You really shouldn't start the sleeping on the chest thing. We did and we kind of regret it now. She has become so spoiled. Have you discussed the feeding and sleeping issue with her peditrician?
mommies question - newborn sleeping
August 29, 2008
Ok hazel is almost 2 weeks. I am not sure if I am doing something wrong or if this is normal. The hospital gave me one set of instructions, the pediatrician at the hospital another and her pediatrician a 3rd.
She is not sleeping well. She was doing great sleep for 2 hours be up for 1 to feed and then right back down. Then a few days ago she started this. She will only sleep if she is on or next to my chest. The past 3 days have been like this.
5am - 8am sleep
8am - 8:40am feed
8:40am - 930ish just chilling in her cradle
then 930 - 1030am feed
1030-1230 sleep only on my chest
1pm - 2pm feed
2pm - 430ish nap
430 - 530 feed
Then after that the fund begins she will nap for about 30 mins and wake up and then from around 7pm until 2am all she does is "cluster feed" she will want to nurse for 10 mins fall asleep for 10 I move her to her cradle she will stay there for 15 and wake up to nurse again. Every time I put her in the cradle or bassinet she wakes up after about 10mins. Then I finally cave around 5am she will feed for a full 15 - 20 mins and then crash on my chest and I just let her sleep it off. I have tried other things but all she wants to do is nurse and sleep on me.
Am I doing something wrong or is this normal for this young?
I have tried a pacifier even though I am breastfeeding bc the hospital said not to let her use me as a pacifier and I know she is not always hungry at night bc she just ate. I have tried my finger to let her suck she hates that. She also hates and screams bloody murder if you put her in a swing or her car seat, if you buckle her in it gets worse. DH is frustrated bc he can't help, she has slept on him once and that is it.
She is not sleeping well. She was doing great sleep for 2 hours be up for 1 to feed and then right back down. Then a few days ago she started this. She will only sleep if she is on or next to my chest. The past 3 days have been like this.
5am - 8am sleep
8am - 8:40am feed
8:40am - 930ish just chilling in her cradle
then 930 - 1030am feed
1030-1230 sleep only on my chest
1pm - 2pm feed
2pm - 430ish nap
430 - 530 feed
Then after that the fund begins she will nap for about 30 mins and wake up and then from around 7pm until 2am all she does is "cluster feed" she will want to nurse for 10 mins fall asleep for 10 I move her to her cradle she will stay there for 15 and wake up to nurse again. Every time I put her in the cradle or bassinet she wakes up after about 10mins. Then I finally cave around 5am she will feed for a full 15 - 20 mins and then crash on my chest and I just let her sleep it off. I have tried other things but all she wants to do is nurse and sleep on me.
Am I doing something wrong or is this normal for this young?
I have tried a pacifier even though I am breastfeeding bc the hospital said not to let her use me as a pacifier and I know she is not always hungry at night bc she just ate. I have tried my finger to let her suck she hates that. She also hates and screams bloody murder if you put her in a swing or her car seat, if you buckle her in it gets worse. DH is frustrated bc he can't help, she has slept on him once and that is it.
Hey Crystal......sorry you are having such a tough time. I would definitely try to stop her from the cluster feeding at night. I'm just going to say a few things to try.....you may have alredy done them so sorry!:) WHen feeding during the day.....try not to let her stop and fall asleep. Use a wet cloth, get her naked, burp her anything. Also the pacifier......I know the ped's try to talk about nipple confusion and it may happen with some kids, but you have to sleep too. If is can get her through this then use it. Try also keeping her up during the day. I know it is hard and she is soooo young but it may help. And I agree with the sleeping thing, but then at least she is sleeping.......:)
Unfortunately thought this may be the way it is going to be for a couple of weeks until she figures everything out. You aren't doing anything wrong...honestly! You are doing great! It is super hard...oh so hard! :) Hugs to you and her!
Unfortunately thought this may be the way it is going to be for a couple of weeks until she figures everything out. You aren't doing anything wrong...honestly! You are doing great! It is super hard...oh so hard! :) Hugs to you and her!
Crystal- First off, She is barely 2 weeks old.. and this is a whole new experience for the baby, its like OMG what happened to my warm cozt environmnet.. I beleive that having the baby nap on your chest in the initial 4 weeks or so is fine.. its warm, the baby hears your heart beating and these sounds and smells are what's comforting to them.. You are not doing anything wrong either.. Sometimes the baby seems like she's nursing, but not really- the baby does not need to eat every to minutes.. I agree with KAN, probably not getting a full meal.. and sounds like she is :snacking" at your breast..
Its also fine to give the pacifer and breast feeding.. you do NOT want to be the human pacifer..
Is she feeding a good 20 minutes on each side?
Try undressing her so that she is more awake during each nursing session...
Start with the breast she is not good at.. when she is hungry..
hope this helps
Its also fine to give the pacifer and breast feeding.. you do NOT want to be the human pacifer..
