Constant night feeds on newborn

[EeyoreIsh]

My 7 week dd seems to need constant feeding all night (ebf).

She normally cluster feeds in the evening and goes down between 8.30-9, and will wake for a feed at midnight. This is the good and predictable bit!

From then on she'll wake anything from hourly to two hourly. We've had three nights in seven weeks where she has woken for feeding just three times. Last night she would only sleep for half an hour between feeds.

I tank her up in the day with milk, she usually feeds every two to three hours.

We did swaddle her at night time until a few days ago, as she had wriggled under the blanket. I don't know if the freedom to move is keeping her awake. She has a lot of wind but we're using infacol and I keep her upright and try to burp her after each feed.

Any thoughts on how to space out the feeds a little more?

[Kungfubaby]

I could have written this yesterday! My DS is 7 weeks tomorrow and has also been waking frequently, until last night when he only fed twice, at 2am and 6am, after going down to sleep at 9:30pm - we actually slept

What we've been doing is establishing a consistent bedtime routine of bath, massage (very good for wind - my ds really suffers with it too), long feed and snuggles, all upstairs with dim lighting and hushed voices. I also warmed his crib with a hot water bottle, which I think helped him fall straight to sleep when I put him down. He did start wriggling around at about midnight (when he'd previously been waking for a feed) but I decided instead of rushing in to pick him up for a feed before he started crying, I'd watch and see if he was actually hungry first. Lo and behold, after 5-10 mins he let out the most enormous fart and then settled back down by himself!

It could have been a coincidence and he'll be awful tonight, but I think bathing him and massaging him clockwise around the belly button is really helping his wind, which is the main thing that's been waking him during the night. Maybe your DD is the same? In which case making doubly sure you've got as much wind out of her as possible before putting her down may help. Also checking she's actually hungry before picking her up? DS also has a pacifier which can help soothe him when he's not hungry.

Hope that helps - I'll probably be back on here tomorrow bemoaning the fact my DS has regressed back to 2-hourly wakeups!!

[DelBot123]

eeyoreish - ideas on spacing out feeds. Don't mean to sound sarcastic but. . . wait and your lo will space them out when they're ready. My baby is 18 weeks and still wakes every 1-2 hours through the night. I've always done as kungfubaby suggests, which are all brill ideas. She naps well, feeds lots in the day and can self settle but she feels the need for food or comfort through the night. it bothered me to start with but I co sleep to get through it and have kind of accepted now that its my job. My friend parents her baby in the same way as me and her lo sleeps 12 hours straight a night, has done since he was 5 weeks. The luck of the draw I guess. Good luck and if you find a miracle cue do let me know

[fatasbutter]

Hi eeyore - I am having exactly the same problem with my 5 week old and I'm exhausted! I'm
Not sure if you're still watching this thread, but I wondered how you're doing??

[Estrellita]

Can you co sleep safely and feed lying down? This was the one big lifesaver for me at this age.

[SqutterNutBaush]

My 1 year old still wakes 2-3 hourly and always has.

[EeyoreIsh]

She's been a bit better recently. I've added a dream feed on (although she wakes up for it). DH has picked her up for some of her nighttime wakings and got her back to sleep without needing a feed. The dummy doesn't work at all!

[pixiegumboot]

No routine just feed when baby seems to need it. If you are comfortable co sleeping ( just you & baby in bed) it is SO much easier. The more you feed at night the better established your milk supply is. Lots of feeds between 3am and morning really great for supply (& contraception... Hahaha)