BabyWhispererForums.com
SLEEP => Night Wakings => Topic started by: debo620 on August 14, 2006, 17:27:14 pm
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My son, 6.5months old is up 2x at night to eat. This is of course affecting his appetite during the day. I would like to wean at least 1 feed if not both. he did sleep through the night with df when younger. That all changed when he hit 4months. I have not done the df since he was 4months old. It was becoming impossible as he would wake fully and is now sleeping on tummy.
our day:
wake,bf---7am, bf poorly--5min or so
solids 2hours later 2tbsp cereal mixed with 1tbsp ebm, 1tbsp fruit
nap 9:30 to 11:00
11:00 bf 10min
solids 1:30pm--2tbsp veg, 2tbsp cereal
2:00-3:30pm nap
bf 3:30pm 10min or so
bath and bedtime routine 6:30 pm
bf at 7pm
wakes btwn 12-1am bf 10min
wakes btwn 4-5am bf
I think the feeds are now habitual but at slightly different times so not sure about wake to sleep.
I don't think I am up for pu/pd---would it work?
I am currently cutting back the amount of time at the 4-5am feeding by 30sec every night---currently at 7min or so. I am wondering if I should try this for both feeds.
I am contemplating moving to formula/bottle feeding so I am able to know how many oz he is consuming and then do watering down at night.
Any advice appreciated.
Thanyou
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Hi
I wish I could give some advice but I'm still struggling with night feeds with my 8 month dd.I just wanted you to know you are not alone. She sleeps from 7pm -8am and still wakes up once to eat.I have tried everything from dreamfreed to watering down her bottles at night. My friend told me she read that some babies need to eat at night intill they are 9 months, maybe thats the case with you lo.
Kim
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Deborah,
Take a look at this post in the FAQ section about stopping night feeds -
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=46907.0
At 6.5 months, your DS may still need one feed but he probably doesn't need two. Especially since he's not feeding well for that first morning feed. Read that sticky and see what you think will work best for both of you. I don't think you'll need PU/PD or anything like that, just be prepared to spend a bit of time getting up still to wean at least one feed. Start with one and then see how it goes - don't try both at once. There are some people around here who have done the night feeds by bottle to see how much LO is taking, so if you think that would help go for it!
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My little guy is the same age and is up once or twice to eat, too. I have figured out he is only nursing out of comfort with the earlier feed (1am-ish) and the later one seems to be when he is hungry (or sometimes he just wakes at 5:45 and is ready to be up). About a week ago I started decreasing the amount of time he was nursing, down to about 6 minutes and he was fine with it (he wasn't eating well in the morning either). Last night I tried nursing him first - before the rest of his bedtime routine - and had DH put him to bed so nursing wasn't the last thing on his mind. Lo and behold, he slept through until 4am and ate a lot, then went back to sleep until 7:00, and ate a pretty good amount then, too. By the way, he also tends to wake up at about 10:00, but we do pu/pd to get him back to sleep and it usually is relatively easy. The other night, though, I did a modified CIO as he really was "complaining" more than crying, and it took about 20 minutes and he went back to sleep on his own (I left him for 5 minutes, went in, patted him, etc., left him for another 5 minutes, went in again, and then as I was about to go in after another 5 minutes, he fell asleep). I guess we will see how it is all working later tonight!
By the way, I noticed you don't give solids in the evening. You may want to try that. I usually nurse DS after his afternoon nap, give him some veggies and cereal + Cheerios (he LOVES those!) around 5:30, then nurse around 6:45/7:00, then to bed. He usually eats a lot at that evening meal of solids as I think my milk decreases as the day goes on and he needs some more food to fill him up.
My older son was a piece of cake as far as sleeping, etc., while my little guy is really difficult, and even my older son was not totally sleeping through the night until he was in his sixth month. His feeds kept getting later and later in the night until finally they went away on their own. I don't know about you, but for me one nighttime feeding seems like heaven compared to what we've had for the past 6 1/2 months!!! I have no problem going until about 9 months if it's just one feed, but then I would start to try to get rid of that feed as well. The older they get, the harder it gets to break them of their habits!
Good luck!
Cass
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HI all, thanks for your posts.
I am ok with 1 night feed but for us it seems to be the timing. I have been doing 2night feeds for over 2months now. I had successfully decreased the time of the second feed to 5min or so and then for a week or so lo woke only at 3am which took him to morning.(this was 2 weeks ago). It is all dependent on the timing of the first feed---He seems to only go 4hours after that until 2nd feed.
I am going to keep on decreasing the 2nd night feed until hopefully he is consuming enough during the day to go a little longer at night (2:30 or 3am) and then I will somehow have to have a rule of no feed before this---which could be difficult. Does this plan sound allright? Or should this 1 night feed be at any random time and take him until morning? so confused....
I am worried that these times are 'learned times' and thus I feel maybe I should just decrease the time at both feeds. He really is not a good eater during the day---so easily distracted---sometimes I have to switch breasts just to break this distratction. Or is it b/c he is eating too much at night?
CLJK, I also bf right before bed (after bath etc.)Never thought about switching them. Pls keep me posted if this continues to work for you.
I was giving a third meal of solids but have stopped---mainly b/c it was difficult to fit in since dropping the catnap. usually he has only 3-3.5 hrs between bf at this time of day. I was finding he was too full from solids to take a good bf at bedtime.
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Deborah,
You will do fine to decrease that second feed. I wouldn't worry too much about timing - he'll let you know when he's hungry. If he wakes at the same time and doesn't eat much and takes that bit very slowly, then you'll know it's time to wean that one as well. Learned times are ok as long as he's actually hungry. \
You're doing the right thing by switching the solids to make sure he gets a good feed before bed.
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Thanks Jessica, sorry I have another question:
When I am able to wean that second feed-----lets say he then wakes at 1am for a feed (first night feed) and then he wakes 4hours later-- 5am. Would I use pu/pd? (wheras previously I would have fed?)
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I assume that you mean if he keeps waking at the same time habitually? If that happens then I would recommend wake to sleep. But if he wakes anyway and the times are random then I would go with PU/PD if he's upset.
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I'm in the same position with at least 1, if not 2 feeds a night (and then not hungry in the morning) so if you find something that works, please post it here :) My DD went longer and longer until she just stopped needing night feeds (at 14 weeks!!!), but my DS is almost 6 months and no such luck with him ???
I BF too, so I make the second one short, but the first one of the night (usually somewhere around 12:00am) is a full feed.
If you figure it out, please share with the rest of us!
