Bedtime routine for cluster feeding 8 wk old with reflux?

[KatOD]

Hello, any advice or thoughts on how to approach this or whether we're on a losing mission trying to get our 8 week old into a routine until the cluster feeding and reflux calm down? We manage to get her down after a 10:30pm feed but this can take up to 1.5 hours and then she'll wake up a couple of times in the night. We were hoping to start getting her into a bath, feed, story routine at the 7:30pm feed but she just wants to guzzle continuously. Advice/thoughts welcomed as we're knackered but as she's our first we don't know if we're expecting too much too soon! Thanks!

Congrats on your DD. I'd say it's very early to try a routine and that a natural pattern will emerge over the next few months. My DS cluster fed at night (though didn't have reflux) and I have to say that the hours sleep it gave us made up for the lack of structure!

Thanks for the sanity check! We've decided to just keep a simple routine for the time she stops cluster feeding (w/o bath etc) and then try to push this earlier as she settles...

My DD used to cluster feed all evening and wake in the night, but from about 9 weeks started sleeping through. She is now 23 weeks and still eats every two/three hours but sleeps from 11pm until 8.30am (she is still asleep now!).

Like you I used to get frustrated about not being able to put her "down" for the night and used to eat alot of dinners one handed, but the sleep through the night makes up for it!

Oh, forgot to say, she didn't have reflux, but did have colic.

(Not trying to compete, just realised you mentioned it in your post! )

DS is 14 weeks. At 8 weeks he clusterfed (and had reflux) and I didn't even attempt a routine. I find even now that if I don't let him feed as much as he wants in the evening then he wakes more frequently in the night as he's hungry.

It's a pain for your evening meal (I often end up eating out of large pasta bowls as it's easier to do one-handed and have been known to eat a roast dinner with a spoon to avoid dropping gravy on DS!) and also a pain for your evenings with DH - in the sense that you don't get one as the baby feeds so long that you go to bed at the same time!

In fact, DS still only goes to bed about 10pmish after eating for ages so Im hoping he'll soon grow out of that!

DS1 was refluxy and colicy until 11 weeks, when the screaming suddenly stopped (he had also started on Gaviscon that week too), although the reflux continued until 9 months. We didn't bother with a routine until 3 or 4 months if I remember rightly. TBH if he fell asleep and stayed asleep for more than 5 minutes without waking up screaming, we were grateful. If you were me, I'd say go with whatever for the meantime, until things settle down a bit. Reflux is hard, so go with whatever gets you through the day. Congrats btw

Thanks guys, nice to know we're not going insane and other people have been through this and lived to tell the tale!!

Kat - just to say it does get better. I used to get freaked out by the amount of sick in the early days, but I soon got used to that and all the washing! If you think your LO is in pain with it, go see a doctor, there are meds to help with managing the pain. Other than that, get lots of muslins, bibs, keep your lo upright for 20 minutes after a feed (a PITA, but it seemed to work here) and try different things - smaller feeds more frequently worked for us too. Good luck and they do grow out of it. Lots of other strategies for dealing with reflux - tilting cot etc. Have a google.

I wouldnt worry about routines yet. Just make evening times low key, dim lights, quiet-ish, maybe a warm bath and a gentle massage or just cuddle and a feed. My first baby was very reflux-ey and we didn't put him in his cot for the first part of the evening, just put him in his bouncer in a more upright position and let him doze (he definitely found this more comfortable).

Yes it's still a bit early for a routine. My DD used to cluster feed of a night time until about 12 weeks when we started a bath and bed routine at 7pm. It still took up to an hour or so to settle her and then she would wake again at 10 for another feed but it was a start!
She didn't start to go asleep by herself at 7pm until about 6 months but now at 18 months she is really good at settling herself.
These early days are really hard but she will settle into a routine in the end.
Also DD was sick several times after every feed until about 6/7 months old. It's surprising how quickly you decide that actually its not worth the effort of changing clothes that have been sicked on.