Read this article to learn why your 8 week old is sleeping all day and how to tell when your infant is sleeping too much.
Some of the most common reasons that your baby is sleeping throughout the day are because of an incoming growth spurt or because of some kind of ailment. These are opposing reasons whereas one is a positive thing and the other is something that you should be worried about. In most cases, infants will sleep quite a bit as they are growing at a rapid speed.
Infants grow very fast, so they end up sleeping a lot to compensate for this developmental leave. It could also be that they haven’t developed a specific sleep schedule yet, so they are sleeping at random intervals throughout the day. In most cases, your baby is just getting the rest they need, so you don’t have anything to worry about.
Another reason your infant could be sleeping all day is because of a minor illness like a cold. In which case, the extra sleep is just what their body needs to help fight off the infection. You should keep a close eye on them for other symptoms, and you may want to talk to your doctor if it’s something that lasts longer than a few days.
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Why is Your 8 Week Old Sleeping All Day?
Most of the time, you’re eight weeks old is sleeping so much because they are growing so quickly. It can also be because they are very young and haven’t developed any sleeping routine yet, so they’re just sleeping whenever they feel tired. In other cases, it could be that they are dealing with some kind of ailment, either a cold or a severe infection.
It is very uncommon for newborns to have any kind of consistency with their sleep schedule, and it’s also rare for them to sleep more than 19 hours within a 24-hour time frame. You really shouldn’t be worried about your infant sleeping for longer unless other symptoms point you towards some kind of health issue.
Some of the most common reasons that your newborn is sleeping so much are:
- They are about to experience a growth spurt or other developmental leap.
- They have some minor illnesses like a cold
- They have an infection. This is a rare thing to happen, but it can, so if you think this might be the reason and truth that you were talking to your baby’s doctor.
- They have a medical condition that makes them sleep longer. This only happens in rare cases, but breathing and heart disorders can affect sleep, and premature babies often have different sleeping patterns.
- They have jaundice. If your newborn has jaundice, they will have a yellow coloring to their skin and the whites of their eyes. Having jaundice can cause sleep anomalies with newborns, but there will be other symptoms to let you know if this is a possibility.
- They’re not getting enough to eat. Your baby may be dehydrated or losing too much weight, resulting in excessive fatigue. Newborns gain somewhere between 5 to 7 oz a week. If your infant is not growing at that rate but still has excessive sleep patterns, they may not be getting the nutrients they need.
For most of these reasons, other symptoms will point you towards what exactly is causing your newborn to have odd sleeping patterns. It could be helpful to keep notes about anything that you notice about your baby’s sleep patterns so that you can talk to a doctor about them and discuss possibilities together. This is especially true if the excessive sleeping lasts more than a few days.
What to Do If Your Newborn is Sleeping Too Much
Now that you have some idea of why you are a newborn, is sleeping so much, you can start to come up with solutions about how to deal with it. If it has to do with a growth spurt, then you’re going to have to wait it out until the developmental leap happens. It has to do with some kind of minor illness, then you might use medication.
If any symptoms make you think that there might be an infection or a major illness causing your baby’s sleep schedule to go out of line, then consult a doctor for advice. Otherwise, most likely, you will have to stick to a specific schedule so that your baby can get back into the rhythm of sleeping normally.
Some of the things you can do before contacting your doctor are:
- Feeding your infant anytime that they show hunger cues:
- Fists going to their mouth
- Head-turning looking for breast
- Being more alert or active
- Sucking their hands or smacking their lips
- Offering your infant a bottle or other feeding every one to two hours to ensure that they have the proper food intake
- Ensuring that your infant isn’t too cold or too hot
- Keeping notes of your baby’s sleep schedule
You may also try some other tactics if you have a specific idea of what is bothering your child to the point where they are sleeping throughout the day. It’s good to keep in mind that newborns are going to sleep a lot, so most of the time, having a lot of sleep isn’t in and of itself enough to tell you that something is wrong.
When to Talk to A Doctor
If you have any kind of doubt about the health of your newborn, you should contact a doctor, especially if your infant has heavy sleep patterns for more than a couple of days. You may access your doctor over the phone to get some quick insight into what is going on.
Some of the critical signs to look out for when finding signs that may lead to a bigger problem are difficulty eating and respiratory issues. This could mean that there is some other ailment that your baby currently has that they are getting fatigued by. However, You may easily treat signs of a minor illness like a cold with over-the-counter medications for infants.
Contact a doctor or visit the emergency room immediately if you see any of the following symptoms along with excessive sleep:
- Your newborn is gasping or wheezing for air
- Your baby’s breathing is very loud
- Your baby’s nostrils flare every time they breathe
- The skin around your newborns or ribs sinks in as they breathe
- Your infant has a fever
- You suspected that your newborn has inhaled, touched, or eaten something toxic
It’s vital that you keep notes about any kind of symptoms that your newborn may have along with her excessive sleep patterns so that you can better inform a doctor of what the problem is. Never hesitate to reach out to a doctor if you think there might be some bigger problem with your newborn’s health. Getting a lot of sleep is normal, but other symptoms aren’t.
Conclusion
Most of the time, you’ll find that your newborn is sleeping throughout the day because they have not yet established a set sleeping pattern or are going through a growth spurt. Neither reason is any cause for alarm, and your newborn should settle into sleeping normally soon. If you discover any symptoms of other issues such as respiratory problems, you should talk to a doctor immediately.
