Brinley Newborn Summary: Week Three

Newborn schedule for baby’s third week. Baby newborn schedule and routine for the 3rd week of life. 2-3 week old newborn routine.

3 week old Brinley and mother

My friend, Serra, is amazing and took newborn shots of Brinley. I am in love with them all, as usual. She is fabulous. Thank you, Serra! 

POSTPARTUM EMOTIONS

This week, my post-partum hormones started to creep in. You know–the ones that mess with you? After McKenna was born, I wrote a post on Emotions.

This time around, my emotions do not seem as crazy as they have been in the past. I think there are several things contributing to that:

  1. My husband is not doing any major projects at our home
  2. I do not have a 2 year old (yes, a newborn plus 3 year old is MUCH easier than newborn plus 2 year old. I don’t intend to discourage anyone from having children two years apart–I love my two year gaps–but this is just fact)
  3. My husband had one week of paternity leave. AMAZING. I seriously underestimated how fabulous that would be
  4. My house is very well designed for a sleeping baby
  5. I am older and wiser
  6. This is my last baby and I am doing a better job of cherishing the moments
  7. I am a lot busier with various things and am not so single-focused on baby stuff

I saw in my post I wrote before that week three was the worst for me after McKenna was born, and that is where I just finished. Unless I meant when she was three weeks old, which is where I am headed…anyway, this week I felt myself getting very anxious and worried.

About what? I have no idea. I couldn’t put my finger on it and so I knew it was those emotions! I am also experiencing what I wrote about where I feel like wonder woman one minute and then nervous something will explode the next. Aahhh hormones.

I am hoping that when week 6 hits, I will snap out of it like I have in the past. I am glad that I am at least less emotional than I have been in the past. Unless that is still to come 🙂

NURSING a NEWBORN

We nurse from both sides at each feeding. 

I still have no signs of mastitis. Hopefully that continues. 

>>>Read: Mastitis

BURPING

I read that for McKenna at this age, burping was easy. It is not easy for Brinley. She started easy and has gotten harder as she has gotten older. 

HICCUPS

She gets hiccups quite often. It kind of makes me nervous because I still worry reflux will pop up and frequent hiccups can be a sign of reflux.

It is, however, also quite common for newborns. I remember McKenna getting them all the time. Brinley mostly gets them while she is on the changing table, which makes sense because one known cause is a sudden drop in temperature. Nothing gets more sudden than getting your clothes and diaper taken off. 

>>>Read: Stopping Baby Hiccups

DREAMFEED

The dreamfeed seems to be best at 10 PM. I tried a variety of times in the 10 PM hour. I think 10 works best because I am not so tired. She is hard to get to be and stay awake at this feeding, so me being alert and able to keep her on task is important to the dreamfeed being of value.

>>>Read: The Basics of a Dreamfeed

GROWTH SPURT

I am pretty confident she ended this week in a growth spurt. She started it off with waking on her own for feedings. She was still eating in the 2.5-3 hour range, but since I normally have to wake her up, I assumed it was a growth spurt (though it could have been a cold coming on–see below).

Another big hint to me is the massive growth that takes place and watching her head get bigger, then her tummy, and her arms. I am still waiting on the little legs. 

For babies this age, I always have them suck longer. This stimulates the breast more and then produces more milk. So she was eating for about 10-15 minutes per side, and now it is 15-20.

This works for younger babies, but older babies will not have the patience to sit and suck longer when there is not a nice milk flow, so this is about the only growth spurt it works for. Something to watch if you try this method is when the growth spurt is over.

Don’t let baby stay on and just sleep at the breast. Then she won’t sleep for naps. 

>>>Read: Baby Growth Spurts: Everything You Need To Know

NEWBORN SICKNESS

She caught a cold from her sisters. Oh siblings! The girls have a minor runny nose and Brinley got it, too. She was not happy about it the first day, but has since handled it like a champ and is getting better quickly. 

OUTINGS

This week, we had one of the Apostles from our church come speak to us at our church (Elder Oaks for those interested–love him). This is very exciting, and Elder Oaks happens to be one of my very favorite speakers, so Brinley and I went even though I normally would not take a 3 week old to church (I know some people do–I just don’t).

