Feeding question for a 6mth old

[Jiinx]

hi there!
So sorry you're running into some hiccups We'll help you get sorted It may just be time for some tweaks!

Could you post your EASY?

I know it's hard to listen to our babies crying. I really have to hold myself back sometimes when her cries get slightly high pitched. Unfortunately, she has wakings at night due to OT from the day ..it takes her 5-10 minutes sometimes to settle herself down. Don't be put off by crying. It's just their way of communicating their frustration with us. You know her cries the best...it's just finding out if she's in discomfort (teething?), hunger, OT, wet diaper..there's so many possibilities.

Is your lo crying hard? Crying urgently? Fussing? Whining?

As your LO gets older, many tweaks will be needed...

[dingoheid]

Thanks so much Liz for the help

Tonight's shh/patt was the first in several where my lo did not cry!  This made me feel good and more relaxed!  When I place her down in her crib (for all naps/nights) I notice her legs move ALOT!  She's a tummy sleeper and I've noticed this trend over the past 3 days/nights...her upper body is relaxed and still, but her legs...they keep movin!  Maybe practicing crawling?  Although I don't see this during the day time when she's awake...

Her cry lately starts out as a whine...it's like she's saying, "Oh mommy, I'm tired, but I don't want to go to sleep/nap".  Then she whines for a little before getting frustrated (partially because her legs keep her awake I think) and then she starts crying and it escalates rather quickly from there...rarely when I pick her up, does her crying stop...she has eneded up crying herself to sleep a lot over the past 3 days...

While trying to read her cries, I don't think she's hungry...several times I've given her oval drops lately- bunching her knees together...the oval drops seem to relax her fairly quickly, but then when I start pu/pd & shh/patt, she starts crying again....

I know there are some changes I need to make...I think her activity times are getting too long...especially at night...question here...with NO cat nap, how long should the last activity time be before bed?  Also, I've been keeping my lo awake longer before naps because we've been out...i.e., this morning for going out for breakfast with friends and then again tonight because we visited my mom...rrr it's hard to balance! 

Anyways, thank you so much for looking at my EASY and helping:-)

Easy for Saturday February 20, 2010

W:  6:50  (EW @ 12:00 for 1 hr 5 min.)

E:  7:00  (8 oz)
A:  3 hr 10…3 tbsp cereal & 4 slices banana
S:  10:00…fell asleep in car within 3 minutes because went out for breakfast

Total nap time…1 hr 30 min  (first full nap in 3 days)


E:  11:30  (8 oz)
A:  3 hr 10 …3 tbsp Carrots
     …this activity time is/was usually longer than the first
S:  2:40…I tried shh/patt and caved in by walking her to sleep  (10 min for lo to fall sleep)

Total nap time…1 hr 05 (EW…woke up crying and whiny…tried to shh/patt back to sleep, but cry became loud- somewhat
                                 forceful- also my husband was sleeping before his night shift...couldn't let lo go on crying )


E:  3:45  (8 oz)
A:  4 hr 35…3 tbsp Squash 
     …grocery shopping and visited Oma- gave tired cue only at 7:30
S:  8:30…with a shh/patt of 20 min which included walking around twice, but
                when I put her into her crib the last time, she was still a little awake, and
                fell asleep on her own…i.e., I stepped back to see what would happen…
                with 6 oz bottle before bed

Total Bottles:  30 oz
Total Solids:    9 tbsp
Total Naps:      1 hr 30 & 1hr 05

EW from last night…from 12:00- 1:05


I'm also attaching a chart of her activity times over the last 7 days...I find collecting the data interesting!  Not sure if it's useful....hope the attachment works

[Jiinx]

Hi dingoheid:)

 you're so organized. I'm so impressed! It's great that you keep track of her As and her naps..you can see a pattern and can tweak so easily.

 I just realized she's no longer 6 months! She's getting almost to 7 months and you know what that means ...yup, an increase in A is/was probably due.
I think the fact that she gave you a good nap after 3 hours of A time (I believe it was 3 hours and 10 minutes) means she's ready for an increase in A. The same day, she gave you an 1 hour and 5 min nap - that's most likely a UT nap. She just wasn't tired enough to finish her nap. that may have been why she took so long to fall asleep for that nap, ykwim?

I find when I used to put my LO when she wasn't ready to sleep..she would cry. Now she just plays in her crib for 10-15 minutes until she falls asleep. When I have her A right on, she falls asleep within minutes. Also, when she wakes up from her naps, and she's not tired but I'm trying to put her back to sleep - she cries. It's a lost cause

So in summary, I think she was having some OT wakings due to some long A times. However, she was also getting OT bc her As may not have been right on ..she was getting a good nap in the morning, but her second nap wasn't sustaining her to bed time (as the A time prior to this nap was short).

Being OT before bedtime causes wakings. And these wakings manifest themselves early after they're put to sleep and early in the morning.

In regards to her legs moving - she may be trying to get comfortable. My lo was so frustrated when she couldn't get comfortable at that age..now she turns and twists into her position. Your lo may be trying to roll into a comfortable position?

Hope that helps...

sorry just to add..if she had a poor nap prior to bed..follow her cues, but I wouldn't go past 2 and half hours. Sometimes even this is much. 2 hours - 2.5 may be okay for her.

[dingoheid]

Thanks so much!  What you've said makes so much sense...easy for me to follow...so first activity time should be around  the 3 hr mark...give or take 5-10 minutes and then the second activity should be longer....closer to 3 hr 20?  Just let me know if these times seem okay for tomorrow...thanks a million!!  I so appreciate all of your help:-)

[Jiinx]

hi dingoheid..
try that..have her in the crib by 3 hours for the first A ...and 3 hours 10-15 for the second.

