March/April Thread #3

[Olivia's Mommy]

Oh! I almost forgot to brag!!!

I was feeding Olivia lunch today and I got ready to give her another bite and all of a sudden she looked at me and put both hands up in the air. I got so excited..."Are you 'all done'?!" I asked and she just smiled really big. I was thrilled. We've been working on signs with her since she turned 6 months. I think she's done "drink" a couple of times, but that was the first "all done." YEAH!!!!

[Jayri]

k....just a quick question.
Riley is having a majorly hard time going to bed lately. Tonight she WOULD NOT go down without me or my boob.
She is nuts with dh, looks for me and leans to get to me if she is with him, once she gets to me she will not settle unless she is attached to my boob.
I am thinking it is either her teeth or severe attachment problems. She has her bottom two in, but I am wondering if any others could be forming and causing her problems.
I was in tears tonight, holding her, dh wanted to take her for me, but I told him there was no point as I knew what she would do if she went to him...which she did and did exactly what I said she would do.
Sorry I couldn't stick around much for the chat, my days are long now that they start at 6:30am to get everyone ready to go out the door.
Talk to you later hunny's

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

Traci, OK, these are just my first thoughts and maybe I haven't got the full story right, so feel free to correct me.

Just a thought but maybe he's going through separation anxiety and is actually needing/wanting you to respond sooner than leaving him to settle for the few minutes it usually takes?  I know this could definitely make him wake in the night and want to check that you'll come as well.  This is just my opinion, but I think you may need to back track completely and work with him where you're not leaving him by himself.  Help him settle through whatever means it takes (but preferably in his own bed, not falling asleep elsewhere and then transferring) where he's not left to settle on his own, then do the gradual method of removal, ie less patting, putting down whatever.  If it is separation anxiety, the only way to get past it quicker is to actually respond to it and he'll build his trust through this developmental change within himself, once he's got the confidence, he will let you go again.

D's going through this at the moment and where she used to settle perfectly EVERY TIME - in the last week she's fussed at naptime, I've done a pop in kind of method, I settle her down, give her the blankie, say nigh nighs, leave the room, she'll fuss, I return immediately, and repeat over and over.  It's only taking me 10-15mins though, but she doesn't get to the point of being worked up, occasionally I'll need to pick her up for a quick cuddle and put back down. 

Anyway, take what you want from that, and I'm sure others may not agree, but whatever method you pick, you need to be compeltely consistent - both you and dh.

Daytime hours sleep: 2.5-3hrs
Nighttime hours sleep: 11-12hrs (depending on whether she's spent an hour chatting during the night)

HTH

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

Naomi, hugs, perhaps the above method would work for you and Ri as well.  It really is a crucial time in their lives for us to be there for them when they feel it and keep their trust in tact.  It is time consuming, but in the long run you get the positive pay offs.  When you're working, make sure her carer is doing the same thing, not leaving her to cry.

[Little Bear's Mum]

ok, I'll just keep telling myself it's a phase, but how long will it take for Daniel to realise he can go to sleep now that he's mobile???

He's really struggling to just lie still now. Both naps today have taken a long time for him to settle. We're going on 40mins now. He was ALWAYS so good at settling within about 5 mins, usually didn't ever hear him. Now he's groaning, talking, crawling squizzling (made up word for everything else he's doing)! It's really hot here too which he's not used to, so I can't put him in his sleeping bag. Do I just leave him if he's not too upset? How do I help him learn to settle?

HELP!!!!!

[Little Bear's Mum]

Well, I gave up, put him in his sleeping bag, gave him teething powder and Pamol and amazing.... he was asleep within about 2 minutes. I'm thinking it must be the sleeping bag as nothing else would take effect that quickly. Meanwhile, I might have to miss out on my helo flight unless one of the girls can come over and babysit while he's sleeping. Rhys is going to ask one of them now if when they've had their flight they can pop over. It might be my last opportunity to go in one as next year DH will be training as a flight instructor instead.

Rhys said to put him in the buggy and take him down, but I didn't think he'd sleep too well and I wanted him to or it would make the afternoon very long and cranky.

