Sleep or lack thereof.

[Mildly]

We are having real problems with Oscar sleeping at night pretty much since birth. He seems to sense that it is night and we want to sleep but will do nothing but scream. In hospital he would at least sleep on me for a bit before starting to cry but now he pretty much just screams whatever we do. Even after a feed (breast) he won't stop crying. Nappy is checked and he isn't too hot or cold, he just screams so much his little lip is shaking. Even during the day he is very unsettled although he will sometimes nap for maybe half an hour in his bouncy chair or propped up against his V feeding cushion.

I'm wondering if he has colic? Is he too young for that?

He hates his moses basket and won't settle for even a minute in it regardless of the time of day. We have tried making it softer with a blanket lining the bottom, tried putting our t-shirts in there too so it smells of us but he really hates it. Our bed isn't really big enough for co-sleeping and seeing as he screams most of the way through the night anyway, it seems pointless we are both kept up.

Sorry this next bit should probably be in the feeding section but it all seems related

Breastfeeding has been difficult too as he has a tongue tie but I am just about managing now with nipple protectors. In hospital the midwives talked me into topping him up with formula, which I wish I hadn't done. He now really prefers the 'no effort' sucking on a bottle as opposed to working for it on the breast. I just don't think he is being satisfied with what I can produce though due to the screams. I have tried feeding him more often but I don't really have enough to be able to do that.

After no sleep at all last night and Oscar pretty much refusing my boob the whole time too as he was screaming too much, I decided to try a formula feed this lunchtime just to see how long it would make him sleep for as he was whinging straight after feeding off me. He slept for 4 hours (Unfortunately it was during the time we had a string of visitors so no rest for me ). I have pretty much decided to incorporate a formula feed at around midnight or just when we are heading to bed in order that we can at least get 4 hours sleep a night (which at this point sounds great!). Is this going to hamper my breastfeeding in anyone's experience? I just tried to feed him when he had woken up from the four hours but he was having none of it. I suspect he was hungry though as he was chewing his fists and screaming.

Any advice?

 

[Sherlock]

Firstly, it is normal that babies are awake at night. They have no sense of time or a bodyclock as yet. That will develop over the coming months.

Secondly, if you really want to BF then I'd give up the bottle. Usually they advise to BF only for the first 6 weeks to a) help establish supply and b) to avoid nipple confusion and/or laziness.

Bottle feeding your LO is probably for him easier as he doesn't have to work so hard to get the milk. It just pours down his throat. So then when you put him on your boob he will naturally fuss and complain as he then has to work a bit to get his food. Even with slow flow teats and non flat ones chances are he will still prefer a bottle over the boob atm as your milk supply isn't fully built up yet.

The supply takes about 6 weeks to settle down usually. Until then demand feeding is pretty much the best way to get it going. The more your let your LO suckle and feed the better. Bottle feeding will only mean less chance of your milk supply coming through properly as your body will respond to LO feeding and adjust accordingly.

If you really want to BF and he is latching well etc then I'd be ruthless and ditch the bottles and stick to breastfeeding exclusively. Take to your bed for a couple of days with LO, lots of skin on skin, cuddles and offering him the boob. Rub your nipple on his cheek before each feed to stimulate him to root. Also see if you can massage your boobs to get the milk flowing a bit easier for him to start off. Babies have no memory so to speak so a day or two with just your boobs on offer chances are he won't fuss as much as he is atm.

Colic usually begins around 3 weeks iirc, but I guess it can start sooner. Tho 6 days does seem very early. You could try using Infacol and see if it helps. Also regular winding perhaps?

Bear in mind newborn babies usually prefer to be cuddled up on you than in their basket or cot. 9 months of being in the womb means they find it comforting being close to you still. Not many take easily to going straight into a basket or cot from birth. Personally I think introducing a bottle feed before you go to bed isn't the best thing as it will possibly still cause problems with him feeding from you. And it will mess with your supply. I know the lack of sleep is hard but it does get easier once things start to settle. OH and I used to stagger our sleeps in the early days. I would go crash out around 8pm and he would look after LO till he went to bed and only wake me to feed him. Might be worth a try. I think in the first 3 weeks I was managing on about 2 hours per night and a few very short catnaps in the day. Once we did the staggered sleeping and he cuddled LO it got easier.

