4 wks - reading cues - confused

[mummyd]

My lo is now 4 wks and I am having trouble reading his cues at times.  He's very sleepy during feeds, and does tend to root when tired, so sometimes I am not sure if he is tired or hungry. I try not to feed again until at least 2 hrs from last feed.  I have referred to my BW for the info on body language/cries but I really can't seem to tell the difference.  Makes me feel like I don't know what I am doing.  I usually swaddle and give paci to go to sleep.  Sometimes he will just stare and then go to sleep awhile later, other times he might fuss every 5 - 10 min for up to 1 hr.  Should I be holding him until he's almost alseep at this age? 
I know, lots of questions, but I want to be on the right track.

[* Paula *]

At 4 weeks, you are not going to get your lo 100% established on EASY, they only seem to adjust more into a routine at around the 6 week age mark.  Although it is good to get them started as early as possible, to teach them when is the time to E, a little A time, and to teach them to fall asleep independantly.

I would not worry too much at this age, your lo is still adjusting to the outside world.

At such a young age, it is very common for them to become drowsy and sleepy on a feed, when you see him falling asleep I would try and wind him at this stage, and this should wake him up a bit.  You can then offer the feed again - this way you are ensuring that he gets a full feed.   With regards to the A time - it is very minimal at this age, and is no more than a nappy change, and then you swaddle and wind down for nap time.  This usually means that their whole awake time including feeding is about an hour.

With regards to getting him settled down for a nap, have you tried the Pat / Shhh technique?

Hope this info helps.

Paula