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Deborah -
I just wanted to report that DS woke up at about 2:30 last night and ate a fair amount, and then woke up for the day a little after 6:00 and ate quite a bit. So, not as good as the night before (4am night feeding), but he had trouble settling down and nursing so I don't think he at as much before bed as he normally does. He had the same problem tonight. I am trying to nurse him in a different spot other than the glider in his room so he won't get confused when I don't put him straight down in his bed. I guess until he gets used to it he will be a little restless. He also took late naps these past two days, waking up at 5, nursing, getting his solids at around 6, and then my (trying to) nurse him around 7, so maybe he is not that hungry. He went down very easily for DH as far as getting to sleep - more or less like a nap, so that was good.
My little guy does not take bottles :( otherwise I would use the bottle to night feed and start the watering down trick. It seems like it has worked for so many others. I am still trying to decrease the night nursings by about a minute each night and he seems fine with it, but I must confess that last night I dozed off and had no idea how long he was there for!
As far as which feeding to try to get rid of, last week when he was up 2x a night I started decreasing the nursing times for both and he was willing to to along with it. I personall think you would want to try to push the first one of the night later and later as the second one would then disappear and the first would eventually get later and later until he doesn't do it.
Are any of your lo's tummy sleepers? Mine has been a side sleeper these past 2 months, which is way better than when he was flat on his back and not comfy, but he is finally starting to like sleeping on his tummy for naps (he used to cry until I would come back and roll him over; I don't know why; he can do it himself - typical lazy man, I guess!!! ;)), and is taking even better naps when he does end up on his tummy, so I am waiting for him to learn to sleep that way at night, too. As I recall with DS #1, sleeping all around got much better when he was comfy on his tummy. I know with my experience with DS #1 that it eventually all gets better, we just (rightfully so!) want it better sooner rather than later!
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Are any of your lo's tummy sleepers? Mine has been a side sleeper these past 2 months, which is way better than when he was flat on his back and not comfy, but he is finally starting to like sleeping on his tummy for naps (he used to cry until I would come back and roll him over; I don't know why; he can do it himself - typical lazy man, I guess!!! ;)), and is taking even better naps when he does end up on his tummy, so I am waiting for him to learn to sleep that way at night, too. As I recall with DS #1, sleeping all around got much better when he was comfy on his tummy. I know with my experience with DS #1 that it eventually all gets better, we just (rightfully so!) want it better sooner rather than later!
My DS has just recently started tummy sleeping - scrunched up with his tush in the air ;D He had reflux terribly as well and tummy sleeping always helped a lot with that once he could do so. I noticed that once he became somewhat mobile and could roll around and get the position he wanted his sleeping improved quite a bit.
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Hi CLJK,
I would love to push that first night feed later----but I'm not sure how????? It seems to be getting earlier????? first it was 12:30, and then 12:15, 12:00, last night 11:50pm.----good news was he went until 6:30am this morning----so only one night feed! and that feed was only 7minutes by his choice.
I also have not been persistant enough with the bottles. Now when I try--he just chews on the nipple. He also really doesn't like the formula. My next child is getting at least 1 bottle of formula a week from a very early age!
I am going to start seperating out the breastfeeding and bed. I think I'll initially try bath, bf in diaper and then get dressed in PJs. Even though he doesn't bf to sleep, as he gets older he won't need that bf before bed---so thus maybe it's time to start removing it from the bedtime equation.
My son has become a stomach sleeper in the last 2 weeks for all naps and bed. Thankfully now he has learned to turn back on to his back if he wants to.
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Hi Deborah -
Each night is so different with my little guy! Except for a period of about 2 weeks, he has woken up around 10:00 every night, cries, then we can usually get him back to sleep pretty quickly. For the few weeks it went away I was doing wake to sleep and it seemed to help. I started it again 2 nights ago and last night he did NOT do the 10:00 crying thing (for which he never wants to nurse). BUT - instead - he woke up at 12:00 last night, I went in and, of course, he wanted to nurse! NO WAY was I going to take 2 steps back in this night feeding elimination effort. So when he wouldn't calm down for me, I left him in his crib. He cried a bit, but mostly complained for about 3-4 minutes and then fell asleep for a minute or two. Then I sent DH in to resettle. It took about 20 minutes, but he was able to get him back to sleep and he slept until about 3:30. We used to have to do this with DS#1 - if he woke up before about 3:00, I would send in DH so my son wouldn't get confused about not nursing. It seemed to work with him, and I think we need to do that consistently with my LO. Can your DH be the one to settle your son before, say 1:00? For me I am very confident that at the earlier part of the night he is NOT hungry but is looking for a little mommy and milk time to get him back to sleep. I SOOOO hear you on the bottle thing. It was never an issue for my older son, but this little guy is so picky. I really wish we had been consistent with the bottle from the start.
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Hi CLJK,
well last night my ds woke at 10:40, I tried for 40min to resettle with pu/pd etc. I fed him at 11:30, and then he woke at 5am.
How long do you attempt to resettle before deciding maybe he truely is hungry?
I think I messed up at 5am---he actually lied awake in his crib---talking etc and then started crying at 5:30am. I did feed but he did not go right back to sleep----again talking etc until 6:15am! And then we were off to a late start at 7:30am (I needed the sleep) So I thought afterwards that it probably wasn't a hunger awakening????
My DH is on holidays this upcoming week---so it might be time to enlist his help. What do you think? Send my DH in and if he doesn't settle within 30min----then feed?
I did feed ds totally away from his room this evening, we then spent a few quiet moments in his dark room, and he had no trouble settling for sleep. So that was good !
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Hello CLJK,
well it worked! DS woke at 11:15pm and I sent my husband in. My son definately protested and cried, but he settled within 20min with no feed and went back to sleep until 4:15am. So that is the new plan. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for the advice
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Hi Deborah -
Hooray!!! I'm so happy to hear your news! I think consistency really is the key for re-settling at night. We don't really have a limit on how long it takes, so much as I don't go in any earlier than, say, 2:30, because that's the earliest I feel he ever wakes for food (at least I think). Keep it up! I remember reading somewhere (maybe it was BW, I don't recall) that after about 3 days things become a habit for babies. So it would stand to reason it would take about 3 days to break the habit and three days to establish a new one - about a week. We just never seem to have that week these days b/c DH's schedule has been really hectic and I feel bad sending him in there at all hours of the night when he has to be out the door at 6 am for an early meeting, etc. He will definitely do it, but I guess I still feel a little guilty.
The other night I did a big oops. I heard the baby, got up to feed him, thinking it was 2:30. After a few minutes of nursing him I realized it was only 12:30!! Ooops! Nice way to reinforce bad habits! Then he was up again at about 5:00 to nurse and he usually goes back to sleep until about 7 then. That 5:00 feeding is my own self-preservation, I know, so I can go back and get a little sleep and not deal with a tired baby all morning!!
