The relentlessness of BFing a three week old Velcro baby.

[imissmascara]

How the last couple of hours have gone for me…

DS wakes up (in my arms, as he will not be put down in anything - you name it, I’ve bought it, he doesn’t want to use it)
Instantly wants to be fed
Feeds
Small posset comes up so I try to wind
He doesn’t want to be winded, starts to root, starts to cry
I feed again
He wees, it leaks, soaks through his onesie, my t-shirt, joggers and pants
I change him. He dislikes being changed in the evening so starts to cry heartily
The only way to stop the cries is to feed him
And so the cycle continues
At various points we try giving him to DH but he lasts a few minutes before rooting and crying and the only way to soothe him is to breastfeed him.
He won’t go down in a Moses, a crib, a sleepyhead, a play gym. He lasts about 15 minutes
I have to eat all meals one handed.

It’s literally relentless. I know it’s supposed to get better and I know once he’s a teenager he will be put down in his own bed. But right now, bugger me this is tough.

Compounded by the fact I had a hard fall at the weekend so I’m struggling with a very sore shoulder injury which has curtailed the use and range of movement of my arm, along with recovering from a CS.

My sons 17 now. He was like this. I breast fed him till he was 4, and he slept in my bed till he was about 6.
I cannot help you, I tried everything, but not any kind of controlled crying or sleep training.
It's hard , I know, but it's all worth it.

I saw your threads at the weekend, OP, and it took me right back to when my DS was that small (excepting the C section recovery and your fall, so you have it harder than I did).
I found the first few weeks with DS hell on earth - painful, bewildering, repetitive, boring, frustrating, relentless and I was just so exhausted. Could not for the life of me understand why on earth people had children or ever managed to have more than one.

I include a link to an article that helped at the time and I PROMISE you that it does get better (once you recover from the birth, later on when they can be put down, and later when they start sleeping). The first few weeks drag but later on they fly by.

For now, solidarity (I went and had another!) and hope your recovery goes well.

www.scarymommy.com/pep-talk-for-getting-through-newborn-stage

He’s only three weeks old. He isn’t a Velcro baby, he’s just three weeks old doing what tiny newborns do. Mine was exactly the same at that age. Just cluster feeding to try and build up your supply. It’s exhausting and all consuming. You’ll get through it. And yes, it does get easier. I noticed an improvement at around 8-10 weeks. best of luck. There’s nothing for it but to tell yourself you’re doing a great job and it will get better.

Thank you all for the empathy, I know this too shall pass but it really does feel as though we’re in the trenches right now.

Oh, he absolutely is a Velcro baby @barrister489. He was the only one in the maternity ward who wouldn’t sleep in his crib, and to this day he just wants to be held. He won’t go down on/in anything. Which I think makes it so hard, because one of us (usually me) has to be holding him. All my friends had babies who would go in the bouncer or the next to me or the Moses basket. Not mine 😬