Support for Raising Spirited Babies

[macgrl26]

Hey guys... I feel like each day w/ my LO is different! I guess that is the fun of a spirited. Our currant challange is that it is sooo hard to get Wyatt to sleep in his crib, wind down is like 2 hours, and when we try to cluster feed, he is up the entire time! We rock to wind down then I stop rocking. His eyes are wide open, if you lay him down in the crib he will cry, shh/pat will not work at that time if he is still awake when you lay him down. If I can get his eyes closed b4 the crib, he wakes up when I lay him down, then we can do the shh/pat, but it is an hour! Every time even during the night. Any thoughts???

[benandmichelle]

Hi macgrl26,

Can jsut say that things will definatly get better and just keep doing what you are doing. Not much help really but it is true.
I am guessing your LO is really young right?
I remember those days of swaddling and sh/patting. I thought they would never end. They did and now we have other problems to replace them...but hey...things DO progress!
Keep going!

Michelle

[macgrl26]

Hi Michelle...

     Yes, he is just about 6 weeks old! I go back to work in 2 weeks and hopefully he will come around for me! I am not looking foward to 3 times up a night and then dealing with holiday shoppers!    (Retail!!)Thank goodness for MAC concealer! That, and I will have my husband taking one of those cries! I am giving him a pass while I am on maternity leave. He gets Friday nights right now and we share Saturday nights.


Trish

[AnnaBenwell]

Just marking this spot, Can't wait to read all the posts, but really don't have time now. I'm Anna and will be back to talk to you all about Harry!!!!

[pbmom]

Hi ladies - hope all is well. 

Just wanted to pop on to say that we are doing so good with nighttime (JINX - LOL).  B will go in her crib wide awake and sing herself to sleep.  I now put some music on for her and it really seemed to help ALOT! 

For naps, our winddown is down to 10 min now - thank heavens!  I was helping too much - what an idiot!  She was trying to tell me...hey, put me down...I can do this.  We now swaddle, walk around the room, and then in the crib wide awake.  Give her the paci and she will fuss (sometimes yell, but hey, she's spirited) and spit it out, so I give it again.  I've learned that she really wants to nap on her side (DD1 did this too).  I think she is so sick of that darn swaddle, but we've been working on weaning at night only and are not there yet.  Anyone have success just taking the swaddle away cold turkey? 

[horankd]

Hi, my name is Kimberly and I am mommy to Travis, a spirited 14 month old.  Is this forum for toddlers, or strictly babies.  If babies only is there a forum for toddlers?  Thanks!

[Prettybub]

Hi Im Melanie. I have a spirited little guy Jaxson. Sleeps well during the night. Often only fussing not waking at night. BUT daytimes are horrid. We get maybe three 1 hour naps a day..and he is so cranky! We use to be able to pop in the dummy and he would sleep a bit longer but not this last week or two! Its been draining! Hoping to rid him of his dummy in the next few weeks as he pulls it out and goes to sleep with out it but wont go back to sleep without it. Its a nasty circle!

[benandmichelle]

Hi all,

We had such a good day yesterday: He went down for 2 naps without ANY crying...really calm and pm nap was 2 hours and at night he went down without me having to do anything. Outr windown is really calm and relaxed and I think it is helping. However the last week or so of nights has been horrible!! He will wake between 3-5 and just whinge until he cries and I go in then is so unsettled it keeps us awake. I offer him the breast as this used to calm him and in the past he would go back to sleep often very easily after a feed till 7 but he refuses it now. He doesn't need a night feed anymore but just keeps waking anyway. Don't know why.
Macgrl26....definatly go cold turkey on the swaddle....by the time we did it he was too strong and wriggling out anyway. Was more harm than good. The progression was natural. You might have a  bad night or 2 but it is worth less trouble in the end!
Yep...we have to wean the dummy sometime soon too. Fun Fun

Michelle

[pbmom]

Michelle - thanks.  Glad to hear someone did cold turkey with swaddle weaning.  I am going to do it this weekend as my mom and DH will be here and I can be up all night if need be to get it done.  How old was your lo when you did it?  Mine is 19 weeks.  She seems to love it, but it seems to annoy her so much now.  I think she wants to flip onto her tummy and it just makes her mad when her arms are stuck at her sides.  I'm such a wimp...I think I'll do nights as we have been trying one arm out at night.  She puts herself back to sleep at night, so I'm not sure what the prob is with the pm nap...someone else told me it just is usually time and that the naps "mature" at diff. points.  PM one usually by 6 months - anyone find that true?