Last night he barely nursed at all before bed, so I went in at 9:30 and did a little dream feed. He ate a lot and went back to sleep, skipping the 10:30 and 12:30 wake up - yea!. He was up at 3:30 and again at 5:30. Tonight DH and DS are on their first camping adventure, so I will be home alone all night and I am fearing lots of wake ups. I am so confident that he really just wants a boob to help him get back to sleep. He may be a little hungry, but it's habit hungry, not nutritional hunger. I think we just need to be consistent and have DH put him back to sleep. I guess I fear the work and time and effort it will take, but it takes a lot of work and time and effort (for me!) to be up twice a night still! And trust me, it only gets harder with two kids!! I am so jealous of all of those moms whose babies started sleeping through at 4 weeks, 8 weeks, etc. I know a lot of friends whose babies sleep through are bottle-feeders and I think that may have something to do with it - not worth getting up for a bottle vs. bf!!
Great news and keep up the good work!! You will inspire me to stick with it (well, after tonight anyway!)
-Cass
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Hi Deborah -
Just wanted to find out how things are going with you. Things have improved for us a bit. Now DS is usually wakes once around 10:30 but has been going back to sleep after we leave him for a few minutes to "fuss" it out and then wakes around 3 to eat. Unfortunately then he wakes around 5:45 or 6:00 for the day :o but at least he is starting to be a little more consistent. I think it's because we are being a little more consistent with how we treat the night wakings. Tonight I am going to try a W2S to see if I can push back that 3am feed if he is just waking out of habit.
I hope things are progressing for you!
-Cass
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Hi Cass,
was thinking of pming you, but forgot how......am glad to hear things are getting better over there.
For about 1 week, we have stuck with my husband going in for wakings before 2am. Most nights my son has woken anywhere from 2:30am-4am, lucky husband! His feeds are pretty short---usually about 6min (1/2 of a usual day feed) So that is good. He is also eating much better during the day.
I wanted to also discuss solids with you. How are things going on that front? Being a first time mom, I find all of the info on solids very confusing. I am thinking of starting protein foods in the next week or so. Maybe some chicken and apple? or tofu? or yogourt? Have you started any of these? Would you mind sharing your feeding routine with me, what, how much, and when?
How old is your son?
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I would love to push that first night feed later----but I'm not sure how????? It seems to be getting earlier????? first it was 12:30, and then 12:15, 12:00, last night 11:50pm
This sounds like my DS...at 3-4 months he was making it to 3:00 or 4:00 am....now he is usually up between 11:00 and 12:00. He does take a full feed at that time, it is the second one that isn't a full feed for him. Was your DS taking a full feed at the first one? I'd like to push it later too somehow, but don't know how.
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Hi M and N's mom,
okay---so my son has been taking two feeds at night since four months old and eating poorly during the day. He is a big boy-18lbs or more. Anyway, decided with the advice of CJLK (read back) to send my husband in to settle for any night wakings before 2:30am. It did help that he was on holidays this week. My son had gotten used to eating any time frommidnight on---so breaking this habit was a bit hard. It took my husband 20min to settle my son the first night. After 2 nights, my son did not wake until 4am for a feed. Now, I will not feed before 2:30am. Our day usually startes anywhere between 6 and 6:30am and thus we are down to 1 night feed.
HTH
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to send my husband in to settle for any night wakings before 2:30am
This is a really good call especially if you breast feed.
glad to hear you are making progress ;D
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My DH and I split the night every night - he's "on duty" from bedtime until 2:30am, and then I am from 2:30 until waking. It works great for us. ;D
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Hi -
Like I said before, I think having your DH do the settling in the early part of the night is the key. First, it helps your LO to figure out that "Daddy can help me get back to sleep, too!" and that no milk will be coming at that time! We all think that they must be hungry (or that it is quicker to get them back to sleep with a quick nurse), but then they get used to getting back to sleep with a feed and/or get used to getting some calories at that time, so we actually make them hungry. It only took about 2-3 nights of us being consistent to get my LO back to eating only once a night.
I waited until the weekend in case there is a big botch in my plan (!!) but tonight I am going to try W2S at about 2am since he has been waking around 3 to eat for the past few nights. He never responded to it well for naps, but does well with it during the nighttime. I figure that if I can break his habit and get him to start waking to eat even 30 minutes later, then we can keep progressing to eventually wipe out the night feeds. If this doesn't work after a few days then I think I might try the dreamfeed. I never did that regularly because, frankly, it didn't seem to do anything, but my thought is I could do a dream feed to see if he can go the rest of the night and then start making the dream feed slowly earlier and earlier until it is wiped out. I have no problem letting the little guy fuss and complain to get himself back to sleep, but I don't want to make him cry because he is hungry and I am not responding. Frankly, one feed a night isn't that bad! But I know it gets harder to break these habits as new milestones hit, such as crawling and pulling up - then they get really loud and angry when you don't come in!
Deborah, as far as solids, my little guy loves them! He is a great eater. With DS #1, I tended to follow the information sheet my pediatrician gave me for introducing new foods, but I guess she figured I knew what I was doing this time and didn't give me that sheet at his 6 month visit. I now tend to follow the schedule in "Super Baby Foods," a book about making your own baby food. I make about 80% of his food myself (I did with DS #1, too), especially fruits, sweet potatoes, butternut squash. I tried lentils a few weeks ago and it was really easy (cook lentils until very tender, puree, and then push through a sieve to get out the tougher skins, leaving you with a liquidy lentil puree - I add to veggies or apples mixed with cereal and he loves it)! Here are all the foods we have tried: avocado, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, apples, nectarines, peaches, pears, apricots, plums, lentils, garbanzo beans, zucchini, green beans, tofu, and most recently, yogurt. Oh, and Cheerios - his favorite! I've also done several cerals. I tend to mix them with most or all of his food purees for fiber and iron. Tofu is really great. You can make it into small cubes for finger food or mash it into your other purees. My 3 YO still eats tofu. We are vegetarian, so I can't answer as to when to give meat, but I will give you this advice: introduce as many new foods as you can over his first year as after they turn 1 they tend to get a little pickier. The more foods that are in his "repetoire," the more you will be able to give him as he grows older. My oldest is a great eater and although a lot of it is personality and temperment, I think we did a good job of exposing him to a variety of nutritious foods. Oh, and also, avoid giving juice if you can. DS#1 loves the occassional drink box, but from the beginning we only gave him water in between meals and milk at meals and that was the end of the story. No whining for juice during the day - I didn't want to creat a juice junky and he definitely is not. I'd rather him eat his calories than drink them.
Anway, feel free to ask any other questions.
