Going out of my mind!!

[user1478639495]

Have 2 week old baby bloody gorgeous but my god all he does is feed!!!! I'm trying to breast feed but waste of fine have to top him up with formula he won't sleep settle through the night only in the day when we're out and it's not possible for me to catch some zzzz's.

The other evening he fed in me for 3 hours then had a 120ml bottle this morning after feeding every hour off me from 3am he had 120 ml expressed milk and 120ml formula only then was he satisfied 🤦🏻‍♀️

I am f**king exhausted! I went to out of hours gp today cuz I felt so run down and I'll!

Pls don't get me wrong I love my baby to bits but I'm struggling to cope! All I do is feed him either off me or a bottle he so t sleep pls help any ideas! Any one else in the same boat?

Ps feeling pretty fed up right now I've been up feeding every half hour since 11.30 I went to bed at 11 and he's just kicked my expresser off my other boob and over half that milk had been split.....argh!!!!!!

Do you have to go out in the day? I would give up on outings for now and stay home and snooze, while continuing to try to teach day/night rhythms, ie curtains open and noise during day, dark and whispers at night. And as many visitors as possible to bring food/do chores/hold the baby while you sleep.

It gets better. At that stage I just sat on the sofa for hours feeding the baby, watching box sets and having people bring me food. That's all you can really do! Is there a particular reason why you need to express? I did very early on because DD couldn't feed enough with her jaundice but as soon as I could stop I did as it was a faff and an unnecessary complication. If you don't need to do it perhaps that would be one less thing to worry about? You can do this!

Also mixed feeding is great but for some people it could backfire at this early stage as your body might not get signals to make enough milk. I don't know your situation though. Good luck!

It is exhausting , I sympathise. I agree with pp that until he has built up your supply and got a bit bigger this is what it is like. You can't do much else. His stomach is tiny.the best advice I can give you is to go along with your baby's requirements for now and to accept them; dozing and napping when you can. Are you having to express and topup for medical reasons? Because that is all adding to the effort.

Thanks all, I'm still going, since I out this thread up it's been every hour feeding he's not slept as well as me it's now 11am this has been constant for 12 hours I really am losing my mind now. I express the same time as I feed on the opposite boob so my other half can give him a bottle in the evening before bed so I can try get a tiny block of sleep, even if it's 2/3hours but it's not working so I've give up now he's feeding every hour so just switching sides.

He falls asleep on me and soon as I put him down he cries and wants more milk even tho I don't think he's actually hungry more a comfort thing how do I get out of this?

The reason for going out is to keep me a bit sane, get cabin fever being stuck indoors and also it's the only time he will sleep in the car or the pram. And also I have a toddler so he needs fresh air also. It was hard with my first but not like this. I agree their tummies are small but mine, I mean he's had milk off me for 2 hours then a bottle of 240ml in total on top that's a lot for a tiny tummy!

I'm trying so hard to get out the house get the pram get some clothes on so he might sleep but so far I've managed one wee. Even then he was crying. Sounds daft but I struggle to go to the loo, have a shower, grab food which I think is why I felt ill so I'm trying to look after myself but fuck it's hard.

I don't want to sound ungrateful or moan I know I'm so lucky but I feel like a failure right now I'm not good enough for my baby I can't settle him, how crap 😣

Ps we have family to 'help' but being totally honest I still can't nap when their here cuz they want to chat or I feel rude if I disappear for a nap. Sorry just need to vent to ppl who get it 😣😣😣

I totally get it , my second child was a nightmare at first. I do think though that if I were you I would concentrate on getting the breastfeeding going before complicating matters. I used to get to the park in the mornings and let my toddler fiddle around for hours while the baby suckled and occasionally had a nap. It took it out of the whole family . Your baby is still tiny , I think you should prioritise yourself and your children and tell your family to help or go away for a few weeks until you are on more of an even keel.

You should definitely be firm with the relatives, which is easier said than done I know.

Sure you are doing a great job. Some babies just don't settle I think!