Struggling

[rosieroox]

Mum to my 2 yo and nearly 2 week old

im ebf and basically just not sleeping. The longest stretch baby has done is 2 hrs but then it’s back to basically hourly wakings

i know she’s still young and I’m unsure if BF makes babies wake more (DS was formula fed from birth and I do remember he did 3 hr stretches sometimes in the early days )

she doesn’t lmskeep much at all and today she has fed none stop. Since midnight we’ve had 2x 2 hour chunks but one was the night, my 2yo woke at 5.30 her second chunk was before his mid day nap

so I haven’t caught up on sleep I feel drained

im very lucky I have Healthy kids and that I am a mum of 2 amazing kids! I am just tired and feel like I’m in a sleep deprivation zone and thinking about when I’ll ever get some sleep again :(

Hi there! Breastfeeding is challenging in them early days as baby tends to cluster feed to get up supply. This is just a phase and once they have found themselves regulated this will die down 😊 BF or FF makes no difference to sleep my BF baby was doing 8 hour stretches by about 6 weeks old (don't worry they are making up for it now after some lovely regressions and teething 😂). But there is no harm in pumping milk and giving a bottle to baby so someone else can take baby for a little bit to allow you to rest. I had to start pumping when LO was 5 days old due to weight gain issues (jaundice /low birth weight, / early) and as long as you ensure you don't totally skip a feed (I maybe wouldn't go more than 2-3 hours without a feed or a pump) it's fine to pump that early although I know people say not to untill feeding is established. Good luck, hope you get some rest soon!

It's also fine to formula feed if that's what you feel is best for you. Fed is best and happy mum, happy baby. I do agree you're right in the middle of the toughest bit feeding wise, and from 6 weeks ish it normally gets a bit easier, but go with whatever feels best for you and your situation.

Thanks so much everyone. Had an afternoon of cluster feeding which has nearly gotten to me

im trying to be patient with myself too i had a c section and its been hard trying to act like everything’s normal i dont want my 2yo to be upset or out of routine :(

I exclusively formula fed DS so i have nothing against formula so if i ever wanted to switch there definitely isnt anything stopping me

i guess I just want to try a few weeks and see if it gets a bit easier but reading to it seems it will and i kind of just need to hang in there