Newborn up every two hours

[toodalooo]

And then needs to be winded for an hour or so, before she settles down:

I'm exhausted. When does it get easier ?

With my first, she never woke up this much and by 5 weeks she slept through pretty much. Maybe one feed.

I am
Exhausted

He still needs to do a couple of night feeds OP. Even if he does them 8pm-1am you can get some sleep.

Even if that's the case, it won't be as much money as going to work and he has to actually be physically present at work. Things were different with the first baby, he was able to take time off. But this time, the business is in a different place, so he needs to be hands on because of severe staff shortages.

@toodalooo you've had no days off since baby was born. Sorry but you need to share the load.

Try infacol just before feeds will help with wind. And can be taken from birth.
Also if bottle feeding try an anti colic bottle. Should help with the wind.

As for the every 2 hours that's very normal I think you got very lucky with your first born.

The winding does sound like reflux - unfortunately it's normal for a refluxy baby (ask me how I know).

My partner used to take our baby in the evening so I could sleep - so he'd get home, cook dinner, I'd go to bed straight after dinner and he'd stay up with the baby until around midnight. That way I got a good stretch of sleep, while he still got 6.5 hours so could function at work. Unless your partner is operating machinery/driving/a surgeon, that should be enough sleep.

It was far from ideal but it's not forever. For us it got much better at around 14 weeks.

Is the formula dairy based?

Have you considered a non-dairy formula if so?

Though I have to add, the pattern you are describing sounds normal, apart from the long time spent trying to wind and settle after feedings.

I'm sorry but this seems pretty normal at just five weeks, you will be exhausted and your partner too of you need to work. Your first baby was the exception to the rule clearly!

Is there anyone who can come and sit with teh bay for a couple of hours in teh day while you get a catch up nap?

Also when the baby naps in the day can you nap too? That is what I did as had no help and not much sleep in the night.

I'm using goat milk formula. First one was also fussy but stopped feeding so much at night after around 5 weeks. Also had reflux. Also had infacol and gaviscon. Fingers crossed

You must only switch to non-dairy with medical advice, it is not something to try on a whim.

Your poor thing OP, sounds hideous.
i had babies that were very unsettled after feeding and would be awake a long time but did eventually go into a sleep. Does your little one have a longer sleep ever? Mine used to maybe once every 24 hours.
Are they taking a full feed? If not is there any way to spin them out so they’re going 3 hours between feeds in the day?

are there any family members who can come and stay for a bit to give you a hand? You must be so shattered and with an older Dc too.

I know..

And yes agree even though your partner is working if he could take little one from about 7 to midnight then at least you can get a little stretch of sleep in.

Occasionally I get a longer stretch of sleep. But usually it's feeding every two hours. I wonder if it's also a comfort thing. When I look at the bottles from last night, a couple have barely been touched actually. As j , there's a lot left inside. I think this baby is really cuddly and wants to be held a lot. This baby was also breastfed for a lot longer more than my last one, perhaps that's why. Just likes being close etc.

Fourth trimester is very very much a thing!

Sounds pretty normal to me - I think you got lucky with your first and need to adjust your expectations accordingly!

I had 3 hours of broken sleep with my six month old last night so waiting for it to get better here too...

Yes normal as many others have said.

If you need support and sympathy you got it! It's tough. And you sound like you have the brunt of it due to partners working.

Practical advice, drink plenty and eat plenty. Sleep when you can with baby. Colic tends to tail off at 12 weeks so keep going with that time frame in mind. Co sleep safely if you need to.

This will be a distant memory quite soon.

It’s so tricky and obviously you want to try any thing to get them to settle but I think looking back to mine, if they’d had a decent bottle feed I thought to myself they couldn’t be crying out of hunger if it was less than 2 hours and giving them more milk might make a tummy ache worse. Have you tried a dummy yet? That would be worth a shot if it’s a comfort thing

Ah I had this. My midwife didn’t believe in colic and the health visitor wasn’t helpful. Eventually she bought up blood and the gp took me seriously. Turned out to be a protein allergy.

the sleep is totally normal and you just have to get through it anyway you can.

the upset after feeding sounds like it might not be. I’d see the gp.

It does sound tough, my dd was similar, she wouldn't settle after a feed particularly between about 6pm.and 10pm, it was exhausting. It gradually got better, but improved dramatically at 6 months when we started weaning her. Up until that point I did a lot of pacing up and down the bedroom with her crying and grizzling.

I also get what you are saying about your dp being self employed. If he doesn't work he doesn't earn, my dh is also self employed, so I understand that. What I will say is that when he is not at work, you two need to be a team, you being exhausted to the point of breakdown is not good for you, baby or your family as a whole. So have a think together about how you can both get some sleep, and share the night time load for a while. It won't be forever but for now, it's all hands on deck, and he needs to give you some support.

I'm still breastfeeding my 15 month old every 2 hours in the night, sorry. I think this is a case of expectation management and you're probably finding everything much harder this time round with less support from your partner and another child to care for. Have you got friends or family who can rally round you?

Feeding a lot does comfort reflux babies. Do they take a dummy? It helps with reflux and saved my sanity when DD was a newborn. She was also FF.

Sorry to hear that ! With my first, she started sleeping well from around 5 weeks. Then she went through the 4 month sleep regression, which changed everything. So 4-6 months was hardest in her case. She was awake constantly rolling around and getting stuck on her stomach. I got no sleep then. You have my sympathy.

Baby does take dummy, but doesn't love it that much yet.

The HV didn't listen. I'm pretty sure the GP will be useless too. I guess it's time to shell out for the private paediatrician. Perhaps I can get some proper medicine to help with the reflux.

Mine was like this and has a lactose intolerance. I added lactase to his bottles. It helped extremely quickly.

Yes it gets easier. I had a small baby, and she could only take a small amount of food, so was up every two hours - It was hell! You have my sympathies, but it does get better, hang in there