Help to settle 16day old baby after Feeds

[84Stephy]

Hi, I have another post about switching to hungry baby food but have came to realise that this is not good for my baby boy at his age & might not be the issue. He is 16days old & in first 2wks he settled down & was sleeping through the night with prob a 3 or so hour pattern & going back to sleep quite easily. Since the weekend it's been hell. He is on 4oz, usually finishes it occasionally just leaves a tiny bit, sometimes wants more. But he does not settle to sleep after this. I bought a cocoonababy for the crib & he was fine in this initially but now goes mad. He is better in the Moses basket in our living room. This is where I have slept or tried to sleep the last few nights. He just won't fall asleep with out being cradled, as if he fights the sleep. Last night he fed at 12.30am & took until after 2am to settle, falling asleep in my husbands arms. The night before he fed at 11.30pm & it was 2ish again before settled & then he isn't sleeping long, like 1 or so hrs as he is then needing fed again. Help, how do you settle a baby to sleep after feeds?

Google the third trimester - it will explain why your baby is behaving the way they are. It's very normal for a newborn to want to sleep on you, they have just spent nine months inside you with constant contact. Do you have a co-sleeper?

Yes a few people have said this that he only knows inside of me so now he's becoming more aware it's very strange. Go add to the above we don't think he likes the dark or silence. He seems to settle a little more if we are both talking. He had a conversation over the crib/cocoonababy last night and he stopped righting and making loads of noise. Don't get me wrong we eventually had to lift him after about an hour but it's as if he needs comfort!

No I don't have a co-sleeper. I thought they were too expensive and not worth it, but maybe it is worth it now!

Hi, just wanted to say you're not alone. Both my DCs did something similar to this. DS is now 9 weeks and will always be up for 1-2 hours at 3am. I just change nappy, feed him, burp etc, once he's done put back in sleeping bag/ swaddle and either rock him, cuddle him or put back in Moses basket with dummy depending on what seems to settle him best at the time. I have a nightlight and would use it for night feed, try not to turn other lights on unless he has a dirty nappy. Your DS is still very young. Is it possible he's just coming out of the sleepy newborn phase? they can get their days and nights a bit mixed up to start with. I would just follow all the advice about keeping lights dim at night, no stimulation, don't talk to him etc and he'll get it eventually.

Can you take the side off the cot and strap it to your bed to make a co-sleeper and then put the cocoonababy in it so that you can keep your hand on him?

Babies can like white noise rather than silence because it's like what they would have heard in the womb. You could get an app or try a white noise machine thing or a Ewan the dreamsheep if you think he doesn't like the silence.

84Stephy - could you try the Cocoonababy in your bed and you can keep a hand on the baby? One of my twins started being like this after 2 weeks and I did this and I would keep really close he would then go to sleep. It will be more comfortable for you if husband goes and sleeps elsewhere. Obviously make sure your duvet is kept away at your waist and you have baby right up by the headboard. You can even start by having your arms all round baby whilst in Cocoonababy and as they settle just keep your hand.

Hi 84Stephy, you have my sympathies as my lo was exactly the same for the first 3/4 weeks. Unsettled between every feed and not able to settle to sleep, even on us most of the time. I'm not sure if your lo is unsettled to the point of screaming between feeding but my lo was and it was so hard, the constant soothing was relentless. She too would get over tired but just couldn't settle. She would eventually wear herself out around the 2am feed and we knew we had a few hours sleep time. We had limited success with white noise (Hoover sound and Ewan) and gentle bouncing on a birthing ball. A co sleeping crib and Sleepyhead were lifesavers. We went through a lot of trial and error (infacol/raising head or crib, different bottles etc) and luckily had a very supportive HV. We eventually switched to MAM anti colic bottles and comfort formula and she was like a different baby within a couple of days. She had always come across as hungry and un satisfied but in reality I think she was constantly full of wind and we were often feeding her wind which became a viscous cycle. Hang in there and I promise it will get better (I struggled to believe this at the time!) If you have any additional support to give you a break don't be afraid to use it - my mum was a lifesaver in the early weeks. Good luck and I hope some of this helps.

Thank you all. Some great advice and glad to see it's not just us. I'm going to up his btl to 5oz as the last few feeds he has taken the 4oz then we have made a full new btl a little time later maybe 30mins/1hr or so and he is taking like 20ml and falling asleep in my arms. At least if he doesn't want it I'm not wasting making a full new btl. This obviously doesn't happen every time. We had used the Moses basket in our living room with dimmed light age blackout curtains and he seems to sleep better in there. In our room we have a night light alarm we use but think it's still too dark for him! Might need to buy another. Even last week when he was settling we just took him out our room into the living room to fed and change him but always making it dark, no talking to jinx trying to establish it nighttime!

We only have a 2brm flat so if I chuck my hubby out of bed his on the couch as 2nd room is now nursery. Not sure if want to co-sleep with the cocoonababy in my bed. Maybe buying a co sleeper would be best as the crib we have is a raditional crib so side doesn't come off. I was actually thinking of just using the Moses basket in both living room and bedroom just now since he has been sleeping in it okay! Bring the crib & cocoonababy out in next few weeks!

Do you have a full sized cot in the nursery?

Fitting it in your room (even if that involves removing furnature to fit it in) with one side removed makes a great cosleeper. Also means you don't have to buy extra stuff that baby might not get on with anyway.

Yes have a full size cot but it's a cot bed and actually massive. I would really struggle with getting it in our room even if we remove other furniture. I can see how that would work with the cocoonababy and means I woudnt need to buy anything. I think il see if I can get a 2nd hand co-sleeper as already bought the crib but in the meantime I think we will use the Moses basket x

A cotbed makes an even better cosleeper precisely because it's so massive. It means there is plenty of room for you to cuddle into the cot from your bed.

Cotbed are also specif8calky designed to have the side removed so will be stable 3-sides.

Definitely worth removing a chest of drawers from your room into the nursery to make room for the cot, in my view.

I have the side off the cot, pushed up to me bed, with the sleepyhead in. I also have a foam wedge (wedgehog I think it's called) to raise the head as ds sufferers from reflux. If he likes noise maybe get him a musical.mobile (we have a Little chick one) or have the radio.on.