Baby at 4-7 weeks in age?

[NaeNae]

HI Everybody,

This may seem like a bit of an odd question and may be difficult to answer but I am wondering what babies are like between 4-7 weeks in age.
Unless I pop early my baby will be somewhere in this time frame when Christmas comes.

MIL has already said she will do the cooking but cannot fit so many people in her cottage. I offered our living room (without thinking) and said that I am happy for people to dine here but I didn't want to "host" the entire day and do everything.

I now wish I hadn't offered because there will be quite a number of people here.

So what a babies like at this age? are the still just eating, sleeping and pooping ??

I am one of those people that needs a game plan to prevent major freak outs I don't want bub passed around like a doll which I know will happen.

How did you deal with a newborn and Christmas or other all family events??

Thanks
Nae x x x x

[ss_storm]

At that age they are pretty much still eating and sleeping. I guess more towards the 7-8 weeks they are more engaging and are up for a bit of play time. I guess it depends if you have a baby that likes to sleep or not! DD only sleeps for about 40 mins at a time, although she does sometimes have longer sleeps in the afternoon. It took me probably until she was about 10 weeks to really settle into a 'routine' and know roughly what she wanted when she cried etc. Although even now she stumps me sometimes!
Do you have a sling you can pop bub in if you don't want him/her shuffled around the family? All our family live a good distance away from us, so when we have gone visiting it's often to at least 3 or 4 people a day and I can tell by the end of the day DD is exhausted from seeing so many new people and being cuddled by them. If your bub can have some 'time out' from everything they should cope ok.

[~Raven~]

Well usually they do eat, sleep and poop but there is always an exception

I think you'll be right but don't try to do too much yourself because you'll be exhausted. Ruby was 3 weeks old on Christmas day last year and I was stuffed by the end of the day.

[briggsy's girl]

E was 8 weeks old at her baptism so i can kinda remember what she was like then!

at that point she really was only just starting to get interactive. too much and she would go off to sleep in a hurry. she was very curious as to what was going on, but it did exhaust her a lot. no big dramas being handed around on the day. as long as i wasn't too far away cos she was (and still is) a demanding demand feeder!

if you can get a promise that there will be no expectation for you to cook or clean, set up etc, then it would probably be ok PROVIDED you have somewhere you can hide if you or DD need time out. that promise has to come from YOU too - i kinda get the feeling you like to help a lot after your shower.... it needs to be made clear that, if you disappear, it's NOT about avoiding people, it's about doing what is right for you and DD and if people can't accept that, then don't have it there. it doesn't take much to overstimulate a baby that age. some will be quite happy to go to sleep anywhere and be passed around (pretty much everyone at E's baptism got cuddles) - others will be very unsettled by other people being around and won't cope at all. it's something you won't know until DD arrives - and even then, unless you've been to a big gathering like that, you will only be guessing...

good luck hun

[sloane]

hi nae

i can't believe my DS is only 16 weeks old & i'm already finding it tough to remember what he was like at 4-7 weeks BUT i think there was a significant difference in him at 4 weeks than 7, does that make sense? at 4 weeks he was still eating, sleeping, eating, sleeping etc but by 7 weeks he'd really started to 'wake up'.

it's not the same but the only real family occasion we've had so far was father's day - DS was 9.5 weeks then & i noticed that it did muck up his 'routine' a bit & he was overstimulated but that was easily solved by just taking him back from the grandparents during the day & taking him to a quiet room to calm down, feed etc. i know nearly all the girls in my baby buddy group noticed they had unsettled bubs on that day. we had people at our place (only 10 all up) & i was able to bake a cake & scones on the morning. my mum brought some food & DP's mum did as well, so that helped.

i think something to consider is how you'll feel at 4-7 weeks as well. i know that i was still fairly overwhelmed at 4 weeks & went through a stage around then where i just wanted a few days without any visitors! things had balanced themselves out more by 7 weeks.

i'm not sure if any of this is helpful my opinion would be that it's do-able but you've got the right idea by saying you don't want to do all the hosting - if you simply provide the space for people, that should be okay. maybe just make sure that your bedroom (for eg) is offlimits to everyone else so you can go & hide away, feed & rest if you need to & give your little one a break as well.

