Transition to 3.5/4hr EASY - Questions???

[* Paula *]

Fantstic news on the long stretch of sleep  Keep us posted on how your day goes.

[JenK]

Zach was a comfort nurser, and I was also advised to do smaller feeds more often.  Didn't really work for him though as he would freak out if I ended a feed "early" (lol) so he ended up doing large frequent feeds (sigh).  Also, don't like the idea of feeding directly before laying them down.  The DF was always tricky for us for that reason - his tummy was full and then he was being layed down immediately after.  Not generally good for reflux.  Best thing is to be upright for 30min after a feed.
Anyway, am SOOO glad you got a good sleep finally (those nights are draining) but would still second the advice to get the reflux looked at again and perhaps some meds.  I did lots of stuff, same as Jean, to help the reflux but nothing REALLY helped in the long run until we got the right meds.  THEN I had a totally different baby.

[hrk]

I agree Jen, he ate every 2.5-3 hrs at 5 mo and had about 7-8 oz (I think~it is really a blur.)  No wonder he was 24 (thats right) at his 6 mo check.  Only on meds he went automatically to 4 hr feedings (easy finally would work smoothly), and I had to offer it; just to give you an idea.  Great all day except anything to do with sleep, poor babe.  I took him a lot to the dr, and I think they thought I had new mom syndrome.  Don't get me wrong, adjusting the day helped out daytime sleep (never 2 hrs but enough), but NOTHING solved nights.  If we had a night with 2 wakings (like we did once or twice after weaning the bottle) by the third night we were back to the regular 8-14.  6 nw was a good night.  SIGH.

[charmie]

Mamahen, how is it going??  You got some nice tips here 


xxx
charm

[mamahen]

Thanks, everyone.  It's going VERY well during the day - hit or miss at night. 

A good day for us is: 

E: (3oz.) up at 6AM
Active play until 7:45
E: (3-4oz.)
Sleep 8AM-11
E: (3oz.) up at 10AM
Active play until 11:30 or 12
E: (3-4oz.)
Sleep 12-2
E: (3oz.)
Active play until about 4:00
S:  (catnap=45 min.)
E:(3-4 oz.)
A: Hang out with Daddy, ready for bed
E:(3oz.)
S: to bed around 7PM


A typical night is:

Bed at 7PM
wake to feed at 10:30 or 11
awake to feed again at 2:30-ish and 5-ish

with one of these returns to bed being quite difficult, taking around 30-45 min to return him to sleep

I know it hasn't truly solved the "wants to eat every three hours" dilemma, but it his given him 2 naps of 1.5-2 hrs apiece, as well as a catnap.  It's upped his food intake to an acceptable level.  (He cannot take more than a few ounces at a time - if I keep his feedings small, he does fine.  If I try more, that's when it gets tricky.) 

 

[mamahen]

Thanks, everyone.  It's going VERY well during the day - hit or miss at night. 

A good day for us is: 

E: (3oz.) up at 6AM  (i'm still trying to move it up to 7AM!)
Active play until 7:45
E: (3-4oz.)
Sleep 8AM-10
E: (3oz.) up at 10AM
Active play until 11:30 or 12
E: (3-4oz.)
Sleep 12-2
E: (3oz.)
Active play until about 4:00
S:  (catnap=45 min.)
E:(3-4 oz.)
A: Hang out with Daddy, ready for bed
E:(3oz.)
S: to bed around 7PM


A typical night is:

Bed at 7PM
wakes to feed at 10:30 or 11
wakes to feed again at 2:30-ish and 5-ish with one of these returns to bed being quite difficult, taking around 30-45 min to return him to sleep. 

This is actually an improvement, as I seem to be able to cope better with about 4 hrs. sleep at a time.

I know it hasn't truly solved the "wants to eat every three hours" dilemma, but it his given him 2 naps of 1.5-2 hrs apiece, as well as a catnap.  It's upped his food intake to an acceptable level, while keeping his feeds small  (He cannot take more than a few ounces at a time - if I keep his feedings small, he does fine: no gas, less spit-up, no painful episodes.  If I try more, that's when it gets tricky.)  During the day he is a different little man altogether, thank God. 

The nighttime issues are probably due to his internal clock telling him he still needs to eat every 2-3 hrs!  Plus, and here's the true difficulty:  PU/PD is only a pipe dream for me, because lo is not comforted by being picked up.  He will cry as hard in my arms as he will in his crib, and he seems to settle faster with less stimulation.  In lieu of PU/PD, I have a "resettling" routine:  always readjusting first his pacifier, then his body, then tucking his soft toy into his hands.  If he's adamant about screaming, he'll reject every single attempt for quite a while.  If he's ready to go back to sleep and comfy enough, he'll just snuggle in when resettled.

