Breastfeeding is there anything i can eat to help my baby sleep?

Question

my baby is nearly 3 weeks old and he doesn't sleep for longer than an hour or 2 at a time, and is awake most of the day and night, he is tired and resless most of the time, is there anything i can eat to help him?

Answer 1

This is normal for a newborn.
The only advice I can offer is to tell you that he will get into a sleeping/napping routine in a few weeks.
Until then, try to enjoy all the time you are spending together.

Answer 2

I hate to be the barer of bad news but if your baby is anything like my 2 1/2 yr old, this is just his way. My 2 1/2 yr old still doesn't sleep through the night. I tried everything, she's just not a sleeper. When she was little I hardly got any sleep but you learn to adjust. I had her in bed with me for a while, that helped a bit because I could at least nap in between. I was never a coffee drinker until I had her & then I needed a cup every morning just to cope. Sorry that I don't have any good news but I hated everyone telling me it would get better soon & it never did. I mean you do eventually get to 3 hrs at a time instead of 2 & by the time my daughter was 10 mos I was getting 4 hrs at a time. Now she is 2 1/2 & she wakes up 1-4 times a night with something..she has to potty, she's thirsty, she's ready to get up. I have a 1 yr old too now & I manage to do fine. Your body will just adjust to your kids & you mostly won't miss the lack of sleep. Sad but true! Good luck & know you will get through it.

Answer 3

Him wanting to eat every 2 hours is normal. Sometimes if he hits a growth spurt, it will be more often. If he is not sleeping well, he may have gas or be colicky. Try giving him Mylicon drops. Also, rubbing his tummy, pumping his legs (like he is riding a bicycle) or putting a bit of pressure on his tummy while you rock him may calm him. If you find no relief, take him in to the doctor, they will let you know what other options there are and can check for signs he is uncomfortable.

My son didn't rest well and cried each time I put him down to sleep. I found out he had acid reflux and was allergic to dairy. I got him some medicine and stopped eating dairy and like magic he was a different baby. Not saying this is the case with you but there are usually pretty easy fixes for fussy babies. They don't cry for no reason, they have a need to be met. Good luck and congrats.

Answer 4

Honestly i can believe people are telling you to consume beer and wine.DONT DO IT!!!!! everthing is passed into breast milk, do you want a drunk baby. Those tiny brain cells are still forming, why chance the damage? a 3 week old baby is still tiny, and breast milk is digested faster than forumla so he probly needs to nurse every 2 to 3 hours . Make sure your letting him nuse enough to get full. If hes on the breast for 5 minutes and drifts off to sleep, thats not enough. Rub his cheek or forhead gently to stir him, undress him, do something to get him nursing for a longer period of time. When hes full hell sleep a little longer. But the bottem line is thats a very young baby, he need to be nurished every 2 or 3 hours. Its hard , try to catch a nap whenever hes napping, ever if its only an hour at a time a couple time a day. let the dishes and vacuming wait. your baby is only a baby for a short time enjoy every second, you will have dirty dishes all your life!And he is way to young for cereal his body is incapably of digesting it, sure it will fill him up and he might sleep more, butbreast milk is the perfact food for him right now it supplies every thing he needs, If you fill him up with cereal, it make less room for all the milk he does need to help him grow bones and brain cells and everything else hes growing. A baby shouldnt have cereal untill they have strong abdominal muscles, can sit up with help, and be able to push the food to the back of their throat.Even your doctor will tell you no cereal yet. And no beer and wine.

Answer 5

Theres not much harm in a little drink of wine but i wouldn't. Alcohol dries you up and thats the last thing you need when you are brestfeeding. there is some spicy foods and caffiene to avoid but how your son is being is quite normal at this age. My son was the same but slept for up to 3 and a half hours by 4 weeks old.
You say he seems restless and tired so maybe its something else, is he falling asleep at the breast before he has a full tummy? you could try to feed him more, or maybe he has colic? gripe water is worth a try.
Massage is really good to try and cant harm him.
Try to get him used to noticing day and night, keep him in daylight during the day take him out for fresh air, and at night change him and put him to bed in the dark even if hes awake.
I breastfed on demand and got confused by it so changed to feeding every 3 hours, i didnt leave him screaming or anything but gave him a routine where he knew he didnt need to cry because it always came regularly. Its early days for you so persevere, things will settle i promise you, and lets face it hes worth it.

