looking for Jan/Feb 05 moms to chat...

[julieb]

Welcome Tracy!

Not sure if I can help all that much, but I can try giving you some ideas!  Really, it sounds like you're on the right track.

When she wakes in the morning, does she play?  Would she fall back to sleep on her own if you left her?  What time does she go to bed?  I have this problem too, BTW.  Most days he wakes up, plays, and dozes on/off till I get him up at 7:00.  Still drives me crazy because I hear him in the monitor the whole time.  :?

For solids, though we haven't started yet, I think most is just practice right now anyway.  Maybe she hasn't developed a taste for it yet.  I read it takes often 20 tries before they will accept a new food.  What are you giving her?  I hear the rice cereal often goes over better if mixed with EBM or apple juice.  Is she hungry at feeding time?  Have you spaced it from a BF enough?

For nursing to sleep, some keep this up because it works for them.  But if you want to change it, there will probably be some tears and protests at some point, especially with PU/PD.  But the sooner you start, the easier it goes, I hear.  Have you heard of the No Cry Sleep Solution?  She may have some good suggestions in that book.

Many on this thread seem to switch between 3 & 4 hour EASY, or go half way.  We are on 4 hour EASY, however, and our day often looks like this:
7:00 wake
7:20 BF
9:15 nap 1:30-2:30 hours
11:00 BF
1:15 nap 1:30-2:30 hours
3:00 BF
5:00 catnap 45 min (skip if naps were long)
6:15 BF
7:00 bed (6:30 if catnap was skipped)
2:00am BF

Sorry I'm not much help, hope it gives you some ideas!

[branwen]

Hi Tracy! Welcome to the thread And no you do not sound too desperate. :wink:

Getting on a routine can be hard, especially with a touchy baby! I so know!  We were on a pretty good 4 hr schedule but like you went on vacation and that has now reverted back to 3 or 3.5.  I think she is happiest at 3.5.

I also have an early riser, but I have decided to go with it.  She has an early bedtime and sleeps the 12 hrs so I have decided I can't complain too much.

Our naps were very problematic at 4 months (no naps!) and I would nurse to sleep and she would also sleep at my breast.  It became too much for me emotionally and physically was very draining as she often ate every hr or 2 hrs- I definitely had a snacker!  So I decided to change all of this- a friend referred me to BW and I haven't looked back since.  I used PU/PD to extend her naps and also change the nursing to sleep at bedtime and get on a 3 hr routine.  It was a rough two weeks but we got through it and now she is a very good independent sleeper.  I do recommend the technique but you have to be committed to it.  There is a lot of crying involved at first.  If you think you might want to try it feel free to PM me with any questions.

She does get some A time usually before the E simply because her awake time is still somewhat limited.  Also I can never do tummy time after eating because she will spit it all up :roll: 

Our combo/ideal 3-3.5 hr schedule:

5:30-6:00 E- bf
7:15 S- Nap- 1.5 to 2 hrs
9:30 E- bf  10:30 solids (2 oz cereal w/ 2oz bm and 1 oz fruit)
11:00 S- Nap- 2 hrs
1:00 E- bf
2:30 S- Nap- 1 hr to 2 hrs
4:00 E- bf
5:30- had bath, top off bf and sleep for the night

Schae- thanks for info on nightmares.  That is totally what it sounds like- a shriek!  Oh, scared me out of my skin- my dh too She didn't do it tonight so maybe she just had a tough time.  When I changed her sheet in the morning (dh had done a bad diaper job :lol: ) I found a dead ant so maybe that crawled on her or something?  Just a theory?

For whoever had constipation with rice cereal? I had this too plus dd got really bad gas, switched to oatmeal and have had none of these problems.

Will respond to others later- she's awake early from nap!!

[Jaime]

welcome tracy!  we're on a 4-hour schedule too... our day is modified a bit cause i just went back to work, but here's the jist of it:

7am wake & eat
9-10:30 nap
11 eat
12:30 cereal (he seems to like it again!  )
1 or 1:30-close to 4 nap
3:30/4 eat
7:30-8 bath & pjs & eat & bed

i will throw in a catnap around 5pm if he did not have a good afternoon nap. 

