to be a bit anxious because my 6 week old is still feeding every 2 hours through the night?

[Heathcliffscathy]

i inadvisedly got my copy of SWCNBN down yesterday and thoroughly depressed myself.

he's sleeping about 6 hours in the day, a small nap in morning and huge one in middle of day and then cat nap in late afternoon. she says 4 hours max.

also he goes down at 7pm after a feed, then I feed him at 9.30 or 10, then again at midnight, 2, 4 6 etc. he does sleep in between and is up around 6.30am.

i just can't wake him from his naps in the day i can sit him up and he stays asleep, change his nappy ditto.

i've forgotten it all since having ds1 nearly 7 years ago, and am like a first time mum again..

is it rod for own back time or am i being a total nightmare and expecting too much!

he is a big baby, was 8lb 7 at 37 weeks and has put on nearly a lb a week since!!!

I wouldn't worry about this. DD did this.

Throw the book away (you knew we would say that .

Well done for being so responsive to your baby, you must be KNACKERED.

DD will be 5 weeks on Sunday and is still very much feeding only every 1.5 to 2 hours at night time. I don't think it's at all unheard of. She is a big baby also.

It is only 19 months since I had DS so it's reasonably fresh in my mind - thIngs didn't really start getting onto an even keel until about 3 months as I recall. Maybe just before.

I am fairly demented with it all, but trying to stay sane by recalling that this period isn't the purgatory it felt like with DS when you have absolutely zero sense of how long it will go on for.

6 weeks is too young to be trying to follow any book routine. YABU to be anxious only because it is normal but you have the card for being a new mum so anything you want or feel is allowed .

I fed mine two hourly up until they were 6 months...

My dd settled a bit around 7/8 weeks and started having a longer sleep in the beginning of the night, and I think that's quite common, so maybe it'll be the same.

Then we hit the 4/5 month sleep regression and she went back to every couple of hours again!

dd is 5.5 weeks old and sleeps no longer than 3 hours at any point. Well anywhere between 10 mins and 3 hours. And has no discernable pattern yet.

HAving a long nap during the day rather than the night is annoying but I think they should settle down within the next few weeks. Or at least I'm hoping dd will - at least some kind of predictable pattern would be nice

I know what you mean about being like a first time mum again. Ds is 5 going on 6 yo and I can't remember when he did any of this stuff.

i'm not demented yet...this is a massively longed and waited for second child and he's gorgeous and so i'm soppy rather than resentful!

he is beautiful!

but

i'm wondering if i will feel this way in a month? how long i can keep it up iyswim.

i did feel like throwing the book across the floor

:o

Throwing the book across the floor (and into the bin) is probably A Good Idea!

Hate to say it, but it sounds about right. I think it started getting better around 2/3 months for me, and like you had a huge gap between ours. I remember being horrified at the lack of sleep - I knew it was coming, but Lordy, it was a killer.

Same with me, DS was a big baby who seemed to be permanently feeding. Gradually things improved and he got into more of a routine.

My DD did this until she was about 10 weeks old and then suddenly dropped several night feeds over the course of a single week. She now (at 15 weeks) sleeps 8.30pm to 11pm (when I wake her for a feed) then until about 4am and then again until 8.30am. She did this spontaneously just at the point when I was ready to give up and switch to formula just for the sake of being able to leave her with DH and go off to a hotel for some sleep!

Normal!! Just go with it and have NO expectations!!

Burn that blooming book. He's doing fine, gaining weight, etc. Their nights and days are topsy turvy for a while, a few more weeks and this will pass. As hard as it it is, try and nap when he does until it gets better. God, I remember that endless feeding and it being impossible to wake a sleeping baby. You have my sympathies, it's very hard going that first bit >>shudders at memory>>

perfectly normal. both of mine still were...at 6 weeks they are still so tiny.

don't worry...he will settle when he is ready...until then, just know that this wont last forever - and keep repeating like a mantra...

Whats SWCNBN?

Yes, I agree with everyone else, completely normal. DD got herself into a little routine when she was about 3 months old with no help from any baby 'experts'. Just listen to your baby and follow your instincts. And bin the book!

I thought it was SWMNBN - 'She who must not be named' poppydog. A famous author of baby books.

Google mumsnet and you will find the story.

Normal normal normal. My DD fed at 2 hour intervals night and day until she was about 10 weeks old, possibly more. Looking back, she was a horrible screamer for the first six weeks, and I kept saying "but she CAN'T still be hungry" and so I'd try and solve other problems. If I had that time over, I'd just feed her all the fucking time - we both probably would have cried less.

Ditch the book. Books can't tell you about YOUR baby.

All things WILL pass. Throw book in the bin and hang on in there.

Yeah what is it? Is it GF?

Whatever it is, go with your instinct and don't watch the clock!

Do what you need to to survive the exhaustion.

Feeding at night is brilliant for your milk supply (don't know the technical bit but it's to do with hormones no doubt!)

Good luck

I feel your pain, I remember panicking because ds hadn't fed for 3 hours when the mw had told me to wake him for a feed every 2 hours and crying because he wouldn't wake up! When they are so little their sleep and feeding is all over the place, its like one long growth spurt. Throw out the book and just go with the flow it will soon pass xx

You might already have tried this but get him outside during the day. Natural daylight helps apparently (someone on MN told me that by the way).

Anyway, it helped with ds. Like your ds, he was a big baby and is putting on a lb a week. He now feeds all day which is far far preferable.

aahhhhh the Voldemort of baby books, thanks Besom. They should come with a warning.

Yes it's GF, but most of these types of books should be chucked because they just make you feel inadequate.

I concur. In fact the books made me feel SO inadequate and obsessed I feared I was getting PND. Not just GF but the whole rancid bunch.

Stopped reading them and started to feel better.