Normal?

   my almost 7 week old baby has odd sleeping patterns. In the first couple of weeks she would be up 6-8 hours a day and then now can be awake up to 12 hours some days. lately after her long waking spells she would then sleep 6-8 hours. a doctor said its normal, and my midwife said it wasnt normal,maybe its wind so weve tried boile water and infracol and nurse said we're feeding her too much- she is now having 150mls every 3 hours and sometimes 50ml top ups in between,s that too much?. she is crying thru these waking spells with maybe ten minutes sleep here and there....everyday is a waiting game thinking "is this when she wont go back to sleep?" is this normal?</P>

Edited by mrshouse

Hi I'm not sure either, I would have thought that all 7wo babies needed more sleep than that. Count on a growth spurt every 2 weeks for the first 2-3mos.

The feeding your baby is doing is ringing alarm bells in my head. Olivia was much the same although she was having 150mls over 2hrs (bits of bottles, I called her a snack eater) then down for a 30min nap. She would constantly grizzle the whole time she was awake unless I entertained her. She would sleep ok overnight then every couple of days she would have a break of exhaustion and sleep the whole day. Olivia also had hiccups, making little squaking/swallowing noises when she wasn't being fed and had terrible trouble with passing wind. I had a Karitane nurse take me to task and give me a lesson on winding because I was doing it wrong. What a load of bollocks, I was doing it fine. The symptoms ended up being silent reflux, I strongly suggest that you have a look at:
Crying over spilt milk - symptoms of reflux
It really sounds like your baby is feeding to soothe.
I would also like to say that there is no real trouble having a reflux baby, the trouble is diagnosis so get onto it if you can.
Best of luck

The difference between Ella and Elle is that Elle (my one :)) was not happy to have such little sleep. She cried much of the time. She was also breastfeed and took one good feed every 2.5 hours at that age so she wasn't really a snacker.

Let us know how you are getting on Mrs House. If it is any consolation at all - week 7ish was the hardest for us and it gradually got better after about week 10.

Reflux is a tricky one. My GP was good and put my daughter straight onto Losec (supposidly the best treatment for reflux) just in case. She didn't improve at all after 2 months of treament (from 5 weeks of age until 14 weeks) nor did she get worse when it was stopped. We also tried Infant Gaviscon. They usually say that the main way they diagnose reflux is by trying the meds...if they work, then the baby has reflux, if there is no change then they possibly don't. Naturally that is not 100% accurate all the time but it is a general rule. Elle does spill a lot and it is acidic but it would seem that it doesn't really bother her.

We tried everything - reflux meds, seeing paediatricians, going to the plunket family centre once a week for several weeks, sleep consultants etc. In the end it just took time to come right. I totally understand how hard it is though and know that as a Mum you just can't rest until you've had things checked out again and again. I do hope you find a solution soon.

Is she growing well? Does she seem more unsettled after feeds? There is always a chance it could be reflux or it could be the formula. You could try changing to something like soya formula for a few days to see how she goes?? If she improves, you could then revisit the GP to talk about what formula to use on an ongoing basis? Elle is breastfeed so I'm not sure about formula.

I think trying to aim for 2.5 hourly feeds, or perhaps 2 hourly at a min, without top-ups in between is a good place to start. Naturally you need to be flexible during growth spurts etc but aiming for 2 to 3 hours between feeds is usually best.

Hugs Hope you get some answers soon and things start coming right for you and little Ane. Poor little thing must be miserable being so tired - not to mention her poor mum.

Hi MrsHouse, and welcome to OhBaby!  Don't worry about feeling like a know-all when you're at the Doc's... You do know stuff other people will never pick up on about your wee girl, 'cause of that wonderful Mummy Instinct you've just naturally got! 

That sounds really tough - that's a heck of a lot of staying awake for a wee 7-week-old.  Let me get this straight - she's up for 12 hours consecutively?!?  Wow.  I take my hat off to you if you even manage to get dressed on any of those days!!  Plunket were a great help to me with my little girl's sleep (well, lack of).  I called PlunketLine a couple of times, and talked to a nurse at the family centre, too.  Chances are you'll be well aware of how different and conflicting all the advice you get is, so my only advice is to listen to the lot, but don't drive yourself crazy trying anything that you just know isn't going to help.  Take on board the stuff that rings true for you, and if that doesn't help Ane, then that could be time to try some of the other approaches.     I hope it's sorted for you soon - sounds like hard slog.  Hang in there - I'll get easier!