every 1-2 hour night feeds =(

[MikaylasMummy]

hi ladies..i have just had my second lo who is 7days old and he does fantastically during the day going 3-4 hours between feeds but at night he wakes up sucking his hand desperatley every 1-2 hours..i dont think he's ever gone more than that except maybe once or twice..obviously this is very distressing as my 2yo gets up at 7am just when he is starting his first long stretch of sleep with no feeds..
with my first lo i expressed and always gave her a bottle of expressed milk at about 10pm to fill her up and she would go about 6-7 hours before waking!i tried this with him for the first time (60mls EBM) and afterwards he wanted the boob and fed for another half hour!at one point in the night he woke up and fed for an hour and a half!!i have a huge amount of milk so i know this isnt the problem i expressed once yesterday and got 200mls in one sitting!
does anyone have any tips to break his horrible cycle and get him going longer between feeds at night?i dont mind him waking and putting him back to sleep but he is desperatley sucking for his hand each time..(ps tried a dummy last night but hes not a fan of them or nipple sheilds but will take a bottle ?!?)

 

[Seity]

You're lucky to get such a long break during the day. My LO was every 1.5-2 hours for 5 months. Good luck.

 

[aliss]

1-2 hours at night is very common and not too bad at all for 7 days (I think mine was 20-30 min and I was exclusively expressing it was horrible). You'll just have to start implementing the day/night tricks (lights, sounds in the day.. quiet, dark, in the night) and wait for time to pass, good luck xoxoxo!

 

[MelanieAnn]

I know how awful it is.... but he is still so very, very young....

Most babies have 8 - 12 feeds / 24 hours during the first six weeks. And it sounds like your lovely LO is within this norm. But that many of the feeds are during the night, so maybe it's possible to change to a more day-time feeding pattern.

But I don't know if that would make things easier for you? If your LO was feeding all day long, how would that impact on your 2 year old? Would she be OK with you pinned to the sofa all day? Some mums actively encourage the all-night feeding option, so they can have some time with their older children.

If you want to encourage day time feeds, then you could try spending lots of time outside (to set the cicadian clock with UV light) and lots of quiet skin to skin during the day. Activity can encourage a new born to close down and go to sleep. But there may be little you can do until your LO is a bit older, anyway: the first six weeks are often incredibly tough.

Mel

 

[venusrockstar]

Your lucky you even get a break during the day. My baby fed every 1-2 hours ALL day long until she was about 6-7 weeks old. It's normal for babies to do cluster feeding at night, so hang in there.

 

[tu123]

Hi there
just wanted to say that it will get better. My LO was like this up until about 5 days ago where she stared to sleep longer. She is nearly 4 weeks and we have been getting sometimes up to as much as 5 hrs over last few days.

As already suggested it does help to get out and about for sunlight and fresh air!

 

[lori]

Simon was the same way, going at least 3 hours during the day but waking every 1-2 at night. Someone suggested that we choose a day to wake him up at least every 2 hours for feeds, and let him be at night. It worked! He flipped to a proper day/night routine within a day or two.

 

[bekkie]

he's just little... he's probably not only waking for a feed, but for the comfort and closeness as well. and as PP said, cluster feeding at night is very normal, and important for your supply. It does get easier

Bobby was fed-on-demand and nursed every 30-45 minutes during the day and 1-2 hours at night for the first 4 months, then started going a bit longer during the day.

 

[Shwhattam+1]

Totally normal. Google 'Cluster Feeding' and you'll get loads of info as to why new babies do this. My LO spent many nights feeding for hours at a time. The longest session lasting almost 5 hours of on and off feeding. Now he's approx. every 2-3 hrs.

 

[MikaylasMummy]

thanks ladies..i guess my first lo was just a little strange.lol.i now have another problem i cant feed from one side for some reason that nipple is really bad it bleeds A LOT every time i feed i went on nipple sheilds just on that side but they would fill with blood and he hated it.the midwife told me to stop feeding from that side and express i tried a little longer with the nipple sheilds but its just not getting better!so that said i have been just expressing from that side(still have bleeding nipples though!)and got to last night with 5 full bottles in the fridge so oh and i decided to bottle feed him at night which didnt make him go any longer but it was calmer cos he wasnt feeding for as long.problem is when it was time for feeds on the other side i tried but he is not interested!i have to wait til hes really hungry and has no choice til he will feed from my boob now.i am devastated that he just wants the bottle cos i really only wanted to express til i could feed from the other side and then go back to all boob =(
i have found this time so much harder!thanks for ur advice ladies..i think i was just a little distressed getting up and down all night whilst still recovering from the ceaser last night was much better and i feel fine waking up so its easier to handle when theres no added pain!

 

[a_c]

How do you all possibly get enough sleep for you with this level of feeding! I'm at a loss!!

 

[aliss]

How do you all possibly get enough sleep for you with this level of feeding! I'm at a loss!!

You don't!!!!!

 

[bekkie]

How do you all possibly get enough sleep for you with this level of feeding! I'm at a loss!!

I run off of caffeine and love lol

 

[Seity]

Caffeine and sheer will power.

 

[aliss]

I would marry my coffee pot if I could

 

[aliss]

And the fact that the hospital doesn't take exchanges or returns so you got no choice but to look ahead!!!!