Good luck to all and cross your fingers for me for tonight's W2S!!
Cass
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<<Happy Dance, Happy Dance>>!!!
Hooray! I did W2S at about 2 am last night and DS slept through until a little after 5am!! He's only done that one other time, about 2 months ago! Then I nursed him (he did eat quite a bit) and, even better, he went back to sleep until 7:30 (often he wakes around this time and won't go back to sleep)!!! Now I know that this may not happen again tonight, or the next night, or even the next night - but it certainly gives me some hope! I guess I will keep with the W2S for the next few nights and hope that I can break him of the 3am feeding. If he settles into a 5am feeding, then I will try to do W2S for that then, too. Yippee! Oh, and by the way, he did his usual wake and cry at about 11:30, for which we have decided to wait 3 minutes before going in. He started off complaining, then went to a full on cry for about 20 seconds, started fussing again, and just as DH was getting out of bed, LO fell asleep on his own, not to be heard from until 5am! It's nice to feel like we might finally be making some progress with him!!!
-Cass
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Wow Cass, glad to hear your good news. I think my ds is still needing that 1 night feed and as of now--the time is a bit varying. I am going to focus on introducing some protein solids and then look at weaning that night feed. My son also seems to be waking for the day at 6am--which is a bit frustrating, but I am a bit used to it--since he did this from 3months old until 5months old. For the last month he was sleeping until 6:30am-7am---but now that is out the window. :(
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I'm sorry, Deborah, I forgot to give you our eating routine. I try to give him solids around the same time every day, but it's nearly impossible as some days he wakes early, somes days he has 30 minute naps vs. 90 minute naps, etc. But he does breakfast (around 7-7:30), lunch (anywhere from 11:30 - 1:30) and dinner at around 5:30. I try to leave enough time (at least an hour) between dinner and his nighttime nurse, otherwise he won't nurse that well. I tend to give him oatmeal mixed wtih fruit for breakfast (I think he's taking about 1/3 - 1/2 of a cup??) plus cheerios. For lunch I do a veggie or a fruit, sometimes mixed with a cereal and give him some small pieces of fruit or tofu. Dinner is a veggie plus maybe lentils or tofu + cheerios. I am trying to add less of the commercial cereal as I think between all of that plus the cheerios he is getting a little too much iron. I am having a hard time getting him to take water out of a sippy cup, I guess b/c he never took a bottle and can't figure out what the heck he is supposed to do with this contraption with a spout! I am probably going to start giving him some well-cooked carrots for finger food, soon. I also was thinking about rice pasta. I don't want to introduce wheat too soon as some gluten allergies run in the family, but pasta is such a great finger food.
Incidentally, DS#1 was always an earlier riser until about age 2 1/2 when he started taking shorter afternoon naps and started sleeping until 7am. Now he is up much earllier as he is potty trained at night and needs to get up to make a pee pee pretty early!
HTH!!!
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Hi Cass, yes two seperate posts from me on seperate threads!
Wanted to ask you how w2sleep was working for that last night feed????
My son seems to be waking fairly consistently around 2am, if this continues I am going to try w2sleep. If the the time varies---I am going to decrease the minutes (we're at 7min right now)--and then once it gets to 4min or so----will be sending DH in. I thought if I decreased the mins-----he hopefully will eat more during the day and then sending my DH in won't be so bad.
My son also took some BOTTLED ebm today---so I might explore this option. I really wish my boobs had a guage that indicated how many ounces he had taken each feed. I find it so frustrating this whole balancing out solids and milk. I always wonder how much breastmilk he is drinking!!!!
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Hi Deborah --
I think the W2S helped. I did it when he was consisitently waking around 2:45, and that seemed to push him to about 3:15/3:30. I stuck with that for a few days and, lo and behold, he started going until 4:15 on his own for about 2 days. Then it was 4:45 for the past few days. Last night he was up at about 3:15 and I thought no way am I going to backtrack here, so I gave him about 10 minutes to fuss. I know he is still working on tooth #6, so I thought I would wait to see if he needed some motrin or something. He didn't settle on his own, so I went in and picked him up (he was sort of stuck in a funny position on his tummy) and he settled right down. I thought for sure he would want to nurse, but he didn't. He cried for about 10 seconds when I put him down and that was the last I heard from him until 5:45!!!! Yea!! He nursed at 7pm and when almost 11 hours! And then he was awake for about 10 minutes and went back to sleep until about 7:00. So, anyway, I do think the W2S helped. I think I did it for 3 days to make sure it would "stick," and he seems to be doing the rest on his own. I am certain the reason he didn't wake until 5:45 this morning was because of his own 3:15 wake up, but maybe it will be enough to knock him out of the 4:45 time slot he seems to have created and to keep moving it later and later. My older son did it the same way - his night feedings just kept getting later and later until they were gone. Definitely a lot less stressful than listening to the crying and doing pu/pd.
As far as the ebm, I have no idea how much Gannon is taking now, but I know my older son at this age would take anywhere from 6-8 oz. for his bottle when he got one. So he ate about 4 times a day with 8 oz bottles - he was a pretty big eater. If you are talking about a night feed, I would start with 5-6 oz. and then maybe try to do the water-it-down trick. Send DH in with the bottle so it is far less appealing (no offense to your DH!) than nursing with mom for 15 minutes every night. And then you can get a little more sleep!
Good job on the bottle! I basically have given up in hopes that he will go straight to the sippy cup. He will take a bit of water from it, but not a lot.
Good luck with W2S! I think you should try it tonight in case it goes badly - at least you have the weekend to have DH help!
-Cass
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Thanks Cass, I have not tried w2sleep yet----I am a bit scared. Partially because I will have to start leaving his door slightly open at bedtime so that I can sneak in! Last night, ds woke at 1:15am--sent DH in and my son would settle for 10min and then start up again. Finally fed him at 2:10am. I hate that b/c he loses so much sleep!
Do you allow for a full feed at 4:45am ? Does he then take a full feed at wake-up time?
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Hi Deb,
I took the advice on letting my husband go in and settle my lo and it is working well. We have completely dropped the night feed so she has not gotten a feed in the night for about five nights. On the second night she actually slept through till 7. I did W2S at 2 because she always gets up at 3. It worked!! some nights she is hard to settle but I refuse to feed her anymore, she is a bit older then your lo so I just said enoughs , enough. I was always jumping up at the first cry but now I let her fuss/mantra cry intill she either goes to sleep or starts to really cry. I posted on other threads and said I was doing gentler form of CIO, but that got a lot of negative feedback. Call it whatever you want but for us it is working. I just had to learn that it was OK for her to fuss/cry for a bit. Now before everyone starts in on me about CIO not being good, I just want to say I always go to her if she is really crying. I was never letting her cry at all before running into feed her.At the first peep I was in the room with a bottle in my hand. So for me any amount of crying I consider CIO. Anyway I just thought I would post to let you know there's hope.Good luck.
