5 Week Old and Number of Feedings

I highly recommend reading the book "Becoming Baby Wise". I used their methods with all three of my children and they all slept through the night by eight weeks. Everyone I know who has done this routine has had success (and also has happy kids!) Take their advice with a grain of salt because it may seem a little strict. The most important thing...absolutely imperative is the schedule of eat, wake, then sleep. Its very hard to keep a new new born awake during the day when they are backwards, but I found that by feeding them every two - two 1/2 hours during the day (no matter what) helped. I would do this until bedtime, then just let the go at night to wake up on their own. Like I said, it worked on all three of mine!

Kristin,
I felt your pain the moment I started reading your request. I felt the same way about my baby. Make sure that she is eating for the same length of time each feeding. Try stretching out the feedings to every 3 hours. After the 6 week mark, she should start doing better. What finally helped me was my husband started to help. He stays up later than I do normally. I would pump all day to get ONE bottle. Then, after the 9 pm feeding, I would go to sleep. At midnight, my husband would bottle feed the baby breast milk. I could then sleep from 9 till 3. That little bit of sleep really helped my feelings! And, the baby finally started sleeping longer between feedings. I hope this helps!

J.

Both my DC nursed frequently throughout the night, especially at that age. It was lots easier when I brought them to bed with me. Then I could doze off again as soon as I got them latched on. You are doing a good job, and one day you will sleep again. LOL

A. :)

Newborns eat around the clock - their tummies just aren't big enough to go longer without food! She will start sleeping longer stretches around four months of age. I'd recommend reading books like Marc Weissbluth's "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and Denise Field's "Baby 411", which is where I got the information that helped me endure until the 4-month point! I read a lot of books during the midnight feedings, even read them to my son. Since your baby is at least a month old, you could start expressing a bottle or two for your husband to offer at one of the feedings (if you're married), or for a friend or relative to offer during the day to let you nap. Best of success to you! I'm a month away from having my second child and I just know I'll be exhausted, too.....

Congratulations, Kristin. You have gotten some great advice already, but I also wanted to commend you for deciding to breastfeed exclusively. I went through "nursing all night" with my son (now 4 yrs. old), and like you, I wondered how people endured the sleep deprivation. My son slept his first stretch of 6 hours at week 6 so hang in there! I do not suggest letting your daughter sleep in the bed with you - I just don't see the point in starting a bad habit that may end up being extremely hard to break. Please don't give up and give her formula - using it for even one feeding will begin to decrease your milk supply. Breastfeeding is a huge time commitment but a wonderful thing for you and your daughter. Good luck!

I was in a similar situation with my son. Breast milk is digested faster so babies who are exclusively bf will feed more often. As far as the night feedings- is baby really nursing or just looking for comfort? My son would wake 3-4 times at night and I noticed he wasn't really nursing; I was essentially a human pacifier. When he was 8 months old I decided enough was enough. I followed the technique in the baby whisperer book (gradually decrease the amount of time spent nursing each night) but it didn't work for us. I ended up letting him cry it out for 2 nights and after that he began sleeping through the night.
All babies (and Moms) are different and what works for one family may not work for the other. Figure out why your baby is waking (hunger or comfort) and you'll know what to do. Also, don't feel like you are neglecting your baby by not waking with her every 2-3 hours. It took me 3 mos to decide to let my son cry it out but I finally reached the point where I knew that was the right thing for us.

On crying it out: I established a bed time routine then nursed my son right before I put him to bed. Basically I ignored his cries through the night. I would sleep downstairs if I had to. He was in his own room by this time and when he cried I didn't enter his room. I would check on him a few times when he wasn't crying but I never entered his room if I thought he was awake. I made that mistake with my daughter. He cried 2 nights and slept through the night (10 hours) on the 3rd night. I nursed him as soon as he woke up. I tried the baby whisperer method and it didn't work for us. Different strokes for different folks...

It depends on the baby really. My kid woke up in the night for a bottle at least once a night until he was 8 or 9 months while my nephew was already sleeping through the night at about 4 months. How long did your three year old nurse or have a bottle when she was a baby? Of course that doesn't really mean that your younger one will follow the same course. I've got to give you kudos though since you have a 3 year old and a tiny baby at the same time. It's no wonder you're exhausted. Good luck with the battle for sleep.

Don't worry Kristin, it will quite suddenly change and you will start getting more sleep. This is a crucial period where a lot of moms give up and start giving the baby formula which in my humble opinion, isn't fit for a dog. It will be better before you know it and in just a few months you will have forgotten all about it. Just try not to restrict your own meals. This is not the time to try to lose weight or your milk will suffer and she will need more frequent feedings.

All of us who have been through this look back on it fondly- the sleep deprivation and all else. It makes for some funny stories later. Keep these few weeks in perspective of a hundred years. You baby or yourself could easily live that long so what is a few weeks of sleepiness?

