sleepy baby- is this normal?

goldie22

Mon, Dec 14 2009, 4:20 pm

hi,
my 3 week old baby boy is soooo sleepy, he has been since he was born, only wakes every 3ish hours for feeds, and maybe for an hour a day. is this normal?
he hasnt had a bris yet cz he is jaundiced buut my older son was also and I dont remember him being so sleepy.

sim

Mon, Dec 14 2009, 5:27 pm

Are you waking him for feeds, or is he waking up to be fed? If you have to wake him to feed him, you should see a doctor right away. If he is waking up every 3 hours, eating, gaining, pooping and peeing nicely, but is only awake and alert about an hour per day, you are one lucky lady. It doesn't hurt to get him weighed, though, if you are not sure about the pooping and peeing. Some kids are naturally sleepier babies, and some take a couple of weeks to "wake up" and do the crazy screaming that infants like to do.

Rodent

Mon, Dec 14 2009, 6:34 pm

No, that is excessive and likely a result of the jaundice. To be 3 weeks old and still jaundiced is quite a long time. Are they doing daily bilirubin tests still? Are you breastfeeding or bottle feeding? I would imagine a baby at 3 weeks that is still jaundiced would be on strictly 3 hourly feeding even if having to wake them, supplementing with formula. Have they been under lights or on a bilibed? Is it typical jaundice or is there an underlying cause? (I don't remember what it is but I know they tested #1 and #3 for this and their blood group etc when they were jaundiced, I think it increased bleeding or something, but theirs was the standard variety).

If you've just been left to your own devices then go and see a dr as that does not seem right to me, jaundice can cause long-term problems if left. If you are under medical advice which you should be if he's still considered jaundiced (being that a higher number is needed for this label the older a child gets so the jaundice must have been pretty severe) then you should ask them.