help, baby can't sleep after breastfeeding

M

miaka

Registered User
my baby is now 6 wks old. she usually falls asleep easily after BF, but this week after eating she just can't sleep. she's fussy and needs to be put to sleep. it takes her over 30 min to fall asleep and then wakes very easily. however if we give her a lil formula, she falls asleep right away. i really don't want to give her that much formula, but putting her to sleep after every feeding is exhausting me.

does anyone have any similar experience? what's going on? do i not have enough milk? is she not full enough?
 
Will she latch on and feed more after you?ve finished the breastfeed?

If so, my guess would be that she is having a growth spurt. It is very common for babies to have a growth spurt at six weeks. They increase the amount of feeding they do because they need more milk in order to fuel the sudden rapid growth. This means that they need to spend a lot more time feeding for a few days.

I would just continue to breastfeed her instead of giving formula.

You may be interested in the article, Why does my baby suddenly want to nurse constantly? from the LLLI web site, http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/spurt.html

You are also very welcome to attend our meeting tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday 14th November from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm) at
Flat 2, 2nd Floor, Tower A, Villa Lotto, 18 Broadwood Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong 2817-7475

At the meetings we discuss the issues mothers bring and you can hear the experiences of other mothers.

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
thanx sarah. she actually refuses to latch on again after she's pulled away. when i offer the breast again or even the other breast she will begin to scream in frustration. i've tried offering after burping her as well with the same result. but i've noticed she's just like this during the day and tends to want more frequent feeds (every 1.5 hrs instead of 2 or 3 hours). she has no trouble going back to sleep at night.
 
It may be that she is now ready to do something else instead of sleeping so much. As babies grow they start to become interested in the world and interacting with people and things rather than just feeding.

If she isn?t interested in nursing I would assume that she wants to play, go for a walk, have a bath, anything rather than needing formula. Then see if she is willing to feed again in 30 or 60 minutes. And remember that babies will nearly always take milk for a bottle whether they are hungry or not so just because she takes it don?t assume she needs it.

The best way to tell if your baby is getting enough milk is to count the number of wet nappies (I?m looking for at least six disposable or eight cloth nappies in 24 hours). This is a much better indication than the baby?s behaviour or her willingness to drink more milk from a bottle.

Remember that it is actually healthier for your baby to have lots of small feeds instead of a few large feeds. I know that our culture is always trying to get our babies to have long feeds with long gaps but our culture doesn?t always tell us to do what is biologically best for us. (If it did lots of sweet manufacturers would be bankrupt!)

Best wishes,
SARAH
 
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