4.5 month old sleeping NON-STOP!

[Lacrymosa]

If this is the wrong place to post this, it can be moved... But my daughter, Asia for the past 3 days had pretty much done nothing but sleep. She sleeps all night, gets up and is only up for an hour and a half or so before she's ready for another nap. Yesterday she honestly was only awake for about 3 hours.

I'm just wondering if this is something to be concerned about (new mom), because I've had a cold for the past week and she really isn't showing any signs of having a cold, no fever or stuffiness or coughing, but she is just always so lethargic. Maybe it could be a growth spurt? What do you guys think?

Replies very much appreciated!!

[Masel]

Is lethargic the word you meant? If you wake your DD up is she mad or does she seem limp and uninterested in things? The later is lethargic and you need to call a doctor. If you can wake her up and she'll be herself for a while then, yes, break out the bigger clothing.

[Phridae]

I agree, lethargic and just sleeping a lot are two very different things.

[newmothermary]

I was told that its not so much the amount they sleep (it could be a growth spurt) but also the quality of the time they are awake. Is you DD alert and wanting to feed and interact when she IS awake? I'd be concerned if she is not. Is she wetting enough diapers? If she is, then its a positive sign. I trust a mommy's gut and it sounds like you are genuinely concerned. I'd have the ped look her over just to be sure.

Keep us posted mama. (((hugs)))

[littlecityfarmer]

Did your family have a busy Thanksgiving? Could she be reacting/resting up from all the stress over the weekend? 4.5 months might be a growth spurt, but usually those happen around 3 and 6 months. When she is awake, does she act "normal", interested, active? Is she feeding well, and pooping/peeing as much as usual? She doesn't have a fever or other signs of illness, right?

Go with your gut. Keep a close eye on her, and if she improves over the day, great! If she doesn't, or stays sleepy/lethargic, I would bring her to the doc to get checked out... When my son was around 2 (much older than your baby), he was active and eating, but just kind sleepy and "off". We ended up bringing him to the Peds ER that night, and it turned out he had Pneumonia and his blood-oxygen was only about 85% (normal for a kid is high 90s to 100)... He popped right back to normal after a week of antibiotics and some nebulizer treatments, but he had been much sicker than we thought he was.

Good luck!

-Katie

[Lacrymosa]

Thanks for the responses, Thanksgiving day she was VERY lethargic, and I suppose it probably was because of all the excitement and all the people around. The day before she was sleeping all day, and the day after and yesterday she still slept a TON, but she is lively and awake and alert when she IS awake. I just wonder what the sudden constant sleeping is all about?

Thanks for replying, I will take her to the ped if it gets to be more of a concern... but for now she's definitely good when she's awake and isn't acting any different.

[LilacMama]

Also notify the pediatrician if she isn't eating enough/having enough wet diapers, if she has a fever, or if her neck is stiff. Also, if there is anything else that seems "off." Also, if she sleeps 21 out of 24 hours one more time, I would also call them. That's not really normal (yes, maybe occasionally after a big holiday, but not several days in a row).