Kim
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Hi Kim, I am glad to hear your good news--good job and good for your daughter. I am confident I will get there soon! I here you on the enough is enough.
I totally understand you on the CIO. I don't agree with CIO--mostly b/c I think my son would just cry forever and b/c I dont think its fair to come one night and not the next. Plus what if he is stuck or something? But I do think a little fussing is ok and it sounds to me you are doing just fine. I think you know it in your heart when they really need you and you know what type of cry to respond to.
Good job,
I will keep you posted....
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Hi Deborah -
I do allow a full feed. The other night when he didn't wake until 5:45 I did not and he went back to sleep fine - I just knew that he would not be really hungry for his morning feed otherwise. And, actually, he really is never that hungry when he wakes around 6:45-7:15, so I don't think he really needs the 4:15 feed. I think I will do w2s tonight at 3:15 and see if we can start pushing this night feed back a little bit. We tend to keep his bedroom door closed until we go to bed and then open it so I can turn the monitor all the way down. Then I don't have to hear every little sigh and turn amplified in my ear. After I feed him during the night I close the door and turn the monitor up otherwise my 3 year old may get up first and make a lot of noise, waking the baby.
Kim - good job on getting your LO off the night feed! I got a little blasted about the CIO thing in one post because I said what a great book the Ferber book is, even if you don't do the CIO method. I learned a lot of information that helped me understand why my son might be waking up. I don't mean to offend the Tracy followers as I certainly believe in her methods and used them for two kids, but Ferber is a sleep expert and studies sleeping disorders, so I think he knows from what he speaks. We opted to let my son cry for 3 minutes and, other than maybe the first two nights, it has never gone that long - he puts himself right back to sleep in about 30 seconds. I don't like hearing him cry, but what many parents don't like to accept is that their child will cry many more times in his life when you are doing something he doesn't like but is the best thing for him, ie, sleeping! I kind of got over the crying for myself because we were going in there to do pu/pd and it just wasn't helping. Now he rarely wakes at all at night except for the one night feed and then he goes right back to sleep. And we're all doing much better. There clearly is a difference between cries and you have to know your child, and it sounds like you got the right recipe to solve the problem. I think the main key is consistency, consistency, consistency.
I will see how the w2s works tonight!!
-Cass
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Guys, as one of the moderators, I have to remind you to please not discuss CIO or CC here in the open forums. As previously stated, it goes against Tracy's beliefs. To continue to do so is an insult to her work and memory. Not to mention goes against the wishes of her family, who generously keep this site open. Feel free to exchange these ideas in e-mail or pms, just can't be on the forums. Not a personal attack, just stating the forum policy. Now I can ditch the mod hat and say I hope that w2s works for you! :)
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Jen~ Using the term CIO doesn't mean we approve of the method . If you read all our post you would see that our meaning of CIO is not the same as most people. I don't think that there is anything wrong with referring to the term. I know that under no circumstance I'm I an advocate of that method, I was just trying to explain what worked for me !! Maybe CIO isn't the right term to use but I didn't know how else to explain it!! I understand that it goes against Tracy beliefs and it goes against mine. I'm sorry to say that it did feel like a personal attack. I didn't mean to insult anyone especially Tracy family or memory.
Kim
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Kim, I did read the entire post. What you are doing is simply letting your babe try to resettle herself. By mentioning CIO, it could be taken incorrectly as letting a child mantra cry is actually a form of CIO or CC. A new member may not understand this though. Then they think what they are doing is wrong if they are doing the same thing. Does that make sense? The mods also need to look at that aspect of it: could something be totally misunderstood? Accordingly, when we see something, we have to respond to it. My post was more to anyone reading the thread afterwards and getting wrong ideas. Also, to try to prevent another CIO/no CIO debate starting, as they just get too heated.
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Well said Jenn. We do need to be careful how things are worded so that people just starting out will not be confused ;D
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Hi Deb and Cass, :)
Just checking in to see how things are going. Tatum is doing well and last night, she woke at around 5:00 and she fussed for maybe a minute or so. I didn't even have to go in to her. I am still doing the W2S around two just to make sure she doesn't get into the habit of waking at 3 again. Hope all is going well for both of you.
Kim
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Unfortunately, we have had a rough couple of nights!! The last 2 nights my DS has woken at 12:30am. I have really been trying to keep with the no feed before 2am. Especially since yesterday, my DS took 7oz formula at 3:30pm and another 7oz of EBM at 6:45pm (bed). I just can't see how he can be hungry so early (12:30am)! Anyway, sent DH in a couple of times, but he just got frustrated. My son would settle and then start up again. I finally started going in at 1:30 am. He did go back to sleep at 2am after I spent a few minutes rubbing his back and sitting beside his bed until he was asleep. That was weird b/c I have NEVER been in the room for him to fall asleep. He only slept until 2:30am at which point I fed him for 6min.
I just can't bear for him to lose so much sleep or for me to lose so much sleep for that matter. Tonight I am doing w2sleep at 11:30am.
I am also giving as many bottles as possible today for his feeds--so that I can really know how much he is taking in. I BF him this am. But then his 2nd feed he took 7oz bottle.
Wish me luck! I am really needing some
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ok - i'll plead ignorance and admit i didn't read the whole post. i was just looking around because my lo has a habit of waking during the night every once in a while and i always wonder about feeding her. it's so hard to tell sometimes.
so my question is debo, lo is about 7.5 months or so? do you do solids too? have you dropped the DF? my lo is 7 months and i'm thinking of dropping it soon but i haven't decided yet.
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Hi mlee,
yes we do solids. I am still very much struggling with the milk intake/solid intake ratio especially since we still have that night feed. I havne't done a dream feed since 4months old. I am a prime example of why not to drop the df cold turkey. One night at 4months old, I didn't do the df and lo slept from 7pm-5:30am without feed. The next 2 nights he woke at 1 or 2am. This I didn't like and he had hard time settling after feed so I tried to reintroduce the df. He was then taking a df plus waking for a feed btwn 1-2am. Long story short we have been struggling with night feeds since then. Generally speaking, he will only go 4hours after a night feed which is why I am trying to keep it at 2 am or later. If I can keep that feed at 2am or later, I have been trying to slowly wean the minutes.
