6 wks & never slept more than 3 hours

ChrisP2013 · April 2014

My little guy is 6 wks 2 days. He was born 6 wks early & spent 2 wks in NICU. He weighed 3 lbs 14 oz, 17" long. He had platelet issues & jaundice but that was it, no other health issues. He was just small. We've been home a month. He is gaining & eating well. He's now 7 lbs 12 oz. He's having a growth spurt now, I think, because he's eating almost every hour or so. He just doesn't sleep long. His biggest sleep ever has been 3 hours. In NICU, he was on 3 hour intervals. Any other preemies not sleeping very long?

brachysira · April 2014

That is how it goes. Your baby is just now the size and age of a normal newborn, and those babies are also usually up feeding all night. They usually recommend you wake preemies to feed every 3 hours if they are not waking on their own, so that your baby can wake and eat is a good sign. It's rough, but it will get better.

KTZ17 · April 2014

Yeah, he shouldn't be sleeping more than that yet. A full term newborn could weigh that amount and they're supposed to eat every 3 hours, so it's just par with the course. We've all been there. Eventually you'll sleep again! Enjoy your baby!

PurpleIris30 · April 2014

Yep, sounds very normal. Hang in there - eventually you will get more sleep.

ziggy903 · April 2014

Normal. DS was born at 32 weeks and we were cleared to go up to 4 hours at night at 2.5 months.
Newborns have tiny bellies that fill and empty quickly. They have to eat round the clock to keep full, and your LO is small and therefore has an even smaller belly.

carrotcake06 · April 2014

Like pp said, normal. Idk if it was coincidence or what but around 10lbs they started to go a bit longer at night - maybe 4hrs?

My boys are 9mo and I have one that's still up every 5-6hrs. I haven't slept a full night in a very, very long time (my 4yo is up often at night needing one thing or another).

ChrisP2013 · April 2014

Thanks. I was just curious when other preemies started to sleep longer. I haven't slept longer than 3-31/2 hours since I was 3 months pregnant so I'm used to these short stretches.

Throw3ks · April 2014

Welcome. My LO is 7mo actual/5adjusted and she still doesn't sleep well. Ever.

Pips09 · April 2014

Sounds normal! He is still a newborn, so he is sleeping just like a newborn. We didn't really get longer stretches until 4-5 months. Just hang in there!

xladybassx · April 2014

Very normal. My 27 weekers started to sleep for longer stretches at about 4 months old (5 weeks adjusted). They went from slept for four hour stretches for about 2 weeks, 5 hour stretches for 1 week, and now this past week they have been sleeping 6 hours. They still eat every 2.5-3 hours during the day, and we have to do a dream feed with our smaller twin due to weight gain issues, usually right before we go to bed. It does get better. I know every baby is different, but for us when it started to get better it happened very suddenly.