What is/was your baby doing around 4 weeks?

[Haydies]

Ok, so I'm having a real "mummy sucks, has no idea what she's doing, is ruining you for life" day today. Savannah is approaching the 4 week mark this Sunday and I really feel I am not doing enough for her / with her.

The past two days, now that the crying is finally starting to settle, I feel like all I am doing is feeding, changing and settling - I'm wondering if I am causing this poor child to just sleep all day. How long do babies at 4 weeks generally stay awake? I've still been working off the 2 hour thing I read in the first week...

I do try to chat to her when she's awake, but I'm (and this may shock some of you) a fairly quiet person at home during the day. Especially in the mornings when I am more happy for a cuddle than a big long chat. And I don't really sing as I've never been a singing person unless I have my MP3's going, and I wasn't sure if that sort of music is good for bubs so young.

Savannah's still not really interested in "things" - more content to stare at the wall or curtains. I did read a book to her this morning, very short but with simple pictures. We managed about 5 minutes before she started turning her head away.

I feel like Savannah is getting the most boring start to her life... what is/was other babies doing at 4 weeks? How long were they awake? Do they still mostly just sleep all the time?

[Spring Angel]

I totally understand how you feel, I was convinced that my DS thought I was the most boring person on the planet. What I did was commentate on everything I was doing. So it might sound silly but say if I was making a sandwich I'd say 'so first we get the bread and then we spread the butter etc etc' I'd do this for everything like if I was doing the laundry, changing his nappy. I'd also just sing (very badly) silly songs usually I'd just make them up. I try to have at least one bit of tummy time and some naked time a day and I think a trip outside for a walk really breaks up the day.

Trust me, all they are interested at 4 weeks is the sound of your voice, silly faces you make and generally just taking in the world. Don't stress if she is sleeping heaps, she is growing heaps at the moment and I think at that age they can sleep from 16hours to 20 hours a day.

It does get easier and they get more interactive really quickly.

HTH
Lv Spring

[kungfubecca]

First you are doing a great job!!

If your bub doesn't want to sleep anymore she will soon let you know.
Babies have a 2 4 and 6 week growth spurt so it's normal to do heaps of eating and sleeping

I'm not a big chatty person either, but as your bub shows more signs of not wanting to sleep all the time and you have to start occupying her more you will soon get the hang of it.

Remember you have only been a mum for the same amount of time she has been a baby. You are both learning together.

[Snacks]

Yeah, I think 4wo's generally sleep heaps. I think its usually around 1 - 1.5 hours 'recommended' awake time, but of course every baby is different and it is best and easiest to just go with your baby's needs.
As for what you should be 'doing' for your baby, good heavens, I don't think I had even come to terms with the fact that I had one at 4 weeks LOL!! You're doing awesomely, and soon enough it will feel natural to talk to your baby (I'm a really quiet person too, and one day I just found myself doing it...)
Eye contact is really important to a young baby, I believe. You can communicate so much love when you just look into each others' eyes. And that's all your baby wants - to be near you, to be loved by you, and looked after by you. They need that more than 'entertainment'. You're your baby's world, Haydies! You're doing brilliantly

[Patooties]

Haydies, my little one is 11 weeks old and still sleeps for most of the day. She usually starts to get irritable after being awake for an hour.
As for entertaining them, snacksis right- at this age they are happiest when you are holding them, when they can smell you and know they are safe and loved. I tend to use bath time and nappy change time for songs and finger rhymes.

[paradise lost]

NOTHING! She ate, pooped and slept. Sometimes she'd be awake and cooing for about 20 minutes. Even now her attention span is about 5 minutes maximum. It sounds lik you and your little one are right on track!

Bx

[fionas]

Hi Haydies

Sounds like you're doing fab and I wouldn't worry too much about what books say - it's just an average and there will be a lot of babies who don't fit that. They don't do a hell of a lot at four weeks - things get a lot more interesting when they start smiling and responding. With the singing - you could try Christmas Carols - things that you know really well and aren't too complicated. I sang Jingle Bells to my 13-week-old this morning. Forgot most of the words, mind you, so there were lots of "la la las" - they don't care. Then I got on a roll and made up a song called "Horsey, Horsey, Horsey, where are we going today?" It's not going to win any ARIAS and probably amused me more than Katrina but that's the point - just do what you're comfortable with rather than what you think you should be doing. If you're having fun, she'll have fun. My little one also likes me just saying "ooooh" a lot and she copies that and other sounds. It's very cute.

I'm sure Savannah thinks you're absolutely the bees knees!

Best wishes

Fiona

[Haydies]

Thanks for the replies girls. I think I was mostly just having an emotional period because I feel heaps better today.

Although I don't expect her to hold a conversation or play with toys exactly, the past couple of days I really felt like I have picked her up, fed her, changed her and then rocked her back to sleep. I started to wonder if she was sleeping more out of boredom than anything.

I think I might have just been a bit over tired which always results in me being very quiet and untalkative. I just started to worry I might be stuffing her up if I wasn't saying anything all day.

Today though I've been chatting away to her and even managed about 15 minutes where she sat in her bouncer while I hung up some washing. She seemed quite happy to just watch me potter around, and she really watched me too. It was actually rather interesting for me to watch how much she watched me.

[mrsr]

When James would be awake when he was that young, I'd stick him in his bouncer/rocker thingy and cart him around the house with me and give him a blow by blow description of what I was doing and that continued for years. Now...he doesn't shut up.