2 week old won't sleep at night

by Nikki
(Phoenix, AZ USA)

My 2 1/2 week old has been doing very well breastfeeding since he was born and has already surpassed his birth weight by quite a bit. He eats every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day and nurses for about 25-35 minutes during a session. However, the past several nights he has been nursing for 40-50 minutes and seems to keep wanting to eat (in the middle of the night). He never does this during the day and has a hard time going back to sleep after nursing at night. The dr. thought he may be going through a growth spurt, but said this shouldn't be happening every night. It's happened nightly for the past several nights. Is there anything I should be doing differently, or does this indicate a problem? He poops/pees many times a day and as I said, his weight gain is good. I've been trying to exend his feedings during the day, but it's harder to keep him awake after he has eaten. There are no signs he isn't getting enough to eat, but it's been very frustrating the past several nights.
Thank you

Answer from the lactation consultant
Hi there,
This is a very common newborn issue. It is called cluster feeding. They do it for several reasons: the milk supply is higher at night but more importantly because it is wonderful for them to be next to mommy to sleep. If you are co-sleeping, there is no way to avoid this pattern, if he smells you and makes it to the end of his sleep cycle, then he will wake to feed. This is usually every 40-50 minutes. But if you are not co-sleeping the trick is to put him at least 4 feet or so away from you in the bassinet, bundle him AND have some white noise in the room like a small floor fan. (the very best advice a fellow mom ever gave me was the floor fan trick, we still use one now!)

Work to keep him up more during the day OR spend a day snoozing with him in bed and let him nurse like he does during the day and maybe he will switch around.

Think about it, during the day, you are up and around, doing things all over the house. NOT right next to him. SMELL is a VERY important cue to babies.

All this being said, it will pass, maybe in a week or a month or a year, so even if you do nothing, it will pass. It will not last forever. And you are providing him with nurture and optimal nutrition. Both priceless.

Hope this helps, if not find a local LC who can walk you through this time.

Liz Pevytoe, RN, IBCLC