Help needed for 9 wk old!

[My2LilRockStars]

Hi Im after a bit of advice if possible...

I have a 9 wk old who is a serial catnapper during the day and at night he only sleeps a max of about 2-3 hrs at a time.

He is constanlty grizzling and I cant work out whether its b/c he is tired or hungry! How do you tell? He is currently formula feeding appox 3.5 -4 hrly - about 120-150ml each feed. Usually has 4 feeds in the day and one at night around 1am. Around 4 wks old he went a few nights of 6hrs between feeds and slept briliinatly so i ahve been kinda trying to keep that up. Is this unrealistic expectation? Could he just have been particularly tired those nights?

When he wakes in the night (sometimes its hourly! :( ) I resettle with dummy or patting and he goes back to sleep pretty easily so I didnt think he was hungry - but having read some other posts I am seeing that other babies the same age are drinking more. Am I feeding him enough? He is a big boy - just gone 6kgs. Would a big bub normally need/want to drink more than average?

How much and how often are your babies feeding and sleeping? I know all a re different but would like ot compare.

I am willing to try anything to help get him to sleep longer esp at night! Any ideas?

[TheMamma]

Hi!

I'm still learning "how to be a Mum", so I'm no expert - but I can tell you a few things that really work well for us.

I guess things got better when we started to recognise Tehya's tired signs....getting grizzly, jerking of the arms and legs, yawning etc. I was mistaking these for her being bored and would totally over-stimulate her. Now I know that she is tired, I will swaddle her and put her in her rocker (or at night in the cot). That has really helped.

Also, I watched a great DVD supplied by my MCHN about settling your baby - see if you can get that - it was a real life saver.

We also moved Tehya into her own room at 3 and a half weeks old, and that made all the diiference. I didn't wake or go to her at every sound, instead she learned to settle herself. The sleeps slowely got longer and longer and she now sleeps 9.30 - 6.20 almost every night...

Don't know if any of this will help - but :fingerscrossed: for you!

[My2LilRockStars]

thanks for those suggestions.

I too moved bub into his own room/cot at 4 wks and it seemed to help a little. He will now go off to sleep after being wrapped and with dummy - sometimes needs a few pats/rocks whereas prior to this I had to rock him in my arms for every sleep! So that has helped a bit i think!

I also look for tired signs and am getting pretty good at spotting them - he goes off to sleep really well when put to bed - just finds it impossible to STAY asleep - drives me mad! He had bad colic in first few weeks so maybe got the bad waking habtits from then due to the pain/discomfort. Ive kinda accepted that hes a cat napper and we can get thru the day ok, but I wish he would sleep more soundly at night! Thats why iw as worried he was hungry.???

[camille]

Maybe he is hungry? At 9 weeks my formula fed bub was having 6 bottles during the day (every 2-3 hours) and 1 at night. He has since started sleeping through, but has made up for it with that extra bottle during the day, drinking between 100mls and 150mls every 2.5 hours. My bub also is a catnapper during the day, only sleeping for at most 40 minutes at a time.
My only offering of advice, hope it helps, is if he feeds heaps during the day he should be more settled at night - worked for me!;)

[ImNotJustAnymum]

Hi Harleysmum,

I can promise you I am no expert and what your bub is going through sounds very similar to our little girl. Of an evening she gets very grizzly and hard to settle, we often get quite fustrated about not knowing what she wants- we have found most times its because she is tired- as we know she has been fed... but out of uncertainty we always offer her more bottle- and although she goes to drink eagerly she will often pull away after a few seconds- we have a cpl of attempts at this then declare her tired- so we wrap her and hold her she still may grizzle for few minutes but then settles- sometimes we use a dummy for a few minute just as comfort but our girl isnt a big fan of the dummy so she only uses it till she settles down and then spits it out.
At 8 weeks our Aaliyah is having bout 4 feeds through day- but rarely sleeps- then at night she has a late feed and a 5 am feed- but last night first night she skipped her 5 am feed :smiliedance:.

Good luck if you find a solution please pass it on to me would much appreciate it.

[My2LilRockStars]

Thanks Camille! It appears you are quite correct as I just received a reply on another forum from a midwife who said bubs should be drinking about 160ml per kg per day. My bub is a big boy and this means I havent been feeding enough at all :eek: so I am going to start feeding him 3-3.5 hrly instead and offer 16oml each time. Hopefully this helps. Will let you know. Aaliyahs mum - maybe your bubs needs more too?

[Hokey Pokey]

Another thought, wind. When bubs cry alot they take in alot of air and mixed with lots of suckling and small feeds often will do it too.
We often mix up hunger and wind, try some colic liquid like infants friend :thumbsup: