Breastfeeding and sleep at 11 weeks advice pls

[krisskross]

My DS is 11 weeks old and is my third child.

We had some difficulties breast feeding in the first few weeks, he would feed literally for hours at a time and never seemed full. He lost 10.1 per cent of birth weight and was slow to regain it, so i was advised by doctor to top up after breast feeding with formula. So i began giving him three bottles a day after breast feeding, coming to a total of 8.5oz a day. The alternative was to express and give him that but i struggled to find the time to express as he was feeding so much and i have two other children. I also produce v little when i express.

Eventually i saw a lactation consultant who diagnosed a posterior tongue tie. We tried feeding in a different position which helped but feeding still took a very long time so we had it snipped three weeks ago and he seems to be getting more milk.

His weight gain improved with the top ups and also since treating tongue tie and is now good. He was big at birth and seems v hungry.

But.....i feel as if we are all over the place with feeding and sleep and that we should be in more of a routine by now. I dont really do anything except the school run and feed him. Here are the issues in no particular order....any advice welcome

1. he only falls asleep on me or in pram/ sling. If i put him in moses basket asleep he wakes in minutes. I'd like to teach him to sleep independently by putting him down awake but i have forgotten how i did this with my first two DC. He is very 'sucky' but i haven't given him a dummy yet as didnt want to mess up milk supply , but i would like to.

2. im trying to feed on demand taking school run into account but i was so concerned about his weight gain and inefficient feeding that ive lost all understanding of the hunger cues.....i more or less feed him every time he grizzles as it settles him. But i think i may be over feeding him as he gets sick alot. He also doesnt go long between feeds.. in the day time maybe an hour at most from finishing one to starting again. I think hes almost just constantly snacking?

3. i began last week to reduce the formula by an ounce every four days...i am monitoring his nappies and weight, as i want to EBF. However he already seems less settled and weve only gone down an ounce.

Essentially i need to reboot the feeding and get a better sleep pattern. Any advice welcome thanks!!!

And thanks for reading such a long post

Bumping thanks

Anyone? Thanks

Routine will fall into place in time. Just do what it takes to settle baby and for you to relax for now, even if that's watching TV together for hours! Life becomes easier when you stop felling frustrated or pressured. It sounds like you are doing a great job.

This all sounds normal to me? I'm about to have my third as well and at this stage all I seemed to be doing was feeding the other two night and day! And they only napped on me. I think you're doing fine

Thanks both. I hsve a fair age gap so have forgotten alot. But i am a bit troubled that he cannot sleep without being fed...or rsther my boobs.

God mine were fed to sleep until at least 6 months for naps and bedtimes. If it ain't broke don't fix it!

11 weeks is still very new, and if you want to drop the formula feeds then I'd suggest it's not a good time to try to change timings / routines as well. Just focus on dropping the formula down and feeding on demand as much as possible to make sure your supply will increase to match the lost formula.

Then when you've got back to EBF you can worry about trying to tweak the routine.

I think there's a load of fuss about feeding to sleep when there needn't be. You can wean them off it and teach new habits when they're older. One of mine fed to sleep til she was 14 months old. We still fixed it. You forget about these things when they're a crazy 5yo!

Thanks all. I know he's little but i still would like to gradually and gently teach him to fall asleep in his basket. I managed it ok with my first two with out leaving them to cry etc...just can't remember how!

Mine is 9 weeks and if I want him to sleep not on me then what he needs is to be cuddled til drowsy then in the basket, a heavy hand on his chest til fast asleep, a womb noise track playing on my phone, and sometimes a dummy. It doesn't always work but often it does!