Is this all within the realms of normal for a 6 week old FF baby??

[BotBotticelli]

Just need some reassurance that what my 6 week old ds is doing is "normal" - whatever that means! He is my second child so you would think I would remember all this/be more confident but I can't help thinking that I am getting it all wrong!

• he feeds every 2.5 to 3 hours day and night. 5oz of formula each time. Sometimes he will treat us to a 4 hour gap at night but usually it's 3 hours. He is a big baby 9lb6 at birth, almost 12lb now. I am feeding him on demand but I am just a bit worried that he is still feeding so frequently....shouldn't a FF baby be stretching out his feeds a bit by now? I have tried giving a 6oz bottle instead but he just ends up leaving an ounce!

• he cries and fusses all evening even when he has a full belly. He is windy and colicky (as was my first son) and between 6pm and midnight will only settle/sleep if me or DH cuddles him on the sofa.

Is this creating a rod for our own backs? Will he grow out of this phase by himself and start settling in his crib in the evenings soon??

• he only poos once per day and spends a lot of other time straining and crying as if wanting to poo. His poo is normal when he does go (think korma sauce). Does this sound ok?

• he has been asleep since 11am this morning (now 4pm) just waking twice to feed at noon and 3pm and has gone straight back to sleep afterwards. I keep worrying that I should wake him up, to prevent him being awake all night?? But my instincts tell me not to wake a 6 week old, if he is waking for feeds but going straight back to sleep afterwards. Plus his brother will come home from nursery at 5 and then he will no doubt be awake all evening with the noise in the house (not to mention the colicky crying)....so should I just leave him?? Is it normal for a 6 week old to sleep this much during the day? My first son never did I am sure.

• finally, he seems to suffer with his wind in the night and frequently wakes up crying but not hungry, just grizzling and farting! Will he grow out of this??

Thank you!!

I ff my dc and they (ds especially) used to go about as long between feeds - both were even sleeping 8+ hour stretches at night; they were still producing wet/pooey nappies and we're growing and putting weight on so I didn't worry about them not getting enough.

Both were windy and colicky; dd especially. We gave ds colief and dd had infant gaviscon for her reflux which seemed to help.
I used to do a massage on their tummies that helped release their wind and exercise with their legs (lifting the knees up to the chest and toes touching shoulders as well as bicycling the legs) also seemed to work.

I used to walk around for ages at a time, holding them in the 'tiger in the tree' position (Google it) which helped them sleep more comfortably when they were at their most colicky.

I never woke mine unless I had to either n I just enjoyed the peace while it lasted! I think dd slept more than ds to start with but then later on she was more unsettled with the reflux etc. Every baby's different do it's probably best not to compare, however difficult that is.

Don't worry about making a rod for your own back - you're giving your baby the love and comfort that he needs and he will grow out of this clingy, fussy phase. As his gut matures and he's able to bring up his own wind he'll be more comfortable and able to lay down more easily. He'll also grow in independence as he gets older and more inquisitive and will therefore be happier to be left for longer periods of time.

It's normal for them still to be having short gaps between feeds at six weeks. While it's true that lots of ff babies will go for longer, they don't all by any means. I think my eldest was about every 4 hours by that point, and youngest maybe 3-3.5ish. No experience of the wind or straining so can't speak to that.

I had a nightmare with feeding my DD for the first month or two. She was like your DC, feeding very frequently, was and still is a terrible sleeper, and struggled horribly with getting her wind up. I didn't know what to do because she seemed unhappy all the time, even if she was fed and changed etc. I used gripe water which worked a treat to help her with wind, but still she seemed grizzly and unhappy....turns out she had silent reflux, which was affecting her sleep as well as feeding. According to my doctor, reflux babies feed little and often because it can be painful for them to take larger amount in single sittings he prescribed gaviscon, which helped to a degree, but made her terribly constipated! When she was about 10/11 weeks old she seemed to be a lot more comfortable with feeding, started taking larger amounts at each feed, and was burping loud and proud! I asked my health visitor why she had all of a sudden snapped out of it, and she told me that sometimes babies' gullet and digestive systems aren't entirely matured at birth (especially if your baby was a little bit early), so they can struggle to keep milk in their tummies - something to do with the valve at the top of the stomach not being mature enough to close properly, stopping acid jumping up into the throat.
Reflux was definitely the problem for my DD...might be worth making an appointment with your GP just to rule it out?

ds is 12 weeks and is mix fed, but mostly formula in day. He still goes only 2-3 hours between feeds (although longer at night) and he also wakes himself up with wind at night sometimes. gripe water has definitely helped him

My babies are around the same age as yours and we were having a lot of the same issues. We changed them to comfort milk and its dramatically reduced the grunting and straining. They poo more regularly too.

Mine go 3-4 hours between feeds and sleep most of the time too. My health visitor said its ok for them to go upto 5 hours in the day between feeds but they are like little alarm clocks.

Definitely give the comfort milk a go.