I think I might try to find something I can make a temporary sleeping bag for Daniel with until my good one arrives. Maybe convert an old t-shirt! Okay, a bit strange I know but whatever it takes (within reason) to get him to sleep. I don't want to resort to becoming a prop, but I think a sleeping bag is an okay prop. Do you think?

[becca24]

Hi Eveyone,

Big cheers for all the new crawlers - Hannah, Sam, Ryan??? i think that is all?? sorry if I forgot anyone.

Karen- Just wondering about what you said about 'going with the flow' with night wakings and early mornings and not fighting Sam to go down. Does that mean you are feeding him when he wakes at night? I have been feeding Halle when she wakes hoping she will go back to sleeping through. It is all different times so don't think it's habit. :?

Nancy - Yay for your amazing night out. And for Olivia's signing!!

Traci - Hope you can get to the bottom of Cole's night waking soon

Naomi - Hugs for you. I think Ri maybe just wanting some cuddles from Mummy.

Hayley - Sorry no advice for Daniel's moving around as Halle is not doing that yet but I just wanted to say LOL at the made up word :lol:

Micky - LOL at the vegemite taste. If my brother and I did not eat our vegetables at tea, our Nan used to make us eat a HEAPED teaspoon of vegemite!! You would think that would put us off but , no, we still eat it.

I cracked up at the pic of Jackson with the mohawk!! I did the exact same thing with Halle in the bath the other day - here is the pic

[Colesmom]

okay-better than last night-kind of. woke at 8:45, tried to settle until 9:15, fed, tried to settle, fell asleep, up 10 min. later, tried to get gripe in, no go.  put him on floor, raised mattress, tried to settle, took a while.  He's been asleep almost 30 min. now.  must go to bed.

Hayley-now that he is mobile, maybe try a quieter/longer windown?  I have found that works well for naps for Cole.  Don't let him crawl around within the last 20 min. of A time.  HTH

Nikki-I have only left him 1-2 minutes 1 or 2 times in the last 3 weeks to see if it made any difference.  Otherwise I have been going running in knowing that he gets so worked up.  Thanks so much for the info though...it is reassuring to know that he'll build up the trust again if I stick with it.  I just hope the hand-holding and patting won't become a prop.  I try to remove my hands as soon as he's settled, then I just stand there and wait for any jolting.  I will be sure to pass along a stern message to DH to let him know we must remain consistent in settling Cole in the crib.  If he's not willing/able to do that then I'll have to do all sleep and he can do all the cooking/cleaning etc because I'll be sleeping during both naps    thanks again, I appreciate you taking the time to read about my issues.

crossing my fingers for a better night

(big hugs naomi)  these little ones are really taking it to us eh?

[kq]

Thanks again Nikki for your advice re separation anxiety. I have been doing a bit of that for naps in that if he goes down fine then great. Otherwise, I keep popping in and re settling or pat.

Bec, I do not feed overnight but I do whatever it takes to re settle at night. I did PU/PD one night, patted one night and slept with him on a futon in his room one night. I usually do the paracetamol etc first to make sure he is not in pain. If all else fails, we start again...we walk round the house, look out the window then back into his room, change nappy and wind down again..that has worked. As for early wakings, I get up and just start my day then! (insert yawn emoticon)

Nikki, I am paranoid about Sam getting smothered in bedclothes so I use a 1.0 tog Grobag with a short sleeved body suit or just a t-shirt. I tuck the end of the grobag into the end of the cot which limits movement a bit. No bed clothes, sheets etc. I also re position before I go to bed but with the kneeling, that does not seem to help that.

Hayley, you may need a longer wind down, and with Sam, I needed to pat him till he was calm for a couple of days. Am having to do that again now that he is kneeling and trying to stand otherwise I hear giggling from his room and when I go in, he is usually peering at me between the bars.

Loved the pics Micky. I have steered clear of soya sauce at this stage as mine is salt laden. What brand are you using? Am contemplating getting some Kikkoman.

Ankie, hope all is well.

