Help please xx

[Babydreams321]

I feel so stressed and tired and am dithering about a decision to switch to formula

Jackson is 11 weeks old & I LOVE breastfeeding, its been so easy this time ( i struggled with my first & ended up exclusively expressing due to oversupply)

This time its been amazing, i DID still hv oversupply but Jackson was happy with it & so so have I been.

Anyway... Jackson was in a good routine of feeding on waking, then at 1030-11 then at 1/2pm then at 4/5pm before being topped up before bed at 6pm.

we had three whole weeks of him going from 6pm through to 3/4am!! It was amazing & was proving to be such a good sleeper..even from two weeks old he easily went from 630pm- 11/12midnight.

Anyway 2 weeks ago Jacks had his injections & then had a nasty cold so his sleep went up the wall..however its not settled back down again... last night was the worst night EVER - up every 1.5 hours through the night for a feed.

I just dont know what to do - is he not getting enough from me anymore???? He only feeds for a max 5 mins through the day each time so i wonder if hes feeding ENOUGH?? is that long enough to get a full 'meal'??

I used to be able to express 7/8b oz a day on top of nornmal feeds so he could have a bottle or two throughout the day - ive had to knock this on the head as not expressing anywhere near enough & also it seems ton be effecting jacksons feeds even more so..

im at a loss... why is he suddenly sooo disrupted at night??? should i try formula before bed, should i try breastfeeding him more in the day to 'fill him up'? i always assumed trying to hold him out 2.5-3 hours between feeds through the day would HELP at night??

Please help xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Katteh]

It could be a growth spurt, or just disruption from the injections.

It sounds a little like he isn't feeding enough though, at that age I think the aim is for them to have 8 feeds minimum per day, but obviously if they are taking a lot in one go then its possible for them to have Less and still get enough. Have you tried adding a few extra feeds in through the day? it might help give him more calories during the day and therefore help him sleep better at night x

 

[Babydreams321]

I did think growth spurt but wouldnt have thought itd go on for this long???

I think ill try & feed him more today & see if i notice a difference but was just conscious of his "feeds" turning into "snacks" if he wasnt readily hungry for them???? is that then building a rod for my own back??

 

[Rachel_C]

I think he's probably just a baby! Both of my LOs went through phases of sleeping really well (and each time I thought, "YES, I have a great sleeper!" only to be disappointed a few weeks later when the phase ended!) but sleeping well when they're young really doesn't mean anything for the future unfortunately.

I don't think switching to formula would help much, even for one feed a day. One of my kids was FF, one was BF and the BF baby was actually the better sleeper. I'm pretty sure it's a myth that FF babies sleep much better.

I would stick with feeding on demand, as long as LO is happy, healthy and pooing and weeing enough. There are so many things it could be - growth spurt, development leap, injections, cold, itchy toe... You could try putting LO down for the night a bit later if you're currently putting him to bed at 6.30pm. At that age, both of my LOs were going to bed when I went to bed, so past 10pm because it meant they got their best stretch of sleep when I wanted mine! You could also try co-sleeping if you're not already - it probably won't help the waking but it's easier to feed when you're lying down/can doze or go back to sleep properly.

 

[djbutton01]

It sounds like my daughter. She has times where her routine is awesome for sleep and then something like shots or teeth ruin her routine. Then it takes time to get back to or find a new routine. So far (she's 10 months) she normally finds a new routine until something else disrupts her routine. She adjusts to what she needs at that time. Unfortunately, it's not usually what I need as far as sleep goes lol. My 12 year old son found a routine early and kept it for years. My daughter is the opposite. Hers changes all the time. My advice is be flexible and sleep when baby sleeps, if you can.

 

[Babydreams321]

Hi thanks for your replies, i cant physically feed him more in the day no - prime example - just tried to give him a bottle of expressed milk just now - he had 2.5oz....at night he wouldnt think twice at guzzling 5oz...he just seems soo distracted in the day with other things even if i try to feed him in a quiet, calm environment as at night time....

any tips on trying to get more down baby in day & less at night???

still having bad nights