4 wk old on me all day

daisylady

Hi all,
I just don't want to get into any bad habits and was looking for advice. My 4 wk old has usually settled easy enough in the basket/pram after a breastfeed. The last couple of days and especially today she literally has not left my lap! After 3 or 4 mins she'll wake and won't settle without a feed and will then pass out on my lap, advice appreciated, feeling slightly frazzled !

Moonbeam

Does she have a soother? It helped me alot.

Abigayle

daisylady wrote: »

Hi all,
I just don't want to get into any bad habits and was looking for advice. My 4 wk old has usually settled easy enough in the basket/pram after a breastfeed. The last couple of days and especially today she literally has not left my lap! After 3 or 4 mins she'll wake and won't settle without a feed and will then pass out on my lap, advice appreciated, feeling slightly frazzled !

I could be wrong here, but it sounds like shes suckling between feeds. Open to correction by others of course.

If this is the case you'll need to break the habit with her, she's enjoying the closeness, bless her. Is Dad or any other support around? I think that theres a possible combination of being close to you and suckling for comfort going on here. What I would try is giving her the feed and allow someone else to take over. Let them hold her till she is asleep then try settle her into her basket / cot. It's still early days, but you'll have to break the habit or you'll be driven demented.

My mother said I was on tap non stop for 52 weeks, I was a bully :pac:


Good luck with it, and congratualations on the birth of your daughter

Abigayle

Moonbeam wrote: »

Does she have a soother? It helped me alot.

You're fortunate on that one MB, and if thats the way the OP wants to go fingers crossed it works. Quite often though breastfed babies tend to spit their soother out because they're used to the nipple and it's completely different.

lang

Any chance this could be a growth spurt or developmental milestone? If it continues for a few more days you could think about contacting you PHN for advice? Congrats on the new arrival!!

December2012

It sounds perfectly normal to me, both mine would have phases of wanting to be with me and on or near the breast / my heart at around growth spurt times. 4 weeks is definitely a growth feeding spurt time, cluster feeding in the evening particularly is very normal.

Feet up, sit down and enjoy it as much as you can. It doesn't last long. A sling might help.

January

You can't give a baby that young a bad habit... could be a growth spurt, there's one practically every 2/3 weeks for the first couple of months!

missis aggie

Don't worry there is no such a thing as a bad habit At 4 weeks they are going through few changes. They need to be close and assured that you are there . My daughters were the same ( also breastfed). And now I have to beg to get a hug as they are to busy . I suggest to get a good sling or a carrier, it will help to keep baby close and you can do few things.
It will pass don't worry. Enjoy while you can

KGLady

Another voice to add to the others reassuring you that this is normal and sounds just like a growth spurt. A sling or other sort of baby carrier that will hold baby next to you while leaving you hands free and mobile is something really worth considering, honestly its a game changer! My mei tai carrier was the single most useful thing I've invested in for all my 6yrs (and 3 kids!) of parenting and we're still using it.

Do a little research on baby wearing and if you find the right natural baby carrier for suiting both of you, it'll do wonders for your bonding your breastfeeding and your sanity

Congrats new Mamma!

How Strange

There's no such thing as a bad habit with a newborn. No matter how you feed your baby he/she wants to be close to its mother.

Look up the wonder weeks. There's a developmental leap from 4.5-6.5 weeks and it's the corrected age so it takes into account if your baby was overdue.

Hannibal Smith

I know if some one had said to me what im about to say to you when my babies were four weeks I would have that person taken out and whipped buuutt....

Dont worry about bad habits at this stage. At four weeks, hold them, snuggle them, cuddle them and lots and lots of huggles. They are so small for such a short time...so before they're big enough to run off down the shopping aisle, fight you getting into the buggy, giving back cheek and blowing raspberries in your face as you try and strap them into the car hold them as close as you can.

I saw a four week old at the school today and my god they really are so precious! !!

liliq

Please don't think you're creating bad habits. It's perfectly normal and healthy for your baby to want to be so close to you. You can't spoil a baby with love, closeness and affection.
I 100% agree with the suggestion of a good sling. There are sling meets around the country where you can try them for free and see what suits, and also a sling library that you can rent slings from for two weeks.
Growth spurts and wonder weeks developmental leaps have a lot to be held accountable for, but even disregarding them, the best place for your baby is close to you.

krankykitty

Check out Babywearing Ireland you can rent two slings for two weeks to try them out. I wish I knew about this when I had a 4 week old

daisylady

Thanks so much for the replies. Great to get support. She's starting off the same today , just suckling for a couple of mins, then passing out. I do use the soother but it probably only works 40-50% of the time.

I'll defo look up using the sling, it's just very frustrating getting NOTHING done in the house all day, I used to look forward to the feeds and get my other stuff done while she was sleeping. This routine is just a bit suffocating, but she looks do contented when she's on me!

How Strange

Forget about the housework for the moment. A 4 week old baby is a full time job in itself.

A sling will help a lot though. I had a jpmbb for those early weeks and then started using my ergo carrier with newborn insert.

December2012

This is a time when those offers of help are great. Next time somebody offers - get them to put on a wash!

Order your grocery shopping online for delivery or collection and get somebody to put them away.

Lasagne - stews - curries - all great ways to batch Cook food that is nutritious and can be zapped warm in a minute.

daisylady

All good ideas thanks, I think I remember getting a sling in a bag given by a friend ages ago, baby is a little bigger now so might actually fit and not fall out! she was only 6lb born

How Strange

I'm rediscovering my slow cooker at the moment. I cooked a lovely roast beef in it yesterday. 10 mins prep, 4 hours in the slow cooker. 10 mins to peel some spuds for roasties which I did in the oven. 0 mins stress!

krankykitty

Some of the slings are big all right especially if you have a small baby. Mine was on the small side too and it took a while for her to be happy in the sling I had (meitai) but you might find a stretchy wrap would work well at that size. Babywearing Ireland have a good Facebook group too where you can get loads of advice and even buy slings second hand for reasonable price.