Traci, sending good sleep vibes your way. <<<Hugs>>> to you and Naomi.

Oh, oh..Sam is raiding the shoe cupboard. Must dash.

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

Traci, sounds like you're doing a great job (and I didn't think you were doing that all the time since you haven't mentioned it before  :wink: ).  Yes, get DH on board so you've got a little plan (it is ok to have a slightly way of doing it to each other), but try and keep the interaction the same, remove hand holding etc once you see him settle.  It sounds like you have a good winddown time (does it also include quiet time in his room prior to sleep?), and I think that's important since he's a really active wee fella, his mind is just going crazy with excitement of his physical skills.  (Hayley too) When you do come through this, you will probably find that it will never return to the way it used to be though, just purely because of the extra movement.  When Nathan went through the crawling in cot/standing stage for instance, he used to fall asleep the minute I put him in the cot prior to that, once we got through the developmental leap (which took a few weeks) he then took to crawling around for 20mins before falling asleep and that was his "new" pattern for after that time (only he'd gotten over the grumpy unsettled stage until a new developmental stage hit).  Do you give him play time in his cot at all during Activity time where you are in the room with him?  I needed to do that with Nathan so he got to know his environment with me there.  Play time alone in his cot just became a part of his wind down and there was nothing I could do about it.

Bec, I have the same issue with Danielle's night waking - it can range from 12.30-4.30.  I have been feeding purely because any crying while trying to settle wakes up Nathan, although she has been talking to herself for 1/2hr before I go in there and sometimes a 1/2hr after too which is a pain, cause even though I've fed she doesn't necessarily go straight back to sleep (which means I don't get back to sleep either).  Although last night she went straight back to sleep after I fed her.  It's strange because she was sleeping through for 2wks.  :?

Hayley, I think the sleeping bag as a prop is fine, it's only an issue if YOU are needed to solve the sleep problem (ie replacing a dummy).  It's really no different to a blankie or other sort of lovey that a child can grab themselves to help self sooth.

Right, time to get these kids into bed.  I'm just shattered and I haven't had any time for study this week since Nathan's given up his nap.  :evil:

[Arwyn's mom]

Hey guys,

Just caught up after 2 days of not checking in. You know you are addicted to the BW site when... you are Christmas shopping and all you can think about is how much time it is taking and you just really want to be surfing the BW site. (Are we still playing? I may have missed the game already!  :wink: )

It has been very hard to get ready for the holidays... I only get to the mall after Arwyn is down for the night and that only leaves me at the maximum, 2 hours. I have done ALL the prep and shopping and have unloaded my unhappiness about this on DH but he's male, right? He doesn't understand.

Love the poo stories... gawd, I think I used to be more resistant to poo conversations but now, I can get into them. Not so much poo here... Arwyn goes usually once a day, first thing in the morning.

Nights are getting better here but not much. She is down to one waking between 11 pm - 6:30 am. But the stretch from 6 pm to 11 pm is pretty rough... not much "me" time or "DH and me" time happening here. She can wake upwards of 3 or 4 times during this time. At the last one, I will feed her because she is such a poor eater during the day.

Um... what was the other thing... oh... yes... mobility. We have a heck of a time with Arwyn and mobility in her crib. Most of her wakings during the 6-11 stretch is due to "sleep-crawling" and getting stuck. It never used to bother her when she was just rolling around but ever since the rocking on all fours started, it has been quite the journey. I would swear she is still asleep but not happy that she is suddenly on all fours, rocking, sitting or stuck in the corner. Sheesh... will be glad when she figures this mobility thing out!

Well... this little miss is standing. She has stood on her own for several seconds a few times these couple of days. She is pulling up on everything and is learning how to cruise. I have not shown her because I don't want her to cruise yet (mommy is having trouble adjusting to the increased mobility and am desperately trying to slow it down) and would be happy if she just crawled around for a bit longer.

I have attached a pic of Arwyn eating cheese from her chopsticks. It isn't very good... it doesn't show that she actually OPENS her mouth for food from chopsticks as opposed to parting her lips slightly :roll: . I'll have DH take another soon.

