Newborn Nursing Constantly/won't Nap

I had a similar situation. My son just wanted to suckle all of the time. At first I thought he was extremely hungry, but I soon learned that wasn't the case. It was just soothing to him. Unfortunately, I settled with a paci. I didn't want to, but I did. I know it's not the best advice and probably something you don't want to hear. Good luck! :)

Have you tried swaddling? It's a terrific way to soothe a tiny baby. I've used it for years. I was using it long before Harvey Karp wrote the book "Happiest Baby on the Block" -- but the book is the best description of how to use swaddling I've ever seen.

I breastfed all three of my kids for over a year each. Newborns do need to feed frequently, but even at three weeks, you should be able to get at least an hour between feedings during the day. (Your night patterns sounds pretty standard!)

I'm wondering if part of the problem is that he doesn't transition well from the breast to on his own. He finds it startling to be removed from your lovely warm body, and when he's startled, he wants comfort -- and what offers more comfort than mommy's breast??

Which is why I think swaddling might be a very useful strategy, and I highly recommend Karp's book for the how-to's.

I went through the same thing with my daughter. How's his weight? I ask this because at her 2 week appt. she wasn't gaining weight and I had to supplement w/formula and pump until my milk came in. Long story short, I went home and gave her a bottle w/formula and she was a chow daddy, she ate so much that I called the pedi to make sure that it was okay. I personally felt horrible because I felt like I was starving her. I stopped nursing after a couple of weeks and switch to formula. It was a whole new world when I fed her formula. I was able to regulate how much she was getting, she was a happier baby and slept better.
Also, I would check your diet and make sure your not eating anything that could upset him.
I hope this helps

Hello, that sounds excatly like my son who is now 19 months. Since my son was born he would nurse every 30 to 60 minutes, and he would always spit up. So I went to his pedi and they said that he had acid reflux. So they put him on medication and it seemed to help a little but he was still spitting up, not as much but was still spitting up so the did some test and found out that he had breast milk jaundice so the told me to switch to formula called Nutramigen ( I think that is how you spell it.) It is a hypoallergenic formula for infants who are sensitive to intact protein found in milk-based and soy-based formulas. Nutramigen LIPIL contains extensively hydrolyzed protein proven effective for colic due to cow's milk allergy. The formula includes docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA), nutrients also found in breast milk that promote brain and eye development. It is also Hypoallergenic
Lactose-free and sucrose-free
Clinically shown to reduce colic symptoms due to cow's milk allergy in 48 hours. It helped a lot I mean he eat about every five hours. They also told me to pump and freeze the breast milk and after five days start breast feeding again and once I did he started spitting up again. So I have to switch to a soy formula because they came to find out that he was lactose intorlent. Well I know I wrote on and on but I hope this helps if you have any more questions please fell free to email me anytime. I wish I had someone to talk to when I was going through this. I felt very dissapointed in myslef because I nursed my daughter for 11 months and him only 6 weeks. Hope all is well..

J.

I'm afraid that sounds like colic. I thought my son was hungry all the time and would want to nurse and then be very fussy shortly after. He would briefly fall asleep and then start to cry as if he was in pain. I took him to the doctor and they suggested switching to formula as he wasn't tolerating breast milk. I gave up dairy products first to see if that helped. Try switching to a bland dairy free diet and he may be more comfortable.

does he grunt alot?? could be reflux.. talk to his ped about that... check what you are eating.. are you eating gassy foods or spicy foods?? He may just need a pacifier to keep him happy too to sleep.. or maybe colic??? your ped is the best person to talk to about this.. good luck

I went through a little something of this with my son. We actually ended up doing formula at night for him because he wanted to feed every hour or so.
Some questions my doctor checked with us maybe it will help you.

1.Are you sure he is getting enough breastmilk from you at feedings? check with your doctor about this.

2. I don't know if you are using one or not, but have you tried giving him the pacifier? Our doctor said just the concept of the sucking was soothing for him, witch is why he was content on the breast. The pacifier worked for us.

3. Try cocooning him before you start feeding him. Then when he is done feeding he is all bundled and content. They told us that too. Unfortunately for me, my son doesn't like to have clothes on...lol...he hates being swaddled.

hopefully something helps and good luck!

-Jenn

Hello, i am a mother of three and breastfeeding babies are very demanding, make sure you are nursing 10-12 minutes on each breast or until you feel empty. also you are establishing your milk supply right now so the more she sucks the more milk she is producing...... at 3 weeks 6 weeks and 3 months they also go through a growth spurt so alls they want to do is eaT. be patient it will get better.

