Newborn sleeping & feeding patterns - can ANYONE help?

I personally haven't used gripe water, I think anything that isn't food (and the only food for a baby is milk) is medicine, no matter how natural the ingredients. You could look at your own diet, some mums find dairy, wheat or caffeine in their diet can increase reflux. With my son I had to avoid curries and oats.

Just to add, my 2nd bubba, DS refused a dummy until 8wks, so I also found him to be spitting up loads of milk in the first 2 months as he used the breast as his pacifier... Now much better at 12weeks. Also, he is a big boy too (4kg at birth) and if he's having a growth spurt (happened at 3,6,9,12 weeks of age so far)... I can be found for about a 48hour period to be constantly feeding, feeding, feeding, at all hours of the day & night, and yes, my milk production is fine. I feel utterly physically drained during these periods, and he also produces reduced amounts of faeces as he is using it all up. All I can say is rest when you can, ask for & accept help whenever you can & HANG IN THERE- I promise she won't be a newborn forever! And you will look back & giggle about this one day!

As far as the dummy, I wish I could help, my son loved his dummy from day one, my daughter (now 12 weeks) refuses to take one much to our dismay!. You could try dipping it in warm water to warm it and then dipping in EBM to sweeten it in an attempt to make it a more appealing option. You could try the blockfeeding as detailed below, it is aimed to reduce your supply to a "normal" level so do keep an eye on her weight and switch back to alternating sides if her weight gain gets too low. You can also try laying back to nurse if you think your letdown is too forceful. Oversupply is common in the first couple of months and usually settles down by 12 weeks anyway.

Did your LC mention you maybe have oversupply or fast letdown? She is maybe showing signs of "reflux from oversupply/overeating/fast let down" here is the text from a pamphlet my LC sent me on it 1. [i'>Often these babies can be heard feeding across the room, they gulp, chug, click and sometimes choke, often a baby will pop off the breast or push away after only a few minutes of feeding, sometimes they beat at the breast and get frustrated 2. Baby chews on hands and looks hungry even after a good feed, mothers often think milk is drying up 3. Typically these babies will put on in excess of 250-300 grams a week More painful cases can lead to inconsolable crying, baby often goes rigid and wriggles, this can happen during a feed or in waves after a feed, rotting with periods of relaxation 1. The primary treatment is aimed at reducing the speed and amount of milk the baby takes in. 2. Feed on one side only for a 3-6 hour block, this enables the baby to get less volume and higher fat content. 3. Feed until baby begins to pop off or fight at the breast, then pick up and cuddle on shoulder for about 5-20 minutes. You can offer small top ups after this on the same side only (this seems to settle babies and may be related to washing down a burning silent reflux) 4. Nipple shields can help baby control the flow. 5. Feed baby in an upright position with his bottom much lower than his head. 6. These babies tend to do better being held by a family member while they are in pain. Holding the baby upright and gently moving tends to help baby cope with the discomfort. 7. Raise the head of the babies sleeping area by 40 degrees. 8. Reflux medication can help in many cases where baby is in a lot of pain. a. Most parents seem to prefer Ranitidine to Gaviscon for ease of use and effectiveness with a baby. 9. You can express your breast only to comfort not to empty, as that would stimulate more milk production.. 10. Leaving a baby to cry it out that is in pain is not developmentally appropriate. They do not yet have the ability to soothe themselves and need help. So lots and lots of cuddles for baby as well as parents until baby comes right. 11. It may take a bit of time to heal so be patient with each other.[/i'> <em>edited by kiwispiers on 25/12/2012</em>

How is her weight gain? If her weight gain is good and her latch is good (hopefully you saw a well qualified LC who also checked for tongue-tie) you could try introducing a dummy, this can be helpful for reflux babies as sucking does seem to relieve the reflux and sometimes they are sucking for that reason rather than hunger. The other thing you could try is making sure to wake her around 7/8 am if she is not already up for the day by then and take her outside for at least half an hours daylight, to help set her body clock, also try to keep her awake for some of that time between 2 and 7, i'deally she'd clusterfeed then instead of later. As much daylight as possible really helps. Her feeding does fall within the realms of normal for a newborn I'm afraid.

Agreed evelyn2000, I'm a bit fan of lying down feeding. It's how I've always done night feeds. Mmmmmm, the only tip or advice that I can give you is that your newborn seems completely normal and if that is her current sleeping/feeding pattern then you just need to roll with it and remember that it won't last forever. I think at 3 weeks she is still too young for serious feed/sleep training - although Gina Ford and others may disagree. The 7pm -11pm is a classic time for young babies to be awake, feeding and grumpy. All mine have been the same at that time, we call it the witching hours in our family. I'm currently 7 months pregnant and my baby is at his most active between those hours so I suspect this one will be just the same! One thing that I did when I had my first baby that I realised with later babies was wrong is that I was always trying to 'fix' things. In reality, they didn't need fixed, newborns are bone wrenchingly utterly exhausting little things and it's a phase that whilst feels like forever at the time actually doesn't last that long in the grand scheme of things. Have a wonderful Christmas and please try to give yourself a break and try not too worry. It sounds like you are doing a great job.

you can have a look at the thread below "newborn feeding erratically", there is lot of info. And don't worry it is all normal , keep feeding on demand you are doing great thing for your baby.If you feel tired try lie down position for feeding, for me it is lifesaver :). Merry Christmass for both of you