Is Holly sleeping too much???

[Sunnyb]

We thought we were getting into a pattern of sleep last week, but the last 5 nights have been a nightmare.
During the day Holly pretty much sleeps 3-4 hours, feeds & then goes back to sleep. She wakes around 6pm (ish), feeds & then stays awake for ages, gets over stimulated, over tired & ends up screaming until 1-2am before she finally gives in.
Do you think she's sleeping too much during the day? Can I leave her to cry for any length of time yet (she's 3 weeks old?)
If you cuddle her, she settles, but the moment you put her down she wakes & starts screaming. She settles herself easily during the day (downstairs with tv or some background noise), but won't do it at night.
Me & hubby are worn out & when she screams like she does it breaks my heart.
Any advice or suggestions to settle her or change her sleep pattern would be really appreciated!!

Sunnyb xxx

 

[Maria1977]

Oscar slept all the time at 3 weeks old hun. There was no pattern to his sleeping at all until he was a couple of months old and even then it wasn't 'set'. At 3 weeks old he was rarely awake for longer than 30 mins a time, if that!

I don't know what to suggest because sleep is so important at their age that I'd just let her sleep whenever lol

Sorry I'm no help at all!! xxxxx

 

[Laura_C]

Grace was always a big sleeper but at 3 weeks they do sleep an awful lot - Grace was only really awake around feeding time then she was back off again! At 3 weeks I remember she was like this esp at night - I felt awful but we actually put Grace to bed when went to sleep and put her in her own room one night at this age as we were all so unsettled. She slept much better and so did we. There was an element of controlle crying at this stage as I knew she was changed, fed etc gave her a dummy etc and sure enough he slept through a whole night at 4 weeks old. She still woke for one night feed up until 6 weeks but by 6 weeks she was sleeping through from about 10pm - 7/8am!! Never looked back after that.

I put her Moses basket in her cot and that's how she slept until moving onto her cot when she was a little bigger.

 

[Esoames]

Sounds like her days and nights are confused. Tbh at the moment she is so young that she needs loads of sleep. It might be worth starting a routine, have her bedtime feed in a dimly lit room, keep the noise quiet etc and gradually she will start to go to bed earlier in the evening rather than 1-2am like she is now. Isla was the same but her "bedtime" was 4am! It nearly killed me!

 

[Sunnyb]

Thanks ladies. I just can't remember what Joseph was like during the day. But he wasn't as much of a night owl as Holly! Tonight she woke at 4.30pm, had a quick feed & a kick around on her playmat. This evening I bathed her before she got overtired & hungry again & did some baby massage, I dressed her & have just fed her up again & she is fast asleep! I'm going to put her in her own room until we come to bed with the baby monitor on & see how she gets on. We have her in our room as it's easier for breastfeeding during the night. But if we are disturbing her it might be better to put her in her own room. Wish me luck for tonight x

Sunnyb xxx

 

[Esoames]

good luck xxx

 

[Lacey's Mummy]

Have you started a bedtime routine yet? Try doing the same thing at the same time every night so she knows it's bedtime x x

 

[Sunnyb]

Have you started a bedtime routine yet? Try doing the same thing at the same time every night so she knows it's bedtime x x

We have tried to follow a night time routine, but I think she's been over tired & over stimulated. Bath times were spent screaming the whole time during bathing & drying & then by the time she's fed, she's been sobbing & ended up full of wind! I think tonight bathing her earlier has worked. Maybe we'll just have to bring her routine forward a little. Just seems to be trial & error at the moment x

Sunnyb xxx

 

[xxbeckyxx]

Same as the other ladies have said, routine is the key! But I wouldn't worry too much at 3 weeks When Lizzie was that age she'd be asleep all day and then awake from 11pm till 4am! Good luck tonight

 

[xxbeckyxx]

Oh, and we gave up doing bath time as part of Lizzie's routine as it woke her up too much, we literally do a bit of massage, then feed, then dummy and that's it for our 'routine' lol

 

[Little Rose]

Hi, you could try putting a hot water bottle in her basket before putting her in it. The heat might trick her into thinking she is still being held by you. It worked for me. Hope this helps.

Rose

 

[Lacey's Mummy]

I didn't include a bath in charley's routine. He used to hate bath time at that age. I used to top and tail him every night instead x.

 

[Lacey's Mummy]

Ooh another thing that helped me put Charley down was putting the top I wore during the day in his cot so he could still smell me!

 

[Sunnyb]

Well she seemed settled earlier, but is now screaming again! When you cuddle her into you she does settle for a while, but then starts again. I have previously tried putting her blankets in with us to keep it warm, so might try the water bottle to warm the bottom sheet through.
I'm starting to wonder if it's colic, as she screams rather than cries & thrashes her legs & arms around furiously. Joseph never did anything like this. She routes for a feed (even soon after she's just fed too). I feel so sorry for her, but me & hubby are just so tired we could cry with her

Sunnyb xxx

 

[Eilishnbean]

Oh Hun, Grace was like that at 3 weeks too sounds like a growth spurt. She wanted the boob all the time and slept alot too. She was on there for almost 2hours at one point!! X

 

[xxbeckyxx]

I know it's quite early so you might not want to, but have you considered a dummy?
If it is colic they often want to suck as apparently it's a natural pain reliever. Have you tried swaddling too?

 

[Sunnyb]

Yes we've tried both. She sucked the dummy a few times, spat it out & wouldn't let us put it back in! We have swaddled her too, but because it's been so warm & she's hot from crying it just seemed to make her worse
We tried Infacol last week as we thought she might be a bit colicky, but it didn't make any difference & the 2 nights she didn't scream were when she'd not had any Infacol. Will speak to HV about it as it was 2am
Before she settled & she was awake again at 4am & 8am. I've got a banging headache now & hubby's eyes look like he's chopped a thousand onions as they're so red!
One of us needs to get up with our little boy now as he wants breakfast. Looks like hubby will lay in today & hopefully my turn tomorrow x

Sunnyb xxx