Help!!

ashleighjade90 · April 2016

My little boy is 11 weeks old today. And he's STILL not got himself into a routine. I bath him the same time everynight snd put him to bed but he's up every 2 hours for a bottle. He's currently on 6 ozs. However, during the night he will only drink 1 or 2 ounces then push the bottle away from him and screams if I try give him anymore. He's not had his bowels open for nearly 48 hours and since he hasn't had his bowels open he is completely off his milk all together. What would you do?

kyraaD · April 2016

are you upset that he's up every 2hrs for a bottle? when you say "he hasn't had his bowels open in 48hrs" I'm assuming you mean he hasn't pooped. are you FF or are you pumping? if you're FF he could be constipated which is causing discomfort & ultimately fussiness. the same thing started happening with my LO the past couple days. i started giving him a little water today & will continue to do so everyday. I'm also going to be speaking with his doctor about it on Monday at his 6 week appointment. i think it might be best to maybe speak with your LO's doctor as well. if he used to be a regular pooper & suddebly hasn't gone in 2 days, that might be something you want to address. good luck!

SmrBrd2012 · April 2016

I think it's relatively normal for an 11 week old to not have a solid routine yet. I think the max mine slept at that age was 4 hours but it was usually closer to 3. 2 is pretty rough. How often are you feeding him during the day? He may be waking up at night not because he's hungry but because he doesn't know how to fall asleep on his own yet. I wouldn't worry about him eating much during the night. He probably cries and wakes up because he wants to be comforted.

Aeb04 · April 2016

I would bet he's not hungry, especially because he's not willing to eat much. If he wakes ande it has only been two hours, I would try to get him back to sleep without feeding him. I had a similar issue with my LO during the daytime. She would fuss after about two hours after feeding and since she had been eating every two hours when she was younger (she's 13 weeks now), I assumed she was hungry. But she would not latch and cried during feeding. Once I started spacing out her feedings more (3 - 3.5 hrs), not only did she eat better, but she was also less fussy.

Ceridwen77 · April 2016

I wouldn't worry about your 11w old not being on a routine or waking that frequently. My 5.5mo old will sometimes wake every 2-3hrs to eat. If your baby is only taking 2oz at these times, then make 2oz bottles. Even 2oz at that age has an impact on weight gain. I agree that it may be mostly a comfort thing that your lo is looking for though, but I still feel you should feed on demand and not try to enforce an eating schedule.

As far as constipation, is your lo breast or formula fed? If breast it could be completely normal to go days without a BM. If formula it could be constipation. I disagree with pp's advice to give an 11w old water. Talk to your pediatrician. At that age they will like just recommend you take their recital temperature as that will stimulate a bowel movement.

I dont know what you mean when you say he's off his milk altogether. Is he not eating? That's pretty serious as it can lead to dehydration so you need to talk to your doctor ASAP.

okkimbo · April 2016

My son is 13 weeks today so not much older than yours. Starting very early, he only pooped every 2-3 days and, of course, I was very worried. The pediatrician said this is totally normal for formula babies the first 3-4 months. If you're concerned, my pediatrician recommended Karo syrup (3 teaspoons a day) and that will help with constipation.

Regarding him waking every 2 hours for a bottle. Have you thought that maybe he's not waking every 2 hours because he's hungry, but maybe he's hot/cold or something else? Sorry if that comes across as condescending, but sometimes I need the reminder that he's not always hungry.

In the last day or two, my son has been pushing his bottle away when I know he's crying because he's hungry. What works for us is I'll give him his pacifier and he'll eventually relax and stop crying. Then, I'll exchange the pacifier for his bottle and he eats every time. FYI - My son eats 6 oz every 4 hours or so.

I hope this helps a little. Best Wishes!

delujm0 · April 2016

It is not abnormal for a baby that young to not have a routine. I don't think DD had anything resembling a "routine" until she was roughly 5 months old. And even still, we just have a rough estimate of how the day will go based on her"normal" wake up time.

Does LO sleep longer stretches during the day? Maybe he has his days/nights mixed up? There is also a sleep regression that happens starting between 3.5 and 4.5 months, where babies tend to wake more at night because their sleep patterns are changing. I would agree that it doesn't sound like you have a hunger problem - probably more difficulty putting himself back to sleep. I would try rocking instead of feeding unless it's been more than 4 hours since the last feed. And then bide your time until LO is 4-5 months and you can sleep train. Maybe start reading up on sleep training now to decide how you'd like to approach it when he is old enough to handle it.

