My son is 3 weeks old and I don't think I've slept more than 2 hours straight since he was born. Every time I close my eyes he cries. My wife and I are taking shifts but honestly the shifts feel pointless because I'm so anxious I can't actually sleep anyway. How long does this actually last? Everyone says it gets better but I'm starting to forget what day it is.
You're in the thick of it man. The newborn phase is brutal. What helped me was accepting that nothing else matters right now. Not the house, not work emails, nothing. Just focus on sleep when you can get it and keeping the baby fed. Everything else can wait.
The sleep deprivation at 3 weeks is no joke. Your brain literally isn't working right and that's okay. Things that helped us: white noise machine, taking actual shifts so someone could sleep, and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.
This phase feels like it lasts forever but it actually doesn't. Hang in there. Pretty soon he'll sleep longer stretches and you'll start feeling like a human again. In the meantime be nice to yourself because you're basically running on fumes.
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3 weeks in and you're still functioning enough to type sentences. That's actually impressive. The fog is real but it gets better I promise. My advice: take shifts with your wife if you can, sleep when the baby sleeps even if it's 2 PM, and lower all your expectations for everything for the next 3 months.