Too much sleep?

[ContentMama]

Hi all,
This is my first post though I've been reading for a little while.
My 6 wk (7 tomorrow DS is awake maybe 5-6 hours a day. Otherwise he is sleeping or nursing/sleeping. We are in bed probably about 12 hours and then he wants to sleep again shortly after that!
A few times that we've had visitors all day and he has been kept awake, he has been so overstimulated that he has a hard time settling down later, cries and gets cranky until he goes to sleep again!
When he is awake he is alert and active.
Are there other sleepy babies out there? Do they seem to grow out of this? Since he is in good health, I assume it's a personality thing...

[BetsyS]

That's how my babies have been. My first one couldn't stay awake more than 45 minutes at a time until he was about 6 months old. He's still (at age 4) got really high sleep needs.

My current baby stays awake a bit longer, but he still naps quite a lot, especially when I read about babies that nap once a day or so. He's 4 months old, and he just (this week) transitioned to 3 naps a day, instead of the all day long cat naps.

[Parker'smommy]

Be happy!!! hee hee....my little one is the same age...7 weeks on Friday. She sleeps a lot, but she is starting to be awake more recently. She is starting to smile and coo for us. But...she is definitely fussier than my other two. She is happy for about 10 minutes and then she starts fussing. So, she is either nursing or being held sleeping or in the swing sleeping. So, um, yah....not awake and happy just yet.

[somegirl99]

My 3-month-old also loves his sleep, he gets cranky after short car rides because his nap in the car was too short (he wakes up when I stop the car).

Evenings are tough because DH comes home and wants to play/cuddle with DS and overstimulates him, then it takes much longer to get him to sleep as he gets progressively crankier.

[SeattleRain]

Totally normal! Babies that age sleep about 18 hours a day. the other 6 hours of awake time INCLUDE feeding and diapering time. So you're probably actually doing just fine. Life is just really exhausting for babies right now.

As for the overstimulation when people come over, try to be hypervigilant about taking measures to comfort baby when he's in an overstimulating enviroment. I think swaddling is really good for that since it makes them feel secure. I know at that age, my baby really needed to be swaddled all the time to settle down. I know you didn't ask for advice on that, but I just wanted to give my two cents.

[Knitting Mama]

Even at 6 months my daughter can't be awake for more than 2 hours, maybe 2.5 if I push it, before she needs another nap. Some babies are just like that!

[ShwarmaQueen]

As long as your baby is having enough wet/poopy diapers each day and is gaining well (meaning he's eating enough) you should enjoy it while it lasts!

[ContentMama]

LOL. For instance, he just woke from a nap in the bassinet, I unswaddled him, he nursed and is back to sleep on my chest! It is super sweet. Good to know many babies are like this.
It is tough with visitors cause they all want to "play". I repeat my mantra: he is not much company yet; he really just wants to sleep and eat! That's probably a whole other thread...

Evenings are tough because DH comes home and wants to play/cuddle with DS and overstimulates him, then it takes much longer to get him to sleep as he gets progressively crankier.

Yes, I can relate to the progressive crankiness, though DS is cool when being entertained by OTHERS (not me) and then later is freaked out.

[RiverandJulie]

Enjoy it while you can. Mine was like this for the first few months. I kept looking in different books to see if he was sleeping too much.....Since about 6 months, he is not a sleeper. Most naps are 45 minutes....he sometimes power naps for 15 minutes, then is up and ready to go. I miss those cuddles (but love these days too)

[bdoody11]

Yes, it will pass. My DD was very sleepy up until about 3 1/2 months (could sleep 3-4 hours at a time during the day and 9-10 hours at night) and now, not so much. She catnaps during the day and wakes up multiple times at night, sometimes multiple times per hour. Ahh, I miss the newborn days...