Hi,

Sarak said "my little man is 5 weeks and i have been breastfeeding. but he wont sleep at night and all he wants to do is scream and eat alllll night. its exhausting and frustrating. i am thinking of formula feeding at night only. has anyone else experienced this???"

Yes! Most of us have!
At birth, babies have no circadian rythm. Day and night mean nothing to them whatsoever! They do get the hang of it eventually - but when is a very variable thing. It is unlikely to be hunger that is causing him to behave like this, and the early introduction of formula will usually mean the early cessation of breastfeeding. And it may not mean a better sleep. did you plan to stop breastfeeding early? Or did you want to go longer? The great thing about the breastfeeding relationship is that there is more scope to "fine-tune" the process.
first of all, we would need to know how many times he is feeding in 24 hrs. 8-12 is normal at this age. And you find it's not in regular two to three hour blocks, but there are times in a 24 hr period where they have a cluster of feeds - a polite way of saying whenever you put them down they scream for more! Then another time of the day or night when they have a longer sleep - 3 hours is about as good as it gets.
If he is gaining between 150 -250 g per week, (after the time he got back to his birthweight around 2 weeks) then he is probably not hungry. Baby humans are biologically dependent on another adult. They need to be close to their mum. This is often why they are crying - they hate being alone. And oddly enough, many mothers in the early days, have too much milk. Babies getting too much often act much the same as babies getting too little. It takes some dedicated baby watching to sort it out! Hard when you are sleep deprived yourself.
Does he have longer sleeps in the day? Sometimes waking him for more frequent feeds during the day can help. Also, getting out into the sunshine a bit. If he is getting too much milk, but still (as all babies do) wants the comfort of sucking, then a dummy may help.
Many mothers find that their baby is much more settled if he sleeps in their bed - and it makes life easier for the mother - you can learn to feed lying down and it makes night-time parenting so much easier. If you smoke or drink or use other drugs, a cot or bed nearby or a co-sleeper may be helpful. Otherwise it is OK to put him in with you - make sure he has a safe place to sleep - no pillows or heavy doonas
Look after yourself. You are doing a great job. It's tough - you basically have a 24hr shift. Enlist all the help and support you can get. Sleep in the day when your baby sleeps. Eat well. Get some exercies. Do things to make yourself feel better.
Hope something in all this helps you a bit in your situation
Warm Regards
Barb