Help! My once "angel baby" has begun to develop a pattern of waking up 45 minutes into her naps (which is 2 hours after she feeds). Boo. She acts hungry when she awakens (rooting, hungry cry), but she often does those same things when she's tired. I've been trying to give her a pacifier (she's still working on figuring it out though) and soothe her while leaving her in the crib. If that doesn't work, I'll pick her up, try the paci, pat her back, and loudly "shush." That'll usually get her to fall back asleep (sometimes it takes 10-15 minutes of that). Then I'll try to put her back down in the crib...sometimes she'll stay asleep, sometimes she won't. I know that if I keep holding her I can keep her asleep until her next feed, but obviously I can't make a habit of that! My concern is that she may genuinely be hungry because her feeds have been taking less time. I've always had to work at keeping her awake during feeds but lately it's gotten worse. Sometimes when I can rouse her all the way, she'll only eat for a few minutes and then do the "fake eating" suck, or she'll turn away or keep her lips pursed...which obviously makes me think she's satisfied. But then sometimes if I wait 5-10 more minutes, she'll act as if she's starving, but again will only feed a couple minutes and then fall asleep! And if she is getting satisfied, why is she waking up 2 hours later, seemingly hungry? Ack, babies! :)Moms out there....any advice? Do you think I should feed her when she wakes up at the 2 hour mark, or do you think it's a sleep issue? How should I intervene if it's a sleep thing? And how on earth am I going to manage all this after my mom leaves and I have a three year old to take care of too?
6 comments:
Oh man, mama Mary, this stuff makes me nervous. Do take good notes for me when you get feedback. Think you can be on my "call with all of my many questions" list?
I'll pray for little Caroline and her napping.
Oh man, mama Mary, this stuff makes me nervous. Do take good notes for me when you get feedback. Think you can be on my "call with all of my many questions" list?
I'll pray for little Caroline and her napping.
I remember tha t I had the SAME problem when I nursed Connor...the lactation consultant told me to strip him down to the diaper, so he would be cold, which would wake him and keep him awake. It sounds terrible, but it WORKED:-)
All of my babies went through a growth spurt at about three weeks, when they wanted to nurse almost constantly. After the week was over they returned to their normal feeding schedule. I did find however that it happened again at six weeks and three months. I hope this helps.
Blessings,
Brenda
First off, remember that God will never give you more than you can handle. I know you may question that with your mom leaving, but hang on to truth, it's never failed us before :-) And let us help you! If you need relief, to take Katy for the day, please do call. I was wondering if you were getting cabin fever. We'd love to have you over soon for a play date.
Perhaps CG isn't getting in a full feeding? I don't know how long CG's feeding sessions are, but I would try to keep her feeding for a full 20 min. or so on each side. Are you able to tell how your milk flow is? That could be another culprit. But if you know she's getting good and full, I would say let her cry it out (up to 15 min.), and work on the '5 S's' from the Happiest Baby on the Block (H. Karp): Swaddling, Side Laying, Shushing Sounds, Swinging, Sucking (pacifier). Sometimes I had to do all of them at the same time with Maddie!
So that's my 2 cents, but I also agree, babies pull stunts going through growth spurts. Ugh.
I let BB cry it out!! I fed John William!! Both sleep great now and are healthy little guys! I know this might not help you.
Just keep in might that she is still so young. She might need more of a 2.5 hour schedule. I know a lot of ladies would disagree with me, but don't stress yourself out about the schedule thing. Each baby is SO different and you can't always we a stickler for the "schedule." Make sure she is AWAKE for her feeding and that she is getting enough milk. She might just need to eat every 2-2.5 hours for a few weeks... and she will NOT ruin her!!
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