when did you start using EASY?

[le]

We started easy at 4.5mnths as this was when we discovered the bw book.

When we started we had alot of accidental parenting habbits to break  :oops:

As we had been doing esa (and no y!) we had to break the feed to sleep problem first so we kept to esa but not letting dd fall asleep feeding then we moved to feeding when she woke, this took a little while for her to get use to and to start with she was just snacking as she was not hungry when she woke.

The best thing about easy for us was the sleep. before I read the book dd would only sleep in her pram when we went out for a walk as she did not know how to get herself off to sleep so at 4.5 mnths she would only have 1/2 naps a day (exhausting) and as a result was over tired most of the time.

After a month she would take 3 naps a day and sleep most night through to 6am

[Bugsmom]

We have been doing EASY with our DD for about a week now.  We are all much happier, although still having issues with 45 min naps.  I also put back the 3am feed because we spent every night from 3 to 7 trying to get her back to sleep.  Much better than the 3-4 night feedings we were doing.  Will work on phasing out that feed in a month or two.  My mother watched her for a few hours for my b-day and could not believe how my DD did everything right at about the time I said she would, and was blown away that after her bath and cuddle took her paci and went right off to sleep! :wink:

[momofowen]

With my first child, it was about 4 or 5 months.  With Olivia however, I knew better and started right away.

[Noelle]

Right away with Zoë and at about 3 months with John 

[HeatherC]

I had initially read babywise, which I feel is a very similar concept to baby whisperer, and knew that a rountine is what I wanted to establish right away.  I also had the baby whisperer book on hand and pulled it out when I was trying to figure out DD's crying that seemed to never end.  However, those first weeks are not what the books make them out to be.  The baby won't wake to eat very easily, and has no activity time.  I didn't find babywise to be strict or cruel, just not very realistic.  I like Tracy because she gets real with you as to what to expect and assures you that some things don't always work, and that it's very hard!!!  I don't understand what other's do if they don't have a routine.  I appreciate both books for their guidance, and I take suggestions from both and throw in a little motherly instinct.
Best wishes to all!

[Lilah'sMommy]

I checked out Tracy's first book from the library when Lilah was 2 1/2 months, and realized I was already following some of the principles-- basically, she had a short activity time before sleep.  I could just swaddle her and lay her in her crib and she would go to sleep.  I never did a dream feed because she is breastfed and won't take a bottle, and how in the world do you get a baby to breastfeed while sleeping?  I never could.  She would sleep 8-10 hours at a stretch at night during this time, until about 4 months.  I guess at that point I should have been transitioning her to a four-hour routine, but either the first book doesn't tell you that or I somehow missed it.  What ended up happening, because I didn't know what I was doing, is that she'd nurse, play, nurse again, and then sleep, often feeding to sleep.  She also hit a growth spurt and started waking hungry once a night, so I just kept feeding her.  But it wasn't so bad, and didn't take so long anymore, and eventually that night feeding wasn't until 5:30 in the morning, so I didn't try to get her to go without a feeding.  Everything was manageable until teething hit and she was waking several time a night, and needing to nurse to go to sleep.  Also, around 8 months, she would try to stay up and party at bed time if she didn't conk out during the bedtime feed.  It would then take an hour or more to get her to go to sleep.  Arg!  I had started out with an Angel baby who slept great early on and then accidental parented her into a night-time devil!  Obviously, something needed to change.  First, I night-weaned.  I then found Tracy's newest book about a month ago, and wish I had had it from the beginning.  I used P.U./P.D. and within four nights Lilah was sleeping 10 1/2 to 11 1/2 hours at night, with only occasional night wakings that needed my attention (she often calls out somewhere around midnight, and by the time I have gone to the bathroom and am ready for P.U./P.D., she has gone back to sleep on her own.  She also is (usually) putting herself down for naps.  I have my Angel back!

[Melbournian]

Sabrina, your story sounds familiar! I have a very angelic baby who does wake to feed in the night.

