so tired - help please!

my 5 week old wants feeding every hour, even through the night. he
could quite happily stay glued to a breast all day and night and when
he wakes in the night wants to be nursed back to sleep. last night i
was up at midnight, 1am 2,3.30, 5, 7 and 8am. he is healthy, putting
on weight etc so i am not worried about him in that respect, i just
need to get more sleep or i will die. i can't function on this little
sleep. thsi morning i just wanted my boyfreind to take him away from
me, and that feels crap.

its the morning now and i have just managed to get him to have a long
feed (1hr 20mins), and that was with 3 x 5 minute fart/burp breaks.
on a long feed he starts off strongly, gathers a good sucking momentum
for 10/20 minutes and then goes into fluttery sucks but gets stronger
if i pull away from him.

on short feeds he goes strong for most of the 10 minutes, his poo is
mostly a good colour so i think he is getting enough hind milk, but it
is sometimes greenish.

its very hot here so i guess that he is thirsty too.

i am trying to get him a bit hungryer before he feeds by trying to
distract him so we get longer gaps but he just gets inconsolable and
cries so i give in.

has anyone got any other ideas, or am i blatantly doing something
wrong? i really am determined to breastfeed so formula is not an
option.

teapot and humgry moo boy 8th june 2003

teapot wrote:

my 5 week old wants feeding every hour, even through the night. he
could quite happily stay glued to a breast all day and night and when
he wakes in the night wants to be nursed back to sleep. last night i
was up at midnight, 1am 2,3.30, 5, 7 and 8am. he is healthy, putting
on weight etc so i am not worried about him in that respect, i just
need to get more sleep or i will die. i can't function on this little
sleep. thsi morning i just wanted my boyfreind to take him away from
me, and that feels crap.

Hey, that's okay. I think we've all felt like that at one time or
another. Having a barnacle attached all the time can get annoying..
:-).

Sounds like he's on a growth spurt. It should ease up in a week or so.
I know that's not much help...

Are you cosleeping?

its the morning now and i have just managed to get him to have a long
feed (1hr 20mins), and that was with 3 x 5 minute fart/burp breaks.
on a long feed he starts off strongly, gathers a good sucking momentum
for 10/20 minutes and then goes into fluttery sucks but gets stronger
if i pull away from him.

Could it be that he's falling asleep (when the flutter sucks happen) and
then you pulling away makes him wake up?

on short feeds he goes strong for most of the 10 minutes, his poo is
mostly a good colour so i think he is getting enough hind milk, but it
is sometimes greenish.

Do you do one breast or two per session? Patrick was about 6 months
before I started giving him both.

its very hot here so i guess that he is thirsty too.

Yeah, probably...

i am trying to get him a bit hungryer before he feeds by trying to
distract him so we get longer gaps but he just gets inconsolable and
cries so i give in.

I know it can be tough, but since he's still so young, you might want to
let him nurse whenever he wants. They should start stretching out
sometime soon...

has anyone got any other ideas, or am i blatantly doing something
wrong? i really am determined to breastfeed so formula is not an
option.

I wouldn't say you're doing anything wrong at all...in fact you're
holding up well :-).

I'm sure someone else will come up with something that I haven't said...

E

teapot wrote:

my 5 week old wants feeding every hour, even through the night. he
could quite happily stay glued to a breast all day and night and when
he wakes in the night wants to be nursed back to sleep. last night i
was up at midnight, 1am 2,3.30, 5, 7 and 8am. he is healthy, putting
on weight etc so i am not worried about him in that respect, i just
need to get more sleep or i will die. i can't function on this little
sleep. thsi morning i just wanted my boyfreind to take him away from
me, and that feels crap.


You've just described my son's sleep schedule. On truly bad nights when
I just can't handle it, I do give DS to DH (usually at 1:30 or 4:30) and
tell him to give the baby back to me in two hours or so.


its the morning now and i have just managed to get him to have a long
feed (1hr 20mins), and that was with 3 x 5 minute fart/burp breaks.
on a long feed he starts off strongly, gathers a good sucking momentum
for 10/20 minutes and then goes into fluttery sucks but gets stronger
if i pull away from him.

on short feeds he goes strong for most of the 10 minutes, his poo is
mostly a good colour so i think he is getting enough hind milk, but it
is sometimes greenish.

its very hot here so i guess that he is thirsty too.

i am trying to get him a bit hungryer before he feeds by trying to
distract him so we get longer gaps but he just gets inconsolable and
cries so i give in.


