5 week old is super sleepy and fussier than normal...what's up?

vlcoley

Hi -

My 5 week old daughter seems to be extra sleepy and fussy yesterday and today.  So sleepy that I have been waking her to eat....should I be doing that or just letting her rest and wake up on her own?  She usually eats every 2 hrs so by the time 2.5-3 hrs have passed I find myself worrying she won't wake up to eat, so I gently wake her and feed her.  She will eat, fuss a little and then fall back to sleep. 

Also, I'm having a hard time reading her "feeding cues".....I will feed her, let her finish, burp her and then I am finding that 5-15 (sometimes 20+) minutes later she is putting her fist in her mouth and trying to suck on everything!  Does this mean she is still hungry or just wanting to suck?  Sometimes I will try to put her back on my breast...she might latch and suck once or twice and then starts fussing (my guess is she wasn't hungry in the first place and gets mad when milk starts coming out cause she is full??). 

Sometimes I wish she could just talk to me:)!!!  As a first time mom, I get so frustrated with myself when I can't figure out what is bothering her or what she needs:(. 

mben1119

Sounds like a growth spurt...they suck, but you just have to wait them out for a day or 2. Just feed her whenever she seems hungry, and let her sleep.

jenskurn

My LO used to need the paci after she ate to soothe her.  It was almost like she couldn't turn off her sucking reflex.  She no longer does that. 

I wouldn't wake her.  I remember Lily being very difficult during wk 5 and 6.  Like PP said, I would just follow her cues.  On the bright side, LO has gotten progressively less fussy and much more fun since wk 6. 

gwennec

I always wake during the day if it has been more than 3 hours to make sure she is eating enough and hopefully not waking up more at night. Usually when I wake her, she falls right back to sleep, so there is no interruption.

Don't worry about not reading her cues, it is hard and things are not always clear. You are doing the right thing, if she seems hungry, you offer her milk. If she doesn't want to eat, she won't, no harm there. I usually start with hunger and check the diaper and then gas. But sometimes she is fussy and I can't find the reason, she could be overtired or something else. We do the best we can.

dreammerger

We use the rooting reflex to determine whether LO is hungry. We stroke his cheek by his mouth. If he turns toward the stroke, and opens his mouth, he is likely hungry and wants to eat. Sometimes I repeat to make sure it wasn't a false positive.