As experienced postpartum doulas we teach new parents how to read and understand sleeping and feeding cues.
Parents misread their baby’s sleep cues by trying to keep baby interested and engaged not recognizing baby is showing them “sleep cues”.  Newborns only have brief wakeful periods after feeding (about 30 minutes)
Most newborn babies (under 8 weeks) are not wakeful for very long.  Although it varies by baby, newborns stay awake naturally no longer than 45 minutes,  about an hour or so closer to 8 weeks.

Instead of rocking the baby to sleep, or laying the baby down, parents start rattling toys in a baby’s face, passing the baby around to different people, and then you then have an overstimulated cranky baby hard to console!

Some easy to read sleep cue signs in a newborn :

Losing interest in people and toys

Becoming quiet

Making jerky movements (in small babies)

Becoming very still (these babies relax and fall asleep easily)

Yawning

Frowning

Clenching her fists into tight balls

Rubbing her eyes and ears and fussing

 

See more at: www.bellybelly.com.au/baby/baby-cues