Read up on how to drop the df gradually, I believe it involves moving it earlier and earlier in the evening. I beleive it is recommended this is done btwn 7-8 months depending on solid intake. HTH
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yes it does. it's just so hard to know what to do sometimes. i'm not always sure about the solids/milk intake ratio either. i guess we just keep learning don't we?
i'm can't now but i do plan on reading your entire post. i see a lot of people are offering tips but i still am going to read through and see if anything hits me.
i think you're doing such a great job working on helping your lo. i'm sure all of the craziness can be really draining on you but you're putting your lo first and that's so wonderful. a lot of moms would be tempted to give up and just let lo go it alone but from the two or three posts that i've read, you aren't doing that. you're a great example of how selfless moms can/should be. :-*
melissa
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Thanks Melissa for the words of encouragement. You are right, it is very tireing. At least now it is dark outside, my Dh and I were in bed and ASLEEpP by 9pm last night.
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9 p.m?!! You must have thought you were in heaven.
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Hey there -
Gannon is doing pretty well, I must say. However, I did a w2s the other night and it didn't go well as he woke right up and stared at me. I ducked out of sight just in time, but was stuck sitting there on the floor where he couldn't see me from about 3:15 - 3:40 until he fell back asleep!!! All that and he only woke up about 15 minutes later than normal!! Last night, he wasn't up until about 5:15 to eat and then went back to sleep until around 7:30. It took him a good 25 minutes to fall back asleep, though, so I wasn't sure for a while there whether I was going to have to go get him up for the day! I think I will just leave things as they are for a another week or so and see if he will continue to move his feed later and later each night on his own. My older son did that, although that was at 6 months of age, not almost 8 months old!! I tried feeding him on just one side for two nights and I think that helped him to take a better morning feed, but it also made him wake up a little ealier for the day than normal. Oh well, nothing is perfect.
Deborah - just stay the course with sending DH in. I know it's tough, but these babes thrive on consistency. Last night Gannon woke up at 3:15 and I was thinking - no way! Don't go backwards! I let him be and he fell asleep about 2 minutes later and with just a little fussing and I never had to go in.
BTW, mlee - I see your point about cio. I don't think what any of us is doing is the cio method, but letting the babies learn to settle themselves. It's something you just have to learn with your own baby and since I am on LO#2 I think it is a little easier for me to accept that some fussing and crying is inevitable and as long as I know the difference between my LO's cries ("I'm not very happy about this" vs. "Mommy I need you NOW"!), then I can do what is best for him. I just think some moms get the idea that their child should never ever cry, regardless of what TH wrote in the books. She said there would be lots of crying - both for babies and for moms (mantra cry). We need to let our babies have the chance to learn to do this and if we are there to rescue them the first second they cry, then it will just take longer in the end. My DH and I were just talking last night about the long road (pu/pd, pat/shh - all of it!!) we have had and how it is worth it to have LO sleeping really well at night and seeming to be working toward sleeping all the way through the night. And I know with my 3YO, he has very healthy sleep habits (except, alas, he is dropping is nap - sob, sob!!) and it has made our lives so much easier not to fight him to go to bed. Anyway, it would be sad to alienate a mom who needs help because she is afraid to ask questions or look for suggestions because she thinks she might not fit in on the board. Most are desparate by the time they come to these board and need lots of TLC. I know I did about 4 months ago!! Thanks for your thoughts, though - I do understand where you are coming from.
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CLJK, you're totally right. A lot of parents do think that they are supposed to prevent crying altogether, and that's just silly. Talk about setting yourself up to fail! Babies do cry, and a lot of it is healthy - part of growing up and developing. It always makes me sad when people think they're failing as parents because their LO cries (mantra, fussy, whatever). I'm glad though that you do understand why using the term CIO isn't preferable for the sake of others. Thanks for that.
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Cass, I am going crazy!. LO is consistently waking anywhere from 12pm -2am wanting to feed. Sending my husband is just not working. he just stays awake until I finally feed him---I have tried for up to 1 and 1/2 hr---he is losing so much sleep and he is grumpy during the day. He must be hungry as he otherwise is a textbook baby and settles very easily.
I have tried the last couple of days to feed him during the day via bottle just to see how much he is getting, either ebm or formula and he seems to be taking about 7oz each time.
Do you think he is eating enough during the day? I never know if he is having enough solids?
Yesterday:
BF 20min at 6:10am
8am-4tbsp mixed cereal with 1 cube peaches, 1tbsp cut bannana
10:45bottle 6 oz
1pm-2tbsp veg, 3tbsp yogurt, 1 cube peaches, few cheerios
3:45pm-bottle 7oz
5pm-3tbsp mixed chicken,apple,carrot, 3pieces rice pasta
7pm bf--10min or so
awoke at 11:45pm -fussed, started to cry but stopped before we could even get to his room
awoke at 1:20am---fed him about 6min or so----like clockwork woke 4hours later wanting to feed 5:20am--did feed for a few min hopeing he would go back to sleep until regular wake time of 6:15am but alas he never did go back to sleep.
I am going crazy b/c he will only go 4hours after a night feed, this is why I am hopeing for a 2am or later feed but I can't seem to achieve this. why is he so hungry?
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CLJK - I hope I didn't alienate you or anyone else. that definitely wasn't what i meant. My LO cries but like you said the cries are different and I know them. Before I did and before I read BW, I didn't want LO to cry at all. I still don't like it at all but I've realized that I can't stop all fussing cries. Like this morning, she was fussing because I was running around and it was later than I thought and was time for breakfast. But it was her "MOM - feed me NOW" cry. She cried out during the night but I didn't run in and she didn't make another sound. that was a hard thing for me to learn - wait and see what she does. I used to run in and ended up waking her up. >:( I must have missed something earlier in the post but I was just trying to tell deborah I thought she was doing fine.
Deborah, I'm so sorry to say I STILL haven't read this whole thing. have you talked to his ped? It sounds like he's drinking a lot and eating solids. I don't know much about nursing but is 6 and 10 minutes a normal time for LO to nurse? Or is that short? I was wondering if he's really hungry when he eats in the morning or waking to snack a bit and for comfort. Like I said, I wasn't able to nurse for long so I don't know. I followed Tracy's advice to determine whether it's habit or hunger when they wake during the night - give pacifier and if that doesn't work LO is hungry. But I don't know if your LO takes a pacifier or not so that may not work now.
melissa
have you posted on the breast feeding board and see what other nursing moms think?
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Hi Deb,
Sorry to hear you are still having trouble with the night feedings. Tatum used to wake up every four hours at night to eat too and you know what really worked for me was not feeding her every for hours during the day. I would vary the times I fed her during the day, sometimes I would what longer or feed her earliar even up to half and hour. I would still feed her around the same times everyday but try not to make it exactally four hours. That really seem to break her internal clock and she learned to go longer at night. If I remember right it only took two days to break the habit of eating every four hours she still woke to eat but the time in between got longer. HTH.