It went well, but by the end I was stressed and ready to be done. It was two hours of listening to people talk, so it is always hard for the little kids anyway, and I was holding a sleeping baby the entire time while sitting on a hard folding chair, so my arm and back were tired, plus it was Brinley’s first day of a cold and she was having a harder time breathing. It was worth it, though.

At the end of the week, we had a back to school night at the school where we went and met Brayden and Kaitlyn’s new teachers for the school year. That was fun to see people and show off my beautiful baby. 

>>>Read: How To Go Out With Your Baby Without Disruption

HELPFUL BOOKS

RELATED POSTS

Brinley Newborn Summaries

A list of all of the baby newborn summaries for Brinley. Get a week by week summary of what is going on and a typical weekly schedule and routine for a newborn baby.

17 thoughts on “Brinley Newborn Summary: Week Three”

  1. I have recently found your blog and love it! I have a baby boy that turned three weeks yesterday. I love that I can relate to what you are going through. I've had some questions so I thought I'd post and see if you have any advice. We are doing a 2.5/3 hour feeding schedule starting around 7am. I was wondering at the 7pm feeding, do I feed and then put him down for bed or do we still do a little wake time and then go down for bedtime? I've been feeding at 5:30pm, then giving him a bath at 7:30 getting ready for bed then feeding and putting down for the night. If he slept sometime between the 5:30 and 7:30 time then he wouldn't want to go straight to sleep but if he stayed up the 2 hours then he was ready to go to sleep.

    Reply
  2. I have a 3 week old too! Having a 2 year old makes this experience so hard this time. My first girl was an excellent baby wise baby, I'm having the toughest time with this one. Her crying just makes me cringe, I've resulted to nursing her to sleep to not hear the crying right now, but plan on getting back on the system ASAP. Any tips on getting them to nap? I don't think I can do CIO just yet, she's just so little. And she started reflux meds today, so hopefully that helps her.

    Reply
  3. Hi! Congrats on your most recent addition! I had my 3rd baby almost 7 weeks ago. You'd think it would be a breeze with the third, but I'm just as puzzled as I've ever been with this one. Newborns – so unpredictable sometimes! For the most part, I feel like I'm "learning" her personality, but there are still times when I'm completely puzzled. She often seems to lay in her bed after I've put her down for a nap, content, but not falling asleep. She finally starts to fuss a little towards the end of the naptime – sometimes with an hour still to go and no sleep. Any advice? She can and does fall asleep on her own at various times of the day for other naps, so I know she can do it. I've been putting her in the swing, which usually gets her to next feeding. Thanks for taking the time to blog about all of this. It's such a huge help!! We've been experiencing a "witching hour" for the past couple of weeks, and had it not been for your posts about it, I'd be going nuts right about now!

    Reply
  4. My first is almost 6 weeks old, and I've found your blog to be so helpful, especially since lately I've been coming in contact with more anti-BW friends. To me, the BW concepts aren't too rigid…it seems like I am still able to be flexible, but they give me a structure to follow. Before I read BW and found your blog (especially your blog), I felt like I was floundering as a first-time mom. Now I feel empowered and can more fully enjoy my time with my little one because I feel like I know what I'm doing (more than before at least).It's also been fun to follow your new baby since ours are just several weeks apart. Seeing what you do with her helps me with mine.Thanks!

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  5. Thanks for all of the avice and congrats on your "last" baby! One question I've always had about BW (I used BW with my daughter who is now 20 mos and now with my one week old daughter) is regarding the night feedings. I feed Mary every 2.5 to 3 hrs during the day, usually I have to wake her. At night she has been waking up 3 or 4 hours after her last feeding. My question is, if she is so accustomed to eating every 3 hours during the day, how/when does her body know to go longer just because it is night?I hope that makes sense…Mary just turned 1 week old today and I see from you summary of week 1 Brinley was going 5 hours between feedings. Thanks!

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  6. Thanks for the summaries. But I have to say I'm so glad I read the comments to know that most people are going through the same thing as me with a newborn. You mentioned in the two week summary you had a cheery outlook about the whole thing… but I'm just amazed at how well Brinley (and McKenna) seems to fall into the 2.5/3 hour feeding routine.My 2 week old has been nursing every 2 hours the past couple of days… mostly because she doesn't really fall asleep in her bed, nor nap long enough. Wakes up demanding to eat now! 🙂 Which kind of messes with the whole eat/wake/sleep pattern that has also been out of whack. It's really hard for me, with such great expectations to be nursing that often. But I have to remember it's a process, every baby is different and I do know we are on the right track.To respond to the comment about going longer intervals at night without eating. I think the combination of not waking them to feed, getting enough during the day, and the environment -it's dark and the house is quiet – all work together to help babies learn. It does work with most babies.