I breastfed mine like that too! The feedings should taper down soon. In the meantime make sure you are taking care of yourself. Take those vitamins, drink and eat plenty. Your baby requires alot out of you. Then also take time for rest when possible and take time to take you and baby a time to excercise. It really does help. B.

Well....I would love to say that's too bad, except my Nadia nursed every hour for about two months (she was very large at birth and needed a LOT of milk).
All I can tell you is to feed her every time she wants to nurse. Before you know it, she'll be old enough to take a little cereal along with her breastmilk, and she'll start sleeping longer, promise! Also, once she gets around 13 lb.s, too, she will sleep longer. But then comes teething...lol...so they're up again, right?! haha
All I can say is I will pray for you and sleep every time you can. I don't care what time of the day. If you need someone to watch the 3-yr-old in order to do this, then do it. You must sleep! (I know you know this right now...Lol)

Blessings : )
--H.

Great job on nursing your baby!

Here's a lifesaver for you: keep her in bed with you overnight, and use the side-lying nursing position. Perfectly safe if you do it right (learn details at askdrsears.com or get the Dr. Sears Baby Book or Nighttime Parenting Book). And you pretty much sleep through every feeding.

So easy, so wonderful, so much safer than a crib (if you ask me).

It also means, of course, that you can sleep while she nurses during the day! Just make sure that, if you bring your 3-year old to bed with the two of you, that you are between both girls.

Really, it's marvelous. Just takes a tiny bit of getting used to the new position. Use "top" breast or "bottom," whatever is most comfortable, and support your baby with a pillow at her back. You might prefer a pillow for your own support, as well. A baby blanket under her is great for catching leaks, spit-up, etc., and with the pillow there for her, you don't have to remember which side you fed her on last - you see where the pillow is, and switch.

For more breastfeeding support and fantastically helpful information, go to the La Leche League International website, llli.org.

Keep up the marvelous mothering! Things are just about to click into place for you. I do remember that much - everything gets easier right about at the 1-2-month mark. And when I started side-lying nursing, my world went right-side up again. It's the easiest thing in the world; you sleep as much as you need to, day or night. In fact, you start to look *forward* to feedings, because they mean you get to sleep, if you need to!

L.

PS don't give up and switch to formula because you think it might be easier. It isn't. You might think, well, at least my husband or other caregivers can take a load off by doing feedings and I can take a break. But there is plenty else for them to do. You get the easy job: rest and feed your baby while getting to sleep or, while awake, gazing at her lovely little face. Everyone else can do the dishes, take out the trash, fold laundry, feed the pet, clean up clutter, take care of your 3-year old, cook...see what I mean? :) :) :)

Hey Kristin,

All babies are different. I guess I was one of the lucky ones, I also exclusively breast fed my son and by the time I returned to work (@ 6 weeks) he was on a 6,10,2 schedule, sometimes he would hold out until 4 am. He has always been a really good sleeper, and I also found that alot of times when he would wake up, he would nurse for only a minute which I feel he just wanted some "mommy" time. I know it is exhausting, but these days won't last forever. Hang in ther.

M.

I was a little neurotic with my first and wrote down her feedings, diaper changes, etc. I discovered that she needed to eat 8 times a day. I used her "natural" schedule and tweeked it to meet my needs. I actually woke her during the day to feed her (she nursed every 2.5 hours during the day) and she slept wonderfully at night. Starting at 3 weeks old she was sleeping between 6 & 7.5 hrs per night. If I only fed her 7 times, she woke at night for number 8. She started out 5 pounds 15 ounces and gained weight very quickly the first four months. Cereal made no difference in her (or any of my children's) sleep routine. I didn't mind having her attached to me so much during the day as long as I could sleep at night. I very loosely followed the Baby Wise book to get her on a schedule. My next two weren't quite as easy due to ear problems. As soon as they had tubes, their sleep issues cleared right up. I also made a big difference between night feedings and day ones. During the day I would talk to her, stimulate her and make sure she was awake after a feeding. At night I would only turn on a very low wattage light bulb, change her, swaddle her, nurse her quietly and put her back in bed. The first daughter only lasted in our room one night. I became the breathing police and couldn't get any good sleep. I preferred feeding her in the rocker and putting her back in her bed. I couldn't get comfortable lying down to nurse (personal preference). Good luck!

Every baby is different. At times mine would feed every hour. The nights started to get better for me at about 2 months. It was around this time that she went to 2 feedings at night instead of every 2-3 hours. I also exclusively breastfed for the 1st year, but in the beginning my husband and I worked out a system so we could each get a good nights sleep at least once a week. One time a week he would be in charge of feeding her (bottle) for about 2 feedings so I could get some quality sleep. It really helped us and giving her those few bottles a week didn't interfere with my breast feeding at all. Hang in there! At about 6 months our little girl was sleeping through the night (11-12 hrs) without a feeding.

