My 2 month old is an insomniac I think...

My son is now 9 weeks old. He stays awake for 17 hour stretches and in between that he MAYBE takes 2 10 minute naps. Is this normal? I'm going crazy... Yesterday he woke up at 10am and didn't go to sleep until 3 am this morning... Help!

[waitingwithhope]

The 17 hour stretch is not normal. It is quite possible he is over-tired, which actually makes them more irritable and sleep less. I would talk with your doctor about it too and make sure your doctor is aware that your baby is awake for such long stretches. Some things you can do to help: establish a routine, keep his room darkened during nap times, try and discover what will soothe him into sleep (for some it is white noise, others do need to be held a certain way while others self-soothe early on and will go to bed and be content before falling asleep on their own). Make sure too that he is getting enough milk (breast or bottle) and that it is not that he is hungry and thus staying awake. While some babies really do sleep less than others, at this stage, he should be going about 3-4 hours of sleep, then awake for a few hours, then sleep again and possibly sleeping 6 hours at night. 10 minutes twice a day is really too short. If he seems alert again, don`t be so sure, sometimes they appear like they need to be awake when they are just waking up when their sleep cycle is changing. I would try soothing him again and putting him right back down. It may take quite a few attempts at it, but it would be worth it if he would stretch out those naps for you. Talk to your doc, though, make sure he gets weighed, that he is not up because of anything else medically and be sure to start on a routine...it can and will get much better for you!