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  7. i also have a three (well, 3.5 week old now) week old! in addition, i have a 2.5 and 1.5 year old. yes, life has been insane. but, my husband has a wonderful job where he has been able to take 37 days off — yes, it has been amazing. i was going to let you know our little one gets the hiccups ANY time we put him on a flat surface. so, when we change his diaper, etc we also elevate that surface so he doesn't get the hiccups. it seems to work well! hope this might help you with the hiccups — they can be frustrating when they continue into sleeping time. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Cindy, you will have some waketime with the 7:30 PM feeding, but how much depends on baby. Some will essentially eat, get in PJs, and go to sleep. Others will have a normal length waketime. Most of mine have needed a shorter waketime at this feeding, but it can vary. Just do what seems to be best for him.

    Reply
  9. Andreaqn, Look into the 4 S's by Hogg (there will be a post on that this Thursday). That helps so much. If she has relfux, that will impact how you do things, so be sure to read the reflux posts on this blog. Life with a reflux baby is very different.

    Reply
  10. EBW–my guess would be when she lays in bed content and not falling asleep is that she needs waketime tweaked. I would say she needs either a slightly longer waketime or more stimulation at waketime. If you lengthen, just do it by five minutes at the most.

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  11. Melody Family,I don't know why or how–I was thinking about that also. My guess would be it is associated with circadian rhythm–which is what tells your body it is day and night. By having waketime in the day, baby learns it is daytime, and by feeding every 2.5-3 hours, you are making sure baby gets her calories in the day so they don't need to be all night.

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  12. Wow Liz! You must be busy with three so small 🙂 That is great your husband had so much time off.That is interesting about the flat surface. Have you tried gripe water? Gripe water almost always takes the hiccups away as soon as I give it to her–and it worked on McKenna, too. We use Mommy's Bliss–don't do Little Tummies.

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  13. Hi Val, I love your blog and have been following since 2010, when I had my first baby. Just recently, I've had my second baby, and I've been following your Brinley updates, which came at a convenient time for us :). We are now in week 3, so that's what I'm reading for the Brinley updates. It seems that your girl has been 'by the book' from the get go. My question is this: we are on a good daily routine of eating every 3 hours. But at night she seems to want to feed every 2 hours. We do have occasional 3-3.5 hr stretches, but it seems to be mostly 2 hr ones. Do you think it's something she'll grow out of? Did any of your babies do that? It's nothing I'm worried about, but wondering if I need to be doing something differently. Thank you in advance!!

    Reply
  14. Hi… I have a 3 week old who is really puzzling me. My 4 year old son was a textbook baby and just fell into a routine and stayed there. My new little girl is all over the place. Sometimes she goes 3 hours, sometimes 2.5 and sometimes just 2 hours! We feed her 3 ounces at each feed as the doc said 4 is too muh at this age (she is formula fed). Her feeding times don't seem to have a pattern so we are always off schedule. It's even hard to start the day at our ideal 7am because she is always eating at different times. I'm worried that we aren't going to get her on a insistent schedule. It's also worth mentioning that we are having some trouble with her naps. She sleeps sme very well but others not so much. It seems that when she has a ba nap is when she wants to eat early.

    Reply
  15. Hi… I have a 3 week old who is really puzzling me. My 4 year old son was a textbook baby and just fell into a routine and stayed there. My new little girl is all over the place. Sometimes she goes 3 hours, sometimes 2.5 and sometimes just 2 hours! We feed her 3 ounces at each feed as the doc said 4 is too muh at this age (she is formula fed). Her feeding times don't seem to have a pattern so we are always off schedule. It's even hard to start the day at our ideal 7am because she is always eating at different times. I'm worried that we aren't going to get her on a insistent schedule. It's also worth mentioning that we are having some trouble with her naps. She sleeps sme very well but others not so much. It seems that when she has a ba nap is when she wants to eat early.

    Reply

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