[sonicfrost]

It started last night. My 5 week old boy was very fussy and eating every 2 hours when his usual is 3 to 4 hours with the occasional 5 or 6 hour stretch at night. Now he's eating every hour, taking 20 minute cat naps, and wakes up crying until I feed him, then he goes to sleep for another 20 minutes and the whole thing starts all over again. I'm about to spend the whole night awake and am very seriously considering caffiene for myself, but I know it affects the breast milk, so I don't know what to do.

How do you other mamas handle these times? Its so draining.. I don't even have time to pump any milk so my husband can feed him while I sleep.

 

[bender]

Nurse while lying down. At his age, I would lean myself against a body pillow and tuck baby close to me while napping. It's not perfect sleep, but it helps with the exhaustion.

 

[JayJay]

Sleep with babe right next to you, on his side - you, on your side, boob out over a receiving blanket at night. You'll soon get used to popping the boob in and out of his little mouth without really waking up at all! He'll get more grub at night, and won't be quite as fussy during the day, I've found.

Then during the day, try carrying him in a sling if you have one, and just loosening it a bit to drop him down to boob level, so that he can feed and you can do whatever you need to do. Also, he might sleep better being carried (presuming you're not already doing this). Another thing I've found works is making a nursing pillow (which I can link the pattern to), and letting them nurse and then fall asleep on the pillow which is nice and warm from your body heat... Then, take pillow and baby and pop it securely into the bassinet, co-sleeper or whatever, and baby tends to stay sleeping for longer.

Bella also does really like her swing sometimes. I don't possess many baby devices, but I do have a swing and she'll conk out in that quite effectively after a good big feed. Then I can go ahead and cook or clean the toilet without worrying about her getting splashed with anything nasty in the sling.

Bella is the kind of baby who does like to feed frequently, and comfort suck, so these methods have worked for me every day so far!

 

[Shanelovr]

i'm sorry, i know it's hard. ds and i go through this every other month is seems. there'll just be a period(like now) where he's really needy, clingy, fussy. it's tough. but i've come to realize that just as soon as i can't take anymore, it's usually over. definitely try nursing lying down. even napping if you can, not just nights. it makes a big difference and going on little to no sleep gets to you. i've also found that when i'm at my end, sometimes dh will take ds for a short walk. ds loves them and if he's just fussy and not hungry then it'll soothe him, sometimes even to sleep. if you need help, try to find/let someone help you. we all need it sometimes. it can be hard to fix meals when there like this so, i'd either have someone else make snacks/dinner for me, or order something out. its just so much easier, not to mention when ds is growing and eating constantly, i'm usually starving, so if you're like me, don't neglect yourself. you have to take a minute to go to the bathroom, eat some food, take a quick break. a 5 min break can make all the difference between a calm momma and an anxious, pulling her hair out momma. good luck and remember it doesn't last forever.

 

[Kelly1101]

Second to sleep next to the baby with the boob out. That way he can latch on every few hours and nurse back to sleep, and you hardly have to wake up.

During the day, I remember at about 6 months old there were a few days when I was literally camped out in the glider rocking chair in front of the computer with a boppy on my lap. The baby would nurse to sleep on the boppy, sleep for a bit, wake and nurse back down, sleep for a bit, etc., for a few hours at a time. She was so tired and so needing to nurse a lot. It's really hard being "confined" like that to the chair, but I just kept a full glass of water, a few snacks, and only shifted us to go to the bathroom, for probably 3 hours in the day. Yes, my housework went to hell and nothing got done. But it didn't last long, and it was the only way she'd get some real rest (which helped her sleep better at night, too).

 

[sonicfrost]

Thanks for the suggestions!!

I found that laying slightly reclined on the couch with my son on my belly/chest supported by the boppy with boob out really helped! Oddly, morning came and I felt more rested than usual! I wasn't expecting that.

Thanks again!