Branwen - i totally think they can have nightmares.  i would watch either kids sleeping & at times it looks like they're in REM sleep, which means they're dreaming, right?  so why couldn't they be bad or good?  i thinkit's a bit early for actua night terrors though.  just MHO

Julieb - i pretty much didn't go to church for the first couple of months of either babies' life.  with dd it was pretty easy since she was up before the 11am service.  so we'd get there & feed her & she'd be fine.  with ds, it's been a bit harder since he was normally sleeping till halfway through.  it depended on his week; sometimes i'd just get him up a little early & go and he would be fine.  now that he's on a new schedule, though, i think we might make it more often.  i didn't put jaina in the nursery until about 10 months, and probably will do the same for luke.  we have a cry room, though, so that's where we go.

Schae - sometimes it just takes forever for them to get used to certain foods.  i'd just keep offering every so often.  have you tried yellow squash, sweet potatoes, or green beans.  those were some of dd's favorites.  i made the food too - so much cheaper!

Tarri - hope this week goes better for you.  HUGS!!

Heather - i have no idea about the lilypie...might want to post in lounge or introduction forum...

i think luke is either sick or has another ear infection (i hope not!!!!).  he was so miserable last night & still seems to be during his nap this morning.  thank goodness for tylenol!!!!!!!!!

[Deb_in_oz]

welcome Tracy.  what are your girls' ages - could not tell from your signature. We are finally on a 4 hr (mostly) EASY as of this month. our general start time is 7:30 sometimes earlier.

7:30 wake and eat
9:30 - 11 nap (can be anywhere from 45 min - 1hr 45 but no matter what she gets 1 hr 30 in her cot to rest for both naps)
11:30 eat
12:40/1pm - nap # 2 (1hr 30 in cot no matter what - will nap various lengths)
3:30 eat
5/5:30pm attempt 45 min catnap (earlier if naps did not go well &  if bad 2nd nap, then i let her sleep up to 1hr 30 here)
6:45 start bottle, then bath
7/7:15 finish bottle and bedtime by 7:30

i think we are starting our 6 months growth spurt - this afetr noon she fed really well at 3:30 (downed 7+ oz straight away) and woke from nap cranky and hungry.  Dh offered her food at 6pm b/c i was out and he was sure she was hungry even at 5:30 or so.  she drank another 4 1/2 oz (we gave her the rest of the feed at normal time) am curious to see how DF goes and then tomorrow.  How long did 6 mo growth spurt ;last for you guys?  we were supposed to start rice cereal this weekend but were too busy and did not get around to it  :oops:

Heather - i looked at the lilypie site and they have an option where you can choose to have a photo with your ticker. if you go and do a new one you can add it.  i tried and i could not add 2 tickers as the BW profile said it was too big so i gave up. 

i finally posted pics in the photo gallery but will add a couple here as well in case most of you missed it.  The first os Olivia ernjoying her exersaucer which has been a fantastic purchase.  then alex last weekend at the beach.

[thitz]

Hi Debra, very cute photos!  Thanks for mentioning about your growth spurt.  Since our babies are exactly the same age, I'm going to keep a close eye on Emily.  she hasn't had a growth spurt in at least 2 months.  I'm also seriously thinking about starting the rice cereal, because if you count the weeks our lo's are 6 months old already, even though in months they aren't quite yet there.

We went out on the boat with the inlaws yesterday.  And amazingly all went really well.    I handed Emily over to her grandpa and the rest of us went swimming for about 15 mins then I passed her to dh and got another 30 mins swim.  She's been horrible with naps on the boat and I was so scared to even try.  So I ended up folding a very cushy blanket up and laying her on top between bolsters and throwing a flannel swaddle over her head and that's it.  And she eventually just got drowsy listening to our voices and slept for half an hour!!!!

I still haven't slept for more than 2 hours straight in quite a few days now.  Hopefully things will get better in the night soon!

Tarri

[julieb]

Deb, cute photos!  Your DDs are just darling!! 

