Still awake with newborn

[HashtagTired]

Part 2 ... everyone welcome

feed 1 here too but ds has been grunting away for over an hour. and only been in bed since 11. we were out for a meal too. Fed throughout the meal (boob out at table in restaurant! yes ) but has barely napped all day so is def over tired. Think it will be a bad night

Feed 1. Yawn.

We had our first visit from the health visitor today. Lovely lady but she could talk the hind leg off Ewan! Was bombarded with info about breastfeeding that I already have, already know and have already put into practice. I guess they have a new policy to do that?

She also clocked our sleepyhead in the living room. Cue worried frown. 'Are you using that at night?' 'Er, yes?' 'It's unsafe, you really shouldn't!' Thing is, sleepyhead was a lifesaver with DD and DS has taken to it well. I've googled it loads and can't find any firm evidence to back up the danger element. But obvs I'm now paranoid and worried, does anyone else have a sleepyhead?

feed number 2. feed 1 just thrown up. groan

Feed #3
1 h 30

Cosleeping now. Tired

Feed #3. Thought he didn’t take enough in at the last feed - confirmed now by short time between feeds. I want sleep.

My DS woke up an hour and a half ago and is still awake. I’m on my third attempt to feed to sleep but he just won’t let himself sleep.

I’m trying my best at not getting frustrated but it’s wearing a bit thin.

Me too @MeepMoop! Am about to try for the fourth time to put him in the cot...getting very tired of this.

It’s so frustrating isn’t it.

He’s now fallen asleep on me but I’m scared to do the transfer so am going to leave him a little bit longer to see if he goes into a deeper sleep.

Meanwhile my DH and dog are snoring merrily next to me..

DD last fed at 9.30, fussed until 10.30 when she fell asleep, and didn’t wake until 3.30 for a feed... so skipped a feed.
Is this ok in a 5 week old?? Should I have woken her?? She had a really good feeding day yesterday so maybe that just enabled her to sleep longer before waking for food?

💤💤💤💤💤💤💤
Feed #4
1h 30

perxy i have a sleepyhead and actually brought one on the advice of people here on MN as DS wouldnt sleep. He now sleeps much better.

Naturally now i am worried.....

Hi everyone. I'm after some advice - I had my baby boy on Monday and came home last night. I'm breastfeeding and have no issue with supply but in hospital he did have a couple of 21ml formula top up because they felt he wasnt giving enough wet nappies. Anyway since being home he's produced several wet and dirty nappies. Last night he slept from 7-11 pm and we woke him up to feed. Went to bed at midnight and he woke just before 1am didnt want much of a feed and went back to sleep until 1.55. Fed for only 10 min then slept 40 min. Fed 25 min.Then slept 3 hrs 20 min. until 6.30 am. Then through the day his feeds were 15-40 min at a time with 2 decent sleeps (2-3 hrs). Come evening it all changed. More or less from 8pm-1am he was on my breast. He'd dose off and when trying to put him down in his crip he'd cry and show signs of hunger after 5 min. However he was fine sleeping in my arms or on dh's chest. I managed to get him down at 1.40am and he woke at 3.40. I thought he eanteda feed but is asleep in my arms.
So is it normal to feed for 5 hours with very little breaks? Is he using me as a dummy and how do I tell the difference? Will a dummy mess with breastfeeding? (That's what mideofes in hospital said).
Sorry it's so long but first time mum and want to make sure I'm not starving my boy...

RE sleepyhead... my understanding is that there have been no deaths associated with sleepyhead itself but recently America ‘banned’ all sleep positioners and included sleep nests in that (which includes sleepyhead) due to a number of cot deaths associated with them.

UK have not banned them, however the lullaby trust does not endorse them and sticks to ‘should be on flat surface for sleeping’. This has not changed and has always been the case, but since the Americans banning them it’s caused concerns in UK too.

HVs and MW have a duty to tell you what you should be doing. However realistically I think a lot of people don’t strictly do what we are meant to. Judging my MN nearly everyone co-sleeps at some point and or uses sleepyhead, I certainly do. I made a judgement call that I would take the risk of co-sleeping and/or sleepyhead over not getting any quality sleep and risking falling asleep with baby on the sofa or driving my car.

In summary, make an informed choice that works for you and your family. Everything has risks and you just have to weigh them up.

Disclaimer- it’s 4.30am and I can’t be bothered to get links to the things I have said so please do your own research as well rather than relying on my memory!

Hello Sakura and welcome! My DS cluster fed for a while when we got back from hospital. They do it purposely to build up your milk supply. They will usually do this at growth spurts too. So all sounds normal! My DS fed 11pm til 5am a few times. Was exhausting but doesnt go on forever.

