HELP too many issues... dont know where to start.

[sktyuen]

my ds is 10wks and i've been trying to do EASY since day one. I still haven't been able to do a clusterfeed because then he wont take the DF, but i do a DF at 1030/11pm at the latest and he can actually last till 7/730am for the next feed. But he will wake at 2am, 4am and 6am but won't take the bottle. Why is that? When he wakes at 7am he doesn't cry so I wait till 730 before I feed him as that is usually when he starts to fuss.

When he wakes in the middle of the night I do shh/pat till he goes back to sleep, sometimes it's quick sometimes it takes up to an hour. He does have a hernia so I'm not sure if that is what is keeping him up. He just doesnt want to be put down. It's become a habit now as he's been regularly waking at those times for the past week. Sometimes he does take either a 2am or 4am feed as I'm too tired to do shh/pat so I always try giving him the bottle first. It's difficult to get him to take a dummy and once it falls out he starts crying so im worried that it'll become a prop.

Another problem I have is that during the day he sometimes cries during his feeds. I read in BW that it could be due to overfeeding or gas. He's going 3-3.5hrs between feeds depending on amount of activity and when he had a poop. Even after burping him he just wont take the bottle anymore. Sometimes during at least 1 of his day feeds he will only take 2oz and then stop. Even after letting him rest for 10-15min he still wont finish the rest of his milk. Why?

In the afternoon it seems that either he can sleep 3hrs straight or he will only take 45min nap at a time.

He's drinking on average 4.5oz

How do u keep them awake after a feed? Even after 1.5hr nap, DS will still fall deep asleep after a feed. I've tried all the methods Tracy suggested but he still wont wake up and if he does he's very upset and is hard to calm down.

[TDR'smom]

Hello Sktyuen!  Welcome to Babywhisperer!

Could you post your DS's routine.  When he eats/awake time/sleep??  That will give us a better idea!  Remember that 10 weeks is still very young so a lot could be going on with your lo!

xxx
Judy

[* Paula *]

What size teat are you using?  Do you think your lo could be bored with the flow, and ready for the next size up?

I am wondering does your lo suffer from Reflux at all?  The crying after a feed, and pushing the feed away can be a sign?

Here is a link to the Reflux boards, have a look at this info and see if any of it describes your lo.

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=654.0

[sktyuen]

Hi, i've finally been able to properly track DS2 EASY routine as best as possible.

630-700 Awake, a few times he's slept till 8am
730-800 Feed (he doesnt seem to cry from hunger. i just see him eating his hands and sticking his tongue out alot so I feed him. One morning he woke up at 7 and didnt eat till 845 because i got caught up handling DS1
900-945 1st nap (fluctates everyday from 30min up to 2.5hrs)
1130     Feed (again he doesnt cry from hunger, but i feed him anyways to make sure he gets enough calories during the day)
130       2nd nap
330       Feed
500       3rd nap (this one usually is only 45min - 1hr
600-630 Bath (i always try to do this right before his last evening feed, so he doesnt spit up during the bath)
700       Feed
730-800 Bedtime (even if his last evening feed should be 8pm, his bedtime still ends up being around 730. He seems to know it's bedtime shortly after bathtime. So he'll keep sleeping through till the next morning. So it's like i end up doing 2 DF, one at 8pm and one at 11pm)
11-1130 DF (i try not to feed past 11 unless his last evening feed was at 800pm)

No cluster feeding because he doesnt take a DF and it seems to wake him up more in the middle of the night. No night feeding as he only takes 1 or 2oz and goes back to sleep. I bought a new dummy for 3-6months age group and he's taking to it much better. So i'm using that now to get rid of the night wakings. But it is quite obvious that his "night time" is from about 730pm-730am, although he doesnt exactly sleep through.

I cut back on the no. of ounces i was giving him at each feed from 5 to 4 and spread out each feeding to every 4hrs. He seems to be eating better and finish his bottles most of the time. I dont know if it's a habit or what, but he still wants to stop eating at after 2oz. I usually let him rest 5-10min and feed him the rest, but it's still quite a struggle because he turns his head left and right. One time i just let him eat the 2oz and didn't make him finish the rest, he STILL last 4hrs till the next feed (no crying at the 4hr mark) and it seemed like he wasnt hungry either at the next feed. I've also started using a medium flow teat and will see how that helps with the eating.

He's gaining weight fine. Born at 2.75kg and is now 6.5kg

After reading the post about reflux, i think he does have it, but only a mild case? He doesnt spit up anymore, but occasionally does spit up sometimes 1hr after eating. And sometimes it does seem like he's in pain when i lay him down flat and i end up carrying him in my Baby Bjorn for a while till he seems more relaxed. he does get hiccups frequently after feeding though even after being burped.

DS2 will be 12wks next thurs.

[* Paula *]

Have you tried a bigger teat to see if your lo is bored with the flow and this is why he stopping after 2 oz?

[sktyuen]

I've started using a med size teat and now he stops at 3oz instead of 2oz.  His naps are much better now, he's sleeping pretty consistently for 1.5 to 2hrs.

Since i last posted, his feedings have gone a little bit better. But it's still taking anywhere from 15-45min. I hope he was just going through some sort of phase.

I did notice that he ate better when i fed him in the living room because he would watch TV with me. So maybe he just needs a distraction? I'm going to try to sing songs to him and make faces while he's eating because i definitely dont want him to become a tv addict!

[* Paula *]

Great news that he has started feeding and sleeping better