Asher's growth spurt lasted 4 days this time.  He went through it a week & a half before he turned 6 months (just like his 3 month growth spurt).  I kinda wonder if it's because he went 9 days overdue?   :shock:

[Leah's Mom]

Hello All!!!!! I have not been intentionally avoiding you! I fianlly took myc omputer in to get repaired, major virus issues and I still do not have it back! I fianlly came to my mother's house today so i could catch up. Although i see there has been 4 more pages since I last posted!!!!!!! I breifly read thru them, once my computer is back up and running I will post responses! Just a quick few for now....

Welcome Tracy and Julie B.!!! Our little family is growing! We are so pleased to have you join us. I'm hoping you, Julie B, can help me with pacifier weaning!  :wink:

Deb - Adorable pictures!!!!!! Your little girls are so very cute!

Thanks for all the congrats about the teeth, if there was ever a week i needed to be on this website it was the past week when I was computerless!!!!!! We have two bottom teeth, but they are just hanging out down by the gums. They are sharp, but it's just like they don't want to push all the way thru, and boy is my baby CRABBY!!!!! Teething sucks!!!!!! A question for some experinced moms. How often do you give Tylenol when they are teething? Leah had her 6 month shots on Thursday (shots and teeth!  :shock: ) So she had Tylenon Thursday night, then some Friday morning. So I was reluctent to give it to her Fri or Sat night, but I think she may have needed it. Is it bad to give it so many nights in a row? I don't want to drug her....

Well, I best visit with my mother since I came to use her computer!!! i promise I will post more when i get back my computer - Monday or Tuesday. Take care!!!

Sorry about all of the spelling mistakes, this keyboard is alot different than mine and home, it seems the faster I type the more errors I make!

[dkjokisch]

Welcome Tracy!  We're still on a three-hour schedule because Maya is ebf, and we wouldn't get enough feeds in otherwise. 

It's been a busy few days!  Maya has been super-cranky this weekend.  We can't seem to get more than a 45-minute nap out of her, and she's just generally ill-tempered.  We think it might be teething (having pretty much ruled out all other possibilities), but there's nothing showing yet.  We've been trying to prep our guest room to paint it, but she's not letting us get much done.

I can't remember who asked what but here goes...

Maya's growth 6-mos growth spurt started a week before the 6mos mark and lasted about 10 days (but we were travelling and there were other disrupting factors).

The only time I took her to church, we went on Saturday evening (we're Catholic), and it coincided with her longer late afternoon / early evening awake period.

[sedona314]

HI everyone!

Julie B and Tracy Welcome!

Deb, great pics.

Branwen, I havent gotten a notification about PM's,  I will check after this post.

Thanks for the responses regarding swaddling.  I really dont want to stop the paci yet for Matthew.  It is great for calming him (and us) cause he is a screamer!  He likes to scream, happy or sad.  I was hoping it was a phase, lol, but he's not growing out of it.  He also doesnt seem addicted to it, but it sure does help when he gets cranky. He pulls it out of his mouth a lot and puts it in backwards - he just cant seem to get it back in yet.  Does that mean I shouldnt stop swaddling until I wean him off the paci? 

Christine, did you stop swaddling Leah yet?  ANd who else is still swaddling?  its a huge issue over here and Im trying to decide whether or not to do it.

Otherwise, Matthew is doing good.  He has been teething a lot and screaming a lot    but he laughs too.  I'm still always tired.  He is getting up around 2:30 and 5:30 then 6:30 for the day.  If he would sleep til 7:00, I would like it a lot better.  We could also do without the 5:30 wake up. 

The La Leche person I talked to said that LLL recommends the first foods to be:  Avacado, Banana, and Sweet Potato.  They dont recommend rice cereal yet.  Thats why I started with sweet potato which I blended up with formula or ebm.  He loves it.  Next we are going to Pears, cause the BW recommends it in her book as a very good first food.

I was wondering if we could start a new thread, so we dont have to page through thirty plus pages?  Maybe we could just head it Jan/Feb babies Part II?

If anyone is for this please post it and we'll decide who should start the thread if you all agree.

Hugs to everyone.

Julie

Matthew Spirited 1/31/05

PS - Matty is huge compared to the lbs you guys are posting for your los!

[alligirl]

I started a new thread for you ladies.  Called Jan/Feb 05 babies chat. 

Enjoy!