Baby waking every hour for 6 weeks been raw for 8 weeks. Connected??

[cinnamongirl]

My five month old daughter usd to sleep for 2 or 3 hours at a time waking just to eat. For the past six weeks she's been waking every 45 minutes to an hour from 1 or 2 am on. She is breast fed and bottle fed raw goat's milk (we adopted her and try as I might I don't have a full milk supply). Could there be a connection? Could there be something I need raw or cooked to add to my diet to help her settle enough to sleep? She seems like she just can't get into a deep enough sleep.

[monkeyboy]

Yo,

I would talk to a doctor.

Babies need to gain weight.

A happy baby sleeps more after a good eating session.


Peace,

M.B.

[Stina]

Dear Cinnamongirl- can you get the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon? She has some important information there on supplementing breast milk, much more comprehensively than any other source I've ever seen. Congratulations, by the way, and you're obviously a wonderful mother.
If you don't have the resources to get the book, let me know. I'll convey the info to you via e-mail or on the forum.

[Princess and the Pea]

I'm wondering if you have a food diary that you could look at and if not, maybe you could start one. You might also find that keeping a diary of your baby's day i.e. awake time, sleeping time, feedings, including whether it's breast or bottle and how many ounces she takes, her stools, etc., will help you see if there are any days/nights that are better or worse for her and if there are any patterns that might be associated with what you are eating (or not eating).
Has she been weighed recently and, if so, did she gain weight and or length?
Lastly, do you think she may be teething?
Remember to try to sleep yourself when she sleeps. Hang in there...

[Allisonheck]

I would bet that she is not digesting the goats milk properly! I have read that at 6 months of age they can have almond milk ("Baby Greens, A Live Approach for Children of All Ages" By Michaela Lynn and Michael Chrisemer, N.C.). I would take your baby off the goats milk.
Hope all goes ok!

[finallyfree]

Cinnamongirl,

A great resource I have read about having an ample supply of breastmilk was a book called The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose.

She had problems having an ample milk supply with one of her babies and she figured out what would fix it...

How do cows and goats and sheep etc...always seem to have such an ample supply of breast milk, not only for their babes, but for humans who want to drink it?

GREENS...chlorphyll in the greens is absolutely essential to making lots of milk.

Natalia's recommendations were to have close to 2 lbs per day of greens and give it a week or two to really work for you...you can do smoothies, juices, salads, wraps anything.

My sister had a baby almost 9 months ago and she has SO much milk, the baby has to drink very fast just to keep up with what is being released...she can pump and pump and never dry up...and part of it is because she eats A LOT of greens.

Another suggestion Natalia made in her book was, if at all possible, until your milk supply is well established - don't pump. She explains that when a baby is sucking on the breast, they will suckle even after they are done eating, or even once all the milk for that feeding session is gone - part of this is for comfort, but part of it is biological - the more a baby suckles, the more milk you will produce. The extra sucking (once the milk is gone) sends a message to your body that this is one hungry baby and that it (your body) needs to produce more milk. If you pump, you only drain what is in the breast at that particular moment and this message is never sent to your body.

Just a thought.

I hope you find what works for you.

Finallyfree

[maraw]

I agree with MB. If you have a good pediatrician that won't drug you or your baby up, I would consult with them. Babies at that age are so delicate and need a really specific nutrition.

I also have Nourishing Traditions and can't recommend it highly enough...

Best wishes for peaceful nights to come.

[Sunshine9]

I would definitely find a doctor to consult with. As much as I believe in raw, and I will allow myself to be a guinea pig, I can't say I would do that with a baby.

Also, if you jumped into 100% raw just 8 weeks ago, you might be detoxing thus effecting what is in your breast milk. I know I have read places it isn't the best ever to START raw while you're pregnant or breast feeding.

Yes on the greens though, always.

[luckitri]

Correct me if I am wrong but wouldn't fresh coconut milk and meat blended be good for a baby? I thought that I had read of this for babies before.

[shalom]

Correct me if I am wrong but wouldn't fresh coconut milk and meat blended be good for a baby? I thought that I had read of this for babies before.

absolutly!! Also - make sure that *YOU* are getting at least 2tbsp of coconut oil daily... It is like the super booster to everything good in your milk. (it also makes it easier for baby to digest.

Similar thing happened w/ our baby #2..... are you co-sleeping? you may want to try this.. and even try sleeping skin to skin. this could help to regulate her sleep patterns by your breathing... and stimulate your milk further...

i would recommend getting her weighed to make sure she is gaining. is she thriving in every other aspect? alert? happy? regular pee/poo?

Listen to your gut... and keep in mind the possiblilty that she may just be going through a wierd phase. Babies commonly change their sleep habits when they are trying to reach/acheive a milestone... is she trying to sit up or crawl? that could be related......

[cinnamongirl]

Thanks for all the replies. Yes baby is gaining she's doing great. She was tiny at birth but has definately caught up. Our doctor is a homeopathic MD. We co-sleep and she can nurse all night. It could be just a stage. Actually last night she slept for four hours after drinking a bottle of breastmilk donated by a friend. Then she slept two more times for 2-3 hours a time!! She hasn't done that in soo long!! I'll try the greens to boost my milk. I'm not pumping & she nurses for comfort mostly many times a day. Thanks Again!

[Pennypower]

I am so glad you posted this question. I am nursing a 4 month old boy and started raw 2 weeks ago. He seems to be doing fine but I have also noticed him waking frequently at night. It may be a growth spurt. He has also been conjested lately. Could be that. I am going to take the advise on this thread too about greens and boost them a bit.
;)

[Lay-Lay]

aww, babies! I love babies. I hope you both get some needed sleep soon!

[chriscarlton]

Is the baby caucasian? If not fully caucasian the baby will probably be lactose intolerant. Goat's milk has at least 10 times the animal protein of human milk. I would avoid it.
I've heard that young coconut milk is a good substitute. Shazzie at http://www.shazzie.com talks about raising her daughter using young coconut milk along with her breast milk in her online journal.

[faith4u]

Could the baby be going through a natural growth spurt? They are always killer on their sleep and appetites.

On another note, my raw baby is now 15 months old. He is my fourth child and the only raw one. He is also my worst sleeper. He is still getting me up to nurse every 3 hours, sometimes sooner. He is growing just fine though. Is there a connection? I don't know! BUT I figure that he WILL be sleeping through the night by the time he is 15 right?:)

Good luck and enjoy that precious baby!

[cinnamongirl]

Just a quick update. DD is sleeping better, 1-2 hour stretches, occasionally she'll go 3 hours. I ordered Baby Greens so I'll look into the almond milk. It helps to hear from other nocturnal mamas!! My oldest is 20 today so I know that eventually we all sleep!!:)

[kiki_louis]

In the book Fit For Life, I read that women who couldn't produce breast milk used fresh squeezed orange juice and the children developed perfectly normal and healthy.