Is she feeding a good 20 minutes on each side?
Try undressing her so that she is more awake during each nursing session...
Start with the breast she is not good at.. when she is hungry..
hope this helps
Hi there, if you're seeing a pattern that begins early evening and goes through the night of her crying and wanting to eat more, that sounds like colic to me. Is she pulling her little legs up when she cries? Colic usually sets in around 2wks old and stays until around 8wks old. It also affects them more in the evening than during the day. The baby will act more hungry, so you'll feed, then she'll cry again within an hour. You can over feed a baby if they have colic, making their gas pains even worse. I would def not hold off until Tues. Call your ped and bring her in. I'm not worried about her weight gain, but if she does have colic, gas drops may help and also supplementing with formula may help. My daughter was colic for 8wks and as soon as I gave her formula she was a new and happy baby. Now Cameron also had a bit of colic and as soon as we switched forumulas he was a new and happy baby. I'm not saying she def has colic but that is what it sounds like to me. A warm bath will help her belly and also tummy massage, lay her on her back and gently apply pressure around her navel and rub in a circle clockwise then you can also grab her little legs and do the bicycle exercise, that also helps with the gas. I would avoid the sleeping on your chest, I know its hard and you're tired but try to not do it. Swaddling her in a blanket that you put under your shirt for a day so that it has your smell on it will help her too. Good luck and keep us posted.
Oh Crystal, I know its hard, but it does get better.. My son would appear to be eating but I could tell he was not, its a different feeling on the breast.. Like a sucking but not a pulling of the milk out.. Its like the tongue does a different motion..
Every Ped is different mine said 20/20 on the breast.. I also did NOT feed on demand, but again every one is different.
Babies do cry and it can be very frustrating and nerve wracking..
Try not to carry the brunt of it on your own, pass her off to DH, and go outside to get away from it , even if its only for 5 minutes
Every Ped is different mine said 20/20 on the breast.. I also did NOT feed on demand, but again every one is different.
Babies do cry and it can be very frustrating and nerve wracking..
Try not to carry the brunt of it on your own, pass her off to DH, and go outside to get away from it , even if its only for 5 minutes
HOney........this is so hard. I remember as it was only 2 months ago!!! no sleep, so overwhelming....all of it! Hugs to you!
If you look at her jaw when she is b/fing.......you should be able to see if she is drinking or not. You can see the movement back across her jaw to her ear. If she isn't drinking there isn't any movement there. That is what they told me at the hospital. I hope I'm describing it right.
Maybe keeping the house quite is bothering her too. She always had noise around her when she was inside you, right. So maybe leave the tv on. She may be comfortable with all of that extra noise.
If you look at her jaw when she is b/fing.......you should be able to see if she is drinking or not. You can see the movement back across her jaw to her ear. If she isn't drinking there isn't any movement there. That is what they told me at the hospital. I hope I'm describing it right.
Maybe keeping the house quite is bothering her too. She always had noise around her when she was inside you, right. So maybe leave the tv on. She may be comfortable with all of that extra noise.
When I had my daughter a little over 3 years ago I went through the same thing, I soon found out my milk hadn't come in so she was hungry (trying pumping to see about how much she is getting) on top of that she was allergic to milk and soy (after knowing my milk wasn't coming in went to formula and still had problems) for the first 3 months she would sleep on me because if we didn't hold her she wouldn't sleep (swaddling didn't help) I would hold her just so I could get some sleep as well...are gas drops helping?? Try cutting out dairy, spicy food, bananas, citrus fruits, caffenine, and things like that she make be having a reaction to that...or if all else fails she could be getting ready to take her first growth spurt...hope this helps
Yes if you aren't eating enough it can slow down your milk supply, pump from the opposite side (if she nurses on the right side pump the left by the time she goes to eat again you should fill back up) it will aslo help your milk supply come in more if you pump on the side she ate off of 10 minutes after she is done nursing (read that somewhere) I used gas drops for everything they work miracles...my daughter was only 6 lbs 3 oz and when we left the hospital she was 5 lbs 11 oz so... I know about the losing weight and when she went into the doc and had lost more after I was exclusivly nursing that is when I started formula...they do make bottles that are suppose to be practically identical to nursing they are called the first years breastflow they are suppose to elimate nipple confusion (toys r us as them) if you think she isn't getting enough to eat try and give her just a few ounces of formula to see if that helps...
Just a note Crystal. what Fran describes is correct.. However, DS was making all the right motions of eating, but he was not getting any milk.. he has what was called Dysphsia.. he could not coordinate the suck and swallow.. there fore not effectively nursing and therefore I was not effectively producing..but to watch him nurse you would say he was doing it great.. I also ran into the problem of feeding him constantly.. but that was becuase he was not getting much.. we eventually turned to bottles and formula so I could measure his intake. I also slept with baby on my chest.. I know lots of moms who do it.. but for me I did not make it a habit.. Its not wrong and you are not a bad mum, you do what works for you! :)
August 29, 2008