Baby help please..?

Question

My baby keeps me up all night. He doesnt sleep. It looks something like this. Around midnight, baby would wake up wanting to eat. I feed him. He falls asleep and unlatches himself. If i try to move him, even slightly, he would wake up crying wanting to eat some more. I feed him again, within a few minutes he's sleeping again and unlatches himself. and it keeps going on until 8 am. Feeding a little bit everytime. He doesnt sleep!! Is this normal? In the morning though, he sleeps most of the day and wakes up for feedings every few hours. Feeds and sleeps. It just at night that he doesnt sleep. Am i doing something wrong?

Answer 1

No, not at all.
Have you tried doing both bottle and breast. Some help early childcare nurses recommend it. I had a friend who her baby was doing this, and the nurse, told her to try both. Offer the breast first, then the bottle after. This will fill the void, that he not getting from you. Don't feel ashamed that you can't totally feed him, but not everyone can.
Have you tried to offer a pacifier or dummy, the sucking motion also helps to calm them down and help with sleep. My son finds comfort from his, especially at night if he does happen to wake up. He is 8 months old.
I wish you the best of luck. And some good sleep.

Answer 2

I'm feeling for you because I remember my 1st week with my son was similar. He would latch on, drink, fall asleep and the moment you moved him he'd wake up and want feeding - No doubt you're exhausted, emotional, and thinking it'll go on for ever. Try not to worry. How old is he? The constant nursing may be his way of increasing milk supply. Alternatively, he's not getting enough to fill him up before nodding off - I use to blow gently in my sons face to get him to wake up and finish feeding, or burp him, or nappy change him - all worked quite well. If he is older than 4-6 weeks you could consider expressing some milk into a bottle and having someone else feed this to him of a night - it works well for a couple of reasons.... Someone else gets to share the bond of feeding while you get some much needed kip. It's also easier for baby to have a feed via a bottle - they may take more, enabling them to sleep longer through the night. However, be careful when you introduce a bottle - too young may cause nipple confusion, or it may upset your milk supply - it worked for me - my son has slept from 11pm-8am since he was 9weeks - but it doesn't work for everyone as all babies are different. What also worked for me is that during night feeds I would keep the lights low - stay quiet and put him straight down once he had finished - he soon learnt that night was sleepie time.

Good luck

ps) remember for YOU to nap durring the day when your son does - I did this @ 1st - it def helped with the night waking. House work can wait.

Also, I'd recommend DONT add cereal to a bottle - it can cause choking, allergies, is hard to digest and will keep baby awake through discomfort!! Introduce cereal as part of the weaning process between 17 & 26 weeks - not as a cure to sleep deprivation!

Answer 3

Don't let anyone tell you to get your baby on a schedule. I am up with my 5 week old son right now(12:45am). The key is to wake him up when he stops feeding right away. Lift his arm or tickle his face...anything to wake him. At night he should feed for less time than during the day, but still around 10 min a side. During the day, when he acts a little sleepy pick him up and prolong his time awake for 15-20 Min's or so. My wife and I went through this for three weeks before he decided he wanted to sleep more at night. Now he is up to 4 hours sleep between feedings at night. If you have any more questions like this, a lactician can really help you out, and they are usually free. Good luck!

Answer 4

My son did the exact same thing. Guess who he slept with after a few weeks of this. You got it - me! I would not suggest this route as a permanent fix, but until he gets a little older and his tummy will hold more and he will sleep longer. What I finally did was give him a formula bottle at night at that definitely helped. the formula is not as easy to digest so it stays with him longer. I also would use my shirt from the day as a blanket of sorts. Just like kittens or dogs, your son recognizes your scent and "clings" to that. He is probably looking for some comfort from being near you more than needing to nurse. I would also wake my son during the day (when he got all his rest from being up most of the previous night) and snuggle and nurse then. Sure, he may only nurse a minute or two and fall right back to sleep and be easy to lay down and him stay asleep, but he may appreciate the snuggle time enough to let you sleep at night. Hope this is helpful to you. Good luck.

