Please can someone help, really need some support

[ImNotAnsweringIt]

ds2 is 24 weeks and ebf. He has woken every 2 hours most nights from birth, and appears to be in discomfort from his stomach at these times. I usually feed him back to sleep.

A paed dietician suspects cmp allergy and I have cut it out of my diet, which is tough with a family to cook for and as a veggie. However, happy to try.

Dietician is keen for him to have solids too but EVERY time I have tried he is awake for hours that night. Yesterday he had really runny baby rice made with (cmp free) breast milk, at 10am. Have been up most of the night

Been dairy free for 5 days now and he has done the occasional 3-4 hour block of sleep (7-11 or 12) at night, eczema seems a bit better too. Not been advised to stop soya, should I?

So many people are telling me to give him firms, I am so, so exhausted and miserable.

Co sleeping doesn't work as I can't sleep and he sleeps on his front so I am not happy about his safety on mattress (too soft).

I am stressed about him not eating. I know 6 months is the guidance, think dietician has me worried. Should I get vitin drops for him?

Overall I just hate this. Have to get up and take ds1 to school in 2 hours. My nipples are so sore as I am just
trying to feed him back to sleep and he keeps writhing around and pulling on and off.

I know there is something wrong, just want it sorted now. Since he was born it has been so difficult. I am not depressed (somehow!) just exhausted and fed up!

He is very farty during the night when he has had the slightest bit of food.

It feels such a mess. Sorry for the ramble, not sure what anyone can do but feel better for writing it all out and he is settled and feeding now

Not sure what I am asking really just feel at the end of my tether with relentless exhaustion and nothing works.

Thank you everyone. I am happy to be up 2 or 3 times a night if necessary, but surely every 1.5-2 hours is excessive?

I can't even begin to imagine cutting out soya as well now! As a veggie what does that leave to keep up enough calories to ebf a big, constantly feeding baby? I feel really resistant to ff at this late stage, I have never used bottles and it just feels like a whole new world of stress!

A bedside cot may be a good idea. Co sleeping (which I have ended up doing quite often) doesn't work for me but traipsing to his room each night is crazy. He is currently on his mattress on my floor at the start of each night. Dh is downstairs on the sofa.

I feel it is such an achievement she I get through each day and make it to bed time only to have it all happen again. I often don't get back to sleep between wakings as I am so anxious and disturbed now.

Really trying to stay positive, thanks for taking the time to offer support and advice.

Our bed side cot arragment works really well. DS can roll over for a feed but then has his own space to sleep. Best of both worlds as I don't have to get out of bed. He's sleeping rubish at the moment as is teething but couldn't actualy tell you how offten he is waking in the night. He's 13months so not a little baby.

We did this with DS as I to had a bad sleeper 1st time round and couldn't imagine being able to cope with two and waking up at night. Wish we done it last time now, how I ever managed to get up every night (several times a night) and still function the next day I don't know.

And yes every two hours is on the extram end but not unhurd of and I believe it is often worse for baby's with food intolernaces.

Would you consider reintroducing meat into your diet in order to make sure you are getting enough. I know some veg's who would if need be I guess it depends on why you are a veg in the first place. But surly there are other things other then Soya you could add to your diet? I'm no exprect and you'd need to speck to a diatition about this.

Yes I think bedside cot is the way to go.

Just got back from clinic, mentioned briefly the problems and hv said bm "gets more and more watery after 6 months" wtf? Really? Why? Or is she wrong too? This is a different hv to the one who said my milk would be no good after cutting out dairy

You know, sometimes I wonder what kind of "health" service we have with HVs who come out with this absolute frigging crap.

"WTF" is right, imnot.

I would love to see her scientific proof of that. It would revolutionise the understanding of breastmilk across the world.

Sorry, that wasn't helpful or supportive.

No, it's not true at all. It's complete rubbish.

How did the weigh-in go?

Ha ha, I can only imagine how frustrated you must find it. Even as a non-expert I thought it sounded ridiculous. I made her repeat it then I said it back to her. I feel like complaining.

Weigh in was ok, dropping slightly but 75th centile so not wasting away. Doc is referring me to a paed so hopefully moving on with it.

I would. But then I'm a strop-bag.

On the other hand, educating her would mean fewer people getting her crap advice.

Sounds like the hole health team could do with some re-education regarding BF. It is very frustrating that sometime's they give such bad advice.

It's the thing I find hardest about being a BfN helper is nodding politly at mum's and not just telling them there HV/MW is spouting rubish.

I belive that it actauly get's more calerirfic as baby get's older as after the first month the volum of milk a BF baby take's doesn't change. See Kellymom for lots of usefull info on BF.

Not that I have much to add to the general thread (except you are doing fab!) but I thought you might like to show the 'watery BM' HV this. To summarise - mums who have been bfing for over 12m had fattier milk than mothers who were bfing for 2-6m. Milk in the 12m group had ~11% fat!! Not exactly watery then (unless you are comparing it to double cream).

I know you aren't at 12m yet but it does show that scientifically your HV is woefully underinformed on bfing.

If you have it in you to complain, please do, looking back I wish I had complained about so many HCP but never thought I could nor had the strength to do more than go home dejected.