5 weeks & confused!

[Wink's Marmy]

Hi again. My 5 wk. old has been throwing me for a loop!

For about a week and a half, she has been going longer between feeds at night. For the first few weeks of life she eat around 7 pm, DF at 10:30, wake for feed at 2 am, wake for feed at 5 am and up around 8. Then she started stretching out between feeds. Each night was different - 5 hour stretches, 6 hour stretches, at least 4 hour stretches. I was only having to get up once per night as opposed to twice. Anyway, over the past few nights it has returned to her original pattern that she had during the first few weeks. My Mom says "every day is different!" but she never had a routine when she was a mom of a baby... We are at my parents right now for the holidays and she is sleeping in a new place that is quite a bit more noisy with my brother's two toddlers running around. That is one change for her that I wonder is affecting the sleep. Another is that she is eating (BF) a little strange. Usually she nurses 30 - 45 min. (slow eater) but over the past few days, she has had multiple 10-12 minute nursing sessions. Perhaps she is not getting enough? Most of the short nursing sessions are at night/morning. She has also been having more EBM with bottles than normal. THose are the things different right now. Is this normal to go long stretches and then suddenly revert back? I feel like I am doing something wrong here...

Routine: (A is usually pretty short - diapering & about 10 - 20 min. of "play")

E 8am
S 9-11
E 11
S 12-1
E 1pm
S 2-5
E 5 pm
S catnap 45 min
E 7 pm cluster feed
A bath
S catnap 45 min.
E 9 pm cluster feed
S 9:30 - 11:00
E DF 11

[ukchick]

Hi ya I have a 5 week old as well so know what it is like!!

have you done a yield test to check how much milk you are producing?? Bascially just express and see how much you get in 15 minutes I think - someone may need to correct me or the info will be on the breastfeeding bit. Also I was BF but switched to bottle after 2 weeks as lo would take up to an hour to feed each time and I was hating it but I did express and get a great milk supply so know he was getting a good feed even if he did fall aslepp after 10 mins I would revivie him and put him back on for at least 30 mins.

Sleep - well thats a word in our house at the moment we are battling too - hard isn't it!! How did your lo go 5 hours at night - I need your secret!!!

Let me know how you get on!!

Good luck xx

[NKmommy]

Hi!  Congrats on your little one!  It sounds to me like she could be going through a growth spurt (common around 6 weeks old).  That would explain the frequent feeds and night wakings.  If that is the case, you should see a return to old behaviors in a few days. 

Let us know how things go!   

[Diegos Mama]

I vote for growth spurt!

[Wink's Marmy]

Well, interesting that you say I could be disrupting natural sleep patterns... Last night I fed her at 9 and it was terrible because she was so gassy... I guess its all the rich Christmas food I have been pigging out on! Anyway, my sis-in-law suggested just letting her be after the feeding (it took an hour to feed with all the gassy fussing). So after feeding she went to bed at 10 and I didn't wake her. She slept till 3! I was so excited. Thats 6 hours from begining of feed to begining of next feed! It is odd because the longest interval she has had so far was 7 hours between feeds a week ago because I was sick and hubbie was too tired to help with DF so we skipped it. That night she went down around 9:30. Perhaps her DF should be earlier???

Also, regarding the schedule I posted, it really differs each day as far as start time. For instance, this morning after a 3 am feeding, she woke again at 6, so I began the routine with that as the start of the day. So her schedule will be the exact same, just bumped down 2 hours, with her last feeding at 7. Do you still think I should drop the 7 feeding if her day starts earlier?? Thats the thing that confuses me about the routine. I don't want to wake her in the morning (sleep - sleep - sleep!) but some days start at 8, while others at 6 and others at 7. Since that is the case, bedtimes will differ too. Should I wake her at, say, 7 each morning if I want her to have the same feedings at the same times everyday?? Oh, and I am flex about the routine. If she seems really sleepy, I let her go extra time (15 min. or so) or if she seems hungry 30 min. or so earlier than usual, I go ahead and feed her.

Gotta love growth spurts....

