I have a 5 week old son. He is a very good sleeper, but is having issues from 10pm-2am and it is killing me! He is breastfed and is eating about every three hours. I have been trying to feed him right around 10 or 11 pm each night. He will usually nurse for about thirty minutes at this time, which should be enough. Once I put him down, he wants to suck on his nuk so badly but constantly spits it out and cries for it to be put back. It seems like he is still hungry and will eat for a few minutes if I put him to the breast. Then, the same thing will happen again.
It seems as if he is cluster feeding and it is happening nearly every night.
What can I do to get him to go to sleep at 10 or 11pm and end this madness?
This is completely normal- both of my kids went through this, and my niece went through this too(she was actually staying with us while she was 6 weeks old). Nurse as much as you can- hopefully it passes quickly!
hi T.
well the best way is to get you baby to wake up more.. you could try to unbundle him when you feed him. tickle his toes and rub his head not to hard but not to soft. also try to keep him up as much as you can through the day.. play with him and hold him. he is still really little but by doin this it will get him on a different schedule were he will sleep more at nite.. don't pressure him to eat more than 30 minutes but try to see if he will eat longer than 30minutes. I had to do this for my son when he was born because he was born at 26 weeks..
From my experience, just wait.. There really isnt anything we could do to change our daughters sleep routines at that young of an age. It will eventually get better. My mom has always said that there is a point in a newborns life where they mix up day from night. It will pass eventually you just gotta go after their schedule for awhile. I know how you feel though I have a newborn myself and feel the desperation's of wanting to sleep a good night. I hope you get some better responses. I just wanted to give you what I have noticed in my first child.
Babies often have a growth spurt at 6 weeks and eat like crazy! Remember that it takes your body a couple of days to adjust to the increased demand and know that he won't eat like this forever :)
Hi T., Most babies have a certain time period each day when they are just plain fussy. Fed, dry, burped, warm, it doesn't matter, they just want to fuss, and someiomes it seems like they want US to be as miserable as possible while we listen to them. The problem with trying to constantly soothe them is that the baby will not learn to self-soothe, and it's really important for them to be able to do that, if you ever want to sleep in the next few months. By giving in to your son's tendency to want to "cluster feed", I'm sorry to say that you're actually encouraging him to keep doing it. Have you tried letting him fuss - I don't mean for long, but if you can let him go at it for maybe 10 minutes before your heart starts to melt, and wait a little longer each day, it might help him to learn to sooth himself instead of needing you to do it for him. I have no idea what your sleeping arrangements are, if his crying would disturb your husband and daughter, and no one knows your baby like you do. If moving him to another location in the home at night, where he's less likely to wake everyone else up with his fussing, is possible, you could try and leave him alone and see if he can get himself comfy after his feeding. Or you could try sitting by him while he goes to sleep, don't hold him, but just rub his tummy gently (and silently!). The object is to get him to calm down so he can sleep, he doesn't need lights on, or voices that might stimulate him and keep him from falling asleep. Your touch should be sufficient. If this problem persists, then you really need to talk to his pediatrician bout it. You don't want his little fussy periods to become learned behaviour that won't stop. You are the parent, you are in control, the child, no matter how much it might seem otherwise, does not dictate the rules. And yes, babies learn very fast what works best when they want attention. Gpod Luck!
Are you swaddling him? The kiddopotamus "Swaddle Me" is an awesome product. I bought one a couple weeks after my son was born, he loved it. By 2mos old he was sleeping 10hrs at night. Hope this helps out.
