My son is 8 weeks old and for the last couple weeks has had about the same routine (set by him, not me). Basically the entire day goes in 2 1/2 hour cycles: 30-ish minutes to eat, then 30-ish minutes where he's awake and happy, then an hour or so nap. The remaining half an hour is generally crying before he actually goes to sleep, diaper changes, etc. This pattern continues pretty much 24/7, although sometimes he'll go 4 hours between feedings at night (that's a good night!).
So what I'm wondering is, is this a "normal" pattern? Obviously all babies are different, but it seems he cycles really quickly. I'm not even entirely sure he's always hungry when he wakes up, because he goes straight from sleep to crying, so there's no time to pick up on any hunger cues. But he'll keep crying until he eats, and it's about 2.5 hours apart, so it mostly makes sense.
Thanks everyone! Sounds like my little guy is doing just fine. And yeah, we had a growth spurt a couple weeks ago which was really rough, but now he's getting back to his "routine". It's certainly not a precise schedule, but it's nice knowing about what to expect when, and it also helps figure out why he's crying.
UPDATE: My question was really more about daytime napping than overnights, but last night he slept for six whole hours in a row! Which means I slept for 6 whole hours in a row (with one small interruption when I woke up, realized he hadn't woken up, freaked out, and had to check on him). Today is a good morning. :) I do not expect this to be a trend though, hope for the best but prepare for the worst, eh?
Babies cry because they are either wet, hungry or tired and yes that is a perfectly normal pattern and it will keep changing as he grows ( have 5 kids) so just keep loving him
that is normal.
He is a newborn.
No 2 babies are alike.
But yes, they nurse and can stay awake for a only a little while, then get tired again, then nap. All day. Just feed on-demand and so you are providing him with enough intake for his growth-spurts.
And yes, they cry... when tired too. Or hungry. Or when falling asleep.
AND, many babies also "cluster feed" which means they even need to and get hungry every.single.hour. Thus the need for feeding on-demand, 24/7, day and night.
their system is so immature yet and not developed... hence they are not able to simmer themselves down.
ALSO, another reason why babies cry... is because they are trying to shut-out external stimuli... especially when they are tired or just too over-stimulated OR over-tired. So, this is another baby 'cue' you need to watch out for.
Your baby is normal.
He is so young... and they are not regular yet.
all the best,
Susan
Oh wonderful, lucky you! At 8 weeks he already has some kind of pattern, which makes things predictable for you... A lot of babies don´t have that and I would keep it at that. He sleeps enough, which is a big issue with other babies and he feeds enough, which is just as important. Also, he already has longer stretches at night, wonderful. Please keep in mind that with babies, a stretch of 5 hours is considered "sleeping through the night", so you are almost there. Soon he is also going to mature more and for example be able to stick his fist in his mouth so that this will be a cue for you that he is hungry... Hang in there and remember that things will change quickly and he will grow up fast. Try to keep a steady schedule, probably just with longer time stretches, the more he grows up and the more alert he is.
My son, now almost 5, did the same - cycled quite a bit w/ little sleep. I fed him on demand in the first few months until he naturally established his own rhythym. Don't know if you are working or not? It is not so difficult if you aren't working outside of the home but if you are, you may want to set up a feeding time for him. I read that the mother has to have adequate nourishment in her breastmilk (if breastfeeding) so that the baby is well fed before sleeping. ALso are you drinking coffee, juice, soda or other caffeinated or sugary or artificial sugar/chemical laced beverages? THis can upset the child's sleep.
I found if I drank chamomile tea 30 mins before feeding him to sleep, he slept much more soundly. I also found that homeopathy helped him.
Good Luck.
As the mother of 5, I can tell you that there is no 'normal'. I gave up trying to predict a schedule years ago with my first. It is more onerous trying to figure out and keep to a schedule than actually taking care of the baby. They have different habits at different stages and nutrition/growing spurts. I will tell you that I nursed my oldest all the time. He had to eat every two hours for months. He would nurse, fall asleep in my arms, I would doze off, then he would wake for more which essentially meant that I held him all the time. He turned out great and just started college. I know you know that sucking has to do with other emotional needs in addition to nutrition. He's 'newly hatched' and might be feeling a bit scared. I would just go with the flow and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. He'll be off to pre-school before you know it.....as my youngest just did!
