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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

3 weeks not sleeping and feeding constantly

23 replies

Alpinechildcare · 26/01/2011 05:53

I am worried about my son. I have been breast feeding him on demand since birth and recording how often he eats / sleeps. He still feeds constantly for up to an hour every one to two hours so I sometimes get an hour off, but more usually it's 20 mins and sometimes there is only five mins break between feeds.

This means that he has very little time to sleep and is only asleep for a total of about 8hrs in every 24. I know that babies his age are supposed to sleep for 16-20 a day so it's a real worry, I am also struggling to survive myself on only a couple of hours sleep in every 24.

Is this normal, and when is he likely to start to feed less? I need hope that it's going to improve soon.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

StealthPolarBroccoli · 26/01/2011 05:58

Is he weeing and ppooing regularly? What's his weight gain been like?

Congratulations on your son :o

MummyBerryJuice · 26/01/2011 07:03

Congratulations on your son.

The early weeks can be really exhausting as he gets the hang of life and the two of you figure out breastfeeding together.

At 3 weeks is is probably going through a growth spurt which should last only a few days provided you let him feed as often as he wants to and things may start to settle a little after that. (That said, my DS fed every hour to hour and a half for the first 6 weeks!)

As long as he has plenty wet and dirty nappies he's definitely getting enough milk.

Have you thought about using a sling in between feeds. It may help him sleep a little longer and could help you get on with making a cup of tea and changing the DVD. [bgrin]

Original poster

Alpinechildcare · 26/01/2011 07:08

He's had about 8 dirty nappies a day since birth and is putting on weight fine. I don't think it can be a growth spurt because it's been like this since the word go.

It's the fact he's not sleeping enough that worries me because every one says that new borns do little but sleep and eat, but even in his first week of life he only slept for about 7 or 8 hours in each 24 hrs.

OP posts:

OnEdge · 26/01/2011 07:16

dirty nappies = poo ? or wee ?

Iggly · 26/01/2011 07:27

Pop him in a sling during the day. He'll fall asleep if you walk about, especially outside. Then you can come home and put your feet up for a bit. He'll get used to sleeping more and will (hopefully) into a routine. Which will go out of the window later on but it's a start!

Original poster

Alpinechildcare · 26/01/2011 08:21

sorry 8 dirty nappies = bright yellow poo
he also has about 3 just wet ones a day

OP posts:

Bert2e · 26/01/2011 08:35

If he's feeding for an hour it sounds like he could do with his latch tweaking - take a trip to your local bf drop in and get someone to have a look!

Original poster

Alpinechildcare · 26/01/2011 08:36

we have tried my husband carrying him in the sling in the house which he seems to like but he still wakes and cries to be fed at the usual rate. There is no pattern as to whether we'll have 5 mins or 20 before he wakes so i wouldn,t risk them going out in case it was a five minute break time.
I can't carry him myself because my boobs are way too sore to wear clothes, or have anything on my front. (the constant feeding has given me cracked nipples and i'm also currently having my third bout of mastitis).

OP posts:

Original poster

Alpinechildcare · 26/01/2011 08:43

can't go to a drop in, because of the not being able to wear clothes issue, and him only having a few mins off between feeds, but we paid for a la leche woman to come to the house and she said the latch was fine. the midwives and health visitors have all said the same thing. they just say he is feeding a lot because he's hungry and i have to listen to him, but no one else seems to be worried that he doesn't sleep enough, or about the fact that i can't survive much longer on a series of 20 min naps.

OP posts:

CharlotteBronteSaurus · 26/01/2011 08:49

I think if he's alert, with good weight gain, and plenty of wet and dirty nappies then he might just not need the long blocks of sleep.

dd2 feed constantly, i mean constantly for 4 weeks. after that it calmed down to every 90 minutes; by 6 weeks often 2 hourly. at 11 weeks she was feeding 2-3.5hourly, which felt great. But she has never slept much.

CharlotteBronteSaurus · 26/01/2011 08:52

re: your sleep.
can you learn to feed lying down in bed? then once he's latched on, you can drift off, and he can continue to feed, or nod off himself.
You won't get the sleep you want, but might just grab enough to stay sane.

