My DS is 5days old and as i type he is screaming his head off in his moses basket in the living room,

I have just finished a mammoth feeding session which began at 9.30pm and i don't know what else to do, He seems really unsettled at the mo, not very satisfied after a feed, even tho he has fallen asleep at the breast and been re offered it. I can't settle him in my arms cos he must smell the milk on me and just continually roots. If i put him in his moses basket he mainly cries, sometimes only for a short time before settling but sometimes will just carry on, which is what he's doing now. I've brought him down to the living room so as not to disturb the rest of the household-he woke up my DD at 3am yesterday morning which upset her! It also seems silly for both me and my partner to both be kept awake so i'm shut in the snug with the radio on, typing on BE trying not to lose the plot!!

I know you'll probably all say this is a growth spurt and just to continue doing what i'm doing but i'm worried it's going to carry on this way. I hate leaving him to cry but he's no more settled if i pick him up unless he's attached to my boob and he can't do that 24/7!
Does anyone else leave their baby to cry? If so how long for? Any tips to get him to settle (i wont give him a dummy!?)

God i feel useless-hormones seriously kicked in now and i'm a blubbering wreck!

MummaJ
xXx

Hi Hun sorry you're having such a torrid time. My first instinct was to suggest using a dummy especially when you mentioned the long feeding session and rooting. Would you not reconsider using one? It has really helped us.
Bryony & Sam (16 weeks) x

hmmmm..... this sounds very familiar to what i'm going through with lucy at the moment.

During the day she is very unsettled / nad like yours cant get into a deep sleep. when she's awake she thinks she has to be feeding....so she spends a LOT OF TIME on the boob.

i cant settle her myself without feeding her because she smells the milk and she knows that i have what she WANTS! I put her on the dummy after about a week from birth..... but even then i cant settle her with that. Her dad can, and my mum...... but still, she knows that i can offer her more than that. LOL

I've left her to cry..... sometimes for 10-20 mins...... but thats not really because its what i want to do - more because i dont have a choice as im cooking my kids' tea - or eating my tea myself. she'll often cry her self to sleep, but on a few occasions i've nursed her as soon as i've wolfed my dinner down..... and she's been crying SO HARD that her whole body is still shuddering with heart felt sobs even when feeding off me - and that makes me feel crap. it also makes me feel crap that she cries herself to sleep when im too busy to see to her...... but i just tell myslef that it doesnt hurt to leave them to cry!

she has one formula bottle a day (so dad can join in with feeds) and she is a different baby. she will go 3-4 hours before wanting feeding again, and at night time she will go twice as long! she is such a good baby on the evening / night time.

dont get me wrong - she's good during the day, just very demanding with her feeds. breastfeeding is a fulltime job.

however - you have to remember that your DS is only 5 days old. and although your milk should be in now - your supply is still building up..... and the thing with breastfeeding is taht we have to feed on demand. MW told me that babies shouldnt be made to go any longer than 2-3 hours at a time.

The more your bubs feeds the more your milk will build up - and the more content he will be.

stick at it - it gets easier.......

Hayley & Lucy (3+2 days)

Mummaj don't give up on BF, honestly it does get much easier and you will reap the rewards later. This is my third baby and all 3 have been the same they are quite settled in my arms if they have just fallen asleep whilst feeding but won't settle if i try to put her down. At night I am getting respite by swaddling her (miricle blanket) and feeding until she falls asleep. I can ten put her in the cot next to the bed and she will settle for about 2 hours at a time. I'm with you on the dummies and wouldn't be tempted by formula (undermines BF and sits in their tummy like an undigestable brick hence why they settle.... but then I am a bit of a breastfeeding nazi and realise that my views are a tad more extreme than most!) There is no doubt that BF is harder work for the first few weeks but once your little one gets more efficient at feeding they will stay awake long enough to get a fully satisfying feed and you will have loads of freedom and less time awake during the night. Hope things settle for you soon. Cx

Thank you for your replies-i have no intention on giving up on BF, just feeling so hormonal and don't know how to handle it. There is so much conflicting advice and i feel dammed which ever way i manage it!
Had a good settled day today but mammoth feeding has begun again-think this must be his cluster feeding time!
I know he's only a few days old and i can't expect miracles i'm just sleep deprived and need reassurance that i'm doing the right thing. MW also coming tomorrow to weigh him so am anxious about that-in fact there's nothing i'm not anxious about, i need to get a seious grip!!
Thanks again, glad you all seem to be settling well with your babies
xXx

Hiya i had two nights last week like you and i was on and off feeding from 10pm until 230am when lo finally gave in and went to sleep. he was getting overtired and was seeking comfort. i was at the end of my tether as i was so tired so on Friday his dad gave him a bottle of expressed breast milk at 10pm and he slept until 3am where i gave him a feed and he settled off until 7am. I have been doing this since and it seems to work as he is not getting overtired. I was initially against giving a bottle but because i am using nipple shields to feed him (long story!!) i figured that the feeding technique is not that different to bottle feeding. I am hoping to continue to express enough for the evening bottle as i don't really want to give formula x