D.,
That sounds just like what my son did during his first 2-3 months of life. I felt like I was always nursing. He never slept through the night then. People would ask me if I used a pacifier to help him, but he knew there was nothing in there. He nursed so much, there was never a time that I could pump and I frequently wondered if he was getting any milk.
I do not believe you are reading him wrong. Breastmilk digests much more quickly than formula, but is the best thing for your son. My son also spit up ALOT and we found out when he was 6 months old that he has reflux. People suggested to me that I feed my son formula before bed to help him sleep, but I couldn't.
We ended up investing in a swing because as soon as I would move my son, he would also wake up. It was my saving sanity(still is and son is 15 months). My son has NEVER been a sleeper. They say babies sleep all the time the first few weeks of life... HA!! They never met my son.
I'm sorry I don't have any more suggestions. It's hard to breastfeed sometimes, but so worth the rewards.
Take care and let me know if you need any more advice(I too am first time mom),
M. C
P.S. Just FYI, my son would never take a bottle because I waited too long to introduce it(when I was finally able to pump).

Oh D., absolutely. I have dealt with this. My 1st son (who is 2 1/2 now ) was diagnosed with reflux. He constantly ate, then spit up, ate, cried and cried and cried. I took him to the dr and they told me I just had a fussy baby and gave me a number for a support group... well, a mom knows when there is something wrong with her child... so I left there and imediately and took my son to childrens hospital. They diagnosed him with acid reflux... which just means that bile from the stomach creaps into the esophogus and causes a burning sensation, which makes them spit up and causes them some discomfort. As soon as they diagnosed him I felt a huge relief that I wasn't a bad mom and this was something that could be fixed. So they gave him Zantac and it worked amazingly!! He was on it until he could sit up by himself and then it was gone. I have a 2 month old boy now who was also diagnosed with reflux and we started him on zantac last week.
I know how hard it is to have a child with reflux. You are so overwhelmed with emotion and have sleep deprevation and just want them to stop crying. I suggest you call your pediatrician and ask them about reflux and whether they can check him out and maybe get him started on zantac. Good luck. I hope you resolve this soon.

As most of the other responses have said, I think what you're experiencing is totally normal. My daughter (12+ mo now) seemed to want to nurse constantly. I remember heading upstairs to put her to bed at 8 p.m. and I'd still be nursing at 3 a.m., in tears out of frustration and exhaustion. And honestly, after talking about it with my friends, I don't think I had it all that bad. The sleep/nap thing really doesn't work itself out for a few months (starts to improve around 6 weeks, gets better around 4 months, my daughter was on a "normal" schedule by 6 months - 2 naps a day and sleeping through the night).
Some tings that helped:
"Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child" - not the most well written book in the world, but I found the info on sleep research helpful (how to get your baby to sleep well and how much sleep he/she needed and developmentally when to try what approaches).
Join a New Mom's support group. The hospital I gave birth at (Southern NH Med Ctr in Nashua) has one, but I imagine most hospitals do. You can all commiserate together and realize that what you're going through is probably normal. I met a ton of friends there, and learned about what community activities are going on for my daughter and me. Its been great.

Breastfeeding is hard for the first few weeks. Just keep it up. I remember at 3 weeks telling myself that I really wanted to give up (it was painful and time consuming and exhausting), but I will keep trying until 6 weeks before I decide. At 6 weeks, most of the issues had smoothed themselves out and I didn't want to give it up anymore. I kept going until she was 9 mo.

Good luck with your new son! Things get better every day.

Juat keep nursing and call the doctor for an apointment. Nursing is the best thing you can do for your baby, although it sometimes is hard. Maybe he is spitting up cause he is getting to much????

Sounds like your little one may not be getting enough to eat. I would call your doctor a call and have them weigh her. It's the best indication of how much she is getting. If that's seems ok, I would address the spitting up. I wonder if you put out so much she gets overfull, spits up, and ends up emptying a good portion of her tummy. Hence, always hungry. I can't say enough I think you should call the doctor...just for peace of mind if nothing else. I went through it all with my son. I had to put a tube in his mouth with formula and breast feed at the same time. I never really did produce enough for him so at 4 months, he went on cereal, at 5 months, I went back to both formula and breast then at 7mos, I weaned him (actually he really weaned himself...he got more from a bottle).

