middle of night feed takes 3 hours

[Wildpoppy]

i have mix fed 6 week old. seems to work like this:

she wakes 6am. we breastfeed for about 40 mind. wind her. put her to bed. she sleeps for ten then wakes crying. change nappy (always very full), wind her again. sleep a bit. wake again, wind again. feed her bottle top up. then wind again. repeat the unsettledness until about 3 hours after initial waking.

or a variant thereof (including sometimes my falling asleep while bf for half hour).

how can i make this shorter? to start with i though just hungry and not getting enough from me. but even when i give top up straight after bf the sleep/wind/sleep cycle continues. and we are winding for quite a long time so think we are getting a lot up (though she is a windy baby)

she likes being alert at that time though even though i try to keep lights low and not engage too much. changing nappy wakes her properly too but it is usually too full to ignore.

Hi not sure how to shorten the middle of the night feed sorry but 6am wake up is pretty good. My only advice would be to try not to change her nappy unless it is soiled. I changed my first borns nappy all the time when she was a baby - after every feed actually and she was unsettled sleeper. When I had my second I realised that you don't wake them to change their nappy when they sleep through so why do it just because they are having a feed.And he was a much better sleeper! Good nappies should last the night. I have always used Huggies superdry at night. Good luck - it doesn't last forever.

A 6am wake up is normal. I'd get her up for the day. It's tough but you get used to it and it changes. If she seems windy, she might not want lying down especially after being flat for the night. Can you try getting her up, popping her in a bouncy chair while you get ready. She'll probably be ready for a nap after being awake for an hour so you can feed then rest again.

Middle of night wakings - again normal for such a young baby as they don't work out the night/day difference until a few more weeks in some case.

Also it's worth considering whether the formula is making her windy. Cows milk can be a bit difficult to digest for some babies. Perhaps switch to a comfort milk or try without for a week and see what happens. Little babies when BF like to feed for comfort too not just hunger which can be confusing.

Sorry I meant she wakes at 3am and is awake until 6am. Addled brain...

When you say she feeds for 40 mins, does she come off herself or does she fall asleep whilst bf. Do you give her both sides? Sorry just trying to remember what I did as mine was a marathon feeder taking what seemed like hours in the middle of the night. And what time is her feed before 3am? It may be worth waking her for a feed about 11pm (which many people refer to as the dream feed) to fill her up and then when she wakes for the 3am she may not be as hungry. Alternatively take her to bed with you at 3am and let her feed and sleep with you - at least you will both get some sleep. I didn't do this as a general rule with mine but there were certainly nights when I was just too tired to sit up and try and feed and deal with a baby who wouldnt sleep. They will always happily sleep snuggled next to your boobs!

Ah yes my DS had terrible bum wind at that time and would want feeding. Back rubbing/patting didn't help. Best thing was, post feed, sitting him face out on my chest (I'd be leaning back), then gently bring his knees to his chest - straight up and across ways. It would get a few farts out.

He also had reflux so dairy in my diet caused a lot of the problem. He's 16 months now and still suffers from bum wind at night so have o be careful what he eats.

If you google baby farts - the manual release method, there's a YouTube video from April 09 which shows you how to get the bum wind out. Really really works!

Also tummy time before bedtime helps too - only a few mins and before a feed.

Thank you will try that. She usually has big feeds at about 6 and 11 and a smaller one about 8 yet is still hungry middle of night. I say that but truth is there's no pattern yet - maybe our lack of routine is a problem.

She's only little so don't worry about routines and that. Just feed when she's hungry and ignore any books you might have read! She only has a little tummy so can't take too much.