I've never been able to stretch out the time between nursings. If
anything they're getting shorter.

has anyone got any other ideas, or am i blatantly doing something
wrong? i really am determined to breastfeed so formula is not an
option.

teapot and humgry moo boy 8th june 2003

I think the babes are going through their 6 week growth spurt a week
early and this will pass. The real question is whether this phase will
pass before or after I go nuts because of sleep deprivation.

Jeanne

(Elana Kehoe) wrote in message .. .
teapot wrote:

my 5 week old wants feeding every hour, even through the night. he
could quite happily stay glued to a breast all day and night and when
he wakes in the night wants to be nursed back to sleep. last night i
was up at midnight, 1am 2,3.30, 5, 7 and 8am. he is healthy, putting
on weight etc so i am not worried about him in that respect, i just
need to get more sleep or i will die. i can't function on this little
sleep. thsi morning i just wanted my boyfreind to take him away from
me, and that feels crap.

Hey, that's okay. I think we've all felt like that at one time or
another. Having a barnacle attached all the time can get annoying..
:-).

Sounds like he's on a growth spurt. It should ease up in a week or so.
I know that's not much help...

he's been on a growth spurt for 2 weeks! We co sleep - with an open
sided cot next to the bed. He's ok about going in his cot if he is
asleep but is clingy as soon as he is awake.

I think you are right that he's falling asleep on the breast, but he
also sucks and waits for the flow (I can feel it) so its his feeding
technique too. I try to annoy him when he does this so he doesnt fall
asleep but lose the will at 3 am. I try and keep him awake to do both
breasts on the advice of the health visitor who was concerned that he
wasnt getting enough hind milk, He is putting on loads of weight
though.

I know it can be tough, but since he's still so young, you might want to
let him nurse whenever he wants. They should start stretching out
sometime soon...

please soon, please please

I've had a couple of hours sleep now - after a pint of guiness to
chill me out enough to be able to sleep. When it gets bad I forget
that it won't last forever, and I don't really have any option to feed
him when he wants.

Jeanne - I'm sort of relieved that someone else is going through the
same as me, but isn't it awful! Hopefully they will sort themselves
out before we meet in the loony bin :-) If I give him to my bloke he
just cries, all he wants is milk so that doesnt work.

Jodi - I have been forgetting to drink water, thanks for the reminder.
We have a sling but he gets really hot in it so that worries me (yes
I know I am neurotic!) I have spent most of the day in bed, nursing
and reading - apart from putting some wraps onto wash and going to the
corner shop. Small was so fast asleep at the shop that someone asked
me what was wrong with him! I nearly thumped him, he'd look like that
if he had been awake all night.

hes asleep now - on hour 3 the toad, trouble is that i am so wound up
i cant fall asleep on demand and I wake up at the slightest noise. We
live on the noisyest street in the world too, where people can't cross
the road to talk to each other but have to shout across it.

cheers all

teapot and sleepy toad boy

"teapot" wrote in message
om...
my 5 week old wants feeding every hour, even through the night. he
could quite happily stay glued to a breast all day and night and when
he wakes in the night wants to be nursed back to sleep. last night i
was up at midnight, 1am 2,3.30, 5, 7 and 8am. he is healthy, putting
on weight etc so i am not worried about him in that respect, i just
need to get more sleep or i will die. i can't function on this little
sleep. thsi morning i just wanted my boyfreind to take him away from
me, and that feels crap.



I really have no advice that differs from anyone else's. Only sympathy. DH
used to come home and I would sing "Lord, take this baby off of me. I can't
take him anymore. I'm getting sore, to sore to see. Feels like my nipples
are falling off. Nip, nip, nipples are falling off." I would hand him the
baby and walk away in a daze.


its the morning now and i have just managed to get him to have a long
feed (1hr 20mins), and that was with 3 x 5 minute fart/burp breaks.
on a long feed he starts off strongly, gathers a good sucking momentum
for 10/20 minutes and then goes into fluttery sucks but gets stronger
if i pull away from him.

on short feeds he goes strong for most of the 10 minutes, his poo is
mostly a good colour so i think he is getting enough hind milk, but it
is sometimes greenish.

its very hot here so i guess that he is thirsty too.


