he's gone backwards, help feeling so tired.

[cleoowen]

My 11 week old has always been a night sleeper. Since about 4 Weeks he has gone to bed about 7 or 8pm and woken once for a feed between 3 and 4, straight back to sleep until 7 or 8. However, this has changed for the past 2 Weeks. First of all he started waking up earlier and earlier at about 2 for a feed, then he started not going back to sleep and crying until about 5 on and off after his feed.

I wanted to start doing a dreamfeed as he was making no progress but now he won't go down at 7 even after an hour feed! He then wakes up at 2 and again won't go back to sleep.

He used to go straight down at 7 but now starts protest crying when I put him down after his 7 feed and his night feed. He feeds well to start with and,then will start wiggling lots and flapping his arms and coming on and off. I tried winding him several times but no help or he will fall asleep for most of the feed and,I will have try keeping him awake, then I then wrap him in his blanket to keep him warm but at that point he seems to wake up and start feeding hungrily like he hasn't just been on for an hour! He eventually seems like he's asleep so I go to put him down and he starts to cry. Tonight I latched him on again and he was,crying,on there and getting frustrated but as soon as I put him on the other breast he gulped it down again like he hadn't just been on for an hour. This feed e.ded up being 90 minutes long. Surely this is not normal and I don't think I can stand feeding him that long during the night as I did last night.

I was feeding last two evening feeds close together at 5 and,then 7 again both being an hour long but this wasn't making him go through the night so dropped it to do the dreamfeed. In the day gets long feeds too and I usually have to take him off but he seems fine with the amount he gets.

Don't know what to do, I want my self settler back.

[Turnipsoup]

Bumping for you.
I seem to remember a growth spurt round about this time, where they feed and feed and feed. In the end your milk supply adjusts and they settle backish in to a routine.
Sleep deprivation is hell though, can anyone help you out during the day?

[MooseBeTimeForCoffee]

Have you taken a look at the Wonder Weeks app? Big developmental changes going on about now, which can send sleep patterns haywire.

[cleoowen]

Thanks guys. Certainly showing different behaviour.

He's beginning to learn about napping in the day and I am trying to put him down to self settle so wlll try and have a nap theb.c. Can I do anything to sort it or is it,a matter of riding through it? Worried taught him to feed to sleep and use breast as comfort as doesn't seem like feeding productively.

[ZuleikaD]

It certainly sounds like a growth spurt, and as though he's waking at night because he's hungry. Don't worry about the feeding to sleep - it's easy to stop later.

For your own sanity, though, don't think of sleeping less as 'going backwards' and sleeping more as 'making progress'. Your baby is always making progress, and sometimes he needs to wake up more and feed more, sometimes less. Sleeping all night is not some sort of infant Holy Grail.

[javabean]

There is supposed to be a growth spurt at 12 weeks, which may well be causing the night waking you are going through right now. Also, a lot of babies do like to cluster feed in the evening - I know when DD was that young we never tried to get her in bed early but just sat on the sofa with a DVD for the evening feeding on-and-off. It was easier to go with what DD wanted rather than try and fight it. Your DS is still very little at 11 weeks, and will not always be using you as comfort, even if he does now.

I agree with zuleika that you shouldn't think of it as 'going backwards'. There will be lots of things over the next year or so that affect sleep (illness, teething, growth spurts etc) and you won't always realise what is happening until after it's over.