Congratulations on your new baby! It can be so exhausting when your baby is so new and still feeding frequently! I've been there.

Your milk supply is not really established until closer to 12 weeks so it's still very important to feed her frequently to keep giving your body the signal to make more milk right now.

One great thing you can do for yourself is to learn to nurse lying down that way you can rest a bit more. And, the old cliche' sleep when she sleeps. I know it's hard with a toddler but if you can get your oldest down for a nap then go and "nap-nurse" the little one while lying down it will help a lot.

Babies are all individual but most likely she will keep a frequent feeding schedule for a while yet. Which biologically is good because she still has the need for frequent calories to grow and be healthy.

Check out www.kellymom.com for lots of sound reliable breastfeeding information. Also www.llli.org is the La Leche League website, if you can find a La Leche League group near you that would help to have the mother-to-mother support that all breastfeeding moms need!

Also, remember that the 'grass isn't greener' if you were formula feeding. Babies are a lot of work no matter what and if you're going to lose sleep feeding your baby, at least your baby is getting the benefit of getting that wonderful breastmilk!

Please feel free to email me directly if you want if you have more questions or want to talk.

Kristin,
My first born nursed every 2 hours round the clock, as well. I do remember how exhausting it was. However, he is now 27 years old, and I only wish I could have that time back. Just try to remember that "this, too, shall pass" and enjoy that time of bonding with your daughter.
As for when the feedings will be further apart, I remember that he nursed less frequently once he began eating cereal and baby food. ENJOY the moment!!!
Good luck.
C., MS

Isn't it amazing how exhausted a person can be??? I WELL remember it! My youngest is 11.5 months and he still wakes up around 11 or 2 and then at 3 or 6ish...? He slept longer at night until he started playing... Like others have said you have a break coming soon. Like others, the nursing while laying down is STILL a lifesaver! My little one sleeps in his own room so when he wakes, I go get him, lay down with him nursing in my bed and when he's done I put him back in his bed! Congrats on your new little one! I remember the first 4-5 hour stretch of sleep I got - I was ready to take on the world!!

It will actually depend on the amount of milk that she is consuming to how often she will eat. But she should start changing her schedule in about 3 weeks, but for now I hope you have her bed as close to you as you can get her so that your not having to get up with each feeding. Let her lay close to you getting up and down will wear you down. I know you are exhausted now, but this will decrease with time and there is nothing like it. I actually had mine in the bed with me and laid on my side with them held very close. I got so used to i t that it was not something that woke me up when they fed. Good luck and enjoy this time.

Every baby is different on how the eat. My daughter that I BF slept though the night at 2 months. My now almost 6 month old is still BF every 3 hours around the clock. But since I co-sleep it it not at big deal for me at night.

hang in there, you have almost made it to the sleeping 5 to 6 hours at night stretch. I know it can be exhausting, I was almost to the point of quitting and giving my youngest the bottle just so I could get some sleep at night, but I toughed it out, and now he is 10 months old and still breastfed. After you get through those first couple of months, it seems sooo easy. If you want to be able to give her a bottle at night so someone else can feed her and let you sleep, but don't want to give her formula, try pumping...and don't get discouraged if you haven't pumped and you only get 1 or 2 ounces out the firs time, that is normal, and like everything else, it will gt easier with time.

It really just depends on the child. I have a dd that will be 1 in a week and she still wakes up 2-3 time in the night to nurse. it is her comfort and when she wakes up she wants it to help her go back to sleep. Good luck, I hope things get better soon!

Congratulations on your baby - I have a 6 week old, he's nursing about that often right now too!! This will pass. My first BF every 3 hours for 5 months, but we later discovered he was "tongue-tied", which apparently made it harder for him to nurse. My third starting sleeping longer periods around 2 - 3 months old, it won't be long you'll be getting more sleep. My last two have taken pacifiers (which I wasn't interested in with my first), and when I know they had just eaten and were just wanting to suck for comfort, I would swaddle and give the paci to them, it would put them back to sleep for a while longer without me being the "human pacifier".

My daughter nursed as you described until month 3 when she slept 7 hours a night for the whole month until her 4 month growth spurt.

I found these resources very useful:
Dr. Sear's Baby Book
Dr. Sear's Sleep Book
www.askdrsears.com

Hang in there! B.

I always highly recommend the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," by Marc Weissbluth. He goes into a lot of detail on infant development and how it effects sleeping patterns. According to him, 6 weeks is the magic number when infants starting sleeping a longer stretch at night, so if that is right you are almost there! :) My baby is 6 weeks old and started having some longer nights about a week ago. Of course he was a week late, so that also effects their development as well (i.e. he might be a bit ahead). Hang in there, and I suggest getting that book as it will help deal with sleep issues all the way through childhood.