Help me please

[TiredofYorks]

My DD is 9 weeks old and is breastfed.

When she was about 3 weeks old I went through a bit of a rough patch and nearly gave up feeding and bought in some formula. So from then on she had a 4oz bottle of formula in an evening just before bed. (about 1pm ish).

We came to the end of the box and I decided that there was no point in buying another, I was over all the pain, apart from managing recurring thrush so I thought I would exclusively breast feed.

I was thrilled that the first 2 nights she slept with the same pattern so didn't just need formula to have a good 4 hour stretch.

Last night however and even worse tonight, she is not settling, last night I didn't sleep between 2am and 5am and then only slept fitfully after because I was cuddling her, and tonight I went up to bed at 9.45pm to give her her last feed and I still haven't been able to put her down.

She keeps thrashing around and screaming. I have thought she's been colicky since birth but the last few weeks have been much better. The trouble is, if I feed her she doesn't settle and then is sick, and it's a bit frothy, and I think more than just a posset.

I'm so tired I just want to go to bed, I don't know whether to just keep feeding her, knowing that she'll just mess about and then scream when I put her down anyway.

The only thing I've got expressed is some that I did in Oct, then froze and thawed on Thu so I don't know if that can still be used.

I'm sure she's got tummy ache, but I just don't know what to do. Her tummy is very gurgly. I've tried infacol, dentonox and gripe water and nothing works.

To top it off, my boobs don't feel full enough to do any justice just now anyway.

Please help, I just want to be able to put her down and go to sleep.

TiredofYorks :( :( It's awful to be desperate for sleep.

Can you co-sleep with your baby? Make sure you do it safely www.babyfriendly.org.uk/pdfs/sharingbedleaflet.pdf. Your baby sounds to me that she wants to stay close to you and objects to being separated from you - this is normal behaviour, and often the fussiness and fighting you describe are a baby's only way of expressing this need.

Going with the flow, and helping her realise you aren't going to put her down when she settles can be easier than struggling against it.

The expressed milk you have will be fine if you want to use it.

All babies tummies' gurgle. It's also normal for breasts to feel soft and empty after they have been feeding frequently. It does not mean they actually are empty.

Hope you have a better night.

Hi TiredOfYorks. Firstly, jolly well done for perservering and cutting out the formula again. Good for you! I am not an expert, but I can speak from experience as I used formula overnight for 10 weeks.

I'm sure you don't need telling that just when you think a baby has settled into a pattern, everything changes. My DD is 20 weeks and I still have no idea what she is going to do from one night to the next. Your descriptions on the night time non-settling and fitful sleep whilst cuddling ring very true for me (last night being a prime example). I would also suggest that she is probably trying to increase your supply now that you have cut out the formula. Mine went on a bit of a feeding frenzy for a few days - plus it's always possible she's on the 2 month growth spurt.

It's an explanation that's bandied about alot these days, but I am also wondering about possible gastric reflux. That can be associated with a gurgly tummy and certainly with sickiness. Does she only behave like this in the evenings/at night? How is she with being put down to sleep during the day?

I wouldn't worry too much about how full or otherwise your boobs feel. They will still be making milk as your baby feeds. The early fullness does wear off after a few weeks as your supply settles down. And with all the suckling your DD is doing your supply will surely be increasing.

HTH

Do you have a dummy to give her? Or could you take her to bed with you and let her feed/suckle with you both lying down?

Or indeed, just listen to the expert who I x posted with.

I didn't give any practical suggestions at all did I? It won't help you tonight, but if you are uncomfortable with full on co-sleeping, would you consider a bedside cot (one which goes level to the mattress with the side right down)? We have one and it is a very useful halfway house. Sometimes I do bring DD into bed when she's behaving like yours, but having the cot right there makes it feel a whole lot safer.

tiktok I might need to look into co sleeping but it's not something i fancied initially, but desperate times!

How long will I be able to keep the expressed milk for now, as if it's only today I may as well use it and see if it helps.

I mentioned the gurgling as it seems a bit more apparent than usual, she just trumped a lot and filled her nappy so I think she must have tummy ache, although the screaming didn't stop afterwards.

I think I feel I need help as although she's seemed colicky before she's always settled by about 10pm and gone to bed awake and settled herself to sleep, yesterday after her middle of the night feed was the first time I couldn't put her back to bed.

she seems different ,ie the screaming is like a painful scream.

gaelicsheep her trying to increase my supply sounds reasonable. She's just started being much better during the day but we're out and about a lot so she often sleeps longest after being in the car.

MoonUnitAlpha she does have a dummy but will only take it when she's calm. I've tried
feeding lying down but I can't get properly comfy so don't relax very well.