[Arcadia]

At that age DD was still pretty sleepy, but coped with large crowds pretty well. That being said, she was a big one for the 'arsenic hour' and would cry non-stop for at least an hour every night. This was always worse when we had been out and about or she had been passed around too much. 6 weeks is the peak of this unsettled period too (if you go by the wonder weeks that is).

I found the sling perfect for coping with family occasions- people seem less inclined to want to hold the baby when they can see them already well taken care of in a sling with mum or dad.

I also wanted to add that you may well be pretty tired yourself in those early weeks. The sleep deprivation hits some people harder than others, and you don't know how you will be feeling.

It can be a fragile time - so look after yourself and bubba first - everyone else can wait.

HTH

[Fleur]

I agree with Sarah, there is a difference between 4 & 7 weeks.
At 4 weeks Arlea was still being cuddled & rocked to sleep, she was more easily overstimulated & had a crying jag in the evenings. She was still sleeping more than she was awake, had just started smiling & engaging with people.
The crying in the evening went at about 5 weeks. Around 7 weeks she started self-settling, smiles were bigger & more frequent and she was awake a bit longer between sleeps.

Overall it took me 10 weeks to really feel like things had settled & we were all in a semi-routine, she seemed to just settle into life & we were all adapted nicely then.

At that point I started feeling much more relaxed about other people handling her too, until then I hated having visitors becasue I was so paranoid about germs

Arlea is a very happy chilled out baby & still I can see when she is overstimulated by too many strangers. She doesn't cry & carry on as such but she does become harder to settle & that can last a day or two.

I think the suggestion of a room where you can go & shut the door is a great one, and if you possibly can, keep her in there most of the day. That way you can have people come in & peek while she is sleeping or look one at a time but she doesn't have to deal with everyone all at once, kwim?

And I would be warning everyone in advance that there will be NO pass-the-baby. I'm not very upfront with people like this, I worry about being rude, but I had no problem telling people in the first few weeks - we are NOT passing her around. Especially when there are a lot of people because then everyone wants a hold.
There will always be exceptions of course, but if you warn them early it should make it a bit easier on the day

So yeah, as Sarah said, it's do-able but make it easier for yourself by not hosting, & letting everyone know in advance that you reserve the right to hide away with your baby if you need to

HTH

[*EJ*]

My son was about 5 weeks (i know a bit younger than you're talking about) when i had girlfriends over for my 30th birthday lunch (very different to christmas i know...). They did everything for me i just provided my house as the venue, i was a bit hesitant but i had a great time. DS had a 'good day' and just ate and slept. There really is no predicting how bubs will go even knowing the approx age. All i could reccommend is that you don't let bub get over stimulated and try and keep the day as 'normal' as possible for him/her. If things do get a little hectic try and remain calm so bub doesn't pick up on how you are feeling. On these occasions we usually spend the weeks/months leading up to them worrying about how they'll go and the day comes and they handle it better than we expected it.

Hope all goes well with the remainder of your pregnancy, birth and enjoy your Christmas.

[Cassius2]

At that age they are pretty much still eating and sleeping. I guess more towards the 7-8 weeks they are more engaging and are up for a bit of play time. I guess it depends if you have a baby that likes to sleep or not!
Do you have a sling you can pop bub in if you don't want him/her shuffled around the family?

I reckon the sling idea is a good one. DD was still in her early infancy when we had alot of ppl around for pre-christmas dinners...we lived in canberra so many ppl had family interstate and would be away for the 'jolly season'.

Sling is good in two ways...if bubs is still quite young, they really will just wanna be fed and sleep and can be quite happy getting a cradle in the sling, AND this will also allow ppl to see the baby and marvel at her cuteness without the overstimulation of too many cuddles from too many ppl.

my only other advice really is if it turns out bubs is not keen on the sling then, it is AOK to have her fed and put to bed too. maybe bring her out for show and tell in the brief minutes that she is awake between the feed and maybe (this is what i did) give her to the most important guest in the room for the cuddle. then dive in when she shows her sleepy signs or is unsettled and pop her into bed ITMS. we did this many times with relative ease and no noses out of joint.

