Need advice from you moms...

[AdoreMyDogs]

I know parents do it all the time but it's really hard on me having a second child. Vince was great for the first couple weeks but has developed colic (mild case which I'm treating naturally as best I can), and he is not letting me sleep at night. He has not slept longer then 2 hours per stretch since birth and he will be 8 weeks old on Sunday. Sometimes he will go up to 2 hours before he's ready to be fed again, but more often it's every 1-1.5 hours between feedings, and he's even gone as little as 20 minutes between feedings. This would not be a huge deal if I didn't have a busy 2 year old to take care of during the day, but with Quinn and Vince I'm feeling like I'm going to lose my mind. I love him so much and he's wonderful during the day, but at about 6:30-7 PM the colic starts and I pretty much have to "pacify" him (let him nurse non stop on me) as this is the ONLY thing that will calm him. He usually falls asleep at around 9 PM or so. It's annoying for me because I can't get up and do my things but avoiding him screaming non-stop is worth it. I would rather pacify him then listen to his blood-curdeling screams. I've tried the pacifier but he just can't seem to get used to it. I know the colic won't last much longer so I can handle letting him use me as a pacifier until the colic passes. They usually outgrow it by 10-12 weeks.

However, it's the night time, after he's crashed for the night, that is just killing me. I am just completely exhausted all the time because he goes anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours between feedings. At 6 weeks Quinn was sleeping 5 hours and he's 8 weeks and I can rarely even get 2 hours of sleep between feedings. I called his doctor today and they said that it's just his personality and there's not much I can do except try to suplement formula before bed to keep him full longer (which I won't do) or pump and have daddy feed him once per night to let me get up to 4 hours per stretch. I guess I have to get him trained on the bottle but he (just like Quinn) is confused by the bottle and, thus far, has not accepted it, although we have only tried him on the bottle a couple times since birth.

It's frustrating. Quinn was THE easiest baby and was sleeping through the night really early and has even been sleeping 12 hours a night since 6 or 7 months old. Quinn did spit up more then Vince, he's only spit up a few times since birth which is nice, but goodness he's one fussy baby.

Those of you moms who had babies like Vince who didn't go long between feedings, how long did it last? I would have never guessed that at 8 weeks he'd be waking me up this frequentlly during the night, but hopefully it will pass and he'll outgrow the need for so much night time milk. When he feeds at night he will nurse until he's full (usually 5-10 minutes) and I can't get him to eat any more, he unlatches, falls asleep, and is in a milk coma.

So, any ideas or words of wisdom, or anyone with similar problems that have good news about how long this lasts?

Here are some pics of him. I keep telling him "it's a good thing you're so darn cute".



And big sister Quinn with Minion


And a funny one of Quinn "nursing" her baby doll. She was nursing her baby from her belly button as you might be able to see:

[Sonia59]

I have no advice, but I understand. The lack of sleep is the worst thing. Valentine also had to be fed several times per night and was eating only 5-10 min before falling asleep. But she never had colic. I tried the bottle later, at ~4 months old I think, but she never accepted it.

Vince is so cute! And I love the picture of Quinn nursing her baby doll!
I never realized you have a cat! Lovely picture too!

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Nathan never had colic either so I can't give any advise on that. As for the nursing- during your waking hours have you thought about using a sling so you can feed him while you move around the house? I've never done it, but know other who have had success with it. It may help.

For night time, how do you feel about co-sleeping? (If you don't already, that is. If you already do I have no advise.) I think I would have lost my sanity had it not been for co-sleeping. You can rest better while you nurse and then you and Vince can fall asleep together. He may even sleep better/longer while sleeping with you.

The pictures of vince are precious. And little Miss Quinn is adorable "nursing" her baby.

[Nomilynn]

My best friend's baby girl was very fussy and had bad colic. She even would SCREAM every time she pooped, because she had such an upset tummy that it appeared as though she would have really bad gas and my friend could even feel it rumble through her tummy. They said that their saving grace was gripe water. I also remember getting gripe water as a child and I liked the taste. Is that something you could try?

Now Emily is 16mos and they still use gripe water, but they also found something called "Little Tummies" which is an acid reducer and they said that also really helps her out.

I hope you get some relief soon, sleep is very important!

[lizbud]

I am sorry you are having a hard time with this. When you can't get enough sleep, it's the pits.


The one thing about breast feeding is you can't tell how much milk
the baby actually getting. Anyway, my son had colic, but it didn't show up till around 6-8 months & only at Suppertime.

Two things that worked for me was feeding him pablum before putting
him to bed at night. Kept him full so he could sleep longer. I did use a
pacifer with a drop a honey on it when he was fussy at Dinnertime.
We used a baby swing in the kitchen so I could fix Dinner.

[Sirrahsim]

Step away from the honey... Never give honey to a child under the age of 1! EVER. Honey can contain bacteria that causes infant botulism. The digestive tract of an adult is developed enough to neutralize the minor dangers presented in honey but a baby's digestive tract can not. Do what you will with gripe water and the like, but PLEASE. Do not give him honey and Lizbud, please research before suggesting that someone give THAT to their baby. I mean no disrespect, but honey is a serious danger to babies.