6 week old unsettled at night and waking almost every hour!!

[Laur2017]

Hi all, new to Mumsnet and to this parenting thing! My DS is nearly 6 weeks old, and has never really slept more than 2 hours in a row at night. The last few nights though he has woken up hourly and sometimes every 40/50 mins!! I'm breastfeeding (although have just been diagnosed with mastitis which is very painful!) and I think sometimes he wakes up and he just uses the boob to soothe himself and goes back to sleep after a couple of minutes. Also, when I lay him back in his Moses basket, he will be quiet for a few minutes then will start grunting, squeaking and I can hear him almost wretch but he swallows it back down and is not being sick much. This still happens even after I keep him upright for 15/20 mins after a feed and I have placed a towel under his mattress to elevate it slightly, as per the advice of my health visitor. This grunting then turns into crying and waking me up!
Is this constant night feeding part of a 6 week growth spurt or something? Is it normal?!
Additionally forgot to say, in the early part of the evening some days he screams for a good few hours, not even milk will help! I think it could be colic, but not sure - I'm seeing the health visitor in the next few days so will ask!
Any advice would be great or people who have experienced the same thing, when did it get easier and when did you get more sleep at night, I feel like a zombie most of the time!
Thanks fellow mumsnetters!

Sounds like silent reflux. Can you talk to your GP about it?

Thank you for the quick reply @Rtmhwales!
I have thought about silent reflux, is there anything you'd recommend to help with it? I have a doctors appointment next week for our 6 week check up so will ask then! Is the frequent feeding at night and crying in the evening a sign of silent reflux too? Thank you for your help!

Is the frequent feeding at night and crying in the evening

Is a sign of the 6 week growth spurt.

Have a read up of the 4th trimester.

@TittyGolightly how long does the 6 week growth spurt go on for? Is it normal for DS to feed so frequently trough the night then? It feels like my eyes are going to fall out of my! 🤪

Totally normal. Lasts a couple of weeks, from memory.

The wonder weeks app is helpful.

Can you nap when your baby does?

Definitely sounds like silent reflux, especially if he is wretching and then swollowing. Constantly crying and feeding for comfort are also common symptoms.

I bottle fed my eldest who had it, but a dummy definitely helped to comfort him. You need to keep him upright longer after a feed, I'd say a minimum of half an hour!

The GP can prescribe infant gavisgon which basically thickens the stomach contents. There is also ranitadine which is an antacid that worked wonders for my son. Gripe water is also a natural antacid, so you could try that before/after a feed.

Keep your baby as upright as much physically possible. I used to have my boys sleep upright against my chest. My eldest was only really happy being upright in his bouncer, car seat and pushchair. He hated the moses basket and carry cot because he was flat.

Thank you @TittyGolightly, I've just downloaded the app! I'm not very good at napping in the day, I need to try though!

Thank you @Fatted, that's interesting advice! It's hard to keep him upright for so long especially at night when I'm falling asleep! Is gripe water something that's used for colic as well as silent reflux? I don't know why it's called 'silent' reflux, he's definitely not silent at night!!

It's called silent because they're still bringing stuff up but just not projectile vomiting everywhere!!

It is hard keeping them upright so long, especially when you are tired, but it does help them to settle for the longer term if that makes sense. If I couldn't sit holding my DS I used to put him in his bouncer after a feed in the day. Obviously not great at night!

That makes sense, is it something that goes with time? And did you try using gripe water?

Don’t think gripe water can be used before 12 weeks.

6 week growth spirt. Happened with me. Thought I was going to go crazy haha. It'll pass

Thank you @Annalogy! I think I'm going crazy too, he's now not really even settling in the day! How long did it last for you?

Just wanted to say you aren’t alone’ my 8 week old is exactly the same as this. Definitely silent reflux. Gaviscon hasn’t worked for us so trying something else as soon as cam get into see the GP. Am hoping it’s one of those things which improves with age

Ok both mine were like this. With my first, at 7 weeks he was waking every 40 minutes. I started co sleeping. Immediate improvement.

My second, I planned to co sleep. He had silent reflux quite badly so what happened was I sat upright with him for about 3 weeks until he was prescribed ranitidine, which really helped. Also the sleepyhead worked well for him too. As did the dummy!

Adding as haven't seen it mentioned yet. Swaddle helps tremendously and if you're not averse to the idea, a bottle of formula at night only. Might help you get 3 or 4 hours of rest. Kudos to you for the breastfeeding. I didn't manage with either of mine, despite trying. 12 weeks is much better.