(for the most part, when babies are that young i found ppl to be quite understanding in allowing you to do your thang at dinner parties...)

HTH!

[Kitt3n]

Nae, it might also be a good idea to have a sling to use - so that you can wrap baby up on yourself and everyone basically has to leave bub alone - bub will probably feel much more secure being in a sling on you when there are so many new strangers around too.

[Lolli]

Nae, my ds was two weeks old his first Xmas and I offered to host the party, thinking it would make things easier. It sucked hardcore. We ended up with 30 guests. I was absolutely exhausted. Everyone offered to help, and, granted, they did bring all the food. But they left with a huge mess to clean up. They were here all day (11am- 11pm). And they played 'pass the baby' so for the next two days I had a screaming, unsettled little bundle.

Sorry, I know that's not very optimistic. My advice would be to set boundaries- make sure you trust those that say they'll help to actually help, put bubs in the sling so they aren't passing her round, and make sure it won't be an all day event with stacks of people.

Sorry again i really don't mean to put a downer on things. And to actually answer the question you asked, my dd is 5 weeks old atm and she just sleeps, feeds, poops and screams. A good age to be a party guest if ever there was one

[KatieRabbit]

Nae- you have been given really good advice. Here is my two cents as DD was 2 weeks old the Christmas she was born. Like others, definitely use a sling- even if you borrow one. Bubs can be close to you , will sleep on you, people are less inclined to disturb her, and it is really obvious to guests that you can't do anything as baby is lying on you. I used my ring sling on Xmas day so bubs was lying down with the light out of her eyes when asleep but others could still peek on her. I keep her in it all day! Also, make sure your bedroom door locks or where ever you are going to feed her. I din't want an audience at that time as I was still learning to breastfeed and well meaning guests thought they would stick their head in the room every 2 mins to see if I needed anything!
Also, make up a roster of who is doing what and bring what. Down to drinks, plates etc if you are having lots of people. And establish who is cleaning up as well.
I had great plans for the day- mass, cemetery visit (a family tradition) then lunch at sister's and dinner at cousin's. In the end I only made the lunch part as I was so exhausted myself. So think of yourself and what you can handle as well as bubby.

[*Infinity*]

Hi Nae,

Firstly good luck for the impending birth of your little one. How exciting!

For me, that stage around 4-7 weeks was when I finally started to find my feet a bit more with DS. I had a bit of a rough start (c-section and feeding problems) so it wasn't roses in the early weeks, but by then (probably closer to the 6-7 week mark) I was feeling much more confident and getting to know DS and his rhythms better IYKWIM?

They pretty much still are feeding, pooping, sleeping at that stage. Towards the 7-8 week mark DS was extending his awake time a bit more, but not a lot.

The 'pass the baby' thing could be difficult. Even with a baby that is settled and happy to tolerate it, I still personally tried to avoid it as much as possible.

If people do end up eating xmas lunch at your place, just make it clear that you're only providing the venue. All cooking, washing up etc. needs to be taken care of by others as you'll have a new bub who needs your attention. Maybe make sure you've got another nice comfy room to escape to for some peace and quiet for feeds & settling baby down. Maybe use a sling to prevent people from taking bubs out of your arms?

And remember, you'll probably be functioning on not much sleep either which can also make it hard for social things. I know I had days where i just wanted to go and curl up with bubs for a nap, but the house was full of well meaning guests.

Good luck

[aussienic]

My DD was 4 weeks and 5 days old on Xmas day. We chose to have Xmas at our house so we didn't have to go anywhere with a newborn (and 3 other kids lol) It worked out great. I felt comfortable and I didn't have to do anything. MIL, Mum and Dh did all the cooking and extra work.

There were heaps of people here but I didn't feel crowded as such. We had it all outside and when I needed to come in with DD I did. I would sit quietly in the Ac and feed her thn go back out when I felt like it

[Nai]

Nae, I think it will be fine if you make sure that you don't do anything. It will be good to have the ability to get your bub settled in her own room and not have to drag her all over the countryside on the day.