Kim
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Hi Deb -
I'm sorry to hear things aren't going well. I think the amounts look about right, as that is about what my LO is eating, but each kiddo is different and has his/her own appetite. Here are the things that stuck out at me that you may want to try:
1) Try giving more finger foods. We give cheerios at every meal (after he is done with the mushy stuff, though) and usually throw in some cheese or avocado or tofu. He also likes Kix cereal. We tend to give him a few tablespoons of cheerios at each meal and he polishes them off. I think he gets about 1/2 cup of mushy food at each meal + the finger foods.
2) Try moving his dinner back a little later. We tend to feed Gannon around 5:30 and then give him some finger foods while we are eating our dinner. That way he is getting some food closer to bed but not too close to nursing so he will still nurse pretty well around 7pm before bed. You also might consider a finger food snack somewhere in the day. It gives him more practice eating and maybe he will eat a few more calories.
3) Try going back to breastfeeding rather than bottles (but probably keep one bottle a day so he doesn't forget after all of your hard work!). It might be that he needs some more "mommy nursing time." If he only started taking the bottle recently, then he is not really used to being fed that way and nursing is not just about "giving them food." They come to rely on that kind of contact during the day and if he is getting less of it, then he may wake to get it. I remember a lactation consultants with whom I spoke said often babies start waking at night when mom goes back to work because they learn that they get mom's undivided attention during a nighttime feed. Plus pumping and bottles are not necessarily that reliable of a way to figure out how much your LO is eating - they can always get more than a pump, and maybe even a bottle. They don't tend to take bottles for comfort they way they do the boob, so he may be getting a little more milk while nursing simply because he is "there" longer.
4) Try a w2s about an hour before his earliest wake up time (so I guess at 11?). He may just needs to reset his clock. Or have your DH try it if you are nervous that Noah will wake and then want to nurse since you are in there.
5) Have DH give him a bottle for one of his nighttime feeds. I know it is tough to ask them to do that if they have to get up to go to work the next day, but my DH is generally on board with whatever I suggest because he agrees that whatever we try can't be worse than the problem we are trying to fix!!
I hope these help. Hang in there an be consistent. Just think, your son is probably just very picky and knows what he wants and will grow up to be a powerful CEO or something like that!!!!
Good luck -
Cass
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3) Try going back to breastfeeding rather than bottles (but probably keep one bottle a day so he doesn't forget after all of your hard work!). It might be that he needs some more "mommy nursing time." If he only started taking the bottle recently, then he is not really used to being fed that way and nursing is not just about "giving them food." They come to rely on that kind of contact during the day and if he is getting less of it, then he may wake to get it. I remember a lactation consultants with whom I spoke said often babies start waking at night when mom goes back to work because they learn that they get mom's undivided attention during a nighttime feed. Plus pumping and bottles are not necessarily that reliable of a way to figure out how much your LO is eating - they can always get more than a pump, and maybe even a bottle. They don't tend to take bottles for comfort they way they do the boob, so he may be getting a little more milk while nursing simply because he is "there" longer.
I was just reading your post and know that my DS gets much more when he nurses. I have left a 4-5oz bottle when I have to be away at feeding time and he seems content, even uninterested, by the end. But when I get home he nurses a lot so he is not full from the bottle. I think they get much more from nursing than they take from a bottle if they are used to being BF.
Good luck.
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Thanks Cass for all of your suggestions. I think I will introduce some more finger foods as ds is starting to do really well with them and is enjoying feeding himself. I must say I am beyond frustrated and confused. Yesterday, I ended up nursing all day b/c I did not have the time/energy to pump either before or after his feedings. Anyway, lo woke at 10:30pm!!!! He did not initially seem hungry but, again very difficult to settle. Would settle and start up again. Finally fed him a 5oz formula bottle at 12:15am by dh and then he slept until 6am.
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Well, if it helps (and I know it really doesn't!!), my little guy has been going back to the 30-40 minute naps. He had about 75 minutes worth of naps for the whole day. *sigh* It's always something!!!
He also could be getting ready to do something developmentally. Does he crawl yet? Maybe he is gearing up for that???
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Yes , I have been wondering about the starting to crawl b/c it seemed last night that he kept on going up on his knees (he sleeps on his tummy). No sign of this going on his knees during the day though!
Good luck with the short naps. I just hate those! We honestly have been dealing with them off and on since my ds was 5weeks old. He even did it when sleeping in the car/driving.
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Hi Deb -
Was wondering if it was going any better. I was reading through my "Super Baby Foods" book today and noticed it said that between ages 8 - 10 mos a baby's appetite will increase substantially and that this is the time to start introducing snacks during the day. As I recall from DS#1, I would just give him a few finger foods to munch on right after a BF and then have lunch (or dinner, as the case may be). That got him used to having a snack. Then when I weaned him he went right to having snacks instead of nursing immediately after a nap. It might help?!?!?!?
-Cass
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Hi Cass, yes we have done a lot more finger foods this week and it does seem to have helped. The last three nights, ds woke a 2:30am, 3:15 , and 4am---my husband has been doing these feeds with 4oz formula mixed to 5oz (extra water). The only problem has beem ds won't go back to sleep! Last night, woke at 4am , fed immediately, he talked and what not in his room until 5am, started crying by 5am--had to go in a couple of times and he finally went back to sleep at 5:40am!!!! So there went our 6:30am start---we all slept until 7:10am.
I also am playing with the idea--and tried it today--to actually space out and combine two breast feeds (so that he is down to 3). I was finding it very difficult to fit in a full breastfeed after 2nd nap, plus a full supper, plus another full breastfeed before bed only 3.25 hrs afterwards. most of the time he would only eat for a few min at bedtime.
here's how today went
wake, bf at 7:15--bf well
9am solids-3tbsp oat cereal with 3tbsp fruit, handful cheerios
nap 10-11:15am
lunch 11:30am --4tbsp yougurt with apple sauce (100ml) with 3tbsp veg,handful pasta,2 baby mum crackers.
1:30pm bf---very hungry and ate very well !!! 15min yey!
nap 3:10-4:25pm
5pm supper-1tbsp chicken /veg-didn't like it, 2tbzp zucchini bits finger food, cheese-1cm thick by 2in ch square piece cut up-loved, handful cheerios, 1/4 peach cut up.
7:15pm-BF--hungry for it! 15min and bed
What do you give for protein in your son's diet being that you are vegetarian? I have been looking for some good tofu, lentils etc recipes? I gave tofu the other day as finger food---kind of bland though. Have you ever seen that dessert tofu---bannana flavoured etc> Seems to have a bit of sugar though. Have you tried it?