Did you find your baby screamed when you tried PU/PD the first nights: that is when you refused to feed her as usual?

I really need to allow my husband to sleep at the moment so I'm a little afraid to try!

Melba

[evanskimberley]

from birth but wished i'd waited a little longer before starting. i was getting very stressed about the easy routine and not demand feeding, and I think that may have contributed to me having a low milk supply.
My fault, read the books during pregnancy and forgot some of the important bits, maybe they removed it when they did my c-section.!!!!

next time i'd start it at 4-6 weeks.

[maggieruth]

i just got the book out of the library and am going to start EASY after reading it.  parts of it sound really great so far and parts of it are hard. 

It makes me sad to think about giving up parts of our routine which are lovely (every moring around 10, i BF my DS to sleep in our bed whilst listening to a french language CD - its one of my fave times of the day). i could use some major encouragement around stopping this ritual. (i can just feel myself hoping that i can somehow leave it in!)

its exciting to think tho that i will actually know what my DS is crying about tho, not that he isn't a textbook baby which makes it easier.  i just want to be the best mommy i can be.

[Mariek]

I'd been watching Tracy's show on Discovery Health when I was on my Maternity Leave and ordered the book after seeing that. I'd read it cover to cover before I had DD. I took it to the hospital along with my EASY logs so for me it was pretty much from day 1 (and thank Goodness for it  - I think it helped make Grace the easy baby she was (every pun intended) and certainly saved me from going loopy in the beginning)).

love

[proudmum]

Hi everyone.  It's so interesting to hear about how / what other people are doing! 

I read the book while I was pg and thought it sounded great so I implemented easy from birth.  We live on the other side of the country from our families though, so for the first few weeks we had almost constant visitors - not easy when your're a new mum and trying to establish a routine.  But luckily my Darling lo is a textbook baby, and after a few ups and downs, we both got ourselves on track and have been doig really well. 

I'm a bit concered hearing from Mums whose lo's are a bit older than mine, and hearing about the 45 minute nap problem!  Daragh seems to be starting this now, and it takes me at least 20 mins to resettle him.  (whereas before he resettled almost straight away) Anyway, I will hope for the best (I should probably post this in the sleep forum!)  But if anyone has any advice ...

[Dina]

I started my son on EASY in the hospital ! I even printed out log forms and packed them with my stuff and filled it out in the hospital.  The midwifes were soooo impressed ! 

He is now 8 mths old and is such a happy baby (he's spirited/angel).  He knows exactly whats coming next and goes down for his naps (twice a day now) and his night-time sleep awake and falls asleep himself within 5 minutes. 

This also helps me plan my days and outings around his mealtimes and nap times.  If I go out - he will nap in his pushchair, if shopping he can usually only manage shorts naps, but then I make sure I get back home for his afternoon nap where he can have a better quality sleep in his cot.

He now sleeps through the nights, thanks to buying a sleep bag thing - they are great !  I bought him a novalty one and its green - shaped like a frog ! (from http://www.verbaudet.com or co.uk) It keeps him warm and he can't kick off the blankets like he used to - therefore sleeps through the night.

I could have ten more babies like him !

[corrina01]

I started EASY when my daughter was about 7 weeks.  I was following the Gina Ford routine, but that was so strict, I was going out of my mind.  Then I found this site bought the books, and life has been happier and my DD has been so happy.

[Gina(formerly sydnimom)]

I'm tying to implement easy for a 2 week old. Any suggestions? And type with one hand... :wink:

What did your schedule look like???

[LisbonMom]

I was offered the first book by a friend from the US while I was pg with dd#1, and reread when pg with dd#2, so for both of them EASY came pretty much from day 1. Everyone gets admired at how great my babies are (both textbook) and how easy it is to handle them. Whenever I meet a mom-to-be I tell her about BW and how it was my life-saver. We hardly have any baby books in my language so I see a LOT of accidental parenting, and it's a great feeling to know that had it not been for Tracy, I would have gone down that road too, but didn't !!!

Sara