Please please help!

[snowchick1977]

Hi

Dd is 20 weeks old. Was ebf until 10 weeks when she had a bottle of bedtime formula, as I need her to take a bottle when I go back to work.

She wakes every 2 hours to feed still and I can't take much more. Last night she took 10 ounces of hungry baby formula at 8.30 and another 8 ounces at 10.30 and still woke 1,3,5 and probably 7 to feed. How can this be?

I'm back at work in Jan and I'm so worried that she will still be in this pattern.

She is not comfort eating as she feeds for 20 mins each time.

What formula will digest more slowly? I need to be getting more than 2 hour blocks of sleep now.

She was 4 weeks early so I can't really start her on solids yet. She also rarely naps the day and is constantly moving/alert.

All my friends babies sleep for 7 hours plus. Please please help

Thanks x

don't fret! you still have time yet before you go back to work.

in my experience the key to a better night's sleep was getting my DS's daytime naps right.

I established a routine for them - same time everyday, feed beforehand and lots of shushing.

your DD is still very little and not unusual at all that she wakes so often. mine still doesn't sleep through the night and i regularly feed him then. in a way it's easier that he does, because i know that if he refuses milk/bottles etc at nursery then at least he'll get plenty of nighttime milk.

have you considered co-sleeping to improve both your sleep? makes it very much easier to roll over and offer a nipple in the same bed, than getting up, feeding and then trying to go back to sleep. babies are far less stressed and sleep better when a) breastfed and b) co-sleeping safely.

at that age, my DS's changed his patterns for sleep alot.

if you're really concerned you aren't ready for work, can you extend your maternity leave? you would still have up to 9 months on SMP.

formula (IME) is not a cure all for a long night's sleep. it seems to get touted as such all the time, but made no difference here when i had to leave my LO over night and couldn't express.

Have you tried night time milk (or goodnight milk) formula? It's very thick and got DD sleeping longer, though she was 7-8 months when I gave that to her. You'll need to change the teat flow though as its too thick to pass through a regular teat. And I'm also not sure if you can give it before 6 months.

the goodnight formular is follow on milk + cereals so only suitable from 6months old, ie when you would be weaning them

how often does she feed in the day?

She feeds for 15 minutes 2-3 hourly throughout the day on the breast.

Last night she fed at 830 (10 ounces of hungry baby formula) 1030 (8 ounces of hungry baby formula, then breastfed throughout the night at 130, 3, 430, 530 and 630am BUT then she slept from 630 til 9 and didnt feed until 1130 so went 5 hours between feeds.

She doesnt need much sleep in the day either but Im just wondering where im going wrong?

at 20 weeks and 4 weeks early she's 16 weeks which is classic sleep regression/growth spurt time. She probably really is hungry, just go with the flow, there's nothing you can do to amke her sleep longer until she's ready (thoses 7-7babies are born to be sleepers some of us have very wakeful babies)

many hugs my DD was like this and woke about 2hourly or more til about 20 months - i worked f/t from 6 months, I was tired but I survived because I had no other option

Snowchic- have a look at the high needs baby support thread, where u will find me and many others with the same probs as you are having. We don't have solutions, but we bounce around thoughts, have a good moan/rant, and generally understand how each others feels. All of our babies, mine included are still feeding about 2 hrly day and night. My ds is 21 weeks, and I'm due back to work in 2 weeks time!!! No idea how I'm gonna manage!!! Maybe see u there!!

Snowchic, have you tried looking at your daytime habits? Are you very busy in the day, feeding out and about lots etc? My LO went through a time where she only snacked in the day around about 4 months. She was really easily distracted and would appear to have finished feeding after a relatively short feed. I was probably making it worse as I was also keen to keep going in the day. She then made up for it by feeding lots at night.

I found that I had to give her lots of opportunity to feed somewhere quiet and also making sure I was at home for at least 1/2 the day helped lots too as she fed better and napped more deeply too.

I personally struggle with routine (too busy / disorganised!!!) but found that having a rough outline for my days helped lots. Having said that she fed once in the night up until she was a year old :)