13 week old breastfed baby not sleeping through

[mk8]

Hello

My soon to be 13 week old baby boy is exclusively breast fed and I'm still getting up every 3 hrs at night to feed him. He typically feeds every 2-3 he's in the day, though yesterday this stretched to every 3-4 hrs. He used to feed every 2 hrs in the day, with cluster feeding late afternoon and would have a 4 hrs stretch at night.

I'm finding this tiring, but more importantly, I wonder if this is a sign that I'm not producing enough for him to keep him full. I wonder when he will sleep through.

He's for suspected milk protein allergy (diagnosed by doc) as he had mucousy green stools, frequent poops and we saw a little blood. I've cut out dairy and the poops went back to yellow. He is actually a very happy baby and he happily takes his feeds thankfully. Wondering what your experiences are and what pointers you may have to help him settle longer at night.

 

[counting]

Time . Babies are meant to feed frequently, even during the night- often for a very long time. Breast milk takes about 90 minutes to fully digest. The baby waking stage doesn't last forever! my 10.5 week old boy is up every 2-3 hours at night to nurse, and nursing approximately every 20mins up to every 1 hour during the day. My supply is great. He just nurses lots, for short periods. 13 weeks is still VERY young and most babies will not sleep through, formula or breastfed. Breastfeeding patterns will continually change as baby grows and matures! I know it can be tough but you are giving your baby an amazing gift by breastfeeding. If baby is growing and having wet and dirty diapers, they are getting all they need

 

[Dk1234]

That's still really young. During the day if you encourage a eat, activity, sleep routine in can help supposedly. I did it with my first and he sttn from 7 weeks but stopped with teething and don't again until he was like 7/8 months old. It happens eventually though for all of them.

 

[NoodleSnack]

It's not your supply, some baby just sleep worst than others if left up to them. I had horrendous oversupply, still gushes regularly, and my baby still wakes up at least 3 times at night. Some don't sttn until 2+, some from a few weeks old, this is true for bf or ff babies.

 

[NurseSooz]

Yeah I have the same issue at 4.5 months. She still wakes frequently. I even tried a bottle of formula before bed one night just to see if it was because she was not getting enough. She still woke as regularly! Sadly these wee tykes like to try us!

 

[babyjan]

His still very young hun.

My LO is 20 months old, breast fed and I'm still waiting for him to sleep through x

 

[Bevziibubble]

This is completely normal. Breastmilk is very gentle and easily digested, so it's likely your LO will wake up frequently for feeds.

I am still waiting for my 18 month old to sleep through. But don't worry as the majority of babies do STTN before mine!

 

[Krippy]

Breastmilk actually has properties that helps your baby sleep better at night and we also have more milk at night so actually your baby is pretty smart by feeding more at night! Babies are so different from one another but really aren't meant to sleep through the night...especially so early. But this is an unreal expectation set for parents and really just sets everyone up for failure. Drives me bananas!!!!

So just relax mama, go with the flow, you are doing everything right. I know that it is hard in the beginning when you are getting next to little sleep but keep your head high! You can do it!

I never expected to have my babe STTN for a while as he wouldn't let me put him down the first 6 months but he is doing it now at almost 10 months old and I know that I am a lucky mama and that is might change. Trust your instincts and more importantly trust the pure instincts of your babe! GL hun!

 

[Emz1982_in_uk]

I'm still waiting

And just for the record, my son who was formula fed first slept through six months ago! Both have an established bedtime routine and still nope lol it's bliss now the Pre schooler sleeps through. Your LO will sleep through in their own time

 

[iwantabub]

16 weeks and still waking every 3 hrs!


Nothing wrong with it ... That's just babies

 

[Larkspur]

My BF 12 month-old still wakes about that often, it's really normal for BF babies.

 

[mk8]

Thank you all. Two of my friends breast fed babies are sleeping through already (3 months) and I thought that was the norm.

 

[rose.]

Perfectly normal! Alfie still wakes up in the night. I have just moved him to his own room as he has reached 6 months and was waking excessively (5 times a night!!) he is now sleeping from 7ish-6.30ish with a feed at 10.30pm and then one or two feeds during the night.

You're doing everything right, so don't worry! As long as baby is gaining weight and you're getting plenty of wet nappies then everything is just fine.

 

[Rachel_C]

I think people who have babies sleeping through reliably from before a year or two years old without 'sleep training' are just really lucky! My first was FF and slept through from around 22 months when we switched her milk for water. My second is BF and has just started sleeping through at 2 years and a few weeks old, after I stopped feeding her between 11.30pm and 6.30am.

I'm not advocating sleep training or night weaning for babies. I think if it's a struggle to get a baby/child to give up night time feedings, it's because they need it. Both of mine didn't really resist it so I'm happy that it was the right time but any earlier and they would have protested loudly!

To make it easier, have you tried co-sleeping? Or at least get OH to take LO straight after you've fed him in the evening and you can have a few hours sleep before your normal bedtime (or just lie in bed watching TV, it's still resting) and then get OH to do everything except the actual feeding (bringing LO to you, burping, changing, resettling etc) for one of the night feeds so all you have to do is doze while OH keeps an eye on you, if you're not co-sleeping.

 

[Claudia83]

13 weeks is still really young; my son is 2 years old and still wakes up at least once a night.

Right now they are meant to replenish themselves with mommas milk. Later on they will wake from teething AND possibly wanting to nurse, so it is VERY normal to not have a child STTN until MUCH later. Some babies are good sleepers, others are not. My son is NOT a good sleeper.

 

[nabo86]

i'm in a similar position... DD is just over 14 weeks - she used to sleep for around 4 hours, sometimes 5! In the last week she has gone back to waking every 2 and a half hours, almost like clockwork and I'm shattered!

I've always battled with myself as to whether BF is right for us - it didn't go well at the beginning and I expressed/bottle fed for about 2 weeks when she was first born... I think any slight problem now (sleeping/crying etc) makes me automatically think BF is the problem

Its really tough, especially on the 2nd/3rd feed in the night while my DH is lying peacefully sleeping all night long!

Just take one day at a time and remember that's one more day of BM your baby has had

 

[bananaz]

The behavior you described is totally normal. It's very unusual for such little babies to sleep through, regardless of whether they're formula-fed or breastfed. Babies still have very small stomachs at this age so even if you fill their stomachs completely it's still not a large amount and they'll need to eat again in a few hours. I know it's hard but with time it will get better.

 

[starlight2801]

My son is 29 weeks and I feed him 2-3 times per night.

The HV told me to try and soothe my son without feeding him. I tried it once and soon realised I sleep better if I just feed him. I don't think the HV's are right anyway. How can they advocate feeding on demand 24/7 until 6 months old and then suddenly expect babies to sleep through and advocate sleep training when they don't?! Makes no sense and I've certainly become happier since I just accepted my son likes to feed at night and got on with it.

I am tired but I also enjoy our cuddly night feeds and try to relish them as they grow up so fast.

Oh and although how you choose to feed your baby is entirely your decision please don't think switching to formula will change anything. I have friends whose breastfed babies STTN and other friends who's formula fed babies didn't until they were 2. I know I would certainly rather be breastfeeding at 3am than having to faff with bottles x