Hey all,
I am new to the boards and a friend on babyfit suggested I visit this site.
I really hope there is help for me here...I am so discouraged and as tired as I am, dread when the time comes to go to sleep because I know it will be another uphill battle with DS waking up 7x a night.
My MIL who stays with him during the day, bottle-feeds him milk with cereal, about 2-3 bottles of this a day, but you can only put so much cereal in a bottle.
He seems hungry at night when he wakes up, also seems irritable because he squirms and cries, and he just seems to be waking up a lot; honestly can't keep track of the times because it's so often, probably like 5-7 times a night now.
No fruits yet by the way; I do encourage MIL to give him some pureed stringbeans though, but she isn't doing too much of that I think, and I don't wait to give it to him when I get home from work because it's late and I'm afraid it'll upset his stomach during the night.
I leave a little nightlight on the floor on the opposite side of my bed in the room with me and baby because he seems so afraid when the lights are completely out - he gets so wide-eyed LOL, but otherwise the lights stay out...I do talk to him though to try to soothe him, and I shush shush him...should I not be doing this?
PLEASE HELP.
I'm so desperate right now, you wouldn't believe.
We just got him his new crib a few days ago, and he slept in it pretty nice the first night, and now seems back to his old routines of being irritable.
He actually will not take to a pacifier and everyone is telling me I should be thankful for that since it's hard to grow out of?
Last night was a nightmare. He woke up anywhere from every 30 minutes, to every 2 hours, and I'm in at work today. Being at work isn't so bad, because thank God I don't feel it during the day, but the nights are horrible.
Last night I got so frustrated, he started giving a little cry and he had already woken up so many times, that I raised my voice a bit when I was talking and he started wailinggggg, this made me realize he was crying but still sleeping because I startled him - I felt so guilty lol =(
I'm just going to keep trying to have him finish his entire bottle during each feeding. Is this a good idea?
I BELIEVE HE IS TEETHING ALSO...did my sleep-deprived mind mention that already?lol for about 2 mnths now...
As I was looking through the boards, one of the moderators suggested answering the below questions for better answers so I did.
I would really be grateful for some help, please...thanks to anyone that can offer advice.
hugs!
How old is your child? newly turned 5 mths old
What’s his/her daily routine? wakes (for the past week) at 830ish, naps for a total of 2 hours on good days, during the day.
What’s nap routine? 2 hours total daily, if that.
How long are naps? " "
What's bedtime routine? Time? I usually try to put him to bed at 9 o'clock(He'll have a pre-bedtime nap at 7 pm usually...is this bad?)
Do you bottle or breastfed?? bottle
How much? or how long? Breastfed only 2 mnths in the beginning.
How many wakes per night? approx. 7
What’s your LO like when waking at night? How long is he/she up? He wakes up with a small cry just to let me know he is up, he'll usually fall
asleep after about 10 minutes of drinking a bottle/this is the only way he'll fall asleep!
When you go to him/her is she fussing or crying? Or is it a mantra cry? Not sure what a mantra cry is? Sorry, I am new to this board...he is definitely not wailing, he is just fussy and will stop crying once I pop the bottle into his mouth.
What have you tried to settle?? If this means the pu/pd method, no - not yet, I am going to start trying that tonight - i am SO afraid though, I work a fulltime job and dh is never home during the night as he works the nightshift...i'm just so desperate for sleep, i've put this off for so long =(
Are there developmental issues such as teething or milestones? I believe my LO has been teething for almost 2 mnths now (is that possible?), but nothing is out yet. He drools a lot.
Have you introduced cereal? Why, how much, and how many times a day? (for LO’s under 6 months) Introduced it about a month ago, give it to him through the bottle about 3x a day to try and keep him full at night.
Do they have a prop? If so what is it? Well he will not take to a binky or pacifier, but I try to pat him on his back. This worked while he slept with me in my bed for 1 week while we were trying to transition him from his bassinet to his crib which he's slept in for 2 nights now, and he doesn't want the patting on the back in the crib now! I am running out of options.
Do they have a lovie? LOLOLOL! He loves this little yellow fuzzy duck we got him, yes. He loves his dancing hokey pokey elmo.