Need Help with 8 Month Old.....

[gamom]

Hi all!  I haven't posted in a while.  We started BW when dd was 2 months old... She ended up having seizures, which are (FINALLY) under control and she is not having them anymore.  As you probably figured out, she was CODDLED for the past 6 months (not that she had it easy).. she had multiple hospital stays and tests, medicines, etc... ANYWAY, we are now trying to get her back on the BW schedule and sleeping through the night (she has NEVER)....

I have a couple quick questions:

1.  Would you start with naps/daytime schedule FIRST then work on the night or try to get her to sleep through the night since she is so old?

2.  She is VERY difficult to go down to sleep at night and I am thinking it might be her schedule - this is what it is, generally:

6:45/7AM - awake
7:30/8AM - breakfast (1-2 tbsp cereal and 1/2 jar fruit)
8:30/9 - morning bottle (4 oz with 4 tsp cereal - Reflux issues)
10/10:30 - morning nap (approx 1 hour)
11/11:30 - awake/play
noon - lunch (1/2 jar fruit, 1/2 jar veggie and 4 oz bottle with cereal)
PLAY
2/2:30PM - afternoon nap (approx  1 hour)
4 - dinner (1/2 jar veggie and 2 tbsp cereal and 4 oz bottle with cereal)
4:30/5 - short 30 min nap
5:30/6 - bath
6:30 - winddown/bed routine (read 2 books, low lights, rocker, soft music)
7PM - bedtime (but she SCREAMS/CRYS for 30 to 60 min before she actually goes to sleep)

She will wake up around 10/11PM and take a 4 oz bottle with cereal and wakes again around 2 and 4, but never usually eats at those times...

OH - she WILL NOT take more than 4 oz at a time with any bottle.. believe me, I have tried and tried...

Thoughts??

thanks!

Lisa (mom to dd Ainsley Paige, dob 6/13/05)

[chell]

Sorry you haven't had a reply yet, I will try to help you out as soon as I can.

[chell]

Hi, i'm not so good at information on food and eating, but I was wondering if your lo would take another 4 oz bottle just before bedtime?

Does she always wake at the same times each night?

I think your routine looks good.........what do other people think?

[Joey'sMom]

I'm thinking the reason she cries for 60 min. at bedtime is because she is not napping enough during the day, but Joey is only 7.5 months so I could be wrong?

When he does not get good naps, it RUINS our whole night.  Just a thought.

[chell]

Hi joey's mum, Yes Jacob used to be like that when he didn't get enough sleep during the day, the only thing is that I think 2.5 hours is about right for an 8month old, but I guess they are all different so you may be right. I was wondering whether she is ready to drop the cat nap - and bring bedtime forward a bit if she can't quite make it.

[gamom]

So you think I should try and drop the cat nap and bring bedtime to around 6PM?  I just posted on PU/PD board as well - she is still sooo hard to go down at night.. naps are now around 1hour 15 min 2 times a day.... she is still crying SOOO hard before bed.. we had a little interruption last week bc she was soo osick with rotavirus... so that threw everything off... and before that I had gotten her to crying for only about 30 min with pu/pd before she fell asleep.. now we are back up to over an hour.. and she doesn't stop crying... she cried so hard the last 2 nights that she vomited both times....and we had to change everything including her bed linens bc I am just kinda standing by the crib and barely put her down and then pick her up again... and in the middle of it, she vomited... I dont know when to put her down.. she does't calm down.. so maybe an earlier bedtime....??


Lisa

[JennŠ]

HUGS!!!!!!!!!  Go for the earlier bedtime and see if that helps.  I know that if the meds are working you don't want to change things, but could they be making her grumpy?  Thicken formula will fill her up faster, so she will eat less at a time.  Again, if it's not broke...    But have you tried unthickened?