Seeking Help with Sleep!

I never co-slept with my son, but did breastfeed on demand & he slept great in his crib from day one. It sounds like she's just grazing all night and not really getting a full meal. I'd suggest you actually feed her well for a half hr or so (don't let her fall asleep until she absolutely won't suck anymore). Then put her down. My son was up about every 3-4 hrs at this age to eat & I'd get up & go watch the news (quietly) while I gave him a feeding. Then he'd be full & sleeping when I laid him back down.

good luck!

I would recommend a second family bed. Maybe get a futon and you and your new little one can sleep separately from your son and husband until the two of you work it out. I also agree with trying different pacifiers.

My daughter would only take a brand we bought in Europe -- bibi -- which I was never able to find over here. They look like this one:

http://www.mypacifier.com/Products.aspx?SalesArticleID=241

So perhaps you can order some from this company and give them a try.

I would nurse my daughter, and then actually use the pacifier to break the nurse suction and pop immediately into her mouth. I dipped it in a cup of water by the bed, before I did this so the pacifier was wet rather than dry. This worked for my little one.

Best of luck!

Dear A.,
She is not nursing all night, she is definitely using the breast nipple as a pacifier. See if you can find one that she likes and will accept and use that. It may take experimentation to find one she will accept. When she is really hungry she will cry and you can feed her. At 10 weeks it is probably at most every 2 1/2 hours, but since she is going 3-4 in the day, she should do that at night also. If you want to put her in the bassinet, you could try the things you can purchase that mimic a heart beat which she was use to in the uterus and also is use to since you sleep right next to her. If she is use to that during the day for naps, she will accept it better at nights too. You could also try sleeping on the side of the bed with the bassinet right by you and stroking her after you have put her in to comfort her. One additional comment about the new baby, if you make sure she really feeds when you nurse her then she will not be as hungry as soon. My oldest son was premature and would fall asleep almost as soon as he sucked. I had to stroke his cheek or wiggle a foot to keep him awake enough to take a meal. Make sure when she does feed, she get a meal.

I had a three year old son when when second was born. You definitely need to make sure you take time for him. One thing I would suggest is having him bring books to you when you nurse during the day and hold them as you read to him so he will not feel nursing is "time away from me and mommy giving it to baby." My oldest son loved to snuggle at my side when I nursed the new baby and always found lots of books for us to look at and read.

Congratulations on your new little blessing.
H-

Hello. I don’t know about the nursing part but have you tried to give her a warm bath using the Johnson and Johnson bed time bath (purple bottle) and then after that give her a gentle massage with the J&J Bedtime bath Lotion? It works wonders! and Never has failed me and i still use it to this day and my daughter just turned 7 years old! Ha-ha. I let her soak in a *Warm* bath with the soap in it and give her a massage after wards and she’s out for the whole night. (Even goes to sleep early!) Doesn’t hurt to give it a try!

*PS the soap and lotion works great. I am a RN Student and It works on me!!!! If I’ve had a long hard day i jump in the shower and use the soap and just put some of the lotion on afterwards and I’m so relaxed and out... it’s the best night’s sleep I get!

hey A.- we do the same thing as you and your husband! 3 yr. old in bed (half of the night) and 6 mo. old co sleeper. my daughter still is up at least every 2-3 hours at night. i am her pacifier! she will not take a real one. i think it's b/c she is right next to me. she and i feel each other's every move. i am sure if she were in her own bed, she'd sleep more/ longer/ better. but i am not going to change it. my friend does not co sleep and her daughter is still up every 2-3 hours at night (age 8 1/2 mos). at least we don't have to get out of bed! i will tell you that it gets better....at 10 weeks i was so tired. now, i am used to it and the days are flowing a lot better. hang in there. where is your yoga studio? i am a yogini in san diego.

My 6 week old baby does the same thing! What helped me was to find a pacifier that she liked and to slip it in her mouth when she was kind of asleep, but I still kept my breast against her face. That helps sometimes so I can get a few more hours of sleep. I think I bought over 6 different brands of pacifiers and my baby likes the Avent one the most. So maybe try different brands of pacifier. And maybe have your husband do a night feeding to help you out. I have a 2 year old also and it's tough at times. Hang in there!

Just be aware that your baby is only 10 weeks old. AND, babies often go through "cluster feeding" during growth-spurts... and this means that cluster-feeding is something whereby they feed even every single hour (which my kids did as babies when they were growing exponentially and changing in development). They need it. They are growing. And yes, feeding on demand, per the INFANT, means they probably need the extra sustenance/nutrition/calories to account for their growth. THUS, feeding is not on a "schedule" and often an infant may "need" to feed more often, or less. It is NEVER static. Some days, an infant can have a ginormous appetite, and on other days, not. it will ebb and flow.
At this age, you are not a "pacifier" although some infants need the oral "sucking"... which they even do in your tummy before they are born. It is an "instinct" so that they get fed as needed.

Watch for her "feeding cues" and rooting cues... THIS also means she is plain hungry.

A baby this age will thus, wake. She is cluster-feeding. ALSO make sure she is latching on properly... otherwise she will not be getting enough intake, and make sure your milk IS coming in, and your supply is adequate. If not, this often makes for a hungry newborn.
YOu can Google "cluster feeding" online.
Here is a link about it:
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussy-evening.html

Contrary to your Doctor, my Pediatrician says to feed On demand... 24/7, day and night, for the first year of life. THIS IS THE BUILDING BLOCK time, when a baby NEEDS the nutrition via breast/Formula, and for their immune system too. Your baby is ONLY an infant....they need to be fed, not taken off the breast at this age. They are hungry. OF COURSE, they will cry when taken off the breast, especially if they are hungry. AND, at this age, they are STILL needing to "bond" with their Mommy... YOU are their "comfort" and security. NOTHING wrong with that. THAT is how a baby survives and get what they need.

When I had my 2nd child and he was still an infant... my daughter was about 3-4 years old. We 'explained' to her in age appropriate ways... what a "baby" is and what they do and that they DO wake and they DO cry... but its okay, because Mommy will take care of baby, her brother. With our 'explaining' to her... our daughter became very understanding of her baby brother, and the waking and crying.

All the best,
Susan