Wish Me Luck!!

[cazmilward]

Hello Everyone!

I have been having some real problems with my 4.5 week old son, William and a friend of mine suggested I read Tracey's books.  Well, "The Baby "Whisperer" arrived on Friday and I am chuffed to bits with it.

It has highlighted where i have been going wrong and shown me that I am falling into the 'accidental parenting' trap.  So, as of tomorrow morning, Will and I are going to be on the 3 hour EASY routine.

The one thing i am having trouble understanding is the dream feed?  How do i go about feeding Will whilst he is alseep without waking him??  It sounds a bit tricky to me!!

Wish us luck

Caz and Will x x

[jomige]

Caz (and Will),

I have been doing BW for about 1 1/2 months now, with my 12 week old.  I also thought the dream feed would be tricky but it has worked out great.  Give it a few nights to really work (or to get Will to take it).  Are you BF of bottle feeding?  I am BF and I found that if I pulled her lower jaw down with my finger and tickled her lips a bit she would latch on.  It took a few nights of that but now she takes it automatically when I tickle her lips and I don't have to help her on.  She never wakes up during any of this either.   Occasionally I have to stimulate her to continue sucking by pulling my nipple back to attempted to break the latch (she will always start sucking then) or by lightly stroking her jaw line.   
I have heard that with bottlefeeding it is easier...just tickle their lips and most will latch on but I have no experience with that.   I think the above tips may help with this too.

Good luck.  Keep at it.  The first week of trying to put my baby on BW was hard.  And occasionally we still have hard days.  Keep in mind they are learning to sleep and learning a routine and they are constantly changing.  It wont' be easy at first but it is well worth it if you keep up.  My little one now sleeps almost 12 hours at night (with a dream feed and one feed at 4 am), naps well, eats well, and is SO happy during her awake time.  Even friends and family noticed the difference in her within the first week.  So good luck and happy baby whispering! 

Jodi (and Georgia)   

[Intransit]

We've been on EASY since 3 months..and he is now 16 months old. What a difference in all of our lives!
Like you, I was also afraid of the dream feed, and was really hesitant to try it..the first few times he wouldn't take much..(he never woke though) but then he began downing almost an entire feed. It really helped with sleeping through the night...not immediately, but eventually he slept through the night.

[* Paula *]

Hi Caz & Will, 

Welcome to the Boards!!

Good luck with starting your easy routine.

Have a look at this link, this may help you to get started:-

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=65842.0

Keep us posted on how you get on.

Paula x

[jomige]

That link that Paula posted was SO helpful.  Particularly the tidbit about the log.  I kept a very detailed log and it has been very helpful to look back on and figure out what works/any patterns/any tweaking that needs to be done...I am still keeping a very detailed log.  It is essential (although I must admit my family jokes about the notebook I carry around with me at all times!).

Good luck again!

[cazmilward]

Okay, it's 7 in the morning and Will is having a feed (not a bad start, eh??).  I have a quick question about nap times.

Am i supposed to take Will upstairs to bed for his naps or can I keep him downstairs??  He is a bit of a sod when it comes to settling himself (my fault!!  Fell into the accidental parenting trap!) and it can sometimes take me up to an hour to settle him.

Help!!

Caz and Will

[¤ Efka ¤]

I think it is recommended to use one setting for sleeps, so it could be easier for Will to understand it is sleeptime when it happens in one place at the same way all the time.

[* Paula *]

I agree with PP - Start as you mean to go on.

Better to try and settle him in the same place he sleeps at night.

Try the Pat / Shhh to settle him.  It may take a while to get into the routine, but will definitely be worth it in the long run.  Make sure he is not overtired, as this can cause short naps, and also make it hard for you to settle him.

HTH

Paula x

[cazmilward]

Things are going really well - even though i have to admit that it is really hard work!

I have another quick question though, Will has gone from never sleeping to only being awake for an hour (including feed time) before he starts to show cues that he is tired.

How can i be sure that these are cues that he needs to go to sleep and not cues that he is only just waking up.  I know I yawn when i get up in the morning (especially if i have been woken up before i was ready) and i was wondering if this was the same for 5 week old babies!!

By the way, Will sleeping in his moses basket in our room for all of his sleep time is working an absoloute treat - thanks for the tip!

Help!!

[Intransit]

Glad things are progressing well for you!
I would say at 5 weeks 1 hour is plenty of A time, and most likely he will be tired again. I remember @ 3 months, my son was awake only 1.5 hours and then back down again.
HTH

[* Paula *]

Caz,

That is fantastic news that things are getting better    All the hard work will be worth it in the end.

I agree, 1 hour of awake time for a 5 week old sounds plenty.

You are doing great - keep us posted on how you get on.

Paula x

[* Paula *]

Caz,

That is fantastic news that things are getting better    All the hard work will be worth it in the end.

I agree, 1 hour of awake time for a 5 week old sounds plenty.

You are doing great - keep us posted on how you get on.

Paula

[cazmilward]

Complete disaster yesterday!!

Will was waking every 2 hours for a feed.  I was dragging it out for as long as I could with a dummy, but he was screaming that much he was forgetting to breathe!  So, as you can imagine that through me.

He also was not interested AT ALL in going to sleep for his naps and after 30 mins of shush/pat he would fall asleep for 20 mins and then be wide awake.

Hubby came home from work and couldn't settle him either. 

Then it occured to me that Will was 'snacking' so I managed to drag him out to 3 hours so that he would have a full feed at 6 o'clock.  He then had another small feed at 8 and finally, exhausted, he fell asleep.  I thought I was going to be in for a hellish night when he wouldn't take his dream feed (!!), but he woke at 12:00 fed and then (and i still can't quite believe this bit!) I put him in his moses whilst i popped to the loo and by the time I came back, he was fast asleep!!  So proud of my little boy!

He then woke again at half 4, hubby fed him and bought him back up at half 5.  He then slept until 7 when he woke up demanding a feed.

So, it looks as though he is quite taken with this EASY plan as he seems to be doing what he 'should' be all on his own.  He has just settled himself down for a sleep (again, very proud) with no help from me whatsover.  He is due for a feed at 10 so, I will wake him then and see how the rest of the day goes.

As daft as it sounds, can a baby be expected to have too much sleep.  Will had two good sleeps yesterday morning (both just shy of 2 hours) and I am thinking maybe he had had his fill.  Anyone else experienced this??

Caz and Will
(A very proud mum and her wonderful little boy!)

[* Paula *]

Caz,

I am so sorry to hear that you had a bad night last night 

From the sounds of things Will has settled into a nice routine today.

On the 3 hour Easy you should be look at your DS having 3 x 1.5 hour naps and 1 x 40 minute cat nap.

Could Will have been waking up for anything else other than a feed?  Could he have had wind?

Are you BF or FF - How much is will taking in oz if formula feeding or how long if BF?

Paula x