Help greatly appreciated

[TeamOwen2020]

Hello there! I hope someone can help. Our 14 week old seems to be feeding well so thankfully no issues there. However problems arise when he had finished feeding. At night, If we dont wind him for at least 30 minutes after each feed then he wakes up when we put him back to bed. He is always asleep on us when we put him down but will wake hup, squirm make strange breathing sounds then start to cry if not picked back up. We then pick him up and must carry on winding for half an hour or more. It’s made worse by the fact he wants his next feed every 2 hours max so he he is only asleep in bed for a mac of an our before waking regardless of how much he eats.

His bed is at an angle in case it’s reflux, we have also tried swaddling to help him remain calm. This is very hit and miss.

Can anyone please suggest any solutions. We are 2 very tired parents.

TIA

[TeamOwen2020]

Just to add there is no ‘spit up’ and he seems comfortable whilst winding as he is asleep

[Ema1234]

Hi TeamOwen2020

Congrats on your new arrival!

If your not already doing so, I would suggest half way through a feed pausing and winding baby. And then after the feed doing this again. This will help to stop the wind building up at once and will make it easier for it to come up properly before settling back down. What can happen is wind can get trapped and sit in the tummy even when it seems like baby has winded enough.

Reflux often does tend to cause sickness. If it continues I would speak with a health visitor who can advise further.

Your doing great!

[Treeoflife42]

Hi,

Very sound advice from Emma1234. You don't say if you are breastfeeding, but I also found that if my baby fed for a very long time he wasn't actually eating but using me as a dummy, so he wasn't feeding as much as I thought. I also gave him infacol a few times and it helped a bit. But yes, the pause to burp halfway through the feed is key.

Definitely talk to the health visitor, that's what they are there for.

[TeamOwen2020]

Thanks both of you. I have tried burping mid feed and will continue to do so. Have also tried infacol but that seemed to make it worse! Gripe water seems to be the most effective but haven’t ever used it for middle of the night feeds. Maybe I will try that tonight.

Yes I am breastfeeding. Will checkout the latch too

[Katja123]

Hi there,

It sounds like it's not a reflux, so don't give any medication and you can relax and put the matress back in normal position 😌. So far so good.

I suppose it's not winding him that you are doing, it's just waiting for the baby to go into the phase of deep sleep, which at that age is around 25 min if I'm not mistaken. Before that it's the superficial sleep, hence waking up every time the sleep conditions change.

The strange facial expressions or sounds may be - he is trying to pee or poo, or let the gasses out.

Continue swaddling, I found the muslin blanket better than the velcro swaddles.

Also, put the baby slightly on the side instead of the back, I was propping my daughter as well so that she doesn't turn on her stomach accidentally. They feel more exposed on their back and it causes the startle reflex.

You can also hold him in a blanket and put him down in that blanket, to keep the warmth the same, also put a warm bottle to keep the spot warm inbetween.

If you are breastfeeding, I would suggest doing what I found the most convenient: feeding in lying position, baby on the side, propped a bit. That way they go back to sleep and no transfer needed. Even if my daughter swallowed air, she would fart it out later. It was a revelation for me that I also didn't need to change the nappy every time 😁. Just a thick layer of nappy cream before bedtime and a good diaper.

Just hold on, soon is the 4 months sleep regression, which is a bitch in itself. Then the sleep patterns change and you would need to make changes too.

Google the norms of sleep and wake times for the different ages, they will come in handy many many times in the future.

You are not alone.