Worried about brain development?

[Ezz]

My little man is sleeping pretty well at night-time (yay!) - he will generally get a 4 hour block of sleep + a 3 hour block (or thereabouts). But, he has very little sleep during the day. Today, he has had 2 x 20 min naps, and one bigger sleep this afternoon (he's still sleeping at the moment - has been about an hour + half so far). Mornings are the worst - he tends to sleep better in the afternoon/evening --> night. He will probably have 2 more 1 hour sleeps between now & bedtime (about midnight).

He is feeding well etc & is extremely alert. My concern is that he's not getting enough sleep. He will sleep if he is in the HAB (but it's so HOT!), or if I sit with him lying against my chest (but I get nothing done!). Every time I get him settled/asleep, I put him in the bassinette & he wakes up - then takes about 30 mins to settle (with patting, rocking etc), or doesn't settle at all (so I give up & pick him up again). I would really like him to be able to sleep in the bassinette (because I'm going crazy not being able to DO anything!), but I'm not interested in leaving him to cry etc.

So, questions are:
1. is his lack of sleep going to harm him? will he fall asleep if he really needs it?
2. any suggestions on how I can encourage him to sleep in the bassinette?

[Emma1979]

awwww he's just a little newbie..... i spent the first few months with a very wakeful baby, and i worried endlessy about her not getting enough sleep.... i actually spent quite a few weeks or months holding her in my arms while she slept, day AND NIGHT.... i could barely get anything done, it drove me mad.... but looking back it all honestly goes so fast.... try to get the necessities done (eat, shower) and let the rest go, your baby is only so utterly dependant on you for such a short while.... relax on the couch and hold him while he sleeps, catch up on your daytime tv.... try to enjoy it, because although everyone told me this and at the time i didnt understand, it really does go so quick, and in the blink of an eye he will be crawling about and hardly stay still, you will miss those cuddles on the couch and wish you have of stopped worry about what was not getting done and just relaxed and enjoyed your little newborn baby. in time the sleep thing will get better, honestly, it will, he won't be 8 years old in your HAB (hehe)... our DD got ALOT better at sleeping by about 6-7 months (and i know it seems like an eternity away, but its not really, it will go by so quickly).....

am hoping that maybe something i have said might have helped, but i know people said the same things to me when i was in your situation, and its hard to understand until you're on the other side and bubs is a bit bigger and things have settled down.

best of luck with your little man, cuddle him and cuddle him and cuddle him some more and breathe in his newborn smell from his hair and try to relax and turn a blind eye to things that aren't getting done, the most important thing is you enjoying your baby.... if you can laze the days away snuggling him, or maybe dedicate one nap to trying to get him in the bassinet and cuddles for the other naps. i dunno, just do whatever works and whatever you are comfortable with.

im sorry ive wrambled. im so nostalgic as my dd seems to be growing up in leaps and bounds and i want to turn back the clock!!

[Ezz]

Thanks Emma! I do enjoy giving him cuddles - I guess I just worry that if I cuddle him for all his sleeps, he will never get used to sleeping by himself. Does your DD sleep in the cot now?

[Lucy]

Ezz......Olivia (who is now nearly 4) slept in my arms or in her Daddy's arms or in the Baby Bjorn for the first 4 months of her life........& at the time I worried I was setting her up for bad habits. But she then decided that a hammock was the only place she would sleep. She then transitioned into a cot at 12 months. From the age of 4 months she became a "legend sleeper" and still is.........

[Emma1979]

yeah she sleeps in a cot now for all sleeps, she will hardly ever fall asleep in my arms, only if she is sick and after ALOT of rocking and shhhhhhing, like hours of it, but it is an extreme rarity.... i wouldn't worry about setting up bad habits until maybe after about 3-4 months.... even at 11-12 weeks i was still holding her while she slept.... they do eventually go into their cot, just keep trying and it willl eventually happen.... we had to teach her with loads of patting and shhing and experimenting with what was going to work, i eventually realised she is a tummy sleeper so when she was about 5 months we started putting her to bed on her tummy, made ALL THE DIFFERENCE... but you do have the odd night where nothing works, they are babies afterall.... which i have to remind myself not to expect too much of her :-)

[Ezz]

Thanks Emma & Lucy - you've given me fresh confidence to just "go with it" & cuddle my little man to sleep (which seems to be working beautifully at the moment)

[MistyFying]

Ezz if it's working for you, go for it And cherish those lovely early days snuggles (before they get all grown up and wiggly)

[Roryrory]

Ezz mummies always worry! I worried Flynn was autistic because all he did was sleep for the first 3 months!! Now I have a bub like yours and I am just glad for the nighttime sleeps You and your bub will be fine