10 day old unsettled baby

Hi Brooke,
I hope you got that good sleep you were hoping for. Isn't that always the way that they behave beautifully for the doctor!
That pushing and pulling thing they do on the breast indicates a supply problem. She is frustrated at not getting the milk quickly enough and not getting enough of it. You might want to try some lactation drops (natural remedy for natropath, think some chemist have them too) or a breastfeeding herbal tea to help stimulate your milk production. You can get the teas from health food shops. The doctor is probably on to something with the stress being the main factor though. Just wondering if it might be useful to go to a family centre? They could help you with the feeding postures and wind, teach you some reflux baby breastfeeding techniques etc.

BTW I enquired about the Family Centre, Saffron.  Here in Invercargill we have one, but due to finances it is no longer staffed by nurses.  It is a place to drop in and feed or change baby but that is about it.  I wish someone could come and observe what we are doing here re the sleeping thing - it would have been good to get some pointers.  Apparently when the FC was going here women would arrive at 9 am and stay all day getting their baby's routines sorted and getting advice - and they could also catch up on sleep.

Hi Saffron - actually managed to turn around two feeds last night in an hour each!  Tried some new settling techniques - typically new settling techniques are good for only a couple of days.  Brooke woke at 1.30 am whereas usually she would wake at 4.30 am.  I think we are starting a growth spurt here.  Either that, or Brooke got stuck getting into a new sleep cycle.  The good thing though was Brooke woke again for a feed at 6 am and then went back to sleep allowing me to wake at 9 am and have "free time" till she woke up around 10 am.  She gets more sleep this way so wonder what tonight will bring.

Have been keeping a chart of Brooke's feedings, activity time, sleep etc cos all the days blend into one!  Is interesting the patterns popping up.  Our "witching hour" is 6.30 pm to 9.30 pm.  The night hours are the most reliable for sleeping and the afternoons and evenings are the worst.

Gosh I wish we could turn around a feed consistently in under an hour.  I would get so much more sleep (and so would Brooke!).  I have been referred to Plunket now that Brooke is almost 6 wks and the new Plunket Nurse sounds like she is quite pro-active and willing to spend the effort to help me with advice - so that is good.  I don't play with Brooke at all at night - feed under dimmed lights etc, and during the day she only gets about 10 mins of tummy time / play per a wakening. 

Hey that's fantastic! Sounds like you might be turning a corner. You are doing so well it is not easy with a new baby, especially your first and especially when they have reflux. Sounds like you are doing all the right things.
With Issy we always aimed for that 1 hour up period but with a reflux baby it doesn't always work out. Mind you if you can do it most of the time I think you will find it makes a big difference.
Its great that you are giving her tummy time but 10 minutes per up time is quite a lot. Do you find her quite unsettled afterwards? Or harder to put down to sleep after tummy time? I find that Issy is really unsettled after being on her tummy as it compresses her stomach and makes her reflux that much worse. Instead of tummy time on the floor we do tummy time on our tummies, while we are sitting up but reclined slightly backwards. She also spends a lot of time in the bouncinette and now she can hold her head up strongly we are putting her in the jolly jumper too. I know plunket advise to do tummy time but personally I don't think they need it until the can roll over. It might be worth doing a wee experiment, especially in the afternoon as you say that is her most unsettled time, and try leaving the tummy time out and see if it makes a difference.
I'm really glad to hear that you have a good plunket nurse. We got a good one too, very practical, and it makes all the difference.

Oh WRX - I saw the Baby Whisperer lady on that morning on TV!  It was funny cos Brooke was just having a tanty at that moment.  I went straight through and tried the shush/pat technique and it worked in 5 mins flat!    I still do that now to settle her - it works so well and usually only takes 5-10 mins.

Hehe I spoke too soon - got a bit of reflux again last night.  So racked my brain - I didn't think the Easter bun I ate was too risky - but checked the labelling today and says milk solids and skim milk powder.  Also I ate some macaroni pasta without thinking.  I can't believe how much easier Brooke is to settle to sleep.  I'm not getting my patience sorely tested every time I try to get her down to sleep. 

I'm still trying to increase Brooke's sleep hours.  I've been keeping a chart of her eating, feeding, sleeping activities etc and her sleep averages only 11-14 hrs per 24 hr period.  The Plunket nurse said not to worry.  I think if I can get Brooke to sleep during the witching hour 6.30 pm - 9.30 pm then that will be where we can pick up some extra sleep and she will also be more settled after the 9.30pm feed.

Saffron - I've timed Brooke's injections for a Friday morning.  That way if she gets cranky then I have DH with me all weekend to help, and if she has a bad reaction then I still have all day to check.

Yay the injections were just fine.  How did your bub go Saffron?

Brooke is taking only an hour to turn around during the night feeds now.  Gosh such a difference.  Glad I got this all sorted out before the 6 wk growth spurt (which is happening now).  I think the reflux the other night was because Brooke was downing so much milk on the first day of the growth spurt.