[Diegos Mama]

I think you need to experiement.  I never did a dreamfeed with either child.  It seemed (for us) to wreak more havoc than help.  However, I did clusterfeed religiously.    Be conscientious with your feeds so you don't compromise your milk supply if she's going long stretches at night.  The good thing about them sleeping long stretches early, is well, they're sleeping and so are you!! The sometimes bad thing is you're not stimulating your milk supply at night and if your supply is sensitive like mine was with both boys, you may need to keep an eye on it.

Sounds like you're figuring things out!  Great job and congrats!
 

[Wink's Marmy]

Hello again. DD is now 7 weeks and we are STILL dealing with these same issues!!! I posted in the EASY forum, forgetting I had posted this same topic previously. I guess sleep deprivation does that to you... Anywho, DD is still pulling the same weird night stuff. For instance, last week for 4 nights in a row, her days went like this:

E 8:30
S 9:30/10 - 11:30
E 11:30
S 12:30/1 - 2:30
E 2:30
S 3:30 - 5
E 5:00
S catnap 40 min
E 7:00
S Bedtime 8:00
E (DF) 10:00
S 10:30 - 4:30 or 5:30
E 4:30 or 5:30
S 5 or 6 - 8:30

It was nice and she was pulling those longer stretches again. BUT, for the past 5 nights, she is back to this:

E 6:00
S 7-9
E 9:00
S 10:30 - 12:00
E 12:00
S 1:30 - 3:00
E 3:00
S catnap 40 min.
E 5:00
S catnap 40 min.
E 7:00
S bedtime 8
E (DF) 10:00
S 10:30 - 2:00 or 2:30
E 2 or 2:30
S 3 or 3:30 - 6:00

It has been a total step backwards. I have tried feeding her every 2.5 hours in the day and cluster feeding 1.5 hours (didn't work). I have also tried later DF versus earlier DF. I can't drop clusters because she wants them.

She was sick with a cold for about 10 days. Before cold she pulled long stretches at night, during cold and after cold. So not sure if that has anything to do with it or not. Her weight gain (weighed 8.9 at birth, back to 8.7 at 2 weeks) has been good, but not much during the cold. Could her body be making up for weight lost during cold?? Its just driving me crazy because she WAS starting to stretch out like she should, and now its back to her 2 week old schedule!!!! Any suggestions??

[NKmommy]

I agree with Stacy.  Could be another growth spurt.  I know it is frustrating, especially since she was going for such long stretches at night...  But one night feed (aside from the dream feed) is still GREAT for a seven week old.  It may be that she was just going unusually long at times, but since her daytime feeds and naps look perfect, I would just go by her cues at night.  Keep us posted!

[Wink's Marmy]

Aarrrgh! Well, tonight she woke at 1:30. We'll see when she wakes again. Thanks for the encouragement. I think I may be going through PP depression. I struggle with depression anyway, and sort of expected this. I'm on an anti-D, but called my Pdoc and he upped my dosage for now. Should kick in soon....  Anyway, one of the indicators was that I was obsessing about her (sleeping habits and thinking she wasn't "up to par" with where she should be for now, esp. since she has been sleeping better than currently doing so). So, if anything, you have helped ease my mind some. If it is another growth spurt, can they last this long??

[Wink's Marmy]

.... And she woke again at.... 4:30! Now we are back to a 3 hour feeding schedule at night. Back to the sleep deprivation of the first two weeks. Can growth spurts really go on for 6 nights?

[Wink's Marmy]

Thanks. Yeah, I do pump and DH does the DF which does buy me some sleep time. Problem is I have been so anxious that sleeping when I can isn't easy either (I am waking a lot on my own). Anyway, I know that this too shall pass. Hopefully my meds will up my moods... Last night she was up A LOT.... this BF thing isn't my cup of tea. Remind me why I'm doing this again?? Its just so awful when DD got me used to more sleep (7 hours in a row) and now is waking constantly.... But I will try to enjoy her tiny little self even though I have no sleep. Thats the one thing my mood disorder requires for me to stay healthy - SLEEP!!! Arrrggghhh......