Night wakings aren't improving...any ideas?

[mstormin]

Granted DS is only 2 mos old so I'm not expecting to sleep thru the night or anything!  But we've been doing easy for a month or so and his night sleeping has not improved at all (in fact I think it's gotten worse).

He's only sleeping in 2.5-3 hr stretches.  He's getting plenty of nutrition during the day (feeds every 2.5-3 hrs) and is gaining weight (born @ 7lbs and now weighs 12lbs).

Any hints or advice on how to help extend his stretches of sleep at night?

[stopjo]

I am in the same boat as you. My ds is 7 weeks and 3 days old.  I am feeding him 4 oz every 3 hours.  His birth weight was 6.14 and he now weighs around 9.9 lbs.  He is getting around 24 oz during the day which
is what Tracy suggests 2.5 of the weight.

I started a bedtime routine but still he wakes up in 4 hours.  Yesterday I was up until 2 AM Shhhhhing to extend his sleep for 6 hours. At 2:15 he didn't like my shhhhhhh anymore.  He started screaming and stopped only after I fed him.  Then he woke up at 5:15 and had his next doze.

I will be going back to work soon and I desperately need suggestion.

I know this wasn't of much help but atleast to let you know that you are not alone.

Jo

[Jadynsmom]

Hi,

Are you bf or formula feeding?  Are u doing cf or df? Also when he wakes at night, do u feed him every time or offer a paci? 

My lo just woke up from her nap.  I'll check back

Kathy

[mstormin]

Kathy-- I'm BF and do a part CF/DF by feeding 3:30, 5:30, 7:30 and 9:30.  I don't do another one at 10 or 11 since I try to go straight to bed after the 9:30 feeding b/c he always wakes by 7am.

I do offer a paci which will hold him off for about 5 minutes, but that's it.

Thanks for your help!

[albertasweetpea]

Just a suggestion, something I tried with my DD for awhile was giving her last bottle at about 6:30 then bed at 7. I would lay down for a couple of hours and wake to DF her around 10 or 10:30 (this would probably work for you BF'ing as well as you mentioned he is eating every 2.5-3 hours) That way I got in a couple of hours myself, got up to DF her and hopped back into bed. She would wake for her next bottle about 2 or 3 am.
This way also you get them into the habit of going to bed early which will be wonderful once they get older and more mobile and exhausting!

 :lol:

[Jadynsmom]

What Michelle suggested sounds good to me.  I know you probably need a good stretch of sleep.  When your lo wakes every 3hrs to feed during the night, does he nurse well or does he fall asleep after a few mins?  If he's just doing the nursing for comfort then I would try to just pat him back to sleep, but if he's nursing really well & long then he might be going through a long growth spurt???  I know there's a growth spurt around 6wks.  How long does he nurse during the day?  Just making sure he's not snacking.

Kathy

[mstormin]

Thanks for all the suggestions ladies!

This has been happening for over a month now so I don't think it's a growth spurt (I'm pretty sure he went thru his at 5 wks).  I'm wondering if it's because my supply is low at night?  During the day I seem to be much more full and in the evenings not so much.  So maybe he's actually waking for calories b/c he's not getting enough in the evenings?

[Jadynsmom]

I saw your post on bfing so hopefully some of the moms there can help you with your supply, if it is low.  I also used to worry my lo wasn't getting enough milk because I didn't feel 'full' during the evening, but the moms wrote & said that at night is when you have the most of the hindmilk which is rich & thick.  We will naturally be more full during the morning, but it has a lot of foremilk which is like water.  At night, even if you don't feel 'full', they still get the good stuff (hindmilk) full of calories & fat which should help them sleep longer lengths.

Is he nursing for a long time when he wakes up at night?  Let us know how he nurses during nightwakings.

Kathy

[mstormin]

THanks Kathy-- that makes sense about the milk in the evenings and night.

When he wakes around 12-1am he nurses well, then at the 3am shift its usually only for about 5 minutes (he'll usually have a BM so I sometimes wonder if he uses nursing to "flush his system"  ), then at 5-6am he'll nurse great again.

Maybe he doesn't need the 3am shift?  The problem is that he's not satisfied with just getting his nuk (unless that's b/c he's used to being fed?)

Let me know your thoughts-- I really appreciate your insight!

[Jadynsmom]

I definitely think you can skip the 3am feed.  It might take a couple of days for him to get used to the idea of no boob :lol:  I would just offer the paci and just pat/shh back to sleep.  I would give him extra 10mins to give him cuddles & stand there for the first couple of times til he falls asleep.  I bet he was comfort nursing if it's only 5mins, so give him extra cuddles instead.   After a while, he will get the idea and just take the paci & go back to sleep and then later on just sleep through.  He seems pretty healthy 2mo at 12lbs.  I can't remember how big my lo was at that time.  I think 11lbs, and she was 8lb12oz when she was born. She started sleeping 7 or 8 hrs I think about that time, so basically skipping a feeding at night.  Let us know how it goes.

Kathy