[Arwyn's mom]

I just posted that she is down to one waking from 11 pm to 6:30 am. Make that 5:30 am!!! She wakes between then and 5:45 am and DH puts her back down. I wish... 7.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. HA! The memory of those days are so distant that I don't even mourn them anymore.

Last night, she woke at 2:45 and I fed her after trying to get her back to sleep for 30 m. Then it took DH an additional 45 minutes before she finally went back to sleep at 4:30!

Traci and others having multiple night wakings for a while now, I hope things are starting to come together. It is just so hard to figure these little ones out!

[james030405]

Hi ladies,

so many pages I haven't had time to catch up I am sorry.  I have skimmed through them though.

I have had a lovely weekend.  Friday night spent wiht DH at his Christmas party.  MIL came and stayed (so did FIL but he is not much help :roll: )  I tell her what james does to go to sleep. I get james up the next morning to find a FULL CUP OF MILK in the fridge :evil: She said he wouldn;t take it.  Although he takes his time drinking, he has NEVER not wanted his last bottle of the day.  Then I found out she rocked him to sleep.   :evil:  :roll: Bedtime is usually around 6:45/7pm.  7:30pm on Friday.  Why don't they do what you ask? Just because they have beenmothers before, doesn't mean they no best.  Sorry for the rant

Saturday, I spent having a massage as it is my birthday on Monday (33 :oops: ), then had lunch with friends.  Saturday night was spent with other friends having Christmas dinner. Great fun.  Got home at 1:30am  :oops: but no alcohol involved. 

The bad thing:  James woke at 4am :twisted: I tried and tried to get him back to sleep, but no luck.  Finally gave him a bottle at 4:45am when DH brought him in bed and he drank 200ml.  He never usually wants any milk as soon as he wakes up.  could this be the 9mth growth spurt?  He is still eating solids very well, but has been "off" his milk lately.  I am thinking of dropping down to 3 milk feeds.  Has anyone else done this yet?  I have been told by the nurses that at 9mths they often drop down to 3.

I posted Christmas cards on Saturday so hopefully they will find you all.  No photos thought I am sorry :oops:

To everyone who is having night sleep problems, I hope they are getting better. 

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Lisa mum to James my textbook/spirited koala

[mickymuscles]

You know your addicted to BW when.......

 all you can think about first thing in the morning is wether or not Traci, Ankie, Holly have had good nights


and when you sneak into the computer room to check the site and you tell DH you are paying bills  :roll:  :oops:

Okay...have i missed something or have i forgotten a baby but some of you are congrating hannah on crawling.....is there more then one hannah???  The only hannah i could think of was sophies mom.   So I certainly hope hannah could crawl, walk , talk, wipe her own bum , etc.
If there is a hannah baby i'm sorry i've forgotten.  :oops:

Happy Birthday Lisa!!!!  My B-day is in a week...32!!!  UUUGHHH!!! :x

[Erin M]

Micky - Hannah is Judy's Hannah (can't forgoet, there's two there!)  Kaia apparently hasn't made it that far yet. 

Happy early birthday Lisa!  Sounds like a lovely weekend despite the lack of good sleeps.

Ankie - sounds like that kid has really been putting you through the ringer the past few weeks.  Glad to hear you seem to be headed in the right direction.  And YAY for the cruising (even if you don't want her doing it yet).  Katie is so content to just drag herself around the floor and shows no interest in standing right now.

Nikki - Hope you find some time for studying.  Does Nathan sleep any better at night since giving up his nap?  I can totally understand feeding Danielle back to sleep so Nathan doesn't wake up. 

Hayley - I agree with Nikki on the grobag/sleep sack/whatever you call it.  I had to swaddle Katie straight through the beginning of the summer b/c it was the only way she would sleep, but eventually we stopped. 

We had a very nice Christmas-y day yesterday - spent much of it at the mall doing some shopping, went and got some Christmas lights (which DH then broke  :roll: ) and just generally had a nice time.  It amazes me, just a few months ago I never would have thought I could have taken Katie out almost all day, but she was so good.  Exciting!