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Newborn- Need Support!

post #1 of 7
Thread Starter 
I have a 10 day old healthy little girl. I was always planning to use a mini cosleeper as we have a Queen bed and dh and I fill it up. I am breast feeding and she eats abour every 11/2 hours. The problem is she refuses to sleep in the co-sleeper. She can be sound asleep and about 5 minutes after I put her in, she wakes up. The only way I can settle her is to nurse. I was encouraging her to sleep on my chest, but the last 2 nights she has refused this. I've been spending about a 4 hour block a night nursing, trying to get her to sleep, then nursing again.

Anyone have any advice or encouraging words! I'm so tired!
post #2 of 7
Unfortunately, it's really very common and typical for newborns to want to nurse constantly. Breastfeeding isn't just food for them-- it's also comfort in a big world, and connection to you.

The best way I now how to handle this is to work on learning side-lying nursing, so you can sleep while baby nurses. That's how all of mine slept as young infants. So if you haven't begun working on this, that might be a good idea. I used to just latch them on, slide down to a side-lying position, and go to sleep myself, and they would nurse until they fell asleep soundly. Usually I was asleep first.

It can help to put a small rolled-up blanket behind baby's back, to help baby stay in a side-lying position-- you can tape tightly it to keep it from unrolling.

Are you swaddling tightly? The only way my kids would allow me to put them down asleep at this age was if they were tightly swaddled. My DS STILL wouldn't let me put him down, but it's worth a try.

Also, in a few weeks if you are still struggling with this, you might try the very limited use of a pacifier. The paci can help you ease baby off the breast and stay asleep if put down. You want to be cautious with it-- if baby stops nursing well and often, you'll want to put it away for awhile, and definitely don't use it to delay a feed for a hungry baby or to avoid meeting baby's needs. But you know that, I'm sure.

This stage passes very quickly, when you look back on it later, but when you're in the middle of it, it can seem like it's going to last forever. It won't! Hang in there.

If you can nurse side-lying, one thing to try is to scootch over into the cosleeper, beside her, and nurse her until she's sound asleep-- then often you can gently ease your nipple out of her mouth, and leave her lying where she is, and go back into the bed yourself. I had some good luck with that strategy, with DS-- but not until he was a bit older, I think.
post #3 of 7
I agree with a good tight swaddle!

Also, are you feeding frequently during the day? My DD needed a feed every 2 hours in the day in order to get longer stretches at night.
post #4 of 7
you can side car a crib. make the mattresses the same height. then you have more room and a border to keep her from falling off the bed when she is older. i like to roll over into the crib alittle and nurse there then roll back over after. however at that age they need to be right next to you. your breathing and such regulates their breathing. they also miss your warmth and the smell of you. i always slept right next to my baby.. usually with my boob hanging out. lol.
post #5 of 7
Thread Starter 
Great advice. Thank you all so much.
I do nurse side-lying with her, but am worried about her getting tangled in the blankets so I don't really sleep. I will try the rolled up towel. She was sleeping on my chest, but last night didn't want any of it.
Our co-sleeper has a little 4 inch edge between it and the mattress, so I'm not sure I could reach her to nurse.

We had a doctor's appointment today. She is gaining weight ahead of the 1 oz a day. The last few days she has been increasingly fussy and only wants to nurse or suck on dh's fingers. She has had very few periods where she is not crying, nursing, or sleeping. Our doctor said it was ok to introduce a pacifier so we are trying that this afternoon. I just really hope it doesn't interfere with her sleeping. It is working great on soothing her though!
post #6 of 7
The fussiness is normal-- it gets worse before it gets better. It seems to peak at about six weeks, for non-colicky babies, and then it declines steadily. They start to "wake up" to the world a bit, and find out they don't like it, not one little bit, and they get unhappy about it. It takes a few more weeks after that for their nervous systems to mature, and for their behavior to become a little more organized.
post #7 of 7
Quote:
Originally Posted by sssheri View Post
Great advice. Thank you all so much.
I do nurse side-lying with her, but am worried about her getting tangled in the blankets so I don't really sleep. I will try the rolled up towel. She was sleeping on my chest, but last night didn't want any of it.
Our co-sleeper has a little 4 inch edge between it and the mattress, so I'm not sure I could reach her to nurse.

We had a doctor's appointment today. She is gaining weight ahead of the 1 oz a day. The last few days she has been increasingly fussy and only wants to nurse or suck on dh's fingers. She has had very few periods where she is not crying, nursing, or sleeping. Our doctor said it was ok to introduce a pacifier so we are trying that this afternoon. I just really hope it doesn't interfere with her sleeping. It is working great on soothing her though!
If you're worried about her getting tangled in blankets use a separate one for you and your dh - and only put yours up to your waist. Then wear a shirt to sleep so you don't get cold (one that buttons is good b/c then baby still has good access)

I would be REALLY cautious with a paci at this age. Is your ped really BF friendly? Do they understand that it can cause nipple confusion? If all she wants it to nurse, she might be gearing up a little early for the 2-3week growth spurt. At this age they have growth spurts seemingly every.single.week even though its more like every 3weeks.
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