how much sleep for a 7 week old?

[aliasmel]

is 6 out of 24 hrs enough sleep for a 7 week old?

thanks

[~Temet Nosce~]

:no: no way, they need at least 16 hours I think at that age. My 2 year old still needs at least 12-14 hours.

[overitand36]

yep something not right here

i would be seeking more advise than just here if that is what is happening with your baby

[LeeJ]

:no: no way, they need at least 16 hours I think at that age. My 2 year old still needs at least 12-14 hours.

afraid so.

even more for some bubbas.

i think you'll find your bub is overtired, and thats why they are waking.

Also, they may open their eyes, make noises, they may not be awake, just in the middle of their sleep cycle.

I would recommend reading up on some sleeping guides, as 6 hours is not enough at all.

[aliasmel]

he wont sleep at all during the day, I try everything,giving him a nice warm bath, taking him for a walk in the pram (just screams) rocking him,he falls asleep put him in his bed and he wakes up screaming, tried laying with him in my bed he falls asleep as soon as I get up he wakes up.

Tried sleeping him on his side,tried elevating the matress tried rocking him to sleep in his bouncer...

try holding him and just stroking his face, tried laying him on my chest for a sleep which is how he gets to sleep at night,no luck.

I cant do anything cause i have to sit with him 24/7 looking after him as he never sleeps.

I get about 4 hrs sleep a night by time I get him to sleep ect.
Im dead on my feet,cant be bothered doing anything,hell I dont even eat much anymore...si far ive had three lamingtons all day and thats it,just cant be bothered eating. I feel like crying all the time and I feel alone. It's gotten that bad my fathers girlfriend has offerd to come and stay for a few days just to look after him so I can sleep.

I just feel like falling asleep all the time but I cant cuase I have to supervise him and 90% of the time he is crying, Im over it, today I just let him cry and walked away for 15 minutes,I felt so bad but I just couldnt handle it anymore.

I asked nurse she just said get him to self settle....how can I when he WONT sleep? went to the doctor trying to see if anything was wrong with him,sadly my normal DR was on holidays and this one just said "he will get over it" Hes done it since he was 3 weeks old and hes getting worse to the point im having troubble getting him to sleep at night.

I feel like such a faliure and he hates me cause he is always crying

[LeeJ]

i'd do a diary of what happens during the day.

perhaps there is a reason, reflux ro something?

have you got a sling/carrier, it was my GODSEND in those first few months!!

People tell you it's hard, but its not till your in the thick of it that you realise it is complete and utter torture some days...

Also, try the sounds for silence, Im still using it, I heart that too...

:hugs:

[LittleBug'sMum]

:hugs: That sounds horrible! I haven't got any first hand experience with this sort of problem, but I read something the other day in a book called "Baby Bliss" by Jo Ryan, and apparently when babies get really overtired they wont sleep past one sleep cycle (40 minutes). She suggested that if you need to hold/rock your baby to sleep then do it, but you need to continue to do it past the first sleep cycle, so for more than 40 minutes, so that they can get into a deep sleep. I think she said you need to do this for a few days and it should sort out the overtiredness.
I recommend the book (if you're able to get out to a bookshop).
Also maybe you could try to get into a sleep school, or does your local child health place do a day stay where they would be able to help you with settling techniques?
Good Luck.

[MissMetal]

Id be taking him straight to the ER at the hospital, or a childrens hospital if there is one close enough..
they take things like this in newborns very seriously. they will check him over very thoroughly & do any tests they may think he needs to make sure he is all ok medically. it really is worth it, then you will have piece of mind. they will get you in quicker than most patients at the ER as he is so young...
and if nothing is wrong with him medically then they can put you in the right direction (give you referals etc if needed) rather than the slow annoying proccess of seeing DR's etc...
hope he is ok :hugs::hugs:

[OneBabyBoy]

aliasgirl :hugs: I really feel for you. My son was a reflux baby and therefore he rarely slept and was always crying (even when on medication).

I think you should go back to the gp and insist on a referral to a pediatrician. You need to make sure this is checked out as it's not really normal, no. If he has reflux then medication will help him so much.

The other thing that stood out to me was "tried laying with him in my bed he falls asleep as soon as I get up he wakes up." This is sooo what used to happen to me. Can I suggest just for the shortterm until you get that appointment, what I used to do was before trying to put my son to sleep I made sure everything was ok for me to go to sleep too (doors locked, tv off, unplug home phone, turn off mobile etc). Then just sleep next to him. Don't try to get up - you need the sleep just as much as he does. and all the other stuff can wait.

Good luck :hugs::hugs::hugs:

[BabelFish]

Ohhh sweetheart. No, six hours sleep is nowhere near enough for a 7-week-old. He should be sleeping MOST of the time at the moment, and only being awake for about 30 to 60 minutes at a time.