If you are concerned about constipation I would call your doctor and see what they suggest. It could be a tiny bit of water, or a little bit of prune puree...but I wouldn't do anything without asking my doctor first at that age.

ashleighjade90 · April 2016

Thank you everyone for replying!

my LO is FF I have recently changed his milk to the hungrier baby milk and this seems to satisfy him a lot more. I went to the doctor and he advised that due to the change of milk thay could of been the reason he was constipated and has recently been fine.

Regarding my LO during the day; if we go out for the day and he's in his pram or car seat he tends to sleep alot longer during the day, meaning less feeds during the day but even on the days we stay in he is still up every 2 hours.

I'll talk you through our routine and PLEASE PLEASE be honest: he wakes up at around 6am so I get him up and take him downstairs where I lay him under his play mat while I get all his clothes and bottles ready for the day. I then bath him, dress him and feed him we also have a little play and I make hin giggle. I then tidy the house while he naps. Then he wakes up around an hour later and we have cuddles or he goes in his bouncer or I even read to him. He then has another 6oz bottle at around 10 am and I change him, he then has a nap til around 1pm where u do the same again only this time I play alot more with him and he has a sleep from around 3-4 fo a really short time. His dad then comes home from work at 5.30 so he has a play and a cuddle with him while I do his dad's tea. Then while his dad is eating his tea I normally bath my LO then feed him after and by this time he's normally really tired so I take him upstairs to his moses basket. He falls to sleep at around 7/8pm but then doesn't wake until 1am. I give him a bottle and change him then he goes bck to sleep and wakes again at 3am: same again but only drinks a really small amount. Then wakes again at around 5am and has the same. But them goes to sleep til around 6/6.30. Where our day starts all over again.

Am I doing anything wrong?

Ceridwen77 · April 2016

ashleighjade90 said:

Thank you everyone for replying! my LO is FF I have recently changed his milk to the hungrier baby milk and this seems to satisfy him a lot more. I went to the doctor and he advised that due to the change of milk thay could of been the reason he was constipated and has recently been fine.

Regarding my LO during the day; if we go out for the day and he's in his pram or car seat he tends to sleep alot longer during the day, meaning less feeds during the day but even on the days we stay in he is still up every 2 hours.

I'll talk you through our routine and PLEASE PLEASE be honest: he wakes up at around 6am so I get him up and take him downstairs where I lay him under his play mat while I get all his clothes and bottles ready for the day. I then bath him, dress him and feed him we also have a little play and I make hin giggle. I then tidy the house while he naps. Then he wakes up around an hour later and we have cuddles or he goes in his bouncer or I even read to him. He then has another 6oz bottle at around 10 am and I change him, he then has a nap til around 1pm where u do the same again only this time I play alot more with him and he has a sleep from around 3-4 fo a really short time. His dad then comes home from work at 5.30 so he has a play and a cuddle with him while I do his dad's tea. Then while his dad is eating his tea I normally bath my LO then feed him after and by this time he's normally really tired so I take him upstairs to his moses basket. He falls to sleep at around 7/8pm but then doesn't wake until 1am. I give him a bottle and change him then he goes bck to sleep and wakes again at 3am: same again but only drinks a really small amount. Then wakes again at around 5am and has the same. But them goes to sleep til around 6/6.30. Where our day starts all over again.

Am I doing anything wrong?

Sounds to me like you've got a good schedule going and your baby is a decent napper. I know I and many other moms would have loved our LOs to nap 3x1hr without being held.

The one thing that sticks out is why are you bathing 2x a day? Baby has delicate skin and you're washing away oils that keeps their skin healthy. Maybe bathe 1x a day max; but at that age they're not moving around a lot so really no need for a daily bath.

So what exactly are your concerns with your schedule? Also glad to hear the constipation has resolved.

taysun · April 2016

I'm with pp. bathing two times a day is unnecessary. I suggest one a day max and even then possibly only use soap 1-2 times a week. We do nightly baths for the routine but I only wash her once a week.

BrittaniLC · May 2016

Bathing twice a day?!? Holy moly. We barely bathe our LO once a week!

Sorry that was just shock that you bathe twice a day. I agree with everyone who says it is still too early for the baby to be on a set schedule.

Here is a question for you. At night, is he crying when you feed him the small amounts or is he just kind of stirring around and you think he's up and hungry? Whenever my LO would start to stir, I would just pop the paci in her mouth and she would fall right back to sleep. Sometimes it would take a time or two or three for her to settle with the paci, but she would usually fall back to sleep.

Good luck!

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