This advice is useless if you have no extra dough hanging around. Get an
AC!!!!!!!! You have a very good reason.

i am trying to get him a bit hungryer before he feeds by trying to
distract him so we get longer gaps but he just gets inconsolable and
cries so i give in.

has anyone got any other ideas, or am i blatantly doing something
wrong? i really am determined to breastfeed so formula is not an
option.

teapot and humgry moo boy 8th june 2003

"teapot" wrote in message
m...
(Elana Kehoe) wrote in message
.. .
teapot wrote:

my 5 week old wants feeding every hour, even through the night. he
could quite happily stay glued to a breast all day and night and when
he wakes in the night wants to be nursed back to sleep. last night i
was up at midnight, 1am 2,3.30, 5, 7 and 8am. he is healthy, putting
on weight etc so i am not worried about him in that respect, i just
need to get more sleep or i will die. i can't function on this little
sleep. thsi morning i just wanted my boyfreind to take him away from
me, and that feels crap.

Hey, that's okay. I think we've all felt like that at one time or
another. Having a barnacle attached all the time can get annoying..
:-).

Sounds like he's on a growth spurt. It should ease up in a week or so.
I know that's not much help...

he's been on a growth spurt for 2 weeks! We co sleep - with an open
sided cot next to the bed. He's ok about going in his cot if he is
asleep but is clingy as soon as he is awake.

I think you are right that he's falling asleep on the breast, but he
also sucks and waits for the flow (I can feel it) so its his feeding
technique too. I try to annoy him when he does this so he doesnt fall
asleep but lose the will at 3 am. I try and keep him awake to do both
breasts on the advice of the health visitor who was concerned that he
wasnt getting enough hind milk, He is putting on loads of weight
though.

I know it can be tough, but since he's still so young, you might want to
let him nurse whenever he wants. They should start stretching out
sometime soon...

please soon, please please

I've had a couple of hours sleep now - after a pint of guiness to
chill me out enough to be able to sleep. When it gets bad I forget
that it won't last forever, and I don't really have any option to feed
him when he wants.



One thing. Is it possible that he does not necessarily want to be fed? And
has just gotten used to nursing for comfort? Don't get me wrong, I am all
for a good comfort suck. But uit has to be balanced with Mom's needs too.
There are other comfort techniques too, ones that bloke can do. I am not
sure how you know, though. This is one of those parental instinct things, I
guess.

Jeanne - I'm sort of relieved that someone else is going through the
same as me, but isn't it awful! Hopefully they will sort themselves
out before we meet in the loony bin :-) If I give him to my bloke he
just cries, all he wants is milk so that doesnt work.



I am the wicked Mommy of the west... But if I gave my son to my husband
immediately after a feeding, and he cried. I considered that to be DH's
problem and that he would have to learn his own comfort techniques. *I* have
to figure out every other baby cue, he can handle crying baby to give me a
one hour break. It turns out that it was beneficial in the long haul. DH
"got in there" with the parenting, so to speak, and he and DS are very
close.


Jodi - I have been forgetting to drink water, thanks for the reminder.
We have a sling but he gets really hot in it so that worries me (yes
I know I am neurotic!)


Get an AC! OK, I already know I said that. But like, I do not know, your
boyfriend does not need gas for the car. He can walk... Or something.

I have spent most of the day in bed, nursing
and reading - apart from putting some wraps onto wash and going to the
corner shop. Small was so fast asleep at the shop that someone asked
me what was wrong with him! I nearly thumped him, he'd look like that
if he had been awake all night.

hes asleep now - on hour 3 the toad, trouble is that i am so wound up
i cant fall asleep on demand and I wake up at the slightest noise. We
live on the noisyest street in the world too, where people can't cross
the road to talk to each other but have to shout across it.



I remember that all too well. For the record, I heard that a single pint of
beer is very good for supply.

cheers all

teapot and sleepy toad boy

"teapot" wrote in message
om...

my 5 week old wants feeding every hour, even through the night.
snip

last night I just gave in and let him feed as long as he wanted. I
woke up 3 hrs later with him still clamped to me, fast asleep too.
this works fine as long as I want no sex life or comfortable nights
sleep and as long as he stays locked on. For the next feed he kept
falling off the breast and getting frantic.

So Stephanie, I think you are right that he uses it as comfort. Its
getting easier to distinguish his cries from desparate/bored/hurt/wet
so we are getting better at not jumping to attention everytime he
shouts. His other comfort thing is music and being danced around and
sung too - quite high maintenance stuff. We've both had the flu and
have been so blown away by it that its been impossible to entertain
him all the time the last couple of days, so he had had a few bored
cries without attention. Sooner he learns to read the better :-)

teapot and the barncacle (thans Phoebe for the new name!)

