how much sleep ??

[firstbubba]

My DD is nearly 4 weeks old. For the first 2 to 2-1/2 weeks she slept alot during the day (I was waking her for 3 to 4 hrly feeds) and slept ok at night but was a little more unsettled. She is now starting to not sleep as much during the day and is quite unsettled in between feeds. I know that at this age it is probably normal for them to start being more awake/alert during the day, but I am wondering how much sleep should she really be getting during day?? Y'day she woke at 7am for a feed and then didn't really sleep until 6pm! - apart from a few little 10min cat naps throughout the day. I then woke her at 9pm for a feed, which I now realise was a silly idea because she then didn't go back to sleep til close to midnight! :crying:

Also, in between feeds she does quite a lot of jerky movements with her arms and legs - what is that normally a sign of?? DH and I usually just think she wants more milk (I am breastfeeding and she is quite sleepy on the breast sometimes, so I think that she sometimes hasn't had enough), especially when her hands go into her mouth and her mouth is opening up!, but maybe the jerkyness is something else??

[Alanasmummy]

With my DD jerky movements of her arms and legs are a sign that she is getting really tied and I have missed her earlier tied signs like rubbing her eyes, yawning and becomming a little unsettled.

[Nanay]

My 4 week old is exactly like that...he wont sleep much during the day..keeps waking up every hour for a feed...mind you he feeds for about 10-30 minutes so he doesnt really sleep for an hour just 30-40 minutes. I'm just persevering through it at the moment. I still wake mine up at night when he doesnt wake up himself because he had a bit of jaundice. When we go to the CHN on monday I'm gonna ask her whether or not I should just let him sleep or not...I think the jerky movements you're referring to is the startle reflex...which from what I hear they dont get rid of until about 6months. My DS always has his hands on his face, but when he does yawn does not necessarily mean he'll sleep so its kinda hard at the moment. He will sleep for longer than an hour though if he's on me. That's what I do some times not all the time as I need to be able to do stuff around the house and organize his christening...I will keep an eye on this forum for answers

[floggadog]

My DD is nearly 4 weeks old. For the first 2 to 2-1/2 weeks she slept alot during the day (I was waking her for 3 to 4 hrly feeds) and slept ok at night but was a little more unsettled. She is now starting to not sleep as much during the day and is quite unsettled in between feeds. I know that at this age it is probably normal for them to start being more awake/alert during the day, but I am wondering how much sleep should she really be getting during day?? Y'day she woke at 7am for a feed and then didn't really sleep until 6pm! - apart from a few little 10min cat naps throughout the day. I then woke her at 9pm for a feed, which I now realise was a silly idea because she then didn't go back to sleep til close to midnight! :crying:

Also, in between feeds she does quite a lot of jerky movements with her arms and legs - what is that normally a sign of?? DH and I usually just think she wants more milk (I am breastfeeding and she is quite sleepy on the breast sometimes, so I think that she sometimes hasn't had enough), especially when her hands go into her mouth and her mouth is opening up!, but maybe the jerkyness is something else??
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Babies vary sooo much when it comes to sleep patterns . But maybe you could try this as a little routine. I used this with my first & second babes and was reminded of it with my third - put it into practice and had a much easier time.

When babe wakes up,give them a good feed ,change them (they'll be more settled for changing post feed) them get them on the floor for some stimulation and play time. Yes I know they are only 4 weeks but you can hold books infront of them, rattle toys , use a baby gym where the toys dangle over the top. Anything to stimulate their little brains - even a bit of tummy time. Them wrap them firmly so they feel like they're being held and put them to bed. I used to aim for my ds to be awake for 1 - 2 hours then he would sleep for 2-4 hours. I also had the radio playind in his room from 7am to 9 pm, still do.babies love to sleep to noise imagine how noisy it was inutero .
I think I may have fed my DS off to sleep as well as on waking but that was my choice. He would also sleep for 6 or so hour stretches at night. When all else fails, pop them in the pram with a cover over the pram for sun protection and get walking. Good luck and remember they are all different when it comes to sleep:thumbsup:

[firstbubba]

My 4 week old is exactly like that...he wont sleep much during the day..keeps waking up every hour for a feed...mind you he feeds for about 10-30 minutes so he doesnt really sleep for an hour just 30-40 minutes. I'm just persevering through it at the moment. I still wake mine up at night when he doesnt wake up himself because he had a bit of jaundice. When we go to the CHN on monday I'm gonna ask her whether or not I should just let him sleep or not...I think the jerky movements you're referring to is the startle reflex...which from what I hear they dont get rid of until about 6months. My DS always has his hands on his face, but when he does yawn does not necessarily mean he'll sleep so its kinda hard at the moment. He will sleep for longer than an hour though if he's on me. That's what I do some times not all the time as I need to be able to do stuff around the house and organize his christening...I will keep an eye on this forum for answers

That all sounds very familiar - DD wants a feed every 2 hours or so - I hope that soon stretches out though! - and she also loves to be held to sleep! I am sometimes not game to put her down in her cot!

