My 10 week old won't feed enough to sleep through

[Abbiesmummy]

My ds is nearly ten weeks, he has been formula fed since 2 days old. He has been on a three hour easy since then. I am lucky at each feed if he takes 4ounces and even this can be a struggle. There was a point where he would arch his back and cry but he hasn't done that for a while and usually now feeds fairly relaxed. We started doing a dream feed with him when he was about a month old but he never drank more than 2ounces so I decided to not give him a dream feed and see how long he went. He slept a straight 6 hours from 7pm to 1am! After that and using bw I cut back his 4pm and 7pm feeds to three ounces each and then I gave him a dream feed at 11pm where he took just under 4oz which is the most he has ever. He slept till 2.50am at which point I gave a dummy and resettled him. He then woke 45 mins later and I did the same until 5am. I then gave him 4oz but he only took 3oz. I believe he is waking as he is not drinking enough during the day as even after 6 hours he doesnt seem very hungry although he does cry. I can only get him to take 45 minute naps during the day so he has A time before and after a feed. So he feeds at 5,7,10,1,4,7 df at 11pm. He goes to sleep roughly an hour from the start of each feed and is the awake 45 mins later and then I have to entertain him til the next feed time. The only thing I seem to be getting right is that he sends himself to sleep really well on his own and only occasionally needs little ssh pat. Can anyone give me any ideas as I don't know what else to do.

[deb]

He's still little and developing a schedule. How much does he weigh, and how much at birth? Is he getting a good number of wet and dirty diapers?

It might be worth having a go at the 45-minute naps as part of the EASY rework. It makes it harder to know if he's crying from hunger or OT.

Also, I think that FF babies don't need feeding every 3 hours, closer to 4? So perhaps he truly isn't hungry after 3 hours. (I did mostly BF with some supplementation while I healed from a bad latch, and that was years ago, so if I'm wrong, someone correct me.)

[Abbiesmummy]

Thanks for the quick reply. My dd slept through from 3 weeks, still sleeps 12 hours and has always has a great appetite... A definite angel baby so I feel like I am a brand new mum again and totally out of my depth!!

Ds was 7lb11 when born and he now weighs about 12lbs. He has lots of wet nappies and he poos once occasionally twice a day. I think I fed my dd every four hours when she was tiny too, it's hard to remember five years ago! In her books Tracey says that babies should be on three hour easy until four months which is why I have been following it.

What do you mean about reworking 45 min naps? I'm quite new to this forum and don't yet understand all the terminology!

[pondofstillwater]

Hi there,

45min nap sounds to me UT... I think you might want to stretch the A time a bit.... 1hr A at 10weeks might be a bit short.... maybe try 5-10 more minutes and see...

Also you could try to leave your LO in the cot even if you think he is awake - to see if he will resettle back to sleep. Usually if he cries that means he wants to sleep more but can't transition to the next sleep cycle on his own or not as easily. You could also try to help him transition to the next sleep cycle. If LO is waking up happily then he is had enough sleep in which case he needs more A time before going down for the nap.

4oz might be the max of what your LO can handle? How much did he take before this all started? I would not cut back the 4pm and 7pm feeds just try to give him more at DF. LOs, surprisingly are very clever, they usually eat to the fullest at bedtime - tank themselves up for the night. My personal experience with my DD is that DF is not necessary if she had a good feed at 4 and 7pm. At around 10 weeks my DD only takes between 3 o 4oz at a time.

If you LO can go to sleep on his own, I am pretty sure he is a good sleeper and can but himself back to sleep in the night if he wakes or stirs so that made me think all those NW are due to Hunger. And sound as though the waking time at night is quite erratic so it is most likely hunger in which case you just have to feed him.

I agree with pp that your LO might need more stretch between feeds - I know 10 weeks might sounds early to you but your LO is FF so it is possible that he needs more time between feeds. When the feeds are stretched apart a bit LO will be more hungry and can take in more.

[deb]

How many total ounces is he taking throughout the day? That may be a better guide for now, as you really have to adjust EASY for your own baby and family.

As for the 45-minute nap thing, Josie got into a pattern where she was waking around 4-5AM and then not getting back to deep sleep, so when she woke for the day she was already on the tired side and able to handle only an hour of A time before the tired cues started - but that wasn't enough A time for her to sleep for more than 45 minutes, so we ended up with 4-6 of those short naps a day just to get us thru the day without ME melting down from HER crying nonstop.

Once we got her A time adjusted, which we did by stretching it gently maybe 5 minutes every day or two (she was about 14-15 weeks by the time we did this, so older than yours), and we learned to help her transition to the next sleep cycle - by then she was waking out of habit, and her cry wasn't a fussy "I'm still tired" whimper-cry but an "I'm AWAKE and I can't get back to sleep" upset cry which she NEVER settled from - then Josie began napping longer. Our finished EASY included 3 90-minute naps a day instead of the target of 2 2-hour naps and one catnap, but it worked well for us and we could plan around it.

We have a post at the bottom of the Naps FAQ's about it.

[Abbiesmummy]

On a good day of which we have only had two, he had 26oz through the day and 9oz in the night split between two feeds. Some days it can be up to 24 and others down to 18. I can't understand why he can wake during the night due to hunger when he can go 6 hours and also if I do feed him he gulps the first ounce and then slows down but cannot finish the bottle. Also, would hd settle with a dummy if he were really hungry? I made him go 6 hours last night in the hope that he would then drink more through the day but when I fed him at 5 after those 6 hours he drank only 3 and started to fall asleep which he never does whilst drinking a bottle.

Thank you all so much for your replies, I am going to try spacing his feeds out more to see if that helps but worried that he will then only nap for 45 mins of those four hours or could hd have two 45 min naps during the 4 hours? Sorry to sound so dumb but this is all so complicated!!

[pondofstillwater]

Try to stretch the feed and see but go slow though... maybe 15min-20min at a time at a feed...

Also try to give 5-10 more min to the first A in the morning and see how it affects the nap.. You can add this by a diaper change before nap and then quiet talk in bed before nap.

2 45min naps will work if longer naps do not happen. I read on the nap Q&A that it is more developmental than anything else... so you might have to stick it out... but every LO is different. you know your LO the best so do what is best for him... being one long nap or couple 45min naps...

I know baby have several short naps still do well at night... Although 45 min nap is not considered as being restorative but if that is how your LO will sleep in the daytime now, you will just have to wing with it... Just make sure the total day sleep is between 4-5hr... if you can.

My DD did not do long naps till 12 weeks... and that is when she learnt to transition between sleep cycles...

[pondofstillwater]

Also if he falls asleep at 5am feeding then I think it is more related to your LO waking up from a light sleep and not able to go back... Between 4 - 6am LO are getting out of light sleep and sometimes wake up. And that is why you hear lots LO wake at 4, 4:30, 5 or 5:30...

My DD did this every morning till she started STTN at 10 week of age. From then on she will occasionally woke up at early morning but I will just resettle her. As time goes on she can resettle herself back to sleep. The advise I got is that feed the baby whenever they wakeup when they are younger than 3months....

I believe to be able to STTN partially is learnt... and it come will time and depend on each LO