Sleepless Nights - Southport,CT

It's a tough time, I know. Have you tried co-sleeping? My son was a horrible sleeper until he was about 6mo. I ended up co-sleeping and this got us through the first five months. I kicked my husband to the guest room, it was worth it to get a little sleep. If you have any specific questions about co-sleeping feel free to email me.
Good luck,
M.

Hi C.-
Congrats on your baby boy! What you are describing sounds totally normal to me. If he sleeps 5 hours in a row at 5 weeks old, he's doing amazing. Both of my kids did not do that! My daughter slept maybe 3 hours in a row and my son was up an hour after he was fed. And yes, when they are awake, most newborns do not have a long period of being happy or quiet. I found my kids as newborns to wake up and be happy for maybe 15 minutes. Then they became fussy and cried a lot and finally went to sleep. I thought something was wrong with my kids so I put them on the hypoallergenic formula Alimentum. It didn't make much difference except that I felt better because now they couldn't be allergic to it.
some things you can do to help your baby - you can try to structure his day by having him feed, play and then sleep. Play at this age means looking at a picture for a few minutes or having you sing to him, looking out the window. After he eats he's going to try to fall asleep. Jostle him awake for the play time. Sometimes it will work, sometimes not. Just try. Do not let him stay awake for more than 1 1/2-2 hours at a time. So, if he's up at 7:30am, his first "nap" will be by 9:30am. So, let's say he eats at 8am. At 9:15am, swaddle him, rock him until he's really drowsy and then lay him down to fall asleep in his crib if that's where you will want him to be sleeping. If he cries, pick him up and try it again - rock and then lay down. Do not let him sleep past his next feeding time which will be around 11am. You want him to learn daytime. Expose him to the sunshine. Wake him by unswaddling him and laying him down. He'll stretch. Feed him around 11:30am and then his next nap will be around 1pm. Do the same as before. Swaddle, rock and lay down in crib. If it doesn't work, try again. Be sure he is up for his 2:30 feeding. Repeat the cycle again but don't be surprised if now he becomes more alert and when you put him in for his nap around 4:30pm that it is a shorter one. This nap and the catnap at 7:00pm can be taken in a swing, car, or other location and not his crib. Be sure he is up for his 5:30pm feeding. Let him have a catnap of a half hour around 7:00 or so. Then do an evening routine with him - bathe him, carry him around, look at things. Feed him around 8:30-9:00pm. Play for a few more minutes and then put him to bed. He will wake to be fed. This is normal. He will cry and fuss and generally not sleep well until he is a few months old. I do not feel that ADHD has anything to do with newborn behavior. I would not consider that at this point.
You need to catch up on your sleep and you'll feel better. When he naps during the day, I know you have a million things to do. Lay down and rest when he first goes to sleep for his naps for at least an hour. Then do what you need to do. When he goes to bed at night, you must as well. I remember being tired enough to actually go to bed at 9pm! Let me know if I can help you more.
Good luck!

Hi C., Is your baby only sleeping 5hrs in total a night, or is that the longest stretch of sleep? My daughter rarely slept as a newborn, day or night, 3hrs would be the longest stretch, then up for 2, etc. yet at 6 weeks old we introduced formula as a night time feed, and voila she slept through the night yet was still up all day long. And those days were long. She also was and still is very active, and I learned to love her energy and was able to get some of my own.
I think that maybe you can take a few hours off and leave hubby in charge one night, or bring in a friend or family member to sleep over one night, so you can rejuvinate. Hope you get some sleep soon, I know how you feel. R..

Hi Clairce! First congrats on your new baby! I, too am a nurse but I happen to work in maternity. Yes, it is common for babies to cry alot, some more than others. 5 hours a night at 5 weeks old is great!!! maybe he's hungry? try adding a little more to his bottle to see if that helps. Is he spitting up? Maybe he has reflux? Maybe he has colic.. All thing to consider. Or he could just be a cranky baby. I know that doesn't help you, but if the pediatrician say he's ok, then it's just a guessing game as to why he's crying. dirty diaper? hungry? just want to be held? Does he take a pacifier? Some babies have such a strong need to suck.
I also don't think the family history of ADHD has anythign to do with your son's crankiness.
Good luck! Hang in there! REmember they're only this little once and before you know it, he'll be all grown up!!