I've gotta say having a spirited one is interesting...a lot of fun sometimes, but sometimes trying too.  Sometimes I feel like I want to screech right along with her at the top of my lungs too - anyone else?

[AnnaBenwell]

Yea everyday and i do screech sometimes just to let it all out!!! Your not being a whimp at all, the thing is with us mum's we dread doing things so bad, that when it comes to it, it never is quite as bad as you thought it would be. I remember having about 2 months of saying that bed time dummy has to go (I was dreading it to say the least) But it all worked out just fine :)Good luck for the weekend, and remember we are all here to support you. Take Care Anna x

[benandmichelle]

pbmom,

TBH I would say the swaddle has nothing to do with short naps or sleep problems at your LO's age. In fact I am almost sure it is doing more harm than good. Maybe it is just what she needs to move on to the next stage. You might be really surprised on the weekend. My LO was about 14 weeks when we did it. I was scared too but it actually made little difference. By that I mean that things certainly did not get WORSE. He had wake ups sure but not worse than when he had the swaddle he would jusrt wriggle out of it anyway. Your LO at 19 weeks must be finding that so restricting.
Good luck and go for it! I am sure it will be easier than you think. Let us know

Michelle

[DJs mummy]

Hi ladies.  I'm afraid to say I think I may be having to join this thread     Hannah seems to be getting more and more spirited by the hour!  We are  currently battling with naps and feeding really badly. 
The first 4 months of Hannah's life she was definitely textbook/angel.  I honestly found it easy having a newborn and a toddler around the house. Boy have things changed in the last 6 months
Some days I feel like walking out and giving up    Obviously I never would but I know I'm in good company here saying that as you all understand the frustrations I'm referring to.

One question I have to start me off is what do you do for a wind down?  Hannah hates being cuddled and 9/10 if I sit with her on my knee for more than about 5 seconds she just struggles and fights me to get down.  Most nap times I start out with good intentions of sitting quietly for a few minutes and just calming down but she puts up such a fight I end up plonking her in the cot and leaving her to it.  And at the moment every nap is a battle to get her to go to sleep.  She climbs all around her cot and moans but just won't settle to sleep.

TIA

[maman_d_emily]

Hi to all,
It's been some time that I didn't come to this thread and I can see that there is a lot of new people.  Pbmom, I went cold turkey about the swaddle and didn't make much difference.  Hazel, I do rocking with pacifier and blankie, while singing a song at this time for wind down.  She will fight me for a minute but then will relax.
I will come back later.. I have do go somewhere.
Annie

[hannahbanana]

Hazel--my LO is like my cat--hates to be cuddled unnecessarily.  I read to her for every winddown.  She loves it.  She listens to my voice and looks at the pictures, and now she wants to hold the book and turn the pages.  Give her something to DO.  Plus, starting positive associations with reading is always a good thing.  Honestly, I had pitted battles until we started reading to her at about 2.5-3 months.

[Grace's Mom]

HELP:   Quick Question for you all....

I am having to go back to work partime and will, for the first time, need to leave Grace with someone (an in home day care).  She has to have a room dark, quiet and with out stimulation in order to take a nap.  I thought we had it all planned out that we'd take her after she woke from her nap but found out last night that 2 days a week she'll have to sleep at someone else's with other children running around and possibly in the same room.

Any suggestions?  She does not sleep out...crib, stroller, etc.  Never has since she was 3 months old, but does well in her room, by herself.

Also, she always wakes at the 30 minute mark, but then, if it's quiet and nothing catches her attention she'll fall back to sleep, but if she hears something or see something we are done for.     I don't mind normally because we are at home and I can monitor things myself, but with her being around other kids I am not sure how this will work. 

Any words of advice, encouragement.  I am really nervous as she is on only one nap and if that doesn't happen it will make the rest of the day super crazy and her nights will get all jumpled.

Thanks.
Melissa