Worried about daughter...please respond

My daughter (16 days old) has been sleeping ALL day today and it's got
me worried. This is something new...she usually naps on and off through
the day, but I've never seen her sleep like this. Normally she sleeps
for 2-4 hours and then is awake and alert for a couple of hours in
between before the next nap starts.

Last night she slept on my husbands chest from 12:30am to 5:30am. This
was the longest she's ever slept at night...she was very fussy before
that (which is why he put her on his chest) and had bad nights the past
2 nights before that, with little sleep. Being a worried first time
mom, I keep a notepad handy and jot down when she sleeps, eats and
poops/pees....

Today she has slept:
12:30-5:30am
7:45-10:35am
11:35-2:30pm
4:20-7:00pm
and is sleeping now after finishing nursing around 8:00. I just moved
her from the bed to her bassinette and she barely stirred...normally if
I try to do that she wakes.

She has eaten 6 times today, at 5:35am, 10:40am, 11:10am, 2:40pm, 4:10pm
and 7:30pm. When she eats she nurses very well...is eager to eat and
nurses vigorously.

She's had about 5 poopy diapers (some with pee mixed in) and 2 very wet
pee diapers today. She doesn't seem to have a fever and is resting
comfortably.

Can someone reassure me that this is normal? I'm worried about her
(first time mom).

I had been posting recently about switching from scheduled feeding to
feeding on demand, and a few of you pointed out that she could be in a
growth spurt right now. Does something like this happen as a part of a
growth spurt?

Please let me know if this is normal or if I should be worried...thank
you...
Kathy

(Kathy) wrote,

I had been posting recently about switching from scheduled feeding to
feeding on demand, and a few of you pointed out that she could be in a
growth spurt right now. Does something like this happen as a part of a
growth spurt?

Sleep time is growing time. It sounds pretty normal to me.

If it persists for more than a couple of days, if diaper output goes down, or
if you find yourself unable to stop worrying, go ahead and call your doctor. I
doubt it will be the first time anyone has asked your question. :-)

Mary Ellen
William (8)
Matthew (6)
Margaret (2)

Kathy wrote in message
...

My daughter (16 days old) has been sleeping ALL day today and it's got
me worried. This is something new...she usually naps on and off through
the day, but I've never seen her sleep like this. Normally she sleeps
for 2-4 hours and then is awake and alert for a couple of hours in
between before the next nap starts.

Sounds normal to me, but I was a worried first time mum too! I joined a
mothers group when DD was 3 weeks old. We met once a week, and for the
first 3 weeks DD yelled the whole time. Then, every 2nd week, she had a
really sleepy day, and would be asleep the whole time we were talking. The
other mums thought I was so lucky!! It just seemed that some days she
needed more sleep (and others she needed more food than sleep!).

Cathy

On Wed, 1 Oct 2003 20:56:39 -0500 (CDT), (Kathy)
wrote:
Today she has slept:
12:30-5:30am
7:45-10:35am
11:35-2:30pm
4:20-7:00pm
and is sleeping now after finishing nursing around 8:00. I just moved
her from the bed to her bassinette and she barely stirred...normally if
I try to do that she wakes.

She has eaten 6 times today, at 5:35am, 10:40am, 11:10am, 2:40pm, 4:10pm
and 7:30pm. When she eats she nurses very well...is eager to eat and
nurses vigorously.

She's had about 5 poopy diapers (some with pee mixed in) and 2 very wet
pee diapers today. She doesn't seem to have a fever and is resting
comfortably.

Can someone reassure me that this is normal? I'm worried about her
(first time mom).

It's probably normal...for months my daughter slept for two hours,
woke for two hours, all day everyday. Two hour chunks. She ate alot
more than yours (but she still nurses every 2-3 hours at a year), I
had one daughter who ate less often, like your daughter does. As long
as her output is fine and her health is fine I don't think you should
worry. She could be having a growth spurt at this time, with all the
sleeping she's doing. And she could be getting herself into a routine.
I'm jealous of the 5 hour chunk of sleep though ;o)
Marie

"Kathy" wrote in message
...
I had been posting recently about switching from scheduled feeding to
feeding on demand, and a few of you pointed out that she could be in a
growth spurt right now. Does something like this happen as a part of a
growth spurt?

I noticed when DS was having a growth spurt, he would eat lots and sleep
lots.

"Kathy" wrote in message
...

I had been posting recently about switching from scheduled feeding to
feeding on demand, and a few of you pointed out that she could be in a
growth spurt right now. Does something like this happen as a part of a
growth spurt?

Yup. Growth sputs equal sleeping. Nursing and sleeping while going through
the spurt and just plain sleeping for a day or two afterward. If you do see
a drop in output, or if she doesn't wake up after another day or so you can
call the ped just to be sure, but my money's on her becoming alert again
tomorrow sometime and being back to her regular not-so-fussy self plus
fitting her clothes differently.

--
Rhiannon
Madison Sophia - 9/6/01
Owen Grady - 6/23/03

Kathy wrote:

Can someone reassure me that this is normal? I'm worried about her
(first time mom).

Sounds perfectly normal to me. My second was like that and I was constantly
badgering my aunt to tell me it was normal for babies to sleep....so don't
feel bad, it isn't necessarily a first time mom thing! :-) She didn't know
babies came any other way but sleeping. I found later she thought something
was wrong with #1, Lol.

--
Nikki
Mama to Hunter (4) and Luke (2)

Thank you all for your replies...I feel so much better now, hearing that
I'm not the only one to notice changes like this (and to worry myself
sick over them).

Katie (17 days old) slept on and off through most of the night...once
she was up she was very fussy again...she acts like she's incredibly
hungry, chewing her fist, rooting, etc...so I put her to my breast and
after a few good sucks she konks out and comfort sucks. If I pull her
away (after quite a bit of time) she cries again.

She's sleeping now, so I'm off to sleep. Thank you all again...I feel
more confident than ever that this is a growth spurt.

Have a good day everyone-
Kathy

Just thought I would update on the situation with our daughter...

I believe it was a growth spurt we were having...Katie had a GREAT night
last night. She slept from 8:30pm-11pm, 12:15am-4am and 4:45am-7:45am.
She nursed just fine in between.

This morning when she woke up she was so happy and alert...she nursed
for a good long time and then spent 1 1/2 hours looking around, enjoying
her bouncy seat and being very content. I noticed her getting hungry,
so we changed her, nursed and now she's having a nap.

I feel SO much better today...I was able to get quite a lot of sleep
last night and it makes my heart feel good to see her so content after 3
horrible days. I know she can and probably will go back to that any
time, but for now we're enjoying a very nice day.

Thanks again to everyone for the support. This is a wonderful group of
people...
Kathy

Kathy wrote in message
...
Just thought I would update on the situation with our daughter...

I believe it was a growth spurt we were having...Katie had a GREAT night
last night. She slept from 8:30pm-11pm, 12:15am-4am and 4:45am-7:45am.
She nursed just fine in between.

I feel SO much better today...I was able to get quite a lot of sleep
last night and it makes my heart feel good to see her so content after 3
horrible days. I know she can and probably will go back to that any
time, but for now we're enjoying a very nice day.

Awesome! I hope she has a few more growth spurts, so you can get some more
sleep!

Cathy