Help! 1week old baby nodding off during feed night and day!

[Sophie1106]

Hello everyone

I hope someone can help or offer some advice. Not only am i in shock at the lack of sleep anyway but my week old who was feeding fine 3 hourly has decided last night that she only wants to feed for 10 minutes and fall asleep for an hour and nothing can rouse her. I was playing at this all night last night.

I would appreciate any suggestions on this...

Thank you

My baby was like this. I used to have to undress her down to her nappy, tickle her feet, blow on her to try and keep her interested for a bit longer. I would then wake her up by changing her nappy and feed her on the other side. This meant she had a bit more milk in her to last a little longer between feeds. How has her feeds been today?

Try and get some sleep during the day today- give her to someone as soon as she has finished a feed and go straight to bed- even if you don't sleep just lying down will give you some time off.

I tried all of these things today- I have stripped her down, changed her nappy, tickled every part of her body, tried to engage her with her toy etc. After doing this it took me approx. an hour and a half to wake her and she's just fed now for 10 minutes. Last night she would start to cry about 10 mins after every time i put her down after trying to feed her. When i tried to feed her again she would take a couple of mouthfuls and nod off. In the end i slept with her on the bed in the spare room because every time i put her in her crib in our room she started to cry. Do you have any idea what the crying could be? Today she hasnt cried- just slept a lot. I have managed to wake her twice to feed.

Yes-thanks I am v.tired and about to go and try and get some shut eye now.

Sophie, is the midwife around?

The behaviour you describe is normal - babies of a few days old may well just feed for 10 mins and then nap and then want feeding again soon after, resisting being put to sleep away from mum.

The tickling, trying to get her attention with a toy, over an hour and a half may be too much stimulation for a newborn. How would it be if you just went with the flow - keeping her skin to skin with you so you can respond to any small feeding cue?

If her weight is ok, if she is weeing and producing several soft yellow poos each day, then you can be pretty confident all is well with her health and feeding. The crying, in that case, is because she wants to be close to you. It will not last forever.

Could this be a growth spurt perhaps? It sounds a bit like one to me (although I'm no expert).

Nelly, title of thread says baby is a week

You don't get growth spurts until a bit later

Oops, ignore me then

I see what you're saying- I have tried to chill out a bit more this avo and she awoke on her own at 6.15 and took a 25 min feed which pleased me. She slept this afternoon in her car seat because she resisted the crib again, but it was no further away from me than the crib whilst I slept. I was also wondering whether being able to smell my milk was making her frustrated because she wasn't hungry but it was there.

Hubby suggested we try her in the car seat tonight or even trying her in the nursery just to see what happens. What do you think?

Glad things have gone better this afternoon, Sophie.

Please don't worry about your little girl smelling milk and being frustrated...it is normal for her to want to be next to you, not in the same room but next to you, in your arms, but the fact she slept in the car seat means she can bear being not next to you some of the time

It is not considered safe for a baby to sleep in a separate room overnight, by the way, for the first six months (see www.sids.org.uk) so maybe leave the nursery for later. Is the midwife able to reassure you by weighing the baby and assessing her feeding?

Sophie, my DD behaved exactly like this at a week old - the crying etc sounds very familiar.
TBH all I can say is that it won't last long. I tried all sorts of things - feeding, cuddling, swaddling, with varying degrees of success, but I just think it is a phase they go through. It doesn't mean that there is anything wrong or that you need to do anything very different IMO. It will pass.

I wouldn't put her in the car seat for too long, since it is better for them to lie flat. But if she likes the feeling of being cuddled (which I guess the car seat might be providing) swaddling might help. Also, she might be getting a bit windy and so not like being put down so make sure you take your time winding her and try propping up the head of her cot, too. It won't hurt and might relieve things a bit.

Oh, and after about this age my DD never fed for more than 10 mins. If yours is like mine you'll be glad of it when she is older and is so quick to feed while your friends are stuck on the sofa for 45 mins at a time!