Like someone else suggested, I was going to suggest that you try a swing on occasion. A sling may also be a good idea. I would ask the pedi about reflux too. But be prepared for your pedi to also suggest supplementing, most will. In my opinion it's not good advice & the potential to harm your nursing relationship would be too much risk for me but like I said, chances are your doc will suggest it. If he's gaining & having plenty of wet diapers, your milk supply is not the issue. It may be a growth spurt, not much you can do about that but wait it out. It could be some minor gas, try burping more often or nursing in other positions. It could be he's not nursing long enough at each feeding to get the 'hind milk' which is denser in calories. You could gently try making him wait just a little longer to nurse when he shows signs of being hungry, let him work up a little more of an appetite. But I don't mean let him cry for a half hour before you nurse, just a few minutes & just if it doesn't seem like he's really hungry quite yet.
Best of luck & you're doing a great job by sticking with breastfeeding through this challenge.

Nursing isn't always easy. Neborns really eat a lot, and rarely sleep for more than an hour or two at a time, atleast for the first few months. I've had the same complaint with my kids, and turns out they weren't getting enough milk from nursing. I supplimented the night time feedings at first with formula. And they really slept a lot better. So durring the day when the crying seemed enless I also supplimented with formula. My kids seemed much happier, and content. Maybe this is what you need. Not every kid can tollerate the breastfeeding. And my kids are just as healthy as breastfed kids. Hope this helps. Keep trying, after a few months it will be a lot better.

D.,
Kudos to you for nursing him through this! My dd was the same way, and I always suspected reflux, but never got a real diagnosis of it. But my absolute saving grace was a sling. I would nurse her in it, then when she fell asleep would wear her around the house while I got things done. She slept incredibly well in it. I got a lot of flack from people saying I was creating a monster, but she came out being high needs, and I met those needs. I still wear her and spend a lot of time with her, but she is an independent little firecracker now at 15 mo. Check out www.askdrsears.com or read any of the books by Dr. Sears about attachment parenting and babywearing. It really affirmed what I knew in my heart- that my baby needed holding and it was OK. Also, www.wearyourbaby.com has lots of info and videos on how to choose a carrier, and how to wear your baby well and comfortably. When looking for a carrier, you should choose one that mimics how you would naturally hold your baby, supporting the back and under the legs- not hanging by the crotch. Try looking on www.nineinnineout.org for babywearing classes in your area as well for more help. (If you are near Wilton, ME you could contact me as well and I'll be happy to help!).
As for the breastmilk jaundice post- Maia had that, too, and it simply works itself out. If you wonder about breastfeeding through issues, or supplementing, check with a lactation consultant or your local LaLeche leader. Supplementing starts a downward cycle of less demand= less supply and then suddenly you've got no milk left. Most of the time, you can continue nursing through a multitude of "problems" and it saddens me when pedi's just suggest formula willy nilly. Your milk is made just for your baby, and changes daily to meet his changing needs. Formula will never be able to mimic all the incredible benefits of mother's milk, no matter what they claim. Keep up the good work, and the benefits to you as well as baby will show themselves!
Many blessings,
H.

hi
My name is K. H---I am A 30 mother of 4 ----Sam 5, Sarah 6---Shane 3 Shelby 6 months. I live in Athol MA.
I have had the problem you have with your son. My second born son Sammy was very very gassy---And babies cant tell the differance between gas pains or hunger pains. try getting him some gas drops for babies (i forget the name but ask them at CVS for baby gas drops). It really seem to help my son. Try not to eat gassy foods like broc. salad--really any kind of veggies---i had to stop drinking milk all together for my son! That seemed to help right away. Some babies have alleriges to to milk when they are very little, it gives them gas. And it goes right though your breast milk.
let me know how its going and good luck!!!
K.

Its possible he has acid reflux. Especially since you said he is spitting up frequently. I went through the same thing with both of my daughters. Their pedi. put them on zantac and it helped tremendously. Actually my first daughter had it much worse than my second and we actually had to try a few different meds, but they do help. Also try eliminating dairy products from your diet, it could also be that he is having a hard time digesting the enzymes found in milk products. Hope that is of some help and good luck, I know what you are going through.

It is possible he has reflux. I would check with your doctor. If it is not that it could be that he is just not filling up on your breast milk and may need supplements. Again, your consult your doctor. You might also check with a lactation consultant.
They never tell you how hard breast feeding is in the initial stages. ;) Usually a baby will nurse every 2-3 hours initially. But, every baby is different. Some babies just cry for no apparent reason.
If you've checked all of the possible causes. Diaper, etc. and he still wants to nurse. I know it is exhausting, but, I would nurse him.
Best of luck.