Please help. Desperate ftm

[KatieWhalley1985]

I'm so worried and exhausted and I don't know where to turn.

For about 10 days my first baby has been refusing to go down in his moses basket or crib day or night. He will be fast asleep and I put him down and he wakes up. He also wont sleep for long in the car or the pram. And he wakes up screaming. Consequently I'm scared to leave the house. It takes me an age to get him to go to sleep in the day and he is barely napping as a result as by the time I get him off, he's nearly due a feed again. When he is awake he is generally fussy and upset. He has only napped twice today and for less than an hour.

He has also been sicking up and the tonight he has projectile vomited loads of milk right after a feed.

He is breastfed but with one bottle at about midnight. He is often only going 2 hours between feeds.

He also seems uncomfortable and in pain maybe (?) after some feeds before he then sicks up.

I know I need to see GP but just wondered if there is any advice or anything you can offer. He is 7 weeks old today and was born 6 days early. He is gaining weight and went up from 7lb on 3 October to 9.5lb on 3p october. Until he was about 5 weeks old he would go down easily and sleep well.

I'm really really struggling and I'm exhausted from not sleeping and feel so down and like I can't cope with him. I'm mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted and just want to cry all day every day.

[Babybluesornormal]

Hey lovely, this is so normal afraid. Your baby is feeding regularly because they have a tiny stomach, they are growing so much and they need to impress your supply. They get uncomfortable because their digestive systems are underdeveloped and they need time to develop. Sounds like your little one has reflux, mostly caused by the muscle at the top of the stomach having not developed, again it’s normal for a new born and it grows as they get older.

Baby vomit looks projectile but it has to be over 2 meters away to be considered projectile. Baby’s vomit lands in arc so they don’t choke on it.

Look into 4th trimester, safe cosleeping and get a sling for the day. The sling will keep your baby close, warm and next to your heartbeat which is what they want and help to reduce sickness and digestive discomfort.

It’s still really early days. You can do this.

[Preggosaurus9]

It's a total coincidence that you were able to put him down to sleep for the first 5 weeks. It is more normal for baby to only sleep on you or indeed anyone who is available!

It is also normal for baby to feed every 2h or more to get your milk supply up. Babies have growth spurts and this will coincide with increased feeding and fussing.

Get DH to take shifts with baby so you can get blocks of sleep.

Reflux will also mean baby will prefer to sleep upright while being held as lying down will be giving them heartburn type pain. Try raising the head of the bed slightly so they are at a slight angle. But ultimately you are better off planning to hold baby for naps. It's much easier than fighting baby's needs and getting stressed over it.