My son is growing tired of chicken and I really need some forms of protein other then dairy.
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Sounds like Noah is doing better with BFing! Gannon didn't do well today, so I ended up giving him more finger food snacks, which he loves. I remember from DS#1 that I was only nursing 4 times a day at this age: am, after am nap, after pm nap, and before bed (of course, he was sleeping through the night at this point!!).
As far as protein finger foods, I tend to give tofu (he likes it okay, not in love with it - I use extra firm and crumble the small pieces), cheese (he loves the "Babybel" cheese - they are mild, soft, and sort of creamy - just the right texture for him), and have given him some beans. I take 4-5 canned beans (rinsed very well; usually I am making them with our dinner), rub off the skins (they are tough to eat if you don't take off the skins), and then kind of smush them and break them up a bit. He likes cannellini beans the best because they are soft and mild-flavored. I think I mentioned before that I mix lentils in with his other food cubes, too. I cooked them until pretty mushy and used my stick blender to puree them. Then I freeze them in ice cube trays and add one cube to his veggies. Right now he really likes these combos: one cube apples, one cube buttnerut squash, one cube lentils, mixed with a little cereal. He also likes pureed broccoli, apples and lentils. I tend to add apples to a lot of new things I try so the tase will be a little familiar and a little sweet. Another legume that is quick and easy is split peas. They cook quickly like lentils and are sweet tasting. I haven't tried it yet, but I probably will.
Oh, and things like yogurt and cottage cheese are great and easy. Try mixing some cottage cheese a bit of fruit puree so it's not as strong a flavor. Most people eat waaaaayyy more protein than they need. I read that a kids my 3yo's age only need 16 grams of protein/day. He get's that in his two servings of milk and the other foods he eats (grains and veggies all have protein, too). I don't recall what an 8mos old needs, but he is probably getting what he needs from BM. They, of course, won't be on BM forever, so you just want to introduce the foods now as they slowly start to replace the BM. I wouldn't worry too much about exactly how much protein he is getting as long as his diet is varied.
By the way, my 3yo still eats tofu. It is a little bland, but most babies and kids prefer the blander foods. I think it's great that he will still eat tofu with his meal! It's a healthy, EASY food!!!
-Cass
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Thanks Cass,
I am going to try the pureed lentils mixed with other veg--good idea! That being said,Noah seems to be mr independent these days, not really interested in being fed but totally excited about finger foods!
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have you seen this thread? i don't know if it will be helpful or not for either of you guys.
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=46907.0
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Hi Cass, well Noah did fairly well last night. Slept from 7:20pm-5:40am--woke out of hunger, unfortunatly did not go back to sleep afterwards so we started our day early. It would have been perfect if he would of slept until 6 or later. He never really sleeps more then 10.5 hrs at night. And he sleeps anywhere from 2.5-3hrs during the day. So if he starts sleeping completely through--I will have to see what his wakeup time is.
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Sorry Cass, I also meant to ask you how Gannon was doing? and I forgot
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hi deb,
i have just browsed through your post- our LO's are just 5 day's apart. C is also the same, he likes mummy's boob (a little too much). i have tried everything, we gave solids b4 milk and that worked wonders for 2 days then the Nw's got worse and worse. i have had DH go into him only to find that an hr later Dh is standing over our bed telling me that C is hungry. we have (are) done PU/PD but when you always doubt yourself that your LO is hungry it is hard to do.
so, between the biting, NW's, bobbing on and off i decieded to bite the BOTTLE. i hate to give up BFding but i thought it was best for us. i don't know what noah is like whilst Bfding so it isn't necessarly the solution for you. anyway saying that, once he started taking the bottle (about 2 wks ago now) i would make up a bottle for the night. he would wake several times so ultimatley he would get a BF'd in there as well. so after he took the bottle i started diluting his night bottle. have you read the thread? so C get's a 8oz bottle with normally 7 scoops of formula so for the first 3 nights you go down to 6 scoops the second 3 nights 5 scoops and so on. we are now on 4 scoops and last night he slept through ;D ;D ;D i just hope it isn't a fluke. i had also been taking a bottle of water with my to bed so that if he wakes the second time he gets that. he is a little sly git though and sometimes manages to sneak down to mummy's boob and have a little comfort.
we are now on a 4.5 easy and i give him 4x8oz bottle in the day and 2 BF's (when he isn't in a biting moodLOL) he doesn't alway's finish all his bottles but he gives them a good go. i also offer solids about half an hr after milk so that he isn't full for the next feed.
our routine is something like this-
7am 8oz bottle
7.45am cherrios and fruit
11.30am 8oz bottle
12ish half a slice of bread with something on it and half a pot of yogurt
might have a BF in between this
4pm 8oz
5pm dinner, 4 cubes veg, 1 meat, small bowl of cereal with fruit mixed in
7pm 8oz bottle, if he doesn't drink this well i offer the breast
i hope this helps you, if you are plannnig on Bfding maybe you try the bottle thing at night? at least they won't strave and they will have a better appeite in the AM.
if you need me to clarify anything, just ask.
sending you good sleeping vibes.
nicola
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Thanks Nicole, things are slowly improving with a bit more solids/ffoods. Over the past week, the nights feed has gotten later and later. We have also been doing this with a bottle, 4oz formula mixed up to 5oz. I am also currently going down to 3bf during the day, spaced further apart---as I was finding he was not hungry for bf at bed.Similar to you routine, but he would eat well at 4, eat solids, and then not want bf at bed.
Thanks for your advice, I will see how things go. He is such a big boy that I think he honestly just needs more food.
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that's great. i was happy to read your post. you sounded more hopeful.
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Things sound like they are going well, Deborah! Yea!! 5:40 is great!! Last night Gannon woke up at about 3:50 and I resisted the urge to go in (well, actually, there was no urge - I didn't want to go in there at all!). So I let him fuss and he went back to sleep until about 5:30, ate, and then went back until 7am. Not bad considering the previous two nights he was up at 4:30 and 4:00, respectively. Anything NOT to go backwards, you know??? I am feeling like he is really not waking up to eat at that time but just because he is waking up and wants me to help him go back to sleep, but I am not ready to face that demon yet. I would rather he just continue to creep his feedings later and later than for me to really have to work at it!! So I think I will continue with this for another few weeks and see where it all goes. I am expecting a few more night wakings coming up as he has just started to really get himself down on the floor from sitting and is starting to scoot backwards. He wants to do it over and over while he is awake, so I figure he might want to do it in the middle of the night, too! Oh well, it will pass. It's fun to see him trying to get all around now that he knows he can (at least a little bit).
Again, I am so glad Noah is doing better. Keep doing what you are doing - you're doing great!!!
-Cass