I havent opted for a dummy but plenty here have so are better placed to advise when is a good time to introduce.

@Jellybabies3 thank you for replying. That's so reassuring to hear as a new mum you have absolutely no clue and question your own ability x

Hello Sakura03
my DS who is now 7 weeks old was very similar. as previous poster said regular feeding is to build up your supply so it's totally normal. in fact mine Fed pretty much constantly from 2 weeks - 6 weeks
very hard work but it doesn't last forever. there may be times when he feeds for comfort but at such a young age that's also ok. the world out of the womb is a big and scary place after all. there were two phrases that really helped me too so i shall share. first was 'you can't over feed a bf baby and the other ' you can't spoil a newborn' so hug, feed and comfort away.
of course any concerns it's worth checking with health visitor but sounds like you are doing a great job.
regarding the dummy you will get lots of mixed advice. I know many babies that use them and they haven't interfered with bf. some babies like dummies others don't really take to them.

This is a horrible night for us. DD soaked through her nappy, blanket and sheet. Now she is being a nightmare to feed, she has just taken 6oz over the course of 2 hours but I’m not sure how much of that she has actually taken as the milk is pouring down her chin.

This is something that is getting worse, we are using Tommee tippee bottles. Tonight I changed the test from a 1 teat to a vari. It didn’t make any difference. Her clothes are soaked and she needs another change. Do I need to change the type of bottle?

mummarosie1 I was advised by hv that until ds regained his birth weight to not let him go more than 3 or so hours between feeds but after that when he was providing he was doing wet and dirty nappies and getting at least 8
or so feeds in a day that it was ok to leave for longer over night and enjoy any sleeo baby allows you to have (which lets face it isn't much!!) advice might be different for you depending on your little one but hope sharing what I was told helps in some way.

theotherendofthesockportal can't help with bottles im afraid but hope your little one settles soon for you.

Up again... Please let him go back to sleep after this haha

How do you settle baby after a change in the night ? I had to change clothes and gro bag 2 hours ago due to the biggest explosion ever and have been up for past 2 hours trying to settle !!!! He keeps feeding a bit and being sick too, obviously is full DS always thinks change time is play time.

@Meepmoop I have a sleepyhead I don’t think there is anything wrong with it aslong as you don’t put things inside that could wedge up in between the baby and if they are on their back. Obviously professional advice is in a cot with sheets tucked in as the risk probably increases with sleep aids so they have to advise against. Mine needs to go on eBay however as DS will only sleep on me

Up again and feed #4 for us. DS is still so congested it breaks my heart to hear him shuffle away. We figured out that the saline solution would make him throw up as he’d swallow all the mucus so we’re a bit weary to give him any now but hearing him struggle to breathe isn’t great either and is stopping him sleeping well.

@Sakura03 it sounds like you’re doing everything right and responding to your baby’s cues for food by giving her what she wants which is perfect. I’m a first time mum too and my DS is now 5 weeks, it all gets so much easier as your confidence grows day by day and it’s all totally overwhelming at the beginning with trying to do it right. I felt like I didn’t have a clue half the time but trust your instincts as they’re usually right. Can’t advise on the dummy as I’ve never used one but I’m sure other people will have some good advice.

@WhoAteAllthePercyPigs we were going to buy a sleepyhead but decided against it in the end, mainly due to the price. I must admit I was a bit scared off by the stuff in the news too but then if DS wasn’t sleeping well in his cot I think I probably would have bought one to try anyway. Luckily though he’s pretty happy on his back in a sleeping bag in his cot. The advice about using a sheet would never have worked for DS though as he always kicked off every blanket right from the start so we’d have had a pretty cold little baby! Don’t worry about the SH thiugh, millions of parents use them safely and as a PP has said I don’t think there’s been any deaths linked to them, only s handful linked to sleep positioners.

@Lovingtyrells yikes, double grobag change can’t have been fun! Is he unsettled as in gristlibg or just really awake? Sometimes rocking my DS or walking round with him helps and sometimes he hates both of those things ha. Maybe if he’s feeding but being sick you could put your little finger in his mouth so he can comfort suckle on that?

Feed #63758392
It feels a bit like captains log on the starship enterprise.

Last night we coslept all night and it’s the last time I’m doing that! He woke every 1-2 hours for a feed and whilst it was easier lying down it’s way more than normal. Maybe he could smell it?

Also, my goodness he’s a wriggler!

Morning everyone, here’s ☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️ for everyone. Squash for me, as I don’t drink tea or coffee.