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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

struggling at night time

12 replies

butternut22 · 13/02/2015 17:42

Hi. My son is 4 weeks old. He is ebf. He can go 3/4 hours without a feed during the day then he cluster feeds early evening and will go 2/3 hours between feeds till midnight. After midnight he wakes every 1 to 1 1/2 hours all night. I am struggling to have any energy for my 2 year old in the day because I am so tired. Is this a phase? Do I need to wake him more in the day? Any advice would be appreciated as I am struggling. Thanks

OP posts:
MouseInTheSkirting · 13/02/2015 18:05

My daughter is four weeks old and is much the same. At night she wants feeding constantly. I am lucky to get an hours sleep. I'd be interested in any responses that have ideas or can say it's a passing phase.

FoodPorn · 13/02/2015 19:54

I know not everyone is keen to, but I co-slept and learnt to feed DS led on my side. It meant I pretty much slept through his feeds and we were all so much happier and more rested.

Original poster
butternut22 · 13/02/2015 20:36

Thanks. I do have a co sleeping crib and I have tried to feed on my side but I can't get him to latch on properly.

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squizita · 13/02/2015 20:39

If you cannot fully Co sleep renting a side car crib or sleepyhead means you just sit up, grab baby, feed and pop them back. It worked well for me and still does.

With my 20 week er I just rode out the very frequent night feeds and it got better quickly (well except growth spurts, colds and pre - teething. .. All of which she has at the moment Shock ).

MouseInTheSkirting · 13/02/2015 20:41

Can you explain the details of cosleeping? Where is baby in relation to you? Where are the sheets etc? I worry about squashing my little one

FoodPorn · 14/02/2015 13:32

Hi butternut
I found feeding on my side really difficult in the early days but when I tried again after a couple of weeks through being totally knackered and wanting to feed laying down it was a bit easier. It definitely took some practice but was ok pretty soon. I remember that the angle felt all wrong, like his head was pointing too downwards. It definitely felt weird at first but I just stuck with it because the extra sleep / comfort / rest etc. was worth it!

Hi Mouse
My DS used to sleep up parallel to my tummy. When you bend your knees your body makes a kind of protective nook for the baby to sleep in. He / she then wakes up and kind of starts snuffling / making little fussy noises to feed and I think you're so tuned in to your baby it wakes you up right away and you can just latch him / her on before he / she really wakes up and starts bellowing! I had the covers over me but tucked down away from DS so he was just led on the bed. I think the advice is to not use a duvet, you wear PJs / extra layers instead to keep warm. I didn't squash him! I think from being pregnant I was really used to sleeping on my side with my knees bent and was just comfortable like that and as I said, you're really tuned into your baby. He slept between me and DP so that he couldn't roll off the bed. There's lots of advice on the internet about doing it safely. If you google "safe co-sleeping" sites like the lullaby trust and nct and babycenter and askdrsears.com all have advice.

Gingerandcocoa · 14/02/2015 13:34

Another option would be introducing a dummy? He might be looking more for comfort than milk, so a dummy could space out the night feeds....

Original poster
butternut22 · 14/02/2015 13:53

Thanks foodporn. I will try again. Do you have to feed him from the breast that is underneath and then roll over to the other side to do the other breast? I find the logistics of it quite hard? Does that make sense? Can you feed from the top breast or is he too little?

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FoodPorn · 14/02/2015 17:52

In the beginning I rolled over and moved him to the other side to feed him from each breast but then fed him from both breasts on the same side. I actually think if anything it's easier to get a good latch from the top breast, I think I just didn't try initially, and it does take a bit of working out in the beginning. You just sort of roll a bit onto your front and roll the baby a bit onto his back. I really hope it works for you. It made such a difference for us. After a while the baby just helps himself and then you really are just a snoring buffet car that he tucks into when he's hungry Grin.

FoodPorn · 14/02/2015 18:00

We actually had a side car crib too. The co-sleeping came about by accident after I started to feed DS led down on my side in bed and kept falling asleep while feeding him. The extra sleep was amazing. The side car crib became a really handy place to keep my books / drinks / snacks Grin.

Greenstone · 14/02/2015 18:57

I'd feed every 2 hours during the day and see if that stretches the nights.
Also I think most breast feeders do cosleep here and there as described above, although most don't like to admit it in RL!

Original poster
butternut22 · 14/02/2015 20:24

Thanks. He has been feeding constantly all day today and has hardly slept at all! Think it may be a growth spurt but not sure if he should have one at 4 weeks. I will try feeding him lying down tonight and see if he latches any better.

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