I remember with DS all the people telling me to cosleep as a solution to
sleep deprivation. It never worked for me and DS. I am now certain that
separation was necessary for his sleep as well as mine. We would each wake
each other up with each little snort and sniffle. I remember your scene
well, and will join you in 2 months when our daughter is born! I can't wait.
That is why I am doing all my sleeping now.

S

In article , "Stephanie and Tim"
writes:

I remember with DS all the people telling me to cosleep as a solution to
sleep deprivation. It never worked for me and DS. I am now certain that
separation was necessary for his sleep as well as mine. We would each wake
each other up with each little snort and sniffle. I remember your scene
well, and will join you in 2 months when our daughter is born! I can't wait.
That is why I am doing all my sleeping now.


I fought co-sleeping and DH was the one pushing for it. DS slept much, much
better but it honestly took me about 3 weeks before I got used to it. I had an
aching back and didn't sleep well, etc. AFter the 3 week mark, we all slept
better. That may not be for everyone, though!

With my back, I found that I'd get in this really tense, arched back position
that just strained me. I had to learn to relax. I tried to consciously relax
with deep breaths and also to try and lie in a more natural position. It
helped for me to get into a good side-lying position that I might normally
sleep in and then place DS next to me or have DH place him there. Extra
pillows placed properly against my back and between my legs helped as well. I
found a body pillow helped a lot.

I meant to type this earlier. I recall someone complaining about an aching
back while nursing lying down, but I can't recall who it was! Hopefully, she's
reading this and maybe the OP of this thread?

koa
Still nursing James, 02/06/01
EP'ing for Joey 04/02/03 (BCP)

Teapot, have you tried a swing. It is the one thing besides my dh
playing with our babe that keeps her off my chest for awhile.

KC

(teapot) wrote in message . com...

my 5 week old wants feeding every hour, even through the night. snip

last night I just gave in and let him feed as long as he wanted. I
woke up 3 hrs later with him still clamped to me, fast asleep too.
this works fine as long as I want no sex life or comfortable nights
sleep and as long as he stays locked on. For the next feed he kept
falling off the breast and getting frantic.

So Stephanie, I think you are right that he uses it as comfort. Its
getting easier to distinguish his cries from desparate/bored/hurt/wet
so we are getting better at not jumping to attention everytime he
shouts. His other comfort thing is music and being danced around and
sung too - quite high maintenance stuff. We've both had the flu and
have been so blown away by it that its been impossible to entertain
him all the time the last couple of days, so he had had a few bored
cries without attention. Sooner he learns to read the better :-)

teapot and the barncacle (thans Phoebe for the new name!)

"Stephanie and Tim" wrote in message ...
"teapot" wrote in message
om...

my 5 week old wants feeding every hour, even through the night.
snip

last night I just gave in and let him feed as long as he wanted. I
woke up 3 hrs later with him still clamped to me, fast asleep too.
this works fine as long as I want no sex life or comfortable nights
sleep and as long as he stays locked on. snip
teapot and the barncacle (thans Phoebe for the new name!)

I remember with DS all the people telling me to cosleep as a solution to
sleep deprivation. It never worked for me and DS. I am now certain that
separation was necessary for his sleep as well as mine. We would each wake
each other up with each little snort and sniffle. I remember your scene
well, and will join you in 2 months when our daughter is born! I can't wait.
That is why I am doing all my sleeping now.

you mean there is no little head pressing on your bladder all night?
I was getting up to wee in the night about 5 times when I was
pregnant, practice for now :-)

we had a good night last night. it was my birthday so loads of people
came round and played with him,this wore him out so he has had 3 x 3hr
long sleeps with good feeds in between, we are all happier. I had a
chat with him about how much better it would be for him not to have a
sleep deprived psycotic mother and that may have helped too :-)

We cosleep with a cot next to the bed so I can just grab him in the
night. I thinkhe likes the space to wriggle and kick when he is
feeling ok, but if he is in a clingy mood he just wants closeness.
The cot has a side taken off so it is just like an extention of our
bed, its working well so far.

Elenor - sorry I meant to thank you for the Barnacle tag, I went to
change the post but google wouldnt accept it.

btw, we ate my placenta last night and it was quite yummy!

teapot, more rested, less frantic and sleepy full moo boy