Tips to stop a baby waking up every 1/2 hours through the night?

fernliebee

Ultimately she needs to accept that babies prob will wake up at night, and if she wants some sleep she needs to work round this. For me, this meant that from a few weeks old, I would literally feed DD up all evening, if she pulled off I would wind her, then offer her the other side, or give her a bit of nappy free time to keep her alert and awake, and then straight back on the breast. I would be feeding from about 5ish until she went to sleep about 10-11, and would then sleep until 3-4, I would bring her in bed with me and we would sleep in until about 9. Throughout the day she would feed more often to make up for it. Not all babies get on with this, and I must say that it was my DD own tendancy to cluster feed that I just went with so I could get some more sleep.

The other things she needs when feeding is rest, so sleep in the daytime (though I could never manage this, even just sitting down is resting though. No housework unless essential!

Drink plenty I was drinking about 6-7 pints a day when breastfeeding, water or squash is best rather than tea/ coffee which can make babies more windy/ less settled feeders.

Eat plenty of good food. Porridge for brekkie kept my milk supply up, you need calories but not just carp! If she is feeling particularly 'empty' a mars bar seems to boost your supply instantly! I'm sure there are healthier ways of doing it too (malt loaf is good, and bananas too!)

It is a very tiny percentage of women who actually do not have enough milk to feed a baby, but as breastfeeding advice is given by many people who are not actually properly trained in breastfeeding counselling, (Some midwives and health visitors shockingly!) it is quite common for this to be misdiagnosed.

Also another thing which I see a lot is as we are told about feeding on demand all the time (which I fuuly agree with btw) we tend to just offer milk every time they whimper! Sometimes they are bored, have wind, need a nappy change, want to move around etc. I tended to try everything else and if she still was whimpering then I would give her milk, often just winding her would satisfy her for another hour as she was a very windy baby.

Completely against advice here but my DD would sleep much better on her front. At night I would put her on her back down to my own paranoia but for daytime naps when I would be awake and right next to her, I would put her on her front and she was much more comfy. That said, she could support her own head and turn it from one side to the other from birth so I wasn't as worried.

She just needs to find her own way! The words perfectionist and mum don't really mix unless she wants to give herself an ulcer! lol. She will end up with poo on her favourite top, milky leaky boobs in the middle of tesco, suitcases under her eyes, or sick on her trousers at some point! It happens to the best of us!

fernliebee

Glamazon wrote: »

I had these problem due to 2 breast ops so switched to formula. Hand expressing showed me there was not much there!

Sorry not picking on you at all, but expressing is not always an accurate indication of supply. A baby that is latched on correctly is the most efficient way of draining the breast, no other method is quite as effective so cannot yield as much. Some people really get on with expressing, others can't get much out but this doesn't always mean their supply is lower, just that their pump/ expressing method isn't as effective as baby. Also remember everyones breast size and shape is different so some pumps 'fit' differently, and everyone's milk is different so some people may express a small amount of very creamy milk, whereas another person may express lot's and lot's of very watery milk which may keep a baby full for the same length of time. Not judging you or commenting on your individual situation obviously, only you know what is best for you and your baby, just didn't want the OP to panic if her sil did try to express and not much there iyswim.

skintchick

floss2 wrote: »

Please do not consider this

I would advise that no parent considers this as an option - the risk of layover is very high, especially with newborn or small babies who don't move very much.

As others have said, this is nonsense. My baby is 11 weeks old now and we have been co-sleeping since she was born.

My HV also said it is fine, and did it with hers.

You are unlikely to roll on your baby as you are so aware of them - you don;t get such good sleep but when they feed frequently you don;t anyway.

I feed lying down (I stay on the same side and just lean over her for the top boob) and it has made life so much easier than sitting up so I can;t imagine what it's like of they are in a cot.

You can;t do a lot to stretch feeds except leave them crying, and to be honest if a newborn is hugnry it needs feeding IMO.

I feel for the OP's brother but I think they will just have to go with it.

tandraig

I breastfed all three of mine - the first for about 3 months the second for over two years and the third for six months. so while not qualified as such can only tell about my experiences
the first - she was a slow feeder and feeding her could take the best part of an hour! I got so tired on advice of health visitor my OH used to give her a bottle when she woke at night! took ten minutes and she started refusing breast milk!
the second was a fast feeder and very enthusiastic from the word go! his feeds were done in twenty minutes or less. and he used his hands to knead the breast if it wasnt coming fast enough!
the third was even more enthusiastic than the second and demanded more feeds tho - i became dangerously underweight and had to supplement with bottle feeds on advice from doctor - result - the baby gulped down the bottle and gave up breast! which i regret enormously as he is dairy intolerant!
and as for not co-sleeping - i was given that advice along with first babe oh and i was also told to always lay her on side or stomach never back! load of bs! you wont roll onto your baby unless you are drunk or on sleeping tabs.

