Hi - I have a 10-day old, and I'm a first time mom. I've read everything available on the internet but I still can't quite wrap my head around sleep and whether it's normal or not.
What was newborn sleep like for you? Like in the first 3 weeks or so?
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I don't know that there really is a normal pattern, there's such a variety. But our basic pattern the first month or so was fussy time, bedtime, sleep around 3 hrs, maybe 2, feeding, then waking often after that. Eventually I started putting her in the swing around 7am. It's all a bit of a blur.
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LO 1 was a very alert baby. The first few weeks he would sleep maybe an hour or two at most at a time. He basically nursed every 90 minutes.
LO2is very different. She slept a ton the first two months. She would nap 2-3 hours and go 4-6 hour stretches at night. She's now 16 weeks, but around 12 weeks she started giving us only 2-3 hour night stretches and much shorter daytime naps.
I really don't know if there is a normal. I do know that you can't make a baby sleep if they don't want to, unfortunately.
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like @googly-eyes: , it's all a blur. I do know that she would usually give me one long stretch (4 hours ) around 11pm. By 3 weeks it was 6 hours and by 5 weeks it was 8 hours. I bottle feed though and she might be an abnormally good sleeper. I'm not holding my breath for #2!
Those first few weeks are rough, but solely and surely it does get better!
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@lamariniere: With your LO2, would she be awake for long between her 2/3 hr naps? Or did she basically wake to feed and then go back to sleep?
Thanks for the info everyone!
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@ScarletBegonia: in the very beginning she would be awake maybe 20min before going back to sleep.
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@lamariniere: Cool! I know that I'll probably have rotten turnips thrown at me for saying this, but I'm actually worried my little boy sleeps too much. I don't know when he should start being more alert during the day - he has a couple of more alert waking periods (usually morning and evening) but other than that he's awake for feeds and then tends to drift back off to sleep pretty quick. I am NOT complaining - its made the transition to a family of 3 pretty easy so far, and I know it will all change at the drop of a hat - but for now I can't help worrying about EVERYTHING!!
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@ScarletBegonia: oh, I totally worried about my daughter since she slept SO much more than my son. She was also born at 37+2, so I thought that must have been why she was extra sleepy as a newborn. Don't worry though, those sleepy days are probably numbered, enjoy it while it lasts!
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@lamariniere: Yeah I definitely am!! I'm 100% following his cues - I don't really have to rock him or convince him to go to sleep, and he always wakes up on his own for feeds. I'm just thrown I think by how much variety there is in newborn behaviour - and I hope my boy falls on the spectrum of normal!
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My son is almost 6 weeks now...for the first three weeks he slept a TON! I was worried that he was sleeping too much too, as we basically had to wake him up during the day and change him in order for him to realize he was hungry...he's just now starting to stay awake more during the day and give better hunger cues.
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@ScarletBegonia: We had to wake my LO for the first month to eat during the day and the first two weeks at night. Once it was clear he was gaining enough weight, I could let him wake on his own. But other than waking briefly to eat, he was sleeping. I remember having to undress him or rub a wet washcloth on feet to keep him awake toe at enough. As long as your LO is eating enough, you're good. Enjoy it! I have a very awake 8 month old and every so often I could really use a day like that!
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LO slept a lot and easily for the first 2 weeks. then it went to shit. he'd be yawning up a storm but would not fall asleep despite swaddling, rocking, putting him down drowsy but awake, white noise, blackout curtains...even nursing to sleep and using the pacifier would get us only 10 minutes before crying. i think at some points it was a bit of reflux and gas, but in general my little guy has just been a wakeful baby.
you're right, there is such a range, and i hope you are blessed with the sleepy end of it.
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My response to that question is "what sleep"?
My daughter was queen of 20 minute naps and waking every 1-2 hours at night. But she seemed to do fine on minimal sleep. Every child is different and has different needs.
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My son was wakeful, he hardly slept it seems. What I learned though, was to look at his sleep cues. I was waiting too long to put him down, that once he was yawning and rubbing his eyes, he was already over tired.
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My son was up constantly. My daughter is 4 weeks and practically sttn. Complete opposites, I don't think anything is "normal"
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Hmm... I think during the first couple weeks, he slept a LOT and I often had to wake him to feed him because we were sticking to feeding every 2 hours to get his weight back up. But at some point (I think around 2 weeks), he started staying awake for HOURS in the evening and wanted to nurse non-stop! So... that's coming up for you... good luck.
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One 3 hour stretch at night and then up every 2hours. Around this age is when she started the battle to get her to sleep for naps and night time.
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At that age my LO would only wake up to eat, although he was a slow eater, and it would sometimes take up to an hour to eat during the day, and would cluster feed in the evening. He did not start spending more time awake until maybe 6 weeks. I don't think it is a problem unless he is not eating enough.
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We had to hold her constantly for the first three weeks to get any kind of sleep - we stayed up over night in five hour shifts. I finally got her to sleep in her crib at night at around the three/four week mark.
She had very short wake periods during the day, maybe half an hour to forty five minutes and was the queen of the 30 minute nap unless she was, you guessed it, being held or worn. Or we could put her in the stroller her and keep her moving for 30 minutes and she would sleep pretty solidly for hours.
Evenings she'd start fussing (understatement of the century) around 5pm and would alternate between screaming and dozing for ten minutes until 10pm.
Newborn sleep is just crazytown. If I knew then what I know now I would have completely avoided reading sleep books until she was three or four months old, because there is nothing standard or normal about newborn sleep.
I really wouldn't worry too much about short wake periods as long as your LO is gaining weight appropriately and isn't up and partying all night.
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Not sure if there is a normal...but I didn't have a 'sleepy' newborn. She slept in maximum 2 hour stretches around the clock, with about 45-60 minutes of awake time in between. It was really tough to adjust to the fact that at first, night-time doesn't mean sleep-time. She also only slept while being held/co-sleeping.
Its such a tough stage when you're there...and once its over it seems like no time at all. Hopefully you two figure each other out, and settle into a pattern (I won't say routine. Routines can be a joke in the first few months).
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It was all over the place. Sure she slept a lot but never in long stretches. At night she would sleep 2-3 hour stretches so I was a zombie. Sometimes she'd wake up every 45 min - 1 hr. That was brutal. I don't think there's a norm, it just depends on the baby. This continued until we sleep trained.
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