If your son is breastfed, I think it's perfectly normal. Breastfed babies need to eat more often than formula fed babies, average every 2-3 hrs (sometimes little less, sometimes more!). This is because breastmilk is digested more quickly. i think it's great your little one has a schedule going! as the weeks go by he should be eating more and more far apart but if breastfed no more than 3 or 4 hours apart until he starts eating solids (then the eating habits change somewhat). In a month or two, you will probably see him take three distinct naps (about an hour after waking in the AM, in the afternoon and then in the early evening) and sleep longer at night, at first 6 hrs, then maybe 8, 10 and the goal is 11-12 hours of consolidated sleep. Young babies are only supposed to stay up for a couple of hours at a time - letting them stay up longer than that makes them cranky and could cause more sleeping problems. It's during sleep that babies grow so don't keep them up because you think it'll get them to sleep longer at night. It doesn't work and not good for the baby's development and growth! My first didn't sleep more than 3 hours at a time until he was 5.5 months old! and then he slept 11-12 hours of uninterrupted sleep overnight! also he was breastfed and i fed him on demand (he demanded) every 1.5 to 2 hours and then transitioned to 3 - 3.5 hours. just know that the sleeping patterns are interrupted right before they go through a growth spurt or if they are sick.
Hi Bayle, I have a 10 week old. My third baby. He too was on his crazy baby schedule set by himself. At 8 weeks I started the beginning stages of a schedule with him, just like I did with my girls. He still does what he wants but I hold him off and only feed him every 3-4 hours and twice a day I lay him in his crib for a nap. Granted he still falls asleep in the swing or whatever and occasionaly "has to eat" between meal times. But if you start doing something, whatever works for you, he'll get the hang of it.
Then again, if you don't feel the need for a schedule or don't need one than let him do what comes natural. Most important do what fits your family best. My little guy has two big sisters so a schedule is a must, we have places to go and people to see!
Dr. Weissbluth says that most babies can only stay awake for just that amount of time. They do cry before they go to sleep, but as long as the diaper is clean and you know you just fed him, he is probably just figuring out how to soothe himself. As he gets older, a 1.5 hour nap will allow him to complete the REM cycle, for the best, deepest sleep. That will prevent him from becoming overtired and he will eventually sleep better at night. The best thing we did at night was to keep a dim light on, so we could see the baby when she woke up, but we did not turn on any lights or music or entertain her in anyway. If she was hungry, I nursed her. I didn't let her fall asleep on me, but put her down just before she fell asleep. We just kept up this routine so she learned that nightime was for sleeping. At about 3 months she slept 8 hours and she worked her way up to 10-12 hours since then, except for a brief instance of binky addiction when we had to take that away at 4 months. He probably is hungry when he wakes up, 2.5 hours is about right. Be patient, and let him find his pattern. You're doing great!
Yeah, this is pretty typical for an 8 week old. And at this age there is no scheduling a newborn--they should be setting their routines right now.
The rare "textbook" baby might give you another cue, but at this age crying is the cue! Their little bellies digest very rapidly.
My middle child cycled even more quickly--he ate every 45 mins - 1.5 hrs, 24/7 for six months (that is not the norm, but it happens!). Not to mention there are a couple of growth spurts--those cluster feedings were really tough!
It's hard to keep your eye on the future when you're living like this, but it doesn't last forever, so hang in there! You just keep doing the great job you're doing!
Completely normal, get use to catnaps. If you can get your significant other to do alternating nights so you can get some normal sleep in. The window of 4 hours is great for the nighttime. Enjoy the Catnaps...
Was he a preemie?? How much does he weigh and is he gaining weight.Usually a newborn has a pattern like this and stretches to four hours which it sounds like he is starting to do. Then longer as time goes on, esp through the night. If he gaining weight and responding to you with little smiles etc, he's fine. Try to stretch his awake time with more interaction.
Toward the end of his 30 min of happy time change his diaper, talk to him,etc.At night do just the opposite. No lights no talking, just nurse and back to bed. Only change diapers at night when necessary. A good cleaning in the morning and he'll be fine.A few more weeks with your help and he'll be sleeping longer, playing longer and nursing less often.
My son's almost 8 wks too, and goes from sleep to crying as well. My son generally does: (our schedule is a little backwards from everyone else because my husband works late and we modified it so we all can spend time together). wake up at 2-3pm, eat, sleep again til 6pm, stay awake for about 3 or so hours, eat, go to sleep till 12 or 1am (when daddy gets home usually), eats, stays awake till about 4am. i start trying to put him to sleep at 4am, but most of the time he fights me on it and won't sleep till 6am. but his reflux has been awful, so more crying spells and such...
