I'm a new mother and going out of my mind! help!

[Crunchie]

A 5-month old baby not sleeping through the night is very normal. Of course, all babies are different, and some may sleep through the night--but it is very unusual for a breastfeeding baby to sleep through the night that young. My son just started sleeping through the night--he just turned one. And I would consider him a good sleeper!

That said, obviously this babe has other things going on that may definitely be waking her more than she usually would!

You've gotten a lot of good advice. Hang in there! I know how it feels to think that you are losing your mind with a young babe!

Don't give up breastfeeding. Get help if you need it. There is no formula in the world that will "fix" anything. Solids are not necessary before 6 months at the earliest--and feeding solids at this point will only increase her chances for developing allergies later on. There could be, of course, something in your diet that she is reacting to, like so many others have pointed out. However, this is actually pretty rare. It would be more likely that colicky symptoms caused by your milk are caused by an oversupply--if you have an oversupply, your babe would be getting too much of the lower-fat, higher lactose foremilk and not enough of the higher-calorie hindmilk. This could also cause her to be fussy and never seem satisfied, as the foremilk is just a thirst quencher and not very good at satisfying hunger! But this can be corrected. Find a good lactation consultant (an IBCLC one). They can make a world of difference! And know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel--this will get better.

www.kellymom.com is a great resource! I would search here for oversupply and foremilk-hindmilk inbalance.

On another note: yes, there is lactose in breastmilk, but a baby wouldn't have a reaction to that--it is not "milk". Breastmilk is tailor-made for a baby's digestive system. It's the lactose and other things in non-human milks that give us tummy troubles! They could get too much lactose if, like I pointed out above, they are getting too much high-lactose foremilk instead of a good balance of both foremilk and hindmilk.

 

[Crunchie]

Quote:
I was VERY young when I had my 1st. child and she was born by emergency C-section , and dr. did NOT advise me to nurse with the c-section . I was NOT cut in a bikini Cut like they do now , SO I nursed her for 3 days and , I was contracting from the sucking just like I was in labor all over again. So dr. put her on a bottle .... when SON was born I had double pneumonia when he was born and with the c-section , plus all the high fever and strong antibotics I COULD NOT nurse him . My youngest I nursed her for a year .

Oh man.

You get hugs for that!! I had a c-section, and as far as they go it was unenventful...but it still sucked! So I can't imagine having an emergency one and getting cut like that.

 

[cajunlizz]

Quote:
All babies are different. Just because yours slept through the night at 3-4 weeks old, doesn't mean hers should be.

Mine didn't sleep through the night for...well, I honestly don't remember, but it was a long time. Then I know others (even who parented the exact same way as me) that slept through the first week.

Unfortunately, with children, there's no hard and fast rule that fits them all. Many days, I sure wish there was! hehe

but , POINT BEING , if a baby at 5 months old is so gassy and crying from pain there is something disturbing this baby . IF he was NOT hurting or bothered he would probably be sleeping thru the night . NOT etched in stone .

I am willing to BET that this probably has alot to do with the diet the mother is eating and creating GAS for this baby .

Also , if this baby has acid reflux , she actually need to be on more cereal than MILK . ADD cereal in her milk and problem will ease up .

 

[asher]

Naw. The majority of babies that I know/have known have not slept through the night that young, even without anything wrong.

I do think something is bothering her baby, but in general most babies (particularly breastfed) are not sleeping through the night at 5 months. And IMO, adding solids to a babys diet that is already having issues is NOT a good idea. Especially not giving a 5 month old baby more solids (in the form of cereal) than milk. Ever, not just for a baby having problems. Milk should be their primary nutrition.

We obviously come from different walks of lives and beliefs so I don't think we'll agree on much on this issue. hehe

SO I'll just say to the OP, follow your heart, talk to other mamas that parent the way that your heart leads you to and possibly talk to a trusted physician and lactation consultant.

 

[arlee453]

Cajun... I also have to say I went back and re read your post where you said not to take advice from a chicken forum. Where you edited it to then add some more advice about adding cereal to help babies sleep better at a VERY early age.

I don't know how old you are or your children are, but i can tell you that the current American Academy of Pediatrics (those same doctors you are saying should be the only ones giving advice, I might add...) recommendation is to avoid ALL solid foods now until baby is 6 months.

It was common years ago to pump a baby full of cereal at just a couple weeks old, not realizing that the reason those babies tended to sleep through the night so young was because their bellies were full of something they couldn't digest. It gives a false sense of fullness without adequate nutrition. I have notes from when I was a baby almost 40 years ago, and I was getting food like squash, cereal, fruits, etc at a MONTH of age. Of course we now know that is not the best nutrition for newborns.

