NB Night problems

[jussiemariee]

Ok my dd is 3 weeks old and she has been waking at 12 and sometime between 2 and 4. At 12 I am able to feed her and she goes right back to sleep.  Between 2 and 4 she wakes up and refuses to go back to sleep.  I think she is becoming OT quickly during that feed because this morning I was watching her close her eyes and snap them back open over and over agian.  There have been nights where she wakes up at 2 and does not settle again until 5.  I understand I am going to be sleep deprived with a newborn, but I fear she is not getting the sleep she needs.

What should I do?  She is breastfed, and I need to turn a light on to get a good latch so I can't exactly dreamfeed.  I have toyed with the idea of giving formula at night, but than I need to pump or get too engorged, and she gets gassy with formula

Any advice would be a great.

Justine

[mmom]

(((HUGS)))) Justine.  This is a very difficult time.

If you need to turn a light on, is there a dimmer you can get?  The darker it is, the better. You don't want her thinking it is time to get up.  I always needed a dim light to latch as well.

Do you notice any type of discomfort?  Gassy or otherwise?  This used to get my LO in the late hours.

Formula can be rough on their tummies.  You are doing a great job BFing and I doubt that offering formula at that time would help.

How are the feeds during the day? 

A times at this age are so short - literally diaper change, feed, bed.

[Katet]

My Ds2 had an unsettled period from 2-4am until he was about 6 weeks old. Most babies have an unsettled period & it is challenging when it is when we most want to be alseep. Hard as it is time is the best answer & making sure your baby gets as much daylight in the day to help with night/day differences.

[jussiemariee]

I do have a dimmer, I am just worried about her latch because she has never been a very good latcher.  It is also hard because she seems to be a heavy wetter, and I need to change her after her feeds. 

Her day schedule is rather routine.  She has been on about a three hour easy since birth although I just started "focusing" on it this weekend trying to get this night stuff under control.  What I have noticed is that she is touchy baby.  She does well if I focus on the routine, but any deviation causes problems.  She gets OT very quickly, and will skip a nap to fuss at the drop of a hat. 

She seems to be quite gassy, and bothered by it in her belly.  She will fuss until it passes, but this is all day, not just at night.  Now that you mention it, I am going to give her gas drops with each feed and see if that makes a difference.

Thanks
Justine

[SylvieA]

Could you change her diaper before you feed. This way, it'll help settle her quicker. And don't worry about feeding to sleep, it's OK at this age.
And her being touchy, the small about of light may keep her unsettled. Just give it a try without light. I know you worry about latch, but try and see. If it feels right, chances are the latch is right. If not, unlatch and try until it's right. Have you had an LC work with you and the latch. She may have other ideas.

[jussiemariee]

ill try changing her first at night tonight, I guess I just got the EAS pattern in my mind and was not thinking about getting out of it.

On the LC oh yeah, I have spoken to two and a peer counselor, she tends to latch to small and causes a great deal of pain.  She also bobs on and off during the feed.  They said to just keep trying to get a correct latch, sometimes it takes 10 times on and off to get it right.  That is why i need the light

Last night was worst, she was up from 1:30 until about 4:30 and back up at 6:30.  At least I don't have anything to do today and I can catch up on sleep.

[Katet]

Sounds a lot like my DS1, took me a good 5mins everytime to work out the latch & I too needed a light on to do it, I did manage by about week 4 to do it just from the light of the TV. But as irony would have it DS1 was never really unsettled at night & I fed him in the light (he is grumpy/spirited) & DS2 who I fed in the dark & more textbook was the one who I had weeks of him being unsettled in the small hours of the morning. 

Do you feed her again if she doesn't settle. 3 weeks old is a fairly big growth spurt & if she has her night & day mixed up then it could be that is when she needs more feeding to build up your supply to match the growth spurt.

[jussiemariee]

We had a much better night last night.  I was very good about using dimmer lights and even used a flashlight for diaper changes.  I also used a white noise mp3 which seems to calm her right away.  If I do that during her most fussy times is it going to become a sleep prop?

Last night we DF at 10:30
Woke to eat 1:30 was asleep by 2:00 using white noise
Woke to eat 3:00 was asleep by 3:30 using white noise
woke just before 6 am wake up time

Justine

[SylvieA]

Glad you had a better night  I wouldn't worry to much about props at this age. Props usually don't start till about 3-4 months. Plus if a prop doesn't cause any problem, don't worry about it. Keep in mind that from birth to 3-4months is still a big adjustment age for a baby. I've always seen it as a forgotten stage of pregnancy. Kind of part of the trimesters.