Is this normal and if so for how long? Please help

[Kitsilano]

My dd is nearly 3 weeks old and breastfeeding every 2 hours through the night for an hour a time - 11pm, 1am, 3a, 5am, 7am approx. I'm shattered and have to look after a toddler in the day so can't get any rest. I thought it was a growth spurt but it's been like this for 10 days now. In the day I wake her up for feeds every 3 hours but she would sleep for longer. Is there anything I can do to get a bit more sleep at night? I've resorted to rbinging her into bed and trying to sleep through the feeds but she doesn't feed as well so I think this just makes her feed more frequently.

Please help - I'm starting to wonder about formula last thing at night but don't think this should be necessary.

This is normal Kitsilano. Breast feeding can be really rough going for the first few months. Do you have a partner who can help feed her EBM and let you sleep part of the night? This is how we got through the 2-hourly feeding phase.

rather than expressing so early what about trying to (gently) shift the pattern round so that - if you're waking her anyway in the day - you wake her every two hours in the day instead and see if that will lengthen the gaps at night? though I suspect she knows about the toddler and all your other demands and is feeding at night more cos it's just damn calmer then!

You could also just bite the bullet and bring her into bed full stop but for a few nights try a full lights on sitting feed at night so you're both a bit more alert and she gets a bit more in. change nappy in middle if necessary then lights off for second half of feed? then hopefully she'll take a bit more but also fall back to sleep easily?

It may be though you just have to get through it and wait a few weeks till she sorts out how much she wants and when. I don't think formula is necessary as it won't necessarily get her to sleep longer anyway and you'll then just have the hassle of bottles to add to baby, toddler and everything else. Good luck!

Thanks - think I will try EBM in the late evenings. I'm already doing the nappy change mid feed to wake her up and trying to get as much as possible into her during the day but by 5am it just seems much easier to lie down and let her get one with it.

It just feels so relentless!