends sooth your baby as soon as they cry up to 6 months old, then slowly teach them to self sooth, and independent after 6 months of age.

BTW have you shopped at:
Home - Little Cuddlies before? They have amazing baby clothing (branded) at a fraction of the cost. Don't know how they do it. I bought an babygap shorts from them for S$19. Very nice quality, found it at Gap website for US$49.99. Amazing.