5 week old waking every two hours for a feed

[doodledancing]

I know this isn't unusual but he's done this every night since birth and it's beginning to really take its toll.
He's breastfed and has a bottle of formula as his feed before bedtime which gives us three hours before he wakes for another feed.
He's quite a windy baby and often the winding wakes him up too so I end up spending an hour or two trying to get him back to sleep at 2am.

My daughter used to wake every 3-4hours during the night. I think she tricked us into thinking newborns were easy!

Does anyone have any tips of how to make him last a little longer between feeds or is it just a case of riding it out? He won't take a dummy and I try my finger but I genuinely think he is hungry.

This is such a hard stage when they won't settle. I know this is basic stuff as you've already had a baby but is he definitely warm enough? He may be waking easily because he's a little chilly, especially as the temperature is dropping at the moment.

Other than that I have no advice, 5 weeks is still very young, his routine may change in a couple of weeks and give you a little extra sleep 🤞

Sounds completely normal for me as a stage when breast milk flow is still being established. The formula might actually be working against you by preventing biochemical feedback process working effectively to let your body know how much milk is needed.

@doodledancing
Oh I feel for you, you must be exhausted!!

I experienced exactly the same thing with dd who is now 3! I used cow and gate hungry baby milk (after persevering with standard formula and breast - I combination fed) and it worked a treat. I'd definitely try some of that.

In terms of the wind, have you thought about a baby massage class? That can be really useful as the massaging before bed helps baby relax and they often release wind when you're doing it. I was a bit unsure but it was really good - when we went to the class it was funny to hear all the little babies trumping!!!

I'm expecting my second in January so it'll be me again soon!!!

My dd did this for a few months, she was quite small when born 5lb 8oz. My HV explained to me that her stomach was prob the size of a walnut so she couldn’t take in much milk so needed to be fed little and often. I feel for you OP, it’s so so soooo tiring, but it will pass. My dd is now 10, and the tallest in her class, she also eats like a horse

Sadly this sounds totally normal. Don't believe everyone in real life who tells you their babies are fab sleepers. For some reason this is something that other mums feel the need to lie about! X

How are feeding the baby at night, position wise? I found that if I fed mine lying down he needed less/no winding and was also much quicker to go to sleep. It won't give you extra time between feeds but it might make it quicker for everyone to go to sleep after a feed.

This is completely normal, but feel for you as it's tough. Agree with pp the formula might be making it worse in terms of regulating your supply, and there is no evidence formula helps babies sleep better

Two hours between feeds for a newborn is normal. Tough for you, but normal.

Just ride it out. Get extra sleep when you can. And remember that they aren't newborn for ever.

It is completely normal, and in fact sounds quite good compared to my DD2 who literally would only asleep attached to my breast and wouldn’t settle at all after 4am.
Despite being normal it’s tough . It won’t last forever. Try and sleep/rest as much as you can between feeds.

I wouldn't wake him to wind him.

If he falls asleep leave him asleep and go back to sleep yourself, if he is windy the wind will wake him at some point and you can wake up and wind him then.

The bottle of formula might be meaning you aren't doing the important cluster feeding bit in the evening that builds supply.

How does he feed during the day? If his feeds are further apart during the day, I would make you sure you wake him for a feed every two hours. Make sure it is a decent feed, if he drops off during it wake him, wind him and put him on the other breast.
I'd also consider switching the bottle to a different time of day, and maybe give him expressed breastmilk instead of formula. Babies that age often cluster feed during the evening which means they sleep for a longer stretch at the beginning of the night.
I never woke mine for winding, I fed them lying on my side and if they dozed off, I just let them sleep. It didn't seem to make any difference to their sleep at all.