Sleep Regression and growth spurts

Just before you read this post I would like to state that I am aware that so far we have been pretty lucky regarding how well Rafe sleeps. I know some people have things a lot worse with their babies, but this our experience with sleep regression so far.
So Rafe, up until the last three nights, would sleep a six hour stretch, then wake up for a short feed, then settle again for another four or five hours. This was amazing! After coming through the very newborn days, where you honestly believe you are never going to sleep for longer that two hours at a time ever again to get six whole hours of shut eye in a row felt awesome. 
However this seems to have (hopefully temporarily) ended. Rafe has recently only been sleeping for four hours at a time. Last night we went to bed at half nine...please don't judge us, Richards alarm for work goes off at 4am...Rafe slept until half one in the morning, fed and was settled back down by quarter past two, Ricks alarm then went off at four which luckily did not wake Rafe but he was up for his next feed at half five. He has not yet gone back to sleep since then!

It's not just the sleeping either, it's the feeding! Now Rafe has always had an enormous appetite, I think because he was only 6lb 9 when he was born he has felt the need to catch up (which he has definitely succeeded at). But recently the feeding has been of the scale. He is currently feeding about every hour or hour and a half during the day and the feeds are much longer aswell. The feeds he takes in the evening before bed can take up to an hour! Because I am still exclusively breastfeeding him, the Lansinoh nipple ointment is now very much back in use.
I had read online about the three month growth spurt that results in the sleep regression. Rafe is ten weeks on Wednesday so maybe we have hit that already, one things for sure I very much hope that it is over soon and we can get back to the lovely six hour stretches!
I never knew how much a good nights sleep meant to me until I had a baby. Just when you think things have got better and you have some sort of sleep routine going something pops up to disturb it, whether that be growth spurts or teething (something else I am dreading!) I just find it very hard to function during the day when I am tired, I am currently trying to be more sociable and meet up with friends and have people round, but I have to admit I have been cancelling plans recently. It's hard to get your house, yourself and your baby presentable and ready when you are exhausted and feeding them every hour or so! 
I will keep you updated on how long this sleep regression lasts, seriously hoping it won't be too much longer!

Jx
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