hi, please help!! my son is 4 and a half weeks old, he was 6lbs1oz born so quite teeny, and we had breastfeeding issues for 3 weeks (poor latch, tongue tie which has now been cut, he was hungry all the time and not getting milk from me so switched to formula 3 weeks old and stopped bf altogether).
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While I was bf he was on me constantly, and I mean non stop - day and night, even while I went to the loo
he is MUCH more content now on formula, brings up his wind easily and goes 3 hours between feeds.
but ... he still needs to be held 24/7! When awake if I put him down he instantly starts crying, when asleep, no matter how asleep he is, as soon as he is put down he squirms, moans then breaks out into full blown crying ... as soon as he's picked up he settles.
My 2year old daugter had terrible silent reflux, I don't think his is a reflux issue, he doesn't seem to be inconsolable like she was and even in his carseat he doesn't settle well as not being held ... at 4 weeks he now weighs 7lbs2 so still quite small, when people see him they think he's brand new newborn, he has that fetal look about him if you know what i mean!
I don't know what personality he is sometimes I think textbook (providing he is being held he is a very easy baby!) sometimes I think touchy ... incidentally i also took him to chiropractor and cranial osteopath as he had a very fast labour but they found no issues with him that would affect him lying flat and said he's very healthy
how am i going to ever put him down? i "sleep" propped up holding him on my chest, i'm totally exhausted and its not practical for naps as i have my 2yr old to look after - shes also getting fed up and jealous of me holding him all the time.
I've tried: raising the crib to an angle, warming the mattress, putting my top in there so he has my scent, ssh patting, swaddling (he really fights the swaddle and no matter how tight gets his arms out), resting my hand on his tummy while he drifts off but then his eyes pop open and he's crying until i pick him up ... any ideas? also, i find it hard to read his tired signs so don't know when to put him down. yesterday he woke at 6.45am, had a bottle, i changed him etc then at 8.15am swaddled him, held him, calmed him until he was staring and starting to nod off, then as soon as I put him down and kept my hand on his tummy he was crying - 9am he was still awake and finally I gave in and he passed out on my shoulder for 40 mins.
I know he's only young but I cant function like this, has anyone else dealt with this and have any tips?
x