My lo took awhile to adjust to these times...one day, she slept for an hour and a half! It looks like your lo is okay with the jump in the first A.

Let's see how it goes?

[dingoheid]

Hi!  Had a good night...with 2 EW's, but went to sleep very shortly after i.e., no longer than 10 min and no crying...

She woke up early though...@ 6:10...at 7:30 we already had 2 big yawns and 2 eye rubs...not sure we'll make the 3 hr mark!  Including the EW's, her slept for 9 hr 45 min...will she likely need to make this up?

[Jiinx]

I think so. That's a short night...

Either: cat nap OR early to bed probably. See how her first nap goes but if she's short napping today then she'll need extra sleep somewhere.

[dingoheid]

Hi!  Here's my EASY for today...thought she might cat nap around 5:00ish, but didn't happen, so I tried for an early night (earliest night for lo so far...but it became longer than expected because the shh/patt took 55 minutes...that's once she was down in her crib...)

Easy for Sunday February 21, 2010

W:  6:10…stayed in crib until 6:25- may have dosed off a little here and there a little

E:  6:30…8 oz
A:  3 hr 15
     2 tbsp cereal & 2 tbsp apples
S:  9:25…(started wd too soon, calculated time from 6:00, not 6:10…opps!)

Total nap:  1 hr 15…likely woke up 15 min early due to pooping- 1st time lo pooped while asleep!

E:  10:40…8 oz
A:  2 hr 50  (wanted to make it 3 hr 20, but lo fell asleep in car earlier before I could get her home) 
     1 tbsp sweet potato & 3 tbsp apples
S:  1:30…fell asleep in the car...transferred into crib no problem

Total nap:  1 hr 30…


E:  3:00…8 oz
A:  4 hr 10…was aiming for 3 hr 00 (with eyes closed) but shh/patt took 53 minutes…long one tonight! 
     2 tbsp sweet potato
S:  7:10

About tonight's shh/patt
*  started off calm, became very restless…those legs keep movin!  Turning head from side to side every few seconds
    and this is a little odd, and definitely NEW- o started trying to bite into my shoulder...I sternly told her no- as an aside, I
    recently stopped bf because she was biting me!  Hmm... 


Total Nap Time for the Day:  2 hr 45
Total Oz:  30
Total Solids:  10 tbsp

[dingoheid]

but I wouldn't go past 2 and half hours. Sometimes even this is much. 2 hours - 2.5 may be okay for her.

Quick question...with no cat nap (which my lo usually never takes), is this the activity time from her afternoon nap till eyes closed at bedtime?  I think this may be part of the problem...we've always had much longer activity times...averaging around the 3hr-4 hr mark...so this may be hard to change as perhaps my lo is now used to the longer activity time, and is therefore mucho OT during the shh/patt??

What is the rule of thumb for the last block of activity time if my lo had 2 good naps?  And would you consider her naps today (1 hr 15 and 1 hr 30 )good naps?  (with an evening sleep of 9 hr 45 min mind you)...I don't think she "made up" her short sleep time today though....

[Jiinx]

4 hours is quite a long A time for a 6 month old. We're talking 8-10 month olds here I know you're almost there, but I think she was OT as the day progressed (the nap she got was probably a UT nap...).

The last A time is different with some los. It's -usually- the same amount or a bit longer than their last A time they had before their nap.  You'll have to see what your lo can do. What time has she gone down the easiest? Mine can do a little less than 3.5 hours after a bad napping day but she gets pretty whiny by the end of the day.

Sometimes, when they're OT they're so exhausted they just hit the bed and crash after you put them down.

I honestly think your routine looks good. You're getting good naps. Two good naps and I'm assuming good nights? Not sure if she was UT or OT when you put her down. I'm assuming OT, but it's hard to tell

Did you let her settle herself and then she started crying?

[dingoheid]

Did you let her settle herself and then she started crying?

More or less...I'm definitely trying the "stand back" approach...twice yesterday I just sat down (once in the beginning and then a different nap time, I sat down at the end) and let her do her thing...both times she settled...tonight while she was tossing from side to side and moving her legs, I just stepped back too...I think I'm geting better at it...tonight though while I stepped back, she started to cry...

Are you more hands on during shh/patt i.e., once your lo is in her crib, or do you let her settle herself?  If so, how long did it take her to settle herself? 

What time has she gone down the easiest?

It's so hard to say...I looked back and there is little rhyme or reason...If I had to pick the time though, I'd say 3 hr 20 min...with a shh/patt of 5 min...and my lo slept through that night too...which hasn't been the case at all this past week...I will try to aim for a little over 3 hours, including eyes closed...(I may have miscalculated the last activity time wrong for the 1st 2 weeks....but now I know!)

EW's have been having more than not for the past week...lasting anywhere from 5 min to over an hour...last night was good though- it was only 10 min...

I will try very hard to follow the proper activity times...too much being 'out and about' lately...and 'oh, let's keep her up for the company- she's being so good'...this will stop this week!! 

Thanks again for all of your help:-)  You've been so wonderfully supportive!! 

How long have you been doing BW with your little winter princess? :-)

Here's to hoping our nights are sleepy ones!

[*Jo*]

Hi ladies, as the original question to this thread has been answered and is no longer relevant I am going to lock this thread and ask that if you have any further questions you start a new one, this allows you to get more relevant advice on your current situation from more eyes around the board.

Thanks
Jo