Help with 7 week old Is this normal?

[jennarei]

My daughter Julia is 7 weeks old today and the easiest baby ever.  Only cries when she is hungry and goes to bed easily.  She eats every 2.5 to 3 hours and at 8:30 I put her to bed awake and she falls to sleep with in 10 mins with no fussing. The only issue is that right now her schedule is

wakes at 6:30 eats and falls back to sleep till 8:30 wales eats and then is awake till 12 eats and sleeps till 3 wakes eats and then is awake till 5:30 eats and cat naps till 8 when we do bath and bottle ( the rest of the feeds are bf) and then to bed we dream feed at 11 and she wakes at 3 to feed.

My questions are
1. Are the long wake periods and long naps normal?
2.  What do I do about the cat naps in the evening?  Is it normal?
3.  What do I do with her during the long awake times?  I have 3 other kids who are 9, 4, and 2 and they need my attention to and I feel like Julia ends up sitting in her bouncer alot. 

Thanks in advance

Jennifer

[Colin Macs Mom]

Hi Jennifer, congratulations on your new DD and you have my admiration for going through this 4 times!!!   

Those are awfully long awake times for a 7 week old, but if it's working for her and she's not overtired then I would say go with it. that's fantastic that she's such a good sleeper already! I wouldn't worry too much about her being in her bouncer as long as it doesn't become a prop. 7 week olds can't do a lot anyhow, KWIM? 

[courtneyandmiles]

I agree!  It sounds like you're doing well, as long as she's not sleeping through a feed.  That'll also help you get rid of night feeds more quickly.  Great job!  I talked to a woman w/ a 2 yr. old and an 11 wk. old.  The baby spent most of the day on his back, laughing at and mesmerized by the older sister.  Let the other kids be the entertainment!

[Erin M]

Wow Jennifer, that's a great routine for a 7 week old!  I'm impressed -- but it seems like you've had lots of practice

Honestly, it seems like she's waking and sleeping for pretty long periods of time, but if she's happy and it's working for her, I really wouldn't worry about it.  That's the direction she should be headed in anyway, so it seems like you just for there early.  (In other words, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!)

I'm sure the long catnap is to compensate for the fact that she's awake for so long before that.  I'm guessing that as she gets older and maybe some of her naps will shorten she'll probably stay up a bit longer before that and go to bed earlier.  Just a guess though - like your last question I wouldn't worry much about it if it's working for you.

Everyone I know who has a LO with several older siblings says that they spend a whole lot of time watching their siblings, especially in the beginning.  I think at that age my DD spent a whole lot of time staring at the wall or staring out the window, so if she's just hanging out and staring at her siblings I wouldn't worry about that either.  Is your 9 year old interested in playing with her at all?  (Or your 4 year old for that matter?)  They might be able to entertain her once she gets a bit bigger and more interested in her surroundings.  

Congrats on your new daughter!  She sounds like quite an angel