Today we know better. Babies should generally not get any solid foods (and this includes cereals of any kind) until they are 6 months or older. Breastmilk (preferably) or formula ONLY, unless specificially recommended by their doctor.

Just 12 years ago the recommendation was to delay solids until 4 months of age. Now the recommendation is 6 months, as we learn more about the nutritional needs of the early infant period.

The benefits to babies of delaying solids are: Better nutrition (babies can't really digest most solids until at LEAST 4 months or older, so basically you are filling up their bellies with something they can't digest, and keeping them from getting enough of what they CAN digest - formula or breastmilk) AND, a much reduced risk of developing food allergies.

For a baby that is showing signs of gastric upset/gas/colic - for whatever reason - suggesting she feed MORE cereal or other foods to help the baby sleep better is really, really, really bad advice.

It is NOT normal for a newborn, whether formula fed or breast fed to sleep through the night before at least 8-9 weeks of age. And 'through the night' is techincally defined as 5 hours of sleep in a row. Formula fed babies do tend to sleep more/go longer between feedings for the same reason that cereal makes them sleep. Formula is a inferior food for infants, and is not as readily digested as breastmilk, therefore their bellies do not empty as fast as it takes longer to break down the nutrients in formula.

Breastmilk is the perfect food for newborns and because of that it digests faster and moves through the gut easier. Therefore, they do feed more frequently. A breastfed newborn should be feeding every 2-3 hours around the clock. THAT is normal.

Now at 5 months, many breastfed babies are sleeping a longer stretch at night, but it is not unusual at all (and i'd say probably more common) for the baby to sleep only about 4-5 hours at that age.

 

[arlee453]

Quote:
I was VERY young when I had my 1st. child and she was born by emergency C-section , and dr. did NOT advise me to nurse with the c-section . I was NOT cut in a bikini Cut like they do now , SO I nursed her for 3 days and , I was contracting from the sucking just like I was in labor all over again. So dr. put her on a bottle .... when SON was born I had double pneumonia when he was born and with the c-section , plus all the high fever and strong antibotics I COULD NOT nurse him . My youngest I nursed her for a year .

If you have never breastfed a baby (regardless of the reason) then you have no personal experience about what should be normal or not for a breastfed baby. Period.

Edited to add....I have to correct myself here - I did not read the post carefully enough to see that you did feed one child for a year. All the spaces make it really hard to read your posts to understand what you are trying to say sometimes.

 

[Jolyn]

I have heard that colic usually strikes in the evening......(Correct me if i am wrong and someone has experience with this.) I would think the baby either has relux or gas.

There are some very good gas drops available. You can get them right at the grocery store in the baby aisle. Both my boys used them. http://mylicon.com/

I don't think your baby is allergic to your milk. I think that seldom happens.

I do agree that you need a little "ME" time away. I really think you need to sit down with your husband and explain how you are feeling. Do you think that you may also be experiencing a tad bit of PPD? A crying baby can do that. Please get some time for yourself.

 

[arlee453]

I am going to bow out of this thread at this point. I think the OP has gotten some VERY good advice overall by most who responded, and my blood pressure can't take any more tonight.

To the OP: I hope you are able to find some help in the suggestions and wisdom posted here. Just remember all things do pass and take it a day at a time. Your baby won't be a baby forever, and try to find the joy even when it's been one of 'those' days!

 

[Moonwalker]

I have skimmed over most of the posts and didn't catch anywhere what your pediatrician has to say about this? I have a friend that had a baby with similar symproms that was allergic to milk, of any kind with animal origin (human, cow, goat etc) but does fine on soy milk. Others that the problems were casued by mother's diet. But I also have a friend whose baby had a defect in her stomach that caused the same type of symptoms. If this has been a constant (meaning several days/nights a week) ever since the baby was born, you really should have a doctor check it out. My daughter and son both went through a few spells of colic that drove me to the brink of insanity, but they only lasted a few days at most and did not come back for long periods, sometimes months.
Please, if you haven't done so, take the child to the doctor. They can test for all sorts of food allergies and other common causes and it could be something simple. But if it is not, then the longer it is not treated, the more chance of further problems, not to mention suffering (for you and the babay)

 

[Fowl-Language]

Not really. BM has lactose in it. A mom may want to freeze her BM (up to 6 mos.), and try again every month cause sometimes the lactose intolerance clears up.


OK, seminolewind, you really threw me there for a minute! I guess I was thinking of something else altogether! Is it Friday yet?!