[firstbubba]

When babe wakes up,give them a good feed ,change them (they'll be more settled for changing post feed) them get them on the floor for some stimulation and play time. Yes I know they are only 4 weeks but you can hold books infront of them, rattle toys , use a baby gym where the toys dangle over the top. Anything to stimulate their little brains - even a bit of tummy time. Them wrap them firmly so they feel like they're being held and put them to bed. I used to aim for my ds to be awake for 1 - 2 hours then he would sleep for 2-4 hours. I also had the radio playind in his room from 7am to 9 pm, still do.babies love to sleep to noise imagine how noisy it was inutero .
I think I may have fed my DS off to sleep as well as on waking but that was my choice. He would also sleep for 6 or so hour stretches at night. When all else fails, pop them in the pram with a cover over the pram for sun protection and get walking. Good luck and remember they are all different when it comes to sleep:thumbsup:

thanks floggadog - i will try doing something like that and see how we go :fingerscrossed:

[belinda1976]

Firstly the jerky movements are probably because she is overtired, not hungry. Babies naturally put their hands in their mouths, it's just them discovering the different parts of their bodies. A lot of people mistake this for hunger. Signs of tiredness in babies are:

jerky movements
yawning
pulling ears
rubbing eyes
whingy cry (bit like a cat's meow)From memory my DD was the same for the first month or so. Very unsettled and not sleeping much during the day. For the first week or so they sleep a lot but then once 2 weeks hits their sleeping patterns change (growth spurt period I think). I agree with floggadog, get your DD on the activity mat and also give her tummy time (no more than 1-2 mins). This will wear her out a bit.

A baby of 4 weeks of age should be awake no longer than about 1.5 hours maximum. She is only catnapping because she hasn't taught herself to resettle yet which will happen with a little help from you. When she awakens you need to try and resettle her back to sleep, not to get her up.

To help her sleep a bit more you could try playing some White Noise music to her. This has been proven to be very effective in calming babies. The noise is similar to what they hear in the womb. I downloaded some tracks off Ebay for $7.00. It has really helped my DD self settle and sleep. I can send you the link if you like.

With regards to her night sleeps (bedtime) have you formed some kind of a routine. It's better to start this as early as possible so they can recognise the routine as bedtime. I have found this to be very effective with my DD. My routine is:

bath
feed one side (whether it's a full feed or top-up)
wrap DD
feed other side
bedI normally found that the bath made her more sleepy and when feeding her the last side she pretty much was almost asleep so I just popped her in the cot and put on her White Noise cd.

Lastly are you sure she doesn't have a bit of wind. This could also be why she is unsettled. She is now old enough to have some medicine for that such as Infacol or Donnalix which can be bought from the chemist or supermarket.

It does eventually get better. The first 2-3 months are the hardest and your halfway there already :thumbsup:

PM me if you need to - just to chat or for more advice.

[belinda1976]

I just thought of something else which was advice given to me.

At night time don't try and over stimulate them too much. Turn off a few lights, turn the tv down etc etc.

She's probably at the stage where the tv is starting to interest her which will probably keep her more interested in staying awake.

Maybe try giving her bedtime feeds in her bedroom.

[ourfirstbubba]

as hard as this is at first, try and pop bub into their cot when they are awake, this will help her to learn how to self settle...we play music in the background also (normally ABC FM!)... its lovely to rock bub to sleep but this gets tricky when they get a little older...

a great book I read which made alot of sense was 'Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" by Tracey Hogg...this was a great read and she explains the Feed, Play, Sleep routine.....

good luck, you will work out what works for you and your bub...

[firstbubba]

thanks very much all the hints and advice. She is actually sleeping a little better both at night and during the day over the last couple of days - so that's good! We haven't quite got ourselves into a routine yet - but I am sure we will get there :)