Hang in C.... you can do it. I know that it feels like an incredibly long time that you've been going without sleep (and it is...) but I think that's it's somewhat normal. Lots of babies don't sleep a lot at night. There's nothing worse than feeling sleep deprived. My best advice to you (and some that you've probably heard tons of times already) is to really sleep when the baby sleeps... even during the day. My sleep habits totally changed during the first 6 months of my kids' lives and I really had to FORCE myself to nap as often as possible during the day since I wasn't getting enough sleep during the day.
Just take it one day at a time and remember, "this too, shall pass..." Good luck... I'm sure that you're doing a great job.
mellen

Hi C. - congrats on your baby - I have three and each has been different. My first was much more active and did not sleep a lot like yours. But if you are able to sleep for 5 consecutive hours at night before baby gets up to feed - that is great for a 5 week old! As long as he goes back down for another couple of hours. The first 6 wks is the hardest and the baby should start sleeping longer by 3 mos. When does baby cry? Does he seem to be gassy? It sometimes takes awhile for them to work out the digestive system - by 6-8 wks the crying should get better - if you feel it might be gas try a warm compress on his tummy - they sell one you can heat in micro and strap on called Happi Tummi. What formula are you using? I have heard that Alimentum and Nestle Good Start are the two best to use. Have you tried Dr. Brown's bottles? They are supposed to help gas as well.

As far as ADHD it is too soon to tell - my oldest has it but we did not notice anything was wrong until he started school. My 6 yr old is also very active but no attentional issues. In retrospect I realize now that my oldest was very sensitive to his environment and had sensory issues which is why he would cry a lot - try dim room, soft music, speak in calm voice, warm baths, lots of skin on skin contact - things that calm. Good luck!

hi C.-

Sorry to hear that you are having such a hard time with your newborn- they are constant work and it is exhausting but it will get better. At 5 weeks- sleeping 5 hours is great!! I have a 5 month and still not sleeping longer than 5 hours. I don't know where you are but if you are in Fairfield Co.- check out the group that meets at Norwalk hosp on fridays from 12-1:30. The lactation nurse runs the group and it is ENORMOUSLY supportive and informative!! Let me know if you are in this area and I can give you more details. I don't know if any of your friends have kids yet, but you need to reach out and join some playgroups- it really helps with all those feelings. FYI- I am also a nurse in CT.
Paula

5 hours of sleep for a 5 week old is pretty standard. Epensive formulas like Nutramigen may or may not help. Nestle's makes a very inexpensive formula that is very easy to digest and a lot of pedi's recommend that one. Reading about your baby I immediately thought of reflux. My oldest (now 9) suffered from it terribly. It was not diagnosed until she was almost a year and what a long year it had been. I would see if you baby sleep better next to you as co-sleeping sometimes help. Almost all babies with reflux sleep better propped up in a car seat or bouncy seat. I would mention this to your pediatrician.(Does your pediatric group have a new moms group? Some do and these can be highly beneficial -- Many local hospitals do too.) You can look up the symptoms of relux on webmd or a site like that. It could also be colic, but I highly doubt at this age it would be ADHD. Those symptoms have to do with an inability to focus and babies certainly can not focus! My son that has ADHD was a very mellow child!

This is very normal. He is only 5 weeks old! Give him some more time to get into a routine. You will see in a few weeks that he will start sleeping more at night and less during the day.

My son did not sleep through the night until he was 4 months old. I was nursing him and he would get hungry every 2 to 3 hours. At 4 months I gave up and started him on formula and he started to sleep through the nights.

Be patient, every baby is different. He will soon sleep through the night so you can too! hang in there and good luck!

first of all there is no way to know if your child will be adhd, i have a seven year old son with it he was my best sleeper. my 4 year old didn't sleep all night till close to a year and my 2 year old just started sleeping all night about 5 months ago. all of my babies at 5 weeks nursed every 2 hours all night long till about 3 months old and then only went evey 3-5 hours with straight sleep. i also slept with them in my bed till they were about 4 months old (warning, you may get good sleep but hard habit to break-but atleast you may get more sleep for now)...make sure he has burped, not wet diaper etc...try seeing if he will sleep on you and if that works then you know he just wants the comfort and nothing is wrong with him...hang in it will go sooooooooo fast!