7 week old so fussy at night... What am I doing wrong??

Question

Im sorry this is a bit long...

I've been reading up on tips to help a newborn sleep... And I know you can't really force a schedule at this point but I've read so many people talk about their night time routine with their 3 to 9 week olds and how they go out like a light and sleep 4 to 6 hours straight.... HOWWW I feel like such a failure and don't know what I'm doing wrong. Since the day she was born she has not slept for more than 3 hours straight and even that was like... 3 weeks ago. I'm such a mess. I've reach the point the night feedings every 1 to 2 hours blur together. I wake up to feed her, end up passing out feeding her without even realizing it to wake up to her fussing... Not understanding why because I JUST fed her only to look at the clock to realize 2 hours have gone by and she wants to be fed again... (And I know that isn't safe and I try to put her down again... I'm just a complete zombie mess here)

About 1.5 weeks ago I started a bedtime routine at 9 in which I bath her, put lotion on her, feed her, cuddle skin to skin for a bit while I read a story, and then dress her/swaddle her and try to put her down. Usually about 9:45. For this whole last week I have not gotten her to actually sleep for anything beyond 20 minutes before midnight... She just screams and fusses on and off... Why do so many people have success with their bedtime routines but I haven't?? Do I need to put her to bed sooner? I'm worried too soon and she'll be wide awake when I want to go to bed at 10pm... Do I need to let her sleep more during the day? Less? I let her make her own day time schedule for the most part. Let her sleep when she gets tired and wake to play when she is alert and interested... even tried to not let her stay up more than 1.5 hours straight today as part of our eat, play, sleep routine attempt... But that didn't work. She'd just get upset that I tried to put her down to sleep when she didn't want to and I'd spent an hour rocking a baby to sleep to only have her down for 20 mins...

I just don't know what I'm doing and I feel like I'm failing at something that should be easy... I don't know what she wants from me when she screams when she should be sleeping even though I've tried everything... I am at a complete loss and just want to cry with her half the time.

Answer

Same exact situation here with my 3 week old. 
He won't sleep at night. If I'm holding him he sleeps. But as soon as I lay him down he's fussing to eat. Even tho I just fed him. 
 And I know what u mean about looking at the clock to see two hours have went by. Sometimes he will fuss and I'll try and calm him down while I'm half asleep because I'm like I just ate go back to sleep, and then I see it's time to eat again. Feels like 10 mins passes. 
I'm a zombie. I get a few hours of sleep at night. Hard to sleep during the day. 
And on top of that I have a never ending headache. It makes me crazy. I try and keep him awake during the day but it doesn't work. He sleeps like a rock. Then 11 pm rolls around and he's fussing all night. It's 4 am now and he's asleep on my chest but as soon as I lay him down he's awake. So I'm just sitting here on this app trying not to cry and go crazy. 😫

Answer

Your situation is normal and you are not doing anything wrong. I personally got lucky with my daughter but who knows what will happen once my little boy comes along. With my daughter the first two weeks were hell!! Although my daughter slept from 10-10 she would fuss a bit every 2-3 hours to eat. At that time she was having latching issue so I would wake up to pump. By the end of those two weeks she finally perfected breastfeeding and things got a lot easier. But I also co-slept with baby. I found it easier for her to fall back to sleep when laying right next to me. I also fed her while laying down. That was the only position that worked for her so that helped a lot too. Feeding while laying down made it easier for me to stay rested as well. I wasn't falling asleep during feedings like I was when I held her. But this was my experience and what worked for my daughter and I. Just keep trying new things until you find what works for you. Hang in there mama!! You're doing great!! You'll get it down in no time. 💕

Answer

I don't know what to say other than that your situation is completely normal. At seven weeks baby is usually not capable of sleeping for long stretches. When my son (now two) was two months old he started sleeping "through the night" and by that I mean through the witching hours of the middle of the night so say midnight to 5 on a good day. As the months progressed we put him to bed half hour earlier so midnight became 11:30 became 11 and so on. He went to bed by 9 pm by 5 months old and by 6 months at 7. It took awhile but he was sleep trained to sleep through the night about 7pm-7 am at 6 months but we were in the lucky side. All kids are different and yours is just seven weeks. Sounds like you're doing a great job! I know the early days are so hard but instilling routine like you are is awesome and sleep (for you and baby) will come in time! Be patient! And let yourself cry when you need to. Having a newborn is a major life change! Good luck!

7 week old so fussy at night... What am I doing wrong??

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