I do sympathise. DD2 has fed every hour for the past 2 days and I am feeling rather odd indeed.

MummyBerryJuice · 26/01/2011 10:16

It definitely sounds like the latch needs tweaking a bit if your boobs are so sore and you're haveing recurring mastitis. BF should not cause cracked nipples if all is going well.

Do you have a local drop in you can go to or a peer supporter/bf councillor who could come visit you at home?

I saw one when DS was 4 weeks old and it helped tremendously.

Iggly · 26/01/2011 11:03

I was told DS's latch was fine but it wasn't - I had to work on getting him to take a full mouthful of boob. He was slipping off as my letdown was too much so block fed.

I would suggest that your little one isn't always crying for food - it could be that he's tired and wants to feed to sleep. Or he has wind.

So after a feed, wind him, give him to your DH and send him out for a walk for an hour. Don't worry if he cries - he'll be fine. Tell your DH to go to the park if he's worried about other people. Your baby crying always sounds worse to you and it's natural that it stresses you out - it's a hormonal response. Get him to do that every evening maybe while you rest.

Make sure your baby is winded - rub his back and lean him slightly to his left as it helps bring the wind up.

Can you try expressing before a feed so he gets the richer milk? Not recommenced long term but it can get you through this hump.

MickeyMixer · 26/01/2011 11:05

Dummy!! Cherry ended one - not orthodontic!! Try it!!

HappySeven · 26/01/2011 11:30

All advice here sounds good but you might like to repost in "Breast and bottle feeding" as there are quite a few bf counsellors there giving out great advice. Tiktok in particular springs to mind and I think you'll find it helpful. Good luck.

Bert2e · 26/01/2011 12:09

Sore boobs, mastitis and a baby who's feeding that much = poor latch. Try breast shells in your bra or 2 cheap tea strainers with the handles chopped off to keep your clotes off the sore nipples and get thee to the drop in!

zayla · 27/01/2011 09:52

Also check out the symptoms of silent reflux, as babies with silent reflux sometimes want to feed constantly.

Original poster

Alpinechildcare · 27/01/2011 12:37

Just wanted to update you. We had a lactation consultant come to the house because i didn't believe that my latch was right despite all the midwives, health visitors and la leche advisor telling me it was fine.

It turns out he has a 90% tongue tie which has been the cause of all the problems. We took him to the hospital for his jaundice check and the consultant agreed but said there was a 2 week waiting list, so we just paid for it to be done privately.

So now we are doing exercises with him to help him learn how to latch and suck properly. His feeding and my pain are still the same and will be apparently until he learns to use his newly freed tongue properly, but now I have hope so am feeling much more positive.

I'm angry none of the 'experts' we'd consulted spotted it and feel very guilty that I didn't know about them and get help sooner but I can now see a light at the end of the tunnel. thanks so much for all your advice

OP posts:

Candleshoe · 27/01/2011 12:48

I should've thought to ask if they'd checked that - sorry! Both my DSs are tongue tied - I had to switch to bottles when they were three weeks - couldn't stand it any more!! That sort of vital info. should've been spotted at birth and put on the discharge record....

Candleshoe · 27/01/2011 12:49

I'd still try a dummy too though

HappySeven · 27/01/2011 14:34

I'm so pleased. Hope things improve quickly for you and you all get some more rest soon.

MummyBerryJuice · 27/01/2011 15:54

I am so glad you've managed to get some good help. I am rather that there is a 2 week waiting list for getting it cut when it is such a simple and vital procedure

Also feel but not surprised that no-one else picked it up. Such an easy and important thing to spot but unfortunately so often missed.

just5moreminutes · 27/01/2011 21:10

I really feel for you. My DS had tongue tie which went undiagnosed for 5weeks despite my pleas for help from a lot of different midwives / hvs. I had even gone to a breastfeeding workshop when i was pregnant at my local hospital to give myself the best chance of ebf-ing him. I asked what potential problems could occur and was given a vague 'oh, nothing really as long as your latch is good'.
I am stil really angry that something so common is so routinely missed.

Lots of Lansinoh and patience and it will get easier. I actually enjoy bf-ing now, something I never thought I'd say before we had his tt snipped.

You are not alone xxx

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