Support needed: awful night!

[Katekoom]

Had an awful night with 5 week dd. She had 3 hours then between 1:15am and morning 2x 45mins plus a few dribs and drabs of naps.

This was all down to wind. Bastard wind!! She writhed and screamed all night and i couldnt help her.

I've felt so miserable today, exhausted and like a failure. I know it will improve but any encouragement greatfuly received!!

It really will improve! Catch sleep where you can and trust that it will get better. Ask for support from your partner if possible.

I remember one evening when my 6 week old DD screamed what seemed like solidly from 8pm one night to about 6pm the next with wind. I felt utterly awful. However, it did pass and she ended up shortly afterwards sleeping right through.

I am sure you were doing all you could. Don't beat yourself up. Being a parent is bloody hard and I am sure you are doing a great job.

Have you tried infacol? Get it in your supermarket.

Also for my very windy squirmy boy-

Feed them very straight, use a pillow to help. Once fed leave them there for a good 10minutes to let the milk settle. Then wind-
We use to wind really quite high up on shoulder, then sat up holding on to their little chin and rubbing/patting back.

It's horrible, it does get better. Make sure you gab sleep where and when you can. Try and get out for aome fresh air too, it helps lift ones mood I think.

Also, I use to lay dd (2nd) baby on her side after a feed, and pop her up with a towel rolled into a sausage shape. She loved that. Passed wind beautifully!

Or try the cradle gold, tummy down on the flat of your arm/hand, face down.

Hold not gold!

I second infacol but getting pretty loose migrants from DD with it

Sorry movements not migrants

I was using infacol but felt that it was making it worse (??) so HV suggested gripe water which she's had for the first time today, im hoping for a better night tonight!

Which end is the wind? My ds suffered terribly with trapped farts and was up every hour until I started giving him probiotics each morning at 10 weeks, at which point he started just waking twice to feed. He now sleeps through every night and has done since 20 weeks (although we had to survive the 4 month sleep regression to get there!). I promise it does get better although when you are on that sleepless time it feels like it'll last forever. Good luck!

It is wind of the bum variety. Probiotics, interesting, i might try that, are there special baby ones?

Ooh! To help DD fart I used to lie her on her back and gently push together opposing knee and shoulder for about 20 secs. Usually used to make her fart, or poo. I think I read it on MN at the time and it really helped.

for you. The sleep deprivation is horrendous isn't it?

Thank you, wishing DH would wake and make me a brew!

I'll try the knee thing!

She did 4 hours tonight before I woke her, she was stirring and my boobs were going to explode, then back to sleep for an hour - but i can tell the wind was botheting her for that hour.

Whether she'll settle again is yet to be seen, she's feeding now.

I used to hold ds sort of upside down on my arm with his head in the crook of my elbow and his tummy resting on my hand with his arms and legs either side of my arm - Google search 'tiger in the tree hold'. It really helped with his trapped wind.
Another thing that helped was bicycling his legs and bringing his knees up to his chest.
You could also try a bit of gentle baby massage designed to ease colic and trapped wind.

There are loads of probiotics specially for babies - we use biogaia because they come in drop form. Bit pricy though.

Tummy massage and bicycle legs used to help us too. Clockwise circles after bath.

Have you been shown "I love U" tummy massage?

Lay baby on their back and gently but firmly stroke from lower left to top left if their tummy (the "I").
Then stroke from lower left, top left, top right (making an upside down " L" as in love).
Then stroke from lower left, top left, top right, lower right (upside down "U").
Repeat. You can also do this while holding your baby. I was taught by my MW and it usually resulted in a fart or poo.

Infacol and Gripe Water were in my house constantly, though hardly needed them. My mum used Gripe Water with the 5 of us!

Like Gunpowder said.
What they're describing sounds similar to what a doctor did to my nephew when my sister worried about his wind. She just twisted his hips and belly in a certain way. He burped and farted a lot, then settled, ha. His belly wasn't hard or bloated either.

Infacol isn't proven to do anything and even if it was, it would help only with burps (clumping air into bigger bubbles)

Could you get your hands on a battery operated swing suitable for a newborn? Very helpful to get a windy baby off to sleep.

If you are having bad nights, make a plan of action to look after yourself - get dp to make you a flask of the before he goes to bed. Go to bed yourself at 8pm and have dp look after baby out of earshot for as long as he can until late night bf is required. Have you got a comfy feeding place? Are you getting back to sleep once the baby does? Avoid bright screen time, listen to radio or podcast with earphones instead?

What you say about 4 hour sleep and your boobs exploding makes me wonder if feeding infrequently means she is getting a lot of foremilk which gathers when you get engorged and is sugary and causes wind and green poo

Perhaps either express some milk off after 2 hours or wake her after 3h? Seems counterintuitive but if she feeds after 3h then goes back to sleep, you will get more rest overall

Can you feed lying down? If you can so your night times in a spare bed or on a futon or dp sleeps on the sofa, cosleep and feed in the dark them settle her to sleep with her head slightly elevated, let her feed little and often without really waking, change nappy only if she poos, keep water beside the bed for y

Yourself and some snacks

Should be able to google bf lying down and safe cosleeping - you need a light fleecy blanket and some square cushions and the baby wears warm pjs so doesn't need a cover

Couple of good positions here

www.llli.org/faq/positioning.html

The best way I have found to settle a babies tummy is to give warm peppermint caffeine free tea via a syringe. Just a few drops.

I used it with my third and it was a revelation. I was desperate and I have got no idea why when this works so well for adults it's not recommended for babies.

In other countries they use camomile, aniseed etc. all great for getting rid if trapped wind at both ends.

www.babble.com/baby/sleep-soundly-with-baby/

Take care of yourself, give yourself permission to have a duvet day after a hard night. Looking after a baby isn't gradual progress - sometimes it gets easier for a while, then it's harder. There's a very good book by Naomi Stadlen called 'what mothers do'

Mothering a windy baby through the night is quite a task

The day after, don't try to be superwoman
Nurture yourself
Rest, eat properly, try to nap if you can

Xx

Thank you all for the support.
We've had a few good nights recently and the breastfeeding lying down is great. It also slows my flow which helps her to not choke and take in air on my fast flow.

I looked up peppermint tea and it affects babies nervous system or something which is why it isn't recommended.

Glad to hear that! It's a very previous time, for all the exhaustion and moments of self doubt and feeling overwhelmed. The both of you are getting used to the baby being in the outside (though still connected to you!) and though you can eat blue cheese now, your body is still the centre of the universe for your little one, so nurture yourself to nurture you both

X

Precious not previous!