Answer 6

I don't know what you can eat but try the Johnson's bedtime bath things and also after bathing your newborn give him a baby massage this will help him to relax, my little girl is the same only 2 weeks old and doesn't stop feeding and it's tiring so i know how you feel we have to keep it up, other than that, the only next thing to do is maybe putting him on the bottle if he is feeding to much.

Answer 7

im not sure what you could eat to help him sleep, but I had alil girl that was the same way. Some one suggested to me that i try Johnson and Johnson's bedtime bath, i was hestitant on it cuz i didnt really didnt beleiev that kind of stuff works, but hitting my ropes end I tried it. And feel inlove with it. A lil drop or two in his bath, a lil before bed snack and things should be ok. My daughter went from sleepin on hour to 3-4 hours stretches. Although now that shes 5 yrs, she still only needs a coupld hours sleep and shes rareing to go...lol

good luck

Answer 8

Don't drink wine - or even whine (very odd how people spell every day words!) Your baby is very young, he may still be settling into a routine and finding his way in the world. I'd wait a few more weeks to see how he settles before worrying that he doesn't sleep for long stretches. Teeny tinies usually need feeding every two hours anyway, as their bellies can't hold enough food to sustain them for longer than that, so it's not surprising he doesn't sleep for longer than this.

Answer 9

You can not eat things to help him. Avoid spicey things, peppers and onions, sugars. Drink plenty of water.

Its normal for a newborn to eat and wake every couple hours. Just nurse on demand. I find its easier to co sleep at this age, with just you and baby in the bed, with the bed pushed into a corner. You can put a pillow behind you and nurse baby while laying down. Baby can fall asleep nursing, you can roll him over and cover him with his own blanket, and then roll over and sleep yourself.

It works great, its good for your sanity and his development. I did the same with my son, and by 3 months he was sleeping the night through in his own crib.

Keep day time bright and active. And night time dim and quiet. He'll need atleast two good naps in a quiet dim area during the day, otherwise, keep him out with you in the active areas.

Answer 10

Newborns don't sleep at night..........he's only 3 weeks old! Give him a little time to get adjusted to his world! He'll sleep when he's ready. I know it's hard but nothing about being a parent is easy.
If you are with his father then take shifts at night. You can pump your milk for the next feeding and let daddy give him every other one.

Answer 11

I have to agree with what everyone else has said- he is young, this is normal, and when you see him dozing off at the breast- undress him a bit, rub his feet, etc. so he will wake up. Breastmilk has an enzyme in it that makes both mommy and baby sleepy as you and he nurse.

Lay down with your baby and nap and nurse.

I am going to get thumbs down for this, but it worked for us: sleep with him. Our babies were like this- and both slept better and for longer stretches in our bed. As a newborn, I had an in-the-bed cosleeper. At 4 months, it became a pillow laying lenghtwise on it. Againg this was pulled next to me. Now at 1 year, she has her own pillow. Our son had his days and nights mixed up- and after I put him down with me- that was it- he slept. Our baby was sleeping by 4 weeks- and she wouldn't sleep alone at all. If alone, she'd awaken every hour.

Push your bed up against the wall and place your baby between you and the wall. I have done it with 2 so far and it worked wonders.

Also, unless your baby poops or is soaked, do not change the middle of the night diaper. This wakes them up more- and makes it more difficult for them to get down at night. I apply A&D ointment and unless they had a bowel movement or as I said, were soaked, they didn't get changed until morning.

Good luck to you and congrats on your baby.