feeding/sleeping for a 9 week old baby help!

Hi ladies,

i thought i would post as i am getting to my wits end today its been building i think
my 9 week old baby is driving me crazy she has a habit of snacking on her bottle not always finishing 125ml. The last two days she has been wanting to feed more so i give her more thinking it might help her to nap.

I haven't been able to get her to have naps lately she doesnt just want to seem to sleep she will in my arms (which isnt always practical as you know!) but i'm trying to get her to sleep in her cot. i hope someone out there can give me advice on ways to feed and settle her to sleep. i've tried putting her in the cot to self settle but she cries, also tried putting her in the cot after she is asleep in my arms that lasts only 5mins if that!

I've tried swaddling her she hates it and screams till you unwrap her, the white noise thing, put her in the swing nothing seems to be working. she is driving her poor sleep deprived mum just crazy any advice welcome. oh and the other thing she tends to scream for a few hours at night consistantly but once we eventually settle her down she's good and sleeps for at least 4-5 1/2hrs at a stretch!

Thanks

Do you have a sling or carrier - they're often the best way to settle little babies. It's totally normal to want to be held all the time.
As for feeding, it may be that her tummy is more comfortable with more frequent, smaller feeds than big ones all at once.
Fussiness for several hours in the afternoon/evening/night is very normal at this age too. Again, cuddles/sling etc can be the best way of dealing with it.

Try smaller feeds as 125ml may be too much for her just yet
After you put her in her cot, when she has fallen asleep in your arms, and she stirs do you give her a dummy? She may need this to resettle. For us P likes to be swaddled to sleep for a period. Also bub needs to sleep for about 40-45mins at a time (or this is what i've been told). Are you able to recognise her tired signs? Maybe she is overtired and this is causing her to become unsettled
With the screaming, is it in the afternoon/evening? Could she be colic?
Hope it all settles down soon hang in there

i agree with marcellus - fussiness in the evening is very normal at that age. i think for us it lasted till DS was about 12 weeks, although maybe a little longer. then all of a sudden i realised he wasn't so cranky in the evening!

and a sling or carrier could be a great idea - they do like to be close to you especially when they're still so tiny

I personally believe in a '4th trimester' after all, bubs were inside us for so long, to suddenly be away from us is a bit unreasonable, and a little emotionally upsetting (for both us and bubs).
Mum is the whole world to a newborn and all they have ever known. It takes time for them to be independant.
We pretty much co-sleep (both bed sharing and just room sharing) and wear DD everywhere, and its really helped.
She slept through as soon as we were home from hospital, and was regularly sleeping 11-7 with a few 12 hours nights in there, until she started teething at 4.5 months, when we have around 2 wakings in 12 hours (still really good though)
I agree with getting a sling - the best thing EVER!!

Grumpiness could be to do with wind. Doesn't hurt patting their back for a while after each feed to make sure all the burps are out.

Ours falls asleep happily in a bouncer where he can see me. Woe betide if I dare to step away when he's awake though! He's only a few weeks older than yours.

heya mum2be - all babies are different of course, but I found that with DS, if after he finished feeding I gave him his dummy (he likes sucking a lot, but if he's full, he obviously shouldn't keep drinking when he's already full) and let him keep cuddling into my bbs, getting some lovely skin to skin contact. after that snuggling time, we keep him upright, to make sure he doesn't get reflux, and any air can get out.

if your bub has reflux (or silent reflux) that time being kept upright should really help a lot.

I also found having a predictable routiune (but of course we fed him earlier, if hungry!) helped DS a lot to settle in general - when I had to go back into hospital and the routine was largely out the window, BOY did we hear about it from him!

we were also able to make sure that DS had a few key people who spent a decent amount of time with him - DH especially of course, but also my parents and siblings, so DH knew he could be safe even if I wasn't there 24/7. A bit of time out helped me stay calmer, get some naps, which can rub off on DS's mood.

thanks ladies

Not sleeping is often just a normal baby thing. But we had trouble with DD1s sleep because of silent reflux. She didn't want to lay down because the reflux hurt her.
Just FYI, the paediatrician told us that if babies draw their legs up in pain, it's wind. If they arch their back in pain it's a sign of reflux. Just thought I'd let you know, just in case it was wind or reflux causing issues. Chances are though, that it's probably just a normal phase. Hopefully they grow out of it soon!