6 week old wakes in night & won't go back to sleep

[smurfett]

My 6 week old son is waking for his 4am feed & won't go back to sleep, he suffers from a lot of wind (I am giving him dentinox), so it is a long process of feed, wind, feed, wind & he nods off for a couple of minutes in between & this goes on till 6am by which time he is wide awake & by 7.30am he wants feeding again so it is the whole feed, wind again. He has been doing this for the last 4 nights, I thought at first he was having a growth spurt but I have read somewhere that they only last 1 to 2 days is this correct? Could it be a longer growth spurt?
Also during the day he is only having naps of 10 - 20 minutes at a time & wants feeding every 1 1/2 hours (I breastfeed during the day & bottle feed on a night).
Any suggestions for getting him back off to sleep would be greatly appreciated, I am desperate for more than 4 hours sleep a night.
Thank you.

My 6 week old son is waking for his 4am feed & won't go back to sleep, he suffers from a lot of wind (I am giving him dentinox), so it is a long process of feed, wind, feed, wind & he nods off for a couple of minutes in between & this goes on till 6am by which time he is wide awake & by 7.30am he wants feeding again so it is the whole feed, wind again. He has been doing this for the last 4 nights, I thought at first he was having a growth spurt but I have read somewhere that they only last 1 to 2 days is this correct? Could it be a longer growth spurt?
Also during the day he is only having naps of 10 - 20 minutes at a time & wants feeding every 1 1/2 hours (I breastfeed during the day & bottle feed on a night).
Any suggestions for getting him back off to sleep would be greatly appreciated, I am desperate for more than 4 hours sleep a night.
Thank you.

Ohh I feel your pain my daughter used to be pretty bad for this but is better (she is now 11.5 weeks).

Are you putting him down when he sleeps during the day? i.e. in pram/pushchair/moses basket/crib ? Sorry if it is an obvious question but I used to let my daughter sleep on me as its nice and snuggly and comfortable for me as well however since I have been putting her down during the day she sleeps even less during the day and sleeps longer at night and when she makes around 4am I pick her up as soon as she grisles, feed, break the feed half way through for nappy change, then carry out feeding and I find winding on the shoulder gets her to sleep quicker...

I used to use Infacol (same thing as Denitox but orange flavour). My DD spat out Infacol, however with Denitox I put it in her milk rather than give it to her orally. I also don't talk to her and keep the lighting really low...

Sorry if you have tried these things I'm hoping she will sleep though soon

Have you tried a dummy? Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but if you are desperate for some sleep...

We also with ds1 used a dummy at night until he was about 4months. We also warmed his moses basket with a hot water bottle (removing it before he went in) and used to lie him on dh's tshirt he's worn that day so he had comforting warm smell that was familiar but he didn't associate with food.

It will get better soon as his stomach gets bigger and he'll be able to take more milk and sleep longer. We used to equate every extra ounce with another hour of sleep! Ds also slept better on his front when he was windy and when they get older they turn over themselves anyway.

Dh used to do the graveyard shift every Friday & Saturday night so I would stay sane and human for the rest of the week!

Thank you for all your suggestions.

Unfortunatley for me my husband works away for 2 weeks out of every month & this is the first week he has gone back to work after the birth so I was managing all feeds on my own (until my mum came to stay the other night to give me a bit of a break & we have decided that every other night she will either stay with me or I will stay with her).

I pick him up as soon as he grizles then change his nappy before feeding so I will try your suggestion of changing nappy part way through feed tonight, I already do as you all do including using a dummie. I will most definatly try the hot water bottle trick tonight & I could try his dad's t-shirt but it wont be warm.

Fortunatly he seems to have calmed back down a little now & is not feeding quite as often, so maybe it was an extended growth spurt or maybe he is just missing his daddy.

I stayed at my mum's last night & she was giving him a dreamfeed at 11pm whilst I went to bed & he didnt wake till 5am & I thought this is great we have cracked it (only 2nd time of dream feed) but then she told me he woke at 2.30am & she quickly picked him up & fed him so as not to wake me, so no such luck of him sleeping through.

The HV came yesterday & she said hopefully he will not be so windy by 12 weeks so then he shouldnt wake himself as much & will hopefully sleep through.
She also suggested giving him one or two ff through the night along with the breast bottle feeds I am already giving him in the middle of the night which may help him go back off & give me a bit more of a break. So last night we gave him a ff at 8pm my mum tried to give him a ff at 11pm but he hardly touched it then a breast bf at 2.30am & I gave him a breast bf at 5am then back on the breast at 8am. I was reluctant to be doing so many bottle feeds but I suppose needs must for my sanity.

Any suggestions for trying to help my ds extend the length of time he is asleep through the night would be greatly appreciated.

Also when I put him back in his crib & he wakes making noises after 5 - 10 mins because he has wind & I pick him up to wind him do you think this is disturbing him too much? How many times can I go on doing this through the night!
Thanks.

Would suggest you buy book "Solve Your Childs Sleep Problems". It is aimed at slightly older children, but really explains how sleep works & saves lots of grief in the long run.
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/0863181228/ref=pd_bbs_sr_olp_4/026-5284791-2258858?ie=UTF8&s=gatew ay&qid=1188556411&sr=8-4

Be reassured that this stage will pass very quickly & you will get used to sleeping in several shorter bits. I never used ff or bottles (couldn't express) - so no bottle heating/cooling issues - means no one else could feed, but got into routine - as they grow they do sleep longer, so just enjoy those times in the middle of the night when you have baby to yourself & all is quiet.

the only way i get any rest is cosleeping. you dont have to be a mad hippy to do it and they wont still be in bed with you when they are 16 i promise. keeps me sane(ish)

I do really enjoy breastfeeding & really didnt want to cut down on it/give it up & was quite upset at the thought of it but as the HV said if it makes things a little easier & less exhausting for me then it means a happier ds in the long run.

Thank you for the link I will certainly try to get the book.

We did do a little co-sleeping when my dh was home but I had my reservations about doing it on my own but I may just give it a go see if it helps at all.

Thanks.