Whereabouts are you? If you are in Perth I would ring Ngala, they are fantastic.

There are sleep schools that offer free telephone advice. TAKE your father's GF's offer and get her to come and stay so you can sleep. Your lack of sleep and extreme exhaustion is dangerous for you, hon. You NEED to catch up, or you'll get very sick, physically and mentally.

And you need some help to get your bub sleeping. It can't go on like this.

Do you mind me asking - are you a single Mum? If you are, there's help out there (well, there's help out there if you have a DP as well, obviously) but if you are going it alone it's SO much harder.

Get your dad's GF over and look into getting some help for your bub - you are not going to survive like this.

:hugs: :hugs: :hugs:

[Bellini]

This doesn't sound right at all, i'm surprised that the doc said he will get over it...I think you should seek a second opinion very soon.

My son is 8 weeks old and sleeps all the time.
He sleeps eight hours through the night, and I have no idea how many throughout the day, however I can say that he is asleep way more than he is awake.

I agree with PP, you should have your fathers gf stay to mind bub so that you can get some sleep!!!
:hugs:

[kar]

I completely agree with what everyone else has said, this is NOT NORMAL. My baby stopped sleeping at around 7 wks and it was a living hell. He had reflux and we medicated and it helped a lot.

I think Miss Metal is spot on - if you can't get a GP to take you seriously go to your children's or women's hospital emergency.

I also think that right now OneBabyBoy is right and until you can get help sleep with him. I used to want to kill people who said this to me because to be realistic it is not a long term fix, you can't hold your baby all the time and sleep with them all the time but as an emergency fix until you can get help do it.

Your dad's GF coming over to help will be absolutely necessary. Don't beat yourself up for needing to walk away. Sometimes it is all you can do.

Most of all, he doesn't hate you, he loves you and needs you. He is either in pain or just not able to sleep for some other reason. For you to be able to care for him you need to care for yourself.

God, your post took me back to the horror and my boy at least slept OK at from about 9pm to 6 am.

Big :hugs:

[kar]

Aliasmel I have been thinking about you on and off all day, hope you are OK today and perhaps have headed off to get a second opinion about why bub wont sleep.

Please feel free to PM me if you want to.

[aliasmel]

well the night i wrote this I just let him sleep with me,we got a good 10 hrs sleep all up,then the next day my mum came over and got him into bed for a nap that lasted about 3 hours..then that night he slept in his own basinette for about 6 hrs total before i brought him into my bed at around 4 ish and we slept through till 10.

then today my come again and got him to sleep put him in his basinette but he woke straight back up, so she got him back out,tried to see if he had any wind and he did! burped went to sleep she put him in his basinette,he woke up again... So she put him on the lounge in the lounge room and put pillows up so he couldnt roll and what not (not that he can yet) and he slept for anothe good 3 hours.He can sleep through the whole family yelling and talking ect (they came to visit) but he wouldnt sleep in the quiet bedroom?

I have been leaving the TV on the bedroom of a night and he seems to be sleeping better,maybe he likes noise

so hes not quiet sleep as much as he should but so far two days and two 4 hour naps...it's a start.

[BabelFish]

It sure is - and don't forget, the womb is a NOISY place, so many babies like a bit of noise. I wouldn't use the TV though, just as a tip. Very young babies can sleep through a lot, but as they get older, it's harder for them to filter out the noise, and the TV has light as well. It might be a bit hard to break him of the habit.

You can get white noise CDs (just smooth static and crackle) that really help a lot of babies, or you can get lullaby CDs (that's what I used to use) or CDs of rain or water trickling. Better to have that kind of gentle noise, and put a CD player under or near his bassinette, on low. That way it's much more soothing noise, better for his little brain, and much easier to move around the house if need be, or to start to lower when he's wanting more quiet time to sleep.

[LeeJ]

i use the white noise cd's, they are they best.

(think i mentioned them at the start?)

Even if you just put an out of tune radio in his room.

Glad to hear things are looking up.

[LittleBug'sMum]

Glad to hear you both got some sleep:)!
I find with my DS the more sleep he gets the easier he is to settle, so hopefully things will get better for you now.

[moozle]

We had a lot of trouble with our DS and sleeping too. I think you'd be surprised how many parents hold their children almost 24/7 for the first 3 months or so. I did. I used to put him in a sling and get on with my day. He'd sleep on and off but that was the only way unless I rocked him to sleep and then kept holding him and rocking him for however long I wanted him to sleep. The second I stopped or put him down, he'd wake up again. He is used to noise and movement from being in your tummy! Some babies just take a little longer to adjust to the world than others. This newborn stage passes so quickly and then there are all sorts of other challenges to worry about but the sleeping does get better :) Hang in there. Don't worry about not getting stuff done. It can wait.

[kar]

I'm so glad you hvae had some better days :)