My 10 week old doesn’t sleep much…

[Pickle50]

Let me start by saying I’m a first time mum to my DS. I’m at a loss around sleep.

We were in hospital for 5 days. He slept for 5 hours at a time there and I had to wake him lots for feeding. After getting home he started sleeping for much shorter times (30
mins to an hour) but was ok being put on his own in a Moses/crib (with me in the room).

From 4 weeks things have really changed. He can’t sleep in his crib in the day AT ALL. I’ve tried all the tips (shush pat, rocking, singing, massage, feeding, dummy, 5s etc…). He only wants contact naps. I wouldn’t mind so much if he slept at night…

At 7pm we do a simple bedtime routine and he will then sleep 2 1/2 hours in his crib but only if he’s fallen asleep on me or DH first. I go to bed at this time as well as it’s the only sleep I get.

Once awake from this sleep he only has tiny sleeps the remainder of the night. He will sleep about 30 mins at a time and will be wide awake after for at least 2 hours. This means I’m surviving on 2 hours a day. On the weekend DH will take him out in the pram and I nap for 1-2 hours.

Ive been using an app to track sleep and eating. He feeds approx 18 times a day and at least 5 of those last 45 mins-60 mins. He is ebf and has put on lots of weight but has bad reflux.

Im so tired. Any advice about his sleep? Thank you :)

Sounds really tough. I have a 13wk old EBF contact naps are normal so don't worry about that - almost forget about it as it's not an issue. Firstly, he doesn't need to nurse that much unless there's an issue with technique caused by tongue tie etc. what I expect is happening is that he cries or is fussy / unhappy and you respond by getting him to nurse and he then promptly falls asleep on the boob and sleepily nurses which is why some nursing sessions are so long. When he cries, it doesn't mean he's hungry, he's probably tired but because of the frequency of nursing he can now only sleep with a nipple in his mouth which is why he wakes so much at night. You have to break to feed to sleep habit I think as it's causing you problems so look at techniques on how to do that and also look at the EASY routine eat, activity, sleep, you as it'll break the feeding to sleep habit. For many, feeding to sleep is not a problem and if it works then I think carry on but it's not working for you so try to break away from it. Have you tried all the usual things such as swaddling, dummy, white noise?

Also, 7 pm is too early for bed at this age for most infants.

Have you tried Co-sleeping? I hate to be the one to suggest it as I hate Co-sleeping but have resorted to it on some nights - just look at the lullaby trust safe sleeping guidelines. Do what you need to do to survive!

Also, make sure his reflux is treated properly

Thank you for your reply :)

We have a white noise machine and he’s swaddled. We’ve tried without those things and it doesn’t seem to make much difference. I think you’re right about his sleepy feeding! That’s a really good point.

I've been to a lactation specialist and peer supporters group and they said his latch is fine etc and that he’s very hungry- he’s gone from the 9th to 60th centile… they also said never to pull him off so that’s why I let him feed so long.

I know 7 does sound early but after a bath he’ll feed 60 mins plus and because of his reflux has to stay up right for 30 mins after so it’s really 21:00 by the time he falls asleep. The GP said he can’t have gaviscon as he’s ebf. I feel ashamed to admit that I have co-slept after lots of research. I’ve done it about 4/5 times. Little one still wakes up constantly but at least I can never drop him when feeding if I doze off as I’m terrified of that.

I never thought I’d have an issue with feeding to sleep or offering him boob for comfort but I really didn’t expect this much feeding, I know I sound naive. It’s about 7-8 hours a day total . Also I struggle with other ways to comfort him as he roots a lot and sucks his fist and if I offer anything other than boob he really screams. It’s a minefield. I will try to break the habit. Thank you so much

He can't have Gaviscon but he can have omeprazole

Oh ok, thank you. The GP said gaviscon but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was wrong 😂🙄

Omeprazole can be given if you're EBF

Oh OP I can really relate. Firstly, my son was exactly the same with contact naps are (I was completely unaware that babies like him existed before having my son - it seemed that everyone else could put their baby in a Moses basket/bouncer chair/pram to sleep). My son could never be put down for a nap until he was 6 months old - but then it was like a lightbulb switched and he became great at napping in his cot and has been ever since (now 2). I'm sure people who have had babies that were easy to put down will offer potential methods but honestly I tried everything, I think some babies just like to be held!

With regards night time and the long feeds my immediate reaction is it would be worth having his feeding checked - he may not be feeding efficiently due to tongue tie. We had this issue - mammoth feeds, literally no sleep, it broke me. Once that was sorted feeds were much more normal and sleep longer.

I am in a very similar position with my 9 week old. We tried infant Gaviscon in breast milk in bottles which helped a bit but we then tried omeprazole which had helped more. We also propped DD's crib up a bit at one end. Good luck!

Thank you all for your messages. This is the first time I’ve posted on here and I’m so grateful for the support ♥️ It’s reassuring to know others are in similar positions and I’ve got a few things I’m going to try. I’m sure he’s been checked for tongue tie when in the hospital but might ask for another look.

I’m annoyed by my GP who strongly encouraged me to stop ebf so I could give gaviscon as he said it works with formula! I’ll go back to them and see if we can try the other medication.

thank you all xxx