Pls help exhausted Mummy -growth spurt questions

[flowerdrago]

Hi,

My 11 week old daughter's feeding schedule has from regular ie 0800, 1100, 1300, 1600, 1800, 2000, 0400

 o a strange clustering all the morning - long sleep and then more at night: 0800, 1000, 1200, 1400, sleep for 4 hours, 1800, 2000, 2200, 0200, 0400, 0600. She could be having a growth spurt but the last few were nowhere as a big a change as this one, and only lasted a day or two - this is the third day and I am exhausted from lack of sleep, continuous nursing and not enough to eat. She won't take anything but breastmilk and only from the breast (a whole new topic altogether!) so I can't even get any relief.

My questions
1) if I cheat ie take for walk, she sleeps (and for a long time, 4 hours at a stretch) and so I get some rest but should I be 'interfering' with her growth spurt if it is one?

2) She weighs 4.8kg (10.5lbs)  and is 11 weeks old, exclusive BF - how many times should she be eating (when not in a spurt?)

3) Is she meant to put on a lot of weight after a growth spurt (hope so for all this effort?!)

4) Any ideas for quick , nutritious lunches/snacks, there is only so much yoghurt I can eat

5) how long should this last?

MAny thanks,
Ro
Exhausted Mummy

[daisymelan]

Wow, you have a lot going on, I will do my best to help you, but I don't have all the answers.

Growth spurts can last up to one week, so you may just have to go with it.  But this is my concern, four hours of day sleep in one stretch is a lot.  But as you said, it could be simply the growth spurt, but I would think that that 4 hour stretch should still be at night.  During growth spurts babies tend to sleep more. 

It's hard to say how many times she "should" be nursing.  Every baby is different.  From 7 feeds to 10 feeds sounds about right.  But again, I would think that they should be more during the day and less at night. 

Some babies gain weight from growth spurts, some get taller, etc.  So your babe may not actually gain any weight.  Sorry.

For snacks you can do some cheese, etc.  It really is wide open.  How about a yummy fruit smoothie??  Or cottage cheese, YUM!

I hope this has helped.

[Carter'sMama]

It could very well be a growth spurt.  After Carter had a growth spurt I never really noticed any difference in his weight or height but the growth spurt can refer to internal things as well.  I would think that a baby your daughters age would eat every 2.5-3 hrs so about 6-9 feeds a day.

I think that 4 hours of day time sleep is a little long and might start interfering with her night time sleep.  Babies are programmed to have one long sleep and you want that to be during the night.  As tempting as it may be to let her sleep for 4 hours (I remember those days all to well  , it would probably be in your best interest to wake her after 2.5-3hrs at the latest. 

Make sure you take care of yourself!  Are  there people you can count on to help out (family, friends)?  Maybe they can watch your DD so you can have nap or make yourself something yummy and nutritious to eat.  With your lo feeding so much you definitely need to eat and rest to keep the "factory" going (that's what DH and I always called myself   . 

As for food ... what about fruit (I always ate fruit when I took Carter for walks) or eggs are very healthy and packed with protein.  You could make some egg salad one night and then eat sandwiches on whole wheat bread for extra nutrients.  I know how hard it is to fit in meals!  I literally would only get to eat when Carter was breastfeeding and that was pretty tricky to maneuver.  I found it handy to make or buy trail mix or something similar so that I could grab a handful whenever I had the chance.  The one I make has cheerios, almonds, peanuts, pretzels and a bunch of seasonings (I can post the recipe if you want)

HTH
Let us know if you have any more questions!
Good luck with everything!

[JacobMarksMummy]

She is definatly at the right age to expect a growth spurt. Growth spurts dont normally last any longer than a week. Try and relax with her routine while its going on and try and at least reast while she is napping, housework can wait while your exhausted. I'm not sure about her putting on weight after her growth purt but I did notice my son seem to grown out of his clothes all of a sudden.

I think that once her growth spurt has finished she should be eating around 6 or 8 times a day. Every baby is different so as long as she is eating around every 3 hours in the day and no more often than every 2 hours I wouldnt worry.

As for things to eat could you buy some healthy ready meals? I used to go to marks and spencer every lunch 1) so I could have a walk and 2) so I could buy one of thier wholemeal sandwhiches. Great if you can afford to do it. If not I also ate alot of crackers and salad sandwiches. Try and look after yourself, after all happy mummy = happy baby 

[flowerdrago]

Thank you ladies,

she seemed to have come out of the growth spurt. While on it, she started turning on her tummy consistently and also slept through from around 9pm to 8am for two days in a row (Alas, I was so tired by this stage that I wasn't writing down her feeds - now that she is eating every 3 hours, she wakes at 2am).

But no significant weight gain! I'll start another post about that but thank you all for your responses,
Rgds
R