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Grumpy baby- bit long sorry!

Sophie - posted on 01/01/2010 ( 3 moms have responded )

86

9

Hi, for the last couple of weeks my little girl (9 weeks) has been quite grumpy and not sleeping very well- up until this point she had started going 3 hours between feeds 4 or 5 at night. Now she wakes up after an hour again and seems to be hungry (rooting etc) BUT when I try to feed her she fusses and cries a lot before she will latch on also towards the end of the feed she starts fussing again and crying like shes starving. I have plenty of milk and have seen her through a couple of growth spurts but this seems different like shes hungry but wont latch on or stay on long enough to get her full feed so that she can sleep more soundly?? has anyone experienced anything similar??

Im exhausted as she is hardly sleeping at all and when she does it seems to be restless sleep as she wriggles and makes snuffly noises and often wakes herself up and needs me to put her back to sleep (normally by sucking on my finger- a dummy wont do!) so I cant sleep at all cos every noise she makes keeps me awake.

Any advice or do you think she is just a fussy baby or will she grow out if it. I really didnt mind waking up 2 or 3 times in the night to feed her but im worried that she doesnt seem to be able to stay asleep and doesnt seem satisfied??sorry for the essay! any help/advice/reassurance would be appreciated!- (she is EBF and even if it would make her sleep longer I dont want to feed her formula as her weight gain has been brilliant so the only reason I woukd be doing it is for myself)

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Christine - posted on 01/01/2010

150

15

Honestly just trial and error. I would try to put her on a breast when she was showing signs, even if I thought it was too early. If she fussed at the breast and refused to nurse or maybe sucked a little and then came off and fussed and then maybe sucked a little more, and on and on.... then I would take her off all together and try either the empty breast or the pacifier. Usually that would end up doing the trick as long as I lightly held it in her mouth for her and rocked or something at the same time.

Hope that helps! Feel free to send me a message if you have any further questions!

Sophie - posted on 01/01/2010

86

9

Christine how di you know when she wanted to nurse and when she was hungry? She seems to give the same cues allthe time??

Christine - posted on 01/01/2010

150

15

I had a similar problem with mine. I ended up figuring out that she wanted to suck for comfort. The problem was that I also had an abundant supply so every time she sucked she got milk. And that ticked her off.



I had to keep offering the pacifier and eventually she took it. I know most breastfeeders would advise against a binky but in my case, and yours it sounds like, there was really no choice for awhile, until my supply was more regulated because she genuinely did not want the milk.



I was able to fix this, to a degree. Make sure you are nursing on only one side at a time until either empty or your baby comes off the breast on her own. Then you should only offer the other side if she's showing signs of hunger. If the milk let down upsets her on the new side, try going back to the side that is more empty. Then every time she wants to nurse for the next 2 hours following that feeding put her on the side that is more empty. That should serve to regulate your supply a little and she might be willing to comfort suck if she's not getting all the milk.

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