Is there such thing as sleeping too much? And other (probably ridiculous) questions from a ftm

[weixiao]

Ftm to a 5 day old! I have a couple of questions that I will be asking my pediatrician at his next visit but curiosity was getting the best of me and figured I’d ask here since you guys seem so knowledgeable and good at this

1) Can they sleep too much? My little guy is probably sleeping close to 20-22 hours per day. He’s so sleepy. Even when he startles himself awake and he opens his eyes so we try to take advantage of the wake period and engage him, he falls back asleep in like 2 seconds. Is this normal?

2) Another sleep question- why are they so noisy!!!! The noises are so cute but lil dude are u okay over there. The newborn congestion they all have, what’s that about?

3) Is it true it’s not recommended to start tummy time until the umbilical stump falls off?

4) This is probably the dumbest question of all and I thank you so much if you’ve taken the time to read this far- I’m definitely not complaining, this little dude is such a good baby and doesn’t cry much at all and I’m so sorry for those I’ve read on here who have had such a hard time with the newborn phase, but when they’re freshly fed, pooped, changed, dressed appropriately for the temperature, and all their needs are met, but they’re still crying, what’s bothering them?

Thank you so much for all your help. These Reddit communities of parents and caretakers have been such a blessing during this new journey so far!!

 

[auxiron]

@weixiao

1. My pediatrician told us we could stop waking to feed when ours reached birth weight, so as long as he’s gaining weight appropriately he’s prob ok to sleep as much as he wants.
2. They can be so loud! You could try a humidifier to help with congestion. When it gets bad we use saline spray + snot sucker.
3. Yep, our pediatrician recommended not starting tummy time on the floor until the cord falls off. Until then you can hold him upright against you or wear him in a carrier. Basically anytime they aren’t laying on their back they get a chance to exercise those neck muscles and prevent flat spots on their head.
4. Newborns have immature digestive systems so a lot of their discomfort can come from gas pains, trying to poop, etc. Reflux is also a common culprit.

 

[weixiao]

@auxiron Thank you! We actually had a little bit of a rough start with feeding so he’s just now starting to gain back some of the weight he’s just a sleepyhead I guess! Okay yes they had told us no tummy time on the floor until his cord falls off but I had just taken it to mean no tummy time whatsoever, this makes much more sense! He loves to be on my chest so I’m assuming he’ll be into it?? Haha I hope

 

[confusedbuthopeful]

@weixiao

1. Not really, as long as he’s getting enough to eat. It’s normal for new newborns to just sleep, eat, and poop.
2. Omg true and normal and all I can say is for us it went away around 6 weeks. I’ve heard saline or breast milk can help but I never tried either, I just lived with it lol.
3. Don’t know about that, I never really did tummy time I just held him all the time when he was that fresh.
4. Usually gas. But sometimes I think it’s also just… shocked at how weird it is to be alive

 

[weixiao]

@confusedbuthopeful Thank you!!! You’re so right for number 4! They’re literally brand new to the world experiencing everything for the very first time

 

[theanomaly]

@weixiao For number 1, my baby is 4 weeks old now and the whole first week he was so sleepy, exactly as you describe, it was so nice. Now I’m lucky to get him sleep for 10-12 hours a day. They change and develop so rapidly!

 

[weixiao]

@theanomaly Aww you have a new lil guy also, congrats!! It’s SO crazy how quickly they change, I’m already seeing such a difference and he’s only 6 days old

 

[19john54]

@weixiao 1- babies don’t “wake up” to the world right away, so they sleep a ton! It’s a lot a work being born, so they are tired. Totally normal for them to sleep lots, but it’s generally recommended you wake them every 3 hours to feed. It baby has regained to birth weight, most docs will say you can let them sleep longer at night if they choose to

2- the grunting is a lot!! It goes away eventually (about 2.5 months for us). The congestion is likely milk related if nothing comes out when you use a sucker in the nose. Also totally normal and resolves on its own

4- like other comments have said, could be gas! Also, babies cluster feed around this time to secure the supply they’ll need, so your baby could be still hungry and wanting to latch if they are being fussy. It happens typically in the evening and they can sometimes just want to be latched for hours at a time.

Congratulations on your baby

 

[weixiao]

@19john54 Thank you SO SO much!! He’s 10 days old now and he’s a little more interested in the world around him than he was a few days ago but he’s still a sleepy lil guy. We wake him to feed and try to keep him up for a little bit after that but something about nursing just puts him right to sleep haha. We’re gonna start trying wake windows to see if having him on a little more of a schedule helps!

 

[nickodack69]

@weixiao My baby was like this and when I stopped taking the pain killers they gave me for after delivery he started sleeping less, make sure your not taking any medication that might effect the baby

 

[weixiao]

@nickodack69 That’s so interesting and I’m so glad that worked!! Fortunately or unfortunately I’m not on any medications, I think he’s just a sleepy guy!

 

[seekermig]

@weixiao Our 5 week old was just a sleepy potato the first week. He also had elevated bilirubin, but it declined rapidly.

They wake up, believe me

 

[weixiao]

@seekermig Now I say I can’t wait but I’m sure in a couple months I’ll miss the sleepyhead days

 

[qualeym]

@weixiao

1. My baby was sleepy for the first two weeks. The second two weeks he started to develop longer wake windows. He’s approaching 5 weeks and still pretty sleepy!
2. They are very noisy and I had to learn again (STM) when to just let him be and not pick him up at every grunt.
3. I didn’t know this and we started tummy time right away at the delight and encouragement of our pediatrician. His umbilical stump was not harmed and fell off on its own on day 16 with no issues!
4. Sometimes they cry when they are tired and just want to be rocked or cuddled back to sleep. Sometimes my guy presents that as asking for a feed since it’s comforting and then he’s out in 3 minutes. Sometimes just a cuddle and rock if they’ve been recently fed/changed/etc!

 

[weixiao]

@qualeym My little guy is SO sleepy! He’s definitely my kid haha. Yes! I find that he cries and it’s not that he’s wet or cold or hungry, is when he startles himself awake and he realizes he’s not being held. Their startle reflex is wild!!