Fussing over the night feed - help?

[NoviceKnitter]

My DD is six weeks and feeding has basically been going well - though she's one of those babies who eats ALOT - i.e. has been known to feed from 4 - 11 pm almost non-stop.

The feeding frenzy seems to be calming slightly now but we seem to be having a few problems transitioning into regular meals of decent lengths.

In the evenings now she gets very ratty and agitated - is tired I think but will only be calmed by a feed. Stays on for 5-10 minutes, falls asleep, wakes up again and the cycle continues/

We all go to bed at about 10 when she feeds again and then goes to sleep (we're co-sleeping which has been going really well.)

She's been waking at around 1, 3 and 6 but until recently we were both able to snooze through the feed, so we'd both wake up feeling pretty fresh in the morning. But
for the last week, she's been fussing over the nightfeed, making lots of coos and grnts, waving her arms and kicking her legs. It means neither she nor I are resting properly and it doesn't feel like she's feeding properly.

Last night we went to bed at 11 and she didn't wake till 3.30 (great). I gave up on sleepy feeds and sat up to feed her. She fed much better but would not settle. After much winding, nappy changing and more feeding we finally got back to sleep around 6. She woke again at 7...

This was hopefully a one off bad night, which has left us both tired and grumpy today, but the general question is, how can i help her into satisfying evening feeds that are more spaced out, and why is she fussing do much at night?

Sorry that I seem to have lost the art of being concise. Any ideas welcome.

[RuthChan]

Hi NK

Firstly, congratulations on the birth of your DD!!!

It's great that your DD has been feeding so well and that you've been able to get some rest by co-sleeping and resting through the feeds.

It's a shame that you had a bad night last night, but you'll probably find that it was pretty much a one off.
At only 6 weeks, she's still pretty small and it probably doesn't take much to unsettle her. Maybe she had a bad tummy, or some wind etc. They are very prone to such problems when they're so small.

I too found that my DD fussed more at night than during the day. I guess it's just that they're tired and that although feeding offers them the comfort they want to help them sleep, they can't always settle down into it easily.

I'm afraid I don't have an easy answer except to be patient and to accept that some nights will be easier than others.
At such an early stage, even getting 4 or 5 hours' sleep at a time really isn't bad going in my experience.

As for spacing the feeds out more, I'm afraid you'll just have to wait a few weeks or months and that will happen naturally. My DD was waking about every 3 hours for feeds during the night until she hit 6 months old. Hopefully you'll be luckier than me and your DD will sleep through before then.

[determination]

At this age she islikely going through a growth spurt, which is extremely tiresome.. if your dd is your only child then you MUST take advantage of daytime naps and you sleep too. This will pass and breastfeeding will only get better

Have a look at this link Baby fussing while nursing Im sure this will give you some answers. Well done for continueing to BF your LO and congratulations

You have came to the right place for help, support, encouragement and the list continues!

[NoviceKnitter]

Thanks Determination - excellent article there on fussy evenings. Most reassuring. As for growth spurts - she seems to have been on one for 6 weeks! But the important thing is she's a thriving, healthy, smiley baby.