Hi, any advice would be appreciated.
I realise my own failings in that I have never had my son on a routine. His birth weight was 9lb 8oz, and his first week was spent in hospital due to an infection. He was absolutely fine thereafter. I have a now 18 month old son also, and I can see how I have fallen into a pattern of not establishing any routine - I try to get out of the house as much as possible to entertain my other son and have let the baby sleep longer than he needed or hold him much more than I did with my first (who slept through from 10 weeks!)
Having said that, at first, the baby fed regularly every 2.5-3 hours, until around 5-6 weeks, when he started to feed little and often, a pattern which has not changed. Because he fed regularly at first, I never thought too hard about a routine and am, paying for it now! He seems to need a feed every 1-1.5 hrs, but then only feeds for about 5 minutes, the exception being during teh evening wwhen he cluster feeds between about 5-730pm, breaking for a bath. He does go to sleep between 730-8 and lasts until 10, sometimes actually as late as 1130.
I have been trying to change his napping pattern in the last couple of weeks using the secrets of BW and BW solves all your problems (My first son was on EASY to start with - I appreciate how it helps). It takes anywhere from 20-30 minutes to settle him in his cot, and he naps for about 20-45 minutes. EASY has been out of the window due to his need for feeding as he will often have two 5 minute feeds between naps. Unfortunatelt, the pattern of hourly waking has continued through teh main part of teh night - it's as though he is too tired to eat much so only feeds for 1-5 minutres, then can't sleep for long because he wakes up hungry.
Usinf BW solves problems book, I think he's a snacker so last night we tried to just settle him back down to sleep when he woke in the night, hoping for a big breakfast feed this morning. I last fed him at midnight. He then woke at 1am, 220am and 33am - we settled him back using shush-pat the first two times, but he would not be settled the third time and as his lips felt dry, I fed him at about 410am - he fed for about 10 minutes from one breast and then slept until 7, when he fed for about 2 minutes and fell promptly back to sleep, waking at 8! We therefore seem no further forward. I note that it should take three days of effort before we get a change but should I have expected something better from this morning's feed? Should I have left him longer without food, even though he did seem hungry?
He's now on his second nap but again hasn't had a big feed at all since he woke up this morning. I don't know if I'm doing the right thing to break his cycle as he must be exhausted too, as we are.
He is breastfed and hasn't taken a bottle of expressed or formula milk, though we tried only on and off since 6 weeks old. I give him one breast at each feed in the hope he may reach the hind milk but I have not seen him take any hind milk for weeks (I squeeze a bit out to see after he finishes each feed).
He has recently had bronchiolitis so we haven't tried him with a bottle again in the last couple of wks to allow him to be fully recovered first. He seems not to like the plastic, same as refusing a dummy - the most we get with a dummy is him taking it for a few seconds, passing it round his mouth and spitting out (my other son still uses one - from one extreme to the other!)
A time is definitely harder with a toddler around - every time I put him on a playmat his brother jumps on and I am worried about him hurting the baby, so have taken to cuddles and singing with him on my knee.
Fir the last week or so my husband and I have used shush-pat to settle him at nap and bedtime and this does work, if he hasn't already fallen asleep on my breast).
My health visitor has him on a weight review as from 6 weeks dropped a line on the centile graph due to this snacking.
We are at the end of our tethers and so desperate for some sleep - occasionally, our son as slept for 2-2.5 hours in a block after midnight though on less than five occasions sine he was born.
Thank you in anticipation.
Caroline