 

[Redshoes]

I'd co-sleep, with both mine they have slept through, maybe waking once for a quick feed, because they've been close, and I'd suggest Cranial Osteopathy for him too, which may help due to his eventful birth
Really hope you both settle into a better routine that works for everyone soon
Very best wishes

http://www.cranial.org.uk/page3.html
http://www.cry-sis.org.uk/

 

[Mildly]

Thanks for your comments ladies

Just a little update, we went with the formula feed just before we went to bed last night (straight after he had drained my boobs) and he took 75ml and then slept for 5 hours in his moses basket He then woke up for another quick boobie feed and then me and him fell back asleep for another 2 and a half hours in bed. OH and I feel like new people Although I don't doubt that Oz was so tired too after having been so wakeful the last week.

Sherlock thanks for the advice, unfortunately because we are having to use nipple shields and expressed boobie milk at the mo due to his tongue tie and my supply, he is bound to suffer some sort of teet confusion - especially as I do try every now and again to get him latched on without the nipple protectors. The midwife suggested infracol(sp?) for the colic so we will try that if he gets fractious in the evenings in future. Thanks for the reassurance about the early days of no sleep, I think I was starting to panic a bit as OH will be back at work mid week but I do feel a lot more positive about things after a good night

Redshoes, thanks for the links. The osteopathy sounds really interesting, I think we will look into that

Also he was weighed today and has dropped from 9lb 14 to 9lb 2 so is almost bang on target

 

[clarey]

Youre doing great, the first few weeks are really tough but it does get better or you get used to it, not sure which lol
I am sure there are plenty of people who have combined breast and bottle successfully, we started giving Eva a bottle of EBM at night from 4 weeks and she never had any prob with nipple confusion. It might be an idea to have a good go at expressing before you go to bed though to make up for missing a boob feed and maybe help your supply along a bit? It will make you more comfy too especially if you like to sleep on your front now the bump has gone!
Everyone here is so fab with the support around feeding whichever way you choose to do it, you and Oscar will be fine

 

[lauramumof2]

can I drop in colocynth for the colic. We used that and it was quite good. The hv recommended it and I heard it mentioned on here.

, we had a sleep resistant boy, and I know how draining it can be. Especially as our first was a wee angel.

 

[Geordie&Bairn]

Youre doing great, the first few weeks are really tough but it does get better or you get used to it, not sure which lol
I am sure there are plenty of people who have combined breast and bottle successfully, we started giving Eva a bottle of EBM at night from 4 weeks and she never had any prob with nipple confusion. It might be an idea to have a good go at expressing before you go to bed though to make up for missing a boob feed and maybe help your supply along a bit? It will make you more comfy too especially if you like to sleep on your front now the bump has gone!
Everyone here is so fab with the support around feeding whichever way you choose to do it, you and Oscar will be fine

I did i gave Collier a top up in the evening not every night and usually only the one bottle he was very very upset in the afternoons id feed him on the breast frequently but he wanted just that bit more then i made the rest of his feeds where was breast milk
he never got nipple confusion he took both happily and at 6 weeks old he pushed the bottle away and hasnt had it since


Your doing fine sweetie
When Colleir at the start didnt sleep well i played classical music and it clamed him down stright away and he would fall asleep listening to the music maybe try that
also warm the blanket before hand use a hotwater bottle to take the chill of it and this will make the moses basket more snuggly
Also we elevated one end of the basket it helped him breath easier and he slept better
Collier suffer badly with Colic we used infocol it worked wonders on him

 

[sparky]

Isla has never slept for 5 hours yet so you're doing good! We found putting her into a sleeping bag has helped her settle a wee bit after her night feeds now!

 

[Mildly]

Thanks ladies I think I underestimated how difficult the first few weeks would be It is reassuring to hear that it gets easier though.

I have been expressing a bit but will definitely make sure I do at the time that OH does the formula feed. Ooh I had forgotten all about sleeping on my front, I think my c section scar is probably healing well enough to try that, thanks Clarey

laura, I'm now unsure whether the crying was colic related as it seems to have calmed down somewhat, perhaps we are getting better at burping him properly (well OH is better than I am) I will definitely keep colocynth in mind if the unsettled crying persists though thanks

Sarah, that is great news that Collier took to having one formula feed per day without any confusion and that is great that he decided he didn't need it after 6 weeks Babies are clever little things really, aren't they We'll definitely try the classical music, we did try a hot water bottle last night and it did seem to help. We also elevated the moses basket at one end and he really does seem to prefer that to flat. Thanks for your wonderful suggestions

sparky, aww hope I didn't make you jealous Oscar is such a hot baby and we live in a mid-terrace house so he lives all day in vests and we just cover him with a muzzy at night so as not to overheat him. Can't wait for winter so we can give our sleeping bags a try, thanks for the advice