McKneff

Everybody keeps going on about feeding or not feeding properly but the baby could simply be waking up because it is cold.
Is it near a window, if so move it as far away as possible. Dont know what the rules/advice is nowadays but one of those little hats that they used in hospitals
worked wonders for my granddaughter who was driving her parents mad with the waking up thing. I suggested the cpa and she went four hours at a time.
If baby is in a cot, are there any draughts, cold air around.
The reason they sleep well in between parents is because they are snug and warm.
And just my opinion but i am horrifeid that any mw would suggest co-sleeping. If anything happened to baby after suggesting this the midwife would be villified and to me righly so. And can you imagine the guilt of the parents and the blame they would put on the mw to say she suggested it.
If a parent rolled over onto a baby's face, the baby cannot move an inch and so would not wake the parent up, whether youre a light sleeper or not.



Good luck
Annie

skintchick

I've just realised the OP didn;t mean baby waking every 30 mins - they mean every 1 to 2 hours, which is what my baby does! She is 11 weeks and still does it so I have no idea how to stretch out the feeds but I found feeding lying down made life bearable again as I just go back to sleep before she is finished sometimes.

But also, yes, if the baby is cold it will wake.

skintchick

As for building up supply - my HV sent me to bed with my baby for 24 hours (begin one afternoon and end the next) and said my OH had to bring me everything I needed like food, drink, magazines, internet etc.

By spending time focussing on her I was able ot build up a great milk supply as well as rest and relax - it's a great thing to do every so often if it all gets too much, and is great for bonding too.

tandraig

scuse me - but where do people think babies slept for the last few thousand years? with mum and possibly dad! cots are a recent invention! from my own experience - tho baby had her/his own moses basket the middle of the night feeds usually went like this - baby cried - me or dad got up got baby - got one side fed then ......zzzzzzzzzzzzzz we woke up hours later with baby comfortably tucked between me and dad! oh - and it works with grandkids too - they slept with us when on sleepovers from just a couple of months. its human instinct to protect babies!! even in men!

littteminky

Ahhh....this takes me back a few months!!

This does sound normal for a breastfed baby, their stomach at 2 weeks is about the size of a large marble, breastmilk passes through the stomach a lot quicker than formula milk does, so breastfed babies require more reqular feeding. A babies more frequent feeding would stimulate the mother to produce more milk - a bit like supply on demand.

Topping up with formula is not recommended for breastfed babies.

How long is baby feeding for at each feed? Is baby having 6-8 wet nappies per day? (hard to tell with breastfed babies because they poo a LOT!) Is baby gaining weight? Is she winding the baby after each feed?

Is your friend having plenty to eat and drink? My milk supply dwindled a lot with DD1 when she was about 12 days old as wasn't getting enough food or liquid into me.

Babies usually go through a growth spurt at around 3 weeks of age.

I have a DD - 5 and a DS - 7 months, both settled into a good bedtime routine pretty quickly, I made sure they distinguished from birth the difference between day and night, starting with a constand routine at bedtime, bath, feed, cuddles & lullaby then bed - always putting baby into bed whilst awake, and then when waking up, keeping lights off, no talking just shushing and cuddles.

I did have problems with feeding both mine, I had to exclusively express for 8 weeks before DD would take to the boob, and DS is cows milk protein intollerant, which was a nightmare until I excluded all dairy foods from my diet when he was 3 months old.

Hope she gets some sleep soon, and well done on her for breastfeeding!

xx Minky

McKneff

tandraig wrote: »

scuse me - but where do people think babies slept for the last few thousand years? with mum and possibly dad! cots are a recent invention! from my own experience - tho baby had her/his own moses basket the middle of the night feeds usually went like this - baby cried - me or dad got up got baby - got one side fed then ......zzzzzzzzzzzzzz we woke up hours later with baby comfortably tucked between me and dad! oh - and it works with grandkids too - they slept with us when on sleepovers from just a couple of months. its human instinct to protect babies!! even in men!

I agree that babies havebeen sleeping with parents for the last few thousand years, but there are no statistics to say how many babies have been smothered in the last few thousand years.