9 week old and desperate for sleep!!

[Mummypickle1]

First time poster - excuse any mistakes!
My gorgeous first baby is 9 weeks old and we're struggling at night. She's exclusively breast fed which we both love, but she feeds 3 hrly until around 3 am when she gets very distressed with wind and then won't settle. She naps for about half an hour at a time until 8am, waking upset and uncomfortable. I feed her when she wakes to settle her but she doesn't seem hungry - it just makes her feel better!

She's then very tired and irritable during the day. I don't know whether I should try and keep her awake more during the day? Or whether I should not be feeding her every time she wakes in the early hours (hv suggested offering her water when she wakes?!?)? Or whether this is all normal little baby behaviour and I should just carry on until she grows out of it

Any advice much appreciated!

I find it impossible to keep my baby awake unless she wants to be, nothing works not even sitting her up and singing to her!

We had a period of 2 weeks a few weeks ago (she's 10 weeks now) where she'd be awake until 2am and grumpy with wind. Don't give her water to fill her up as it's space in her tummy that should be used for milk! We tried (and love) Gripe Water. A little bit in dropper thing and a quite rub on the back and she does a HUGE burp! It really does work and shes so much more settled afterwards.

Hello! My son was the same, in fact worse. He catnapped every night for about an hour at a time til he was about 5
Months old. I was exhausted. The only advice I can offer you is that this will pass. Around 5/6 months their digestion miraculously gets better and they stop being so damned uncomfortable. Your baby is too young for water, definitely keep giving milk. Good luck, it WILL pass xx

All my 3 were the same. Breastfed babies generally don't sleep for long periods and given half a chance will spend their entire first few months attached to you, for feeding and also comfort. I always compare it to animals with young-because they don't have jobs to do, houses to clean, food to prepare (dutiful male heads off hunting) they do literally spend that first period just nursing and that is exactly what nature intends. Do you co-sleep? Not sure if it is fashionable to do this ATM (my youngest is 9 and we were encouraged to co-sleep with the oldest (13) but it was discouraged by the youngest!) I didn't want to but eventually did with all 3 of mine as it just gives you that bit of extra rest. Stick at it-it isn't easy while they are young whatever any "expert" tells you and sleep deprivation is hard but you are not alone and you must remember all the good you are doing by feeding her yourself! And DO NOT LISTEN to all those mums spouting off about how long their babies sleep at night in their own beds. I used to take comfort in the line that babies who were poor sleepers were intelligent children! And to be fair all mine now are! (Although I'm sure it is a line just spun to keep us shattered mums sane!). Plus, don't be afraid to nap at odd times of the day when she is napping, you do not have to try and be normal and stick to a regular day! Good luck and enjoy her and that wonderful feeling of nursing your baby!

And another vote for gripe water if she needs it-it really is good stuff!

Hello, I could have written your post about my 6 wk old OP! I feel your pain. A question for the gripe water fans- when and how is it given? X

Firstly congratulations on your beautiful DD and well done for getting this far :)

She sounds like a very normal baby with the amount she wakes in the night, at this age they do go through spurts of growth almost weekly and it can feel like they feed constantly. Breastfed babies do tend to feed more often as breast milk is more easily digestible, but i'm sure you already knew that. I would ignore the health visitors suggestion of giving water as night feeding in particular is crucial to maintain your supply....prolactin, the hormone that regulates milk production is at its highest in the nighttime, and also if you find that you become engorged or don't regularly drain your breast through feeding or expressing and they become overly full, this has a suppressing effect on your supply.

How are you going about your night feeds and how well is she latching on? Sometimes if the latch is not quite right, baby can take on air with a feed which can make them windy. Have you got a breastfeeding support group handy ?

Learning to feed lying down saved my sanity for night feeds!, as did having the cot pulled right up to the bed so I could literally slide her to and fro, without particularly waking either of us!

xx

Oh, and I'm with Freckle...any mums who tell you their babies are sleeping through at this age are lying!