Answer 5

I don't think you are doing anything wrong. Babies want to be close to thier mothers, specially at nite, and the warmth is comforting. He may be getting a little too comfy and falling asleep while eating. My daughter had the same experience and she allowed him to sleep with her at nite, which set up an entirely new set of problems for her later.The *getting him to sleep in
his own room* one.
Glad to hear you are breast feeding, if I understood right, and patience is key in all aspects of babies. I am not sure how old your baby is, but try feeding him more while he is more awake, before the midnite feeding. Although I am a gramma now, I found that lightly rubbing a cheek and disturbing the baby while feeding caused her to stay awake longer and eat more, lessening her need to eat during the nite, and allowing her more rest. A nice warm bath after does wonders for sleep as well. Good luck and love that baby for all you're worth, they grow up too fast!

Answer 6

I guess you can try burping him after every feeding.He might have some air and that might be why he stops feeding in the first place.If you burp him it'll give him more room in his belly for milk and then he'll probably continue to feed until he is full.Just keep burping every time eventually he might fall asleep and stay asleep.
If that's not the case then it may be that he just isn't used to being out of your belly quite yet and the closes thing to it is being next to the nipple.He may not even be hungry just afraid of being away from you so when he falls asleep try and hold him for at least a half and hour, When babies sleep the first half hour they are in a light sleep then after that they drift into a deeper sleep which then you can put him back in his crib or bassinet.I recommend trying this first,if that doesn't work try my first idea.
good luck!

Answer 7

When your baby wakes for the first night feed, try changing his nappy when it appears as though he has finished. I did this with mine to make him more alert so that he will feed for longer.
You could try putting an extra cover over him in the cot. It could be that he wants your warmth rather than your milk. I had the same problem with my son and my mum suggested he could be cold so I tried the extra cover and it worked.
I also found I was waking with the first little noise my baby made and would get them up for a feed straight away. I ended up moving the crib so that I could hear when they cried for a feed and not when they were just making baby noises. You wouldn't believe the difference that made. I began to get some decent sleep and not feel like I was laying in bed waiting for my babies to let me know they were hungry.
Good luck.xxx

Answer 8

I agree, get baby up and keep him up as long as possible during the day. Feed him before bed and put him down on tummy if he doesnt go to sleep, if he starts to fuss -- gently , very softly, pat his bottom making him jiggle just a tiny bit, do this very rythmically -- this will "rock" him and he'll fall asleep. It might take 10 minutes (usually 5 or less), but he'll sleep and so will you !!! Also if he's 6 weeks old he should be able to have baby cereal. I used to put a tablespoon or 2 in his bottle & shake it up -- I used rice cereal-- (even a breast baby can have a cereal bottle at bedtime). And the cereal fills them up and they sleep allllllllllllll night!!! Ask your doc if he's old enough to have cereal & how much to put in bottle. Then you will have BLISS !!! My baby is now 36 & weighs a healthy 190 Lbs @ 5'10 !!! He's also very handsom !!! (He needs good woman ??? Interseted???)

Answer 9

My doctor recommended that during the day I play with the baby and keep him as alert and active as I could without letting him get too over excited and keeping the room well lit and full of sunshine. Then, at the midnight feeding keep him awake and feeding as long as I could, even patting his cheeks and working his mouth to keep him feeding for the full time. Then laying him down in a dark room that is a comfortable temperature. Soon enough he will figure out the difference between day and night. I know it's a tough time - but you will get through it. :-) Good luck.

Answer 10

yes miss.....i have 4 kids of my own and baby number 5 coming..........you should let him cry out then if you dont want to take control he will do this till you are cranky and sleepy dont move the baby boy too much let him sleep without you how old is he you haven't provided the age if he is 0-5 months then let him cry out for just 3 minutes he is still very young and needs your full attention if he is 6-12 months then let him cry out for 5-7 minutes leave him a bottle when he is asleep so when you leave the room..and he cries he will probably stop because of the milk if he is 13-24 months then let him have his own bed first beds are fine and playpens he can sleep there