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shattered and confused!

7 replies

Ocelotsmama · 15/11/2015 11:37

For the last four nights my daughter (6m) has woken up approximately every hour for a feed. I timed it last night and there was one continuous chunk of 3hours and 15 minutes when she slept. Other than that it was almost exactly on the hour every hour that she wanted a feed and quite a few wake ups in between when she cried a little but settled with some hushing and soothing talk. Most feeds lasted about 30mins but the last one lasted 1hr and a half, then I took her off in desperation and eventually got her down ... for a few minutes. I have had an oversupply problem which means that she really struggles to feed during the day, quite often only snatching a few sips until 5pm so she has always fed more during the night and I'm used to at least three feeds a night. We have introduced solids over the last fortnight in a sort of semi baby led weaning way which means we put three meals a day in front of her and give her the opportunity to play with it and eat what she can or wants to. A lactation consultant suggested that she may wean herself very quickly as its such hard work for her to feed from the breast but while she seems to be getting a lot of solid food down I don't think she is feeding less than usual from the breast during the day.
For once I don't think she is teething and I've felt she was teething more or less contiously for about a month up until a few weeks ago (swear I eventually felt the tip of two teeth but no sign of them now.) We did give her some calpol on the second night and thought it helped but tried it on the third and it seemed not to change anything so I don't think she is in pain but just hungry? She is an enormous baby and has grown a bunch in the last week but I worry that maybe there is something actually wrong that is hurting her like a headache or illness (no sign of this just sleepy panic from me) OR that we have screwed up the weaning somehow. Cant think what else could be going on. Any ideas? Should I consult any experts? HV? GP? She is putting on weight so well no one has been at all concerned by our feeding troubles up to now. Sorry for the length of post - finding it very hard to be coherent.

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Sairelou · 15/11/2015 11:42

Usually when my DDs usual sleeping patterns go wonky I can put it down to either a growth spurt, wonder week or teething. I know you have said possibly not teething but remember there is a lot of movement under the gums which can cause pain before they finally cut through.

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Ocelotsmama · 15/11/2015 11:55

Hi Sairelou, thanks for responding! Whats wonder week?

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lilac3033 · 15/11/2015 12:08

Oh definitely look up wonder weeks! They are developmental leaps, so your baby might be adjusting to a change in how they perceive the world or working up to learning a new skill. Most babies have them within a couple weeks of a wonder week. They are usually marked by a lot of fussiness I the run up and I think there is one at 26 weeks.

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saranga · 15/11/2015 12:24

I think there's a growth spurt at six months, so if she's not hit a wonder week it could be that.

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Ocelotsmama · 15/11/2015 12:47

I just googled wonder weeks! So interesting. Could be that, if husband and I are in the flat together she definitely wants us all to be in the same room at the moment but then again I left her with her grandmother for two and a half hours on friday and she wasn't bothered. She did investigate the possibility of a feed from a stranger she met who had long hair like mum, not short hair like Nonna... so could be a massive growth spurt too. Thanks both!

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Sairelou · 15/11/2015 12:57

The wonder weeks helps to explain so much when your baby is fussy and I found it really interesting to learn why they behave like they do and what skills are coming next. There is also an app companion to the book.

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Ocelotsmama · 16/11/2015 13:49

Wow I really think it was that developmental stage, before bed we played a game of peepo and practised putting toys into her bed through the bars and then played peep through the bars with each other and she slept well. A few times she woke up but i just said "its alright isn't it?" and she was asleep before i finished. Then after one feed she took a while to go to sleep but seemed more or less calm, just protested a bit and could be soothed without leaving her cot. She settled to sleep after about 20mins!