Newborn BF/sleep

[beansprout13]

OK, so DS2 is now 12 days old. I did not have this type of experience with DS1 so I'm not sure what to do with him. With regard to BF, DS2 is a good latcher, but won't eat for very long. He only does about 5-7 minutes on one side and then falls asleep. I've tried everything to get him to eat longer - feeding him naked, wet cloth, tickling his feet - nothing - he just pops off and won't go back on. Then he wants to eat again in an hour. This is the first problem. Second issue is that as soon as I pick him up to burp him, he wakes up. Then, he doesn't know how to go back to sleep - he fusses and fusses looking for something to suck on to go back to sleep. He wants to nurse, but when he latches on, he starts crying and fussing - it is like he wants to suck, but is annoyed that there is milk coming out. I've tried a pacifier (several, in fact), but he won't take them. It takes me an hour to get him back to sleep - and I have to try everything - walking, bouncing, singing, etc. I have 2 swings, 2 bouncy seats, a sling - he hates them all. Then once I finally get him to sleep, he sleeps for 1/2 hour and then is awake wanting to eat. So, the end result is a very tired, cranky baby who needs more sleep then he is getting and needs to eat more. My biggest issue is that he doesn't know how to fall asleep unless nursing -- how do I fix this? I don't mind nursing him to help him fall asleep, but as I said, he gets super fussy when the milk comes out. Any ideas on all of the above??

A very tired and frustrated mom.

[Tondi G]

could you try putting him back on the same breast? If he is falling asleep after 5 to 7 mins then he may be missing the hind milk that will help him feel full longer! At 12 days old it is very common for them to take short cat naps and wake up wanting to eat again. My older DS was at the breast constantly when he was a newborn. He would nurse for 15 to 20 minutes on each side and then fall asleep... wake up about 20 or 30 minutes later acting ravenous and would eat again! In my Bradley childbirth class the instructor kept saying that newborn BFed babies could easily eat every 20 minutes to 2 hours!

I would also try a couple of diffrent pacifiers if you think he truly just wants to suck without the milk. DS#1 wouldn't take any, DS#2 took the Soothie pacifiers for a little while!

Good Luck

[MommyAllison]

My DS is a little older (5.5 wks) but I don't burp him at night. We co-sleep and I just get him latched on and am usually asleep before he finishes. He doesn't seem to have a problem with not being burped at night. It works for us!

And I don't know if you can teach him to fall asleep without nursing at such a young age. He is still so small and not used to being in the world yet, and nursing is really comforting. Have you tried swaddling?

[ahrimie]

i agree.. at night, i don't burp my newborn (3 weeks). she did the EXACT same thing your lil one is doing... fortunately/unfortunately, my milk came in really late so we supplemented with formula (or mostly formula in the beginning) so she did sleep longer.

[lizajane]

another vote for no burping.

does he keep sucking while asleep? if so, let him hang out for a bit and then sliiide him off and into bed.

dylan only ate for 5-7 minutes, even while in the NICU and he could go 3 hours. he may be getting enough to eat afterall. try a different kind of soothing when he wakes to see if he isn't actually hungry, but just still tired.

for schuyler, i finally just held him for one entire nap everyday and after he caught up on sleep, he started sleeping in his crib.

[firsttimemama]

Hugs mama. I had similar experiences with my DS. I worried a lot about whether he was eating enough.. but my friends at LLL told me not to worry about it, just to feed on demand & everything would work out & it did. I forget what the usual guideline is - feeding at least every 3 hours to keep your supply up? Something like that? It sounds like he's eating way more often than that, anyway.
My DS is 6 mo old and still sucks to sleep sometimes. He also will sometimes fall asleep in the car seat, stroller, in a carrier, or pacing around the house. But nursing to sleep is probably his favorite way. :) I have heard this is very common.
If he's waking up when you burp him, I say don't burp him & see what happens. Unless he suffers horrible tummy upset, I'd just skip the burps.
Do you have any friends you could borrow other baby carriers from? Maybe try an ergo with an infant insert, or a different sling?
My local chapter of attachment parenting international has a baby carrier library people can borrow from.
My DS is my only child and I'm a SAHM so I had the freedom to just hold him & nurse him basically 24/7. It was exhausting, and his first few months are a blur. But it did get easier.
Get as much rest as you can.. take up everyone on their offers of help, call in the family & friends, let everything except the essentials go, and enjoy your new little one. Good luck!

PS Cosleeping saved our lives probably.. we started at 3-4 weeks when DS suddenly would not sleep in the arms reach cosleeper. Just make sure you cosleep safely (follow the rules etc) if you do it. James McKenna is a good name to google for cosleeping stuff..