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Breatfeeding and Sleep questions
Since last night the baby has been un- latching and re-latching repeatedly during feedings. Sometimes he'll let out a frustrated little cry before he pulls away. I try burping him and this doesn't really seem to work. Could he be getting too much milk at once? That's the only thing I can think of. Any ideas on why he would be doing this?
Also, we normally will let him fall asleep with us holding him or he will fall asleep during breast feeding. If it's during the day, we don't mind taking turns holding him while he sleeps (we love it actually). However, at night (or next week when I'm home alone and might want to get stuff done while he sleeps) we'd like to put him in his bassinet or crib. He doesn't always seem to sleep well in the bassinet/crib. Sometimes he'll sleep for a few hours, but other times he'll wake up in 30 minutes or so and start crying. I feel like if he was asleep on us he wouldn't wake up so soon. I'm sure it's because the bassinet and crib are big and open and he likes being held and nice and cozy with us. Any suggestions on how to make crib/bassinet sleeping better for him so he will sleep longer in them?
Re: Breatfeeding and Sleep questions
For the breastfeeding question, I'm going to defer to the more experienced mamas here-- I know there are a few different things that could be the case.
S was the same way about sleep too- slept great on us but woke up when we put her down. Are you swaddling? We found she slept amazing as soon as I started bedsharing (which some people don't agree with). She finally moved her back into the bassinet when I went back to work. I always thought she would liked sleeping on her side and for naps, was able to put her down in the boppy for that (though I don't know if that's really ok-- it worked for us but might not be a great recommendation). Also, I ended up investing in the sleep sheep for white noise (has a human heartbeat as one setting)-- we only use it for putting her down drowsy in her crib at night though.
When we were in the hospital we swaddled with the blankets they had and he kept getting his arms out. I think he likes having his hands near his face. Now that we're home we've been using the Swaddle Me's but only doing a half swaddle with his arms sticking out.
I did a lot of holding during naps or taking a nap with him when he was little. Usually once he was asleep, I could transition him to the boppy to nap or he would nap well in the swing. At night, Chris or I would hold him on the couch until he went to bed, and then he would go in the PNP in our room. He liked to be held, and I liked holding him a lot, so it worked out okay for us
Sorry, not much help!
As far as the feeding thing, he could have a little gas or could be getting a lot milk, it's hard to say. I remember Marcus would nurse and nurse and then get full but wanted to nurse so he would latch, unlatch and spit the milk out, and then go back to it. At that point I realized it was just comfort, not for eating, and I gave him the paci.
For the feeding, James had a really hard time burping- we had to really work at it and then try to help with his gas. I don't recall any latching and unlatching, but it was a while ago. We really had to smack his back to get those burps up! And then we'd bicycle his legs and do all sorts of positions to help with gas. That's my only thought.
And yeah, we were all about the swaddle. James liked his hands out, but it would wake and upset him. We got the Miracle Blanket- it's like a straightjacket for babies. It was great. When he got a little older and less spastic, we went to a normal swaddler. He was swaddles until like 8 months! We never let him sleep with us and would have a lot of trouble keeping him asleep when we went to put him down. I'm sure had we let him stay near us he would have slept- but then we wouldn't have! So we would just swaddle, pacifier him (aka Plug & Snug), and then move in slow motion to put him in the crib at night. It didn't always work, but it was the best we could do, you know! Oh, and we had no shame with letting him nap in a swing or bouncy seat for naps.
We were crazycakes and took turns staying up with her the first 3-4 weeks. It's tough for them being "alone" after being inside for 9 months. Whoever was up with her would put her down after her feeding (in the bassinet in the living room) and if she woke after 30 mins it wasn't a big deal because someone was up anyway. By 4 weeks she was sleeping a few hours at a time in it so we moved her into the bedroom with us and actually started sleeping at the same time. We used both the Swaddle Mes and a sleep positioner, though I think now there are warnings with using positioners. I think it helped because it was contact on either side of her and hence cozier. After that she slept independently at night fine, but I held her for naps up to 8 months I think? Yeah, crazy
As for the BFing, we went through many of the same phases! Could be letdown isn't coming fast enough, is too strong once it comes, or maybe gas? We also had a lot more issues during growth spurts. I don't know if she thought she was going to starve or what, but she was way more difficult. Sorry I don't have a whole lot of advice, it was mostly a suffer through kind of thing for us.He was getting out of the blanket swaddle at the hospital and would end up sleeping with his arms above his head. I think he just prefers to sleep with his arms up and his hands near his face. At home we've been using the Swaddle Me's. I tried swaddling him with his arms IN the other night and he started fussing and trying to get them out right away.
A lot of people recommend the Woombie. If you think about it, they were hugged snug and tight inside you, but still able to wiggle and move around so they may not really be fighting a swaddle as much as trying to wiggle a bit. They have more ability to move in the Woombie without having to deal with the startle reflex, but if you believe he sleeps better without you're the mom! That's my favorite part, no one can tell you what to do.
I just looked up the Woombie. It looks interesting and I like that he can move a bit more with it. Have you used it before? Maybe we will give that a try.