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I thought the same about my ds until I started writing down absolutely everything. Every nap, every oz drank, every poop, everything, and realized he was sleeping more than I thought. It's interesting to do, also helps you pick out patterns for a schedule a bit later. Sorry can't help much, but my son was up all night every night in the beginning. Dh and I literally had to take shifts. We never slept together anymore since ds was always up, but now that's changed and he's sleeping about 5-6hrs for the first stretch and then 2-3 after that. He's 11 wks old. It gets better, hang in there.

Also, forgot to add, that those books are just an avg, and an approximate, and my ds never slept quite as much as was listed in the books.

Yea, unfortunately, you may have a baby that is not a sleeper. I am with Ashley on this about writing things down and you will see how much she sleeps. When newborns are up, it seems like forever since they can't do anything.....is your baby crying? Eating good? First thing is first, make sure baby is okay.

My dd was very much the same...not "normal" but not unheard of either! It does get better and working with a pretty strict routine helped me a ton. She never did grow out of it and even now at 14 months old whenever she has a problem her sleep is where it shows up first. I am expecting a boy any day now and I hope he sleeps a little more! Good luck!

Hi there! First off, my advice is purely from my personal opinion, so feel free to take what you want or disregard altogether ... it always comes across as a lecture, but I dont mean it that way ... just a technique that I used with all 3 of my bubs who were trained to be great sleepers. I used babywise to help my three bubs but the book can come across as pretty full on initially. My suggestion would be to focus first on ensuring she is taking a good feed whether it is b___st or bottle and burping well. If she is dozing off halfway through, waker her right back up even by changing her nappy. Once you know she has taken a good feed try to stimulate her a little (I know it seems impossible at this age, but maybe not if she is so alert). I would leave her up for a max of 1 1/2 hours (from beginning of feed) then wrap her up and put her down for a sleep even if she doesnt appear to be sleepy and see how you go. If she does go to sleep, when she wakes you do the same again - feed, play, sleep. If she sleeps for too long during the day, wake her up for a feed to keep the routine going - however at night, after the late feed she can sleep without you waking her until the morning. At her age she should be having 7 - 8 feeds in a 24 hour period. Of course all babies are different and will demand more or less, and just when you think you know what is going on they change!!! The one thing I can tell you for sure is that it will get better!...Oh and a night time routine is a great habit to get into even at this early age ... At their feed around 7 or 8 or later I would feed, bath them (even if they had fallen asleep) then top them up and put them straight down ... that was usually their longest stretch of sleep when they were still night waking, so that way I could fall into bed straight after them and know I could get a good 4 -5 hours straight at a time that suited me ie: not 3pm - 8 pm! Good luck ... you will really get to enjoy him even more once you get sleep ... if you do use babywise, just take it all with an open mind and common sense. ... take care!

Welcome to hell week (or month or two). It takes until month 3, and sometimes longer before you start really seeing a pattern. Are you b___st feeding? Scientifically, BF also effects sleeping patterns on some babies, if not the majority-( that is NOT a slam on BF, just a fact- I bf my dd). IMHO, don't rely with the norm stats from your Dr.. your baby is unique, like all los. Hang in there, dd is learning you, you two are learning her. Best wishes!

Hey ladies, thanks for all the great feedback. She is bottlefed and she seems very healthy. Trust me, thats my first priority. But I appreciate all the advice. I know that it gets better but I never knew I could run off this small amount of sleep LOL

singlem0m, what does your LO do when she's awake. Is she happy and awake or fussy? If she is happy, my guess is go with it. If she is fussy when awake, it may be she doesn't know how to put herself into a nap but really needs to.

my ds was the same way and still is, i do have a better control with his naps now and he is down every 1.5 hrs. but as a newborn he would be up for 5 hrs before taking a nap! he eats every 2 - 2.5 hrs, still does and he does sleep a bit better at night now. i guess i just have a baby that doesn't need or want lots of sleep! he is always been a happy baby and it was so hard for him to take naps when he was under 6 weeks.

EB-she's about half and half, half happy and the other half fussy. She will go to sleep if you have her up on your shoulder but the minute you lay her down, put her in her swing, her carseat, or even lay her down in your arms her eyes pop wide open. She's sleeping well at night but we can't get anything done during the day. Even my relatives say they've never seen a baby who sleeps so little. Does anyone have any ideas of something that might help her burn some of that excess energy? She's 5 weeks old.

Okay, well I am a Grandma now, but how well I remember these days!  My last son was wide awake for 16 hours a day from birth on, and the sleep he did get was very fragmented.  Only a couple of times did he ever fall asleep in the car, he never did in his baby swing, and he wanted activity constantly.  When he did sleep it was after nursing (but if I moved a muscle to lay him down he instantly jerked awake).  Letting him cry it out was useless, as he was more stubborn than me, lol.  Now to be fair, he did have some health problems--severe eczema primarily, that made him itchy and miserable. (Went to several doctors regarding, but it was still bad.) He was even kicked out of three daycares due to being fussy!)   So it was a nightmare!  Now the eczema didn't help matters, but most of it I believe was just due to him.  He was SO alert and did things a newborn baby shouldn't have been able to do.  At the age of eight days he batted, over and over, plastic keys that I dangled in front of him.  It was just like he was wanting to make up for all the time he spent bored inside of me, lol!  Anyway, the point of all this, is that as a teen he went the other direction, haha, and loved to sleep.  And now, as a young man of 21, he is very mellow, kind, intelligent, and happy.  It's hard for me to imagine how the extremely fussy baby could have morphed into him, but it happened.  So best wishes, and know that it won't last forever, although, as a Mom, it feels like it will.  Hope you make it through okay, and get a little sleep sometime!  :)

Singlem0m my daughter is the same way!  I really thought something was wrong with her, but my pediatrician days as long as she is healthy it's ok.  But I can't get anything done during the day and it's hard to constantly "entertain" a 10 wk old!!   But she takes 20-30 min catnaps all day and is rejuvenated after each one.  So she's not usually cranky which is good. I wish I had suggestions, but just offering support and I know we can do it!  

I saw a book on Amazon that's on sale or FREE couple of days now. The contents are very helpful as I and my baby is struggling with our sleeping patterns as well. You can now download the book for FREE until June 1st (based on their FB page). I hope this book will help you get some needed sleep. 

Title of the book: Baby Sleep, Mommy Sleep: Easy Solutions to Teach Your Child to Sleep Through the Night
Author: Julie McDuffin