I am up for any suggestions and critiques.


 

[charmie]

Ok here's what I think...he is sleeping 1hr less at night (6am wake up) because he is sleeping 1hr extra during the day (8-11am).  If you want to push that wake up back to 7am you need to start putting him down later for his 1st nap, 15 mins at a time.  So I suggest you start putting him down at 8.15 for 3 or 4 days and see what happens.  If he reacts well you shift to 8.30 for another 3 or 4 days and so on.  If you get a bad reaction, suh as short naps you move back a step.


xxx
charm

[mamahen]

Oops.  11AM is a typo.  I go in 2-hr. increments, so that would be 8-10.  I'm trying not to let him oversleep.  I suppose he wakes thru the night because he can't take the typical 6-8 oz. other lo's can...

[charmie]

Ok now I'm lost LOL.  It's late and my brain has decided to shut down.  Can you post again tomorrow so the post comes up again please?

Sorry


xxx
charm

[hrk]

Sounds like tweeking the routine is helping a bit.  YEAY! 

Checking in to see if you have done anything like elevate the head of the crib and keeping upright after feeding at night for a bit.  Our lo was also a side sleeper.  Colic Solved (book likely at your library) also suggests right-side sleeping with the angled mattress can hold the tummy contents better.  Ours liked his left?  We used a positioner and were swaddling forever.  Also had the angelcare monitor to sense breathing to reduce some of my anxiety of him sleeping on his side.  Those things can help, too.  Don't think I mentioned them previously.  Sorry if I did. lol

KAT, how are things going?  Good I hope!
Best regards,
Jean

[mamahen]

We do elevate - he has become too strong for a swaddle.  It makes him very angry - and he is getting so active that he rolls off of the elevated portion of the mattress when he works up a fuss. 

That said, What I HAVE noticed making a difference is keeping him upright for 30 min. after feeding.  I put him straight into the doorway jumpster after every daytime feeding, unless we're going out, in which case he faces front in the Baby Bjorn. 

My issues have something to do with his "spiritedness," as well as the reflux.  I will post about them elsewhere and try to see if anyone else is familiar with this type of lo:  He was born April 1, so that makes him five months old, and this week he sat up and crawled - he is now pulling up on any available thing.  His brother walked at 8-9 mos, so this is nothing new.  Only, this new active growth spurt causes a lo who can only take about 3oz. at a feeding to be REEEEALLY hungry right now (wants to eat every 2 hrs) and really difficult to get to sleep more than an hour at a time (at night right now he will do 2 at a time. - DH and I are sleepless!) mostly because he's pretty twitchy from all the growth and activity.  He will not, as I've described, do PU/PD.  I can not let him CIO either, as he will go for more than an hour, no problem.  His 2 hr naps (solid for 2 weeks prior to this) plus catnap are now just a happy memory.  For example, I put him down at 12 sharp, and he woke and fussed at me (I go in every so often to re-situate him - usually works fine; he turns over, snuggles in, goes back to sleep.  Now, no way) from 1:00 until 2:00, and then I had to feed him, of course, and start over with A time. It's nearly 4:00 now, he's not showing signs of sleepy, but it's time for catnap.  He's pooped - he'll want to oversleep, I'll have to wake him, and all of this doesn't seem to have any effect @ night.  Must be the growth spurt.

Do we just wait out a growth spurt or what?
Trying to keep the ol' chin up...

[JenK]

oh my - (((HUGS))) to you, busy momma!  He certainly is a go-getter   It does seem that they go through these spurts where the routine is totally bust and nothing seems to work right - Zach does this once in a while for a week or so, and then blam, he's back to routine.  Not sure if this will happen for you too, but it has been particularly bad for us during milestones (rolling, sitting alone, crawling, standing alone, cruising, etc).  for the 2hr feeds, I would be tempted to just give more at one feeding, but I understand why you are reluctant to do that.  I'll just say that with Zach's reflux, he still drank about 7oz per feed and keeping him upright after did help quite a bit.  I forgot if you've already said whether he's on meds or not?

[charmie]

Mamahen, how do you elevate the crib?  We put blocks under the legs of the crib.

How long has this been going on?  Especially the feeding every 2hrs?  GS shouldn't last more than 3 days.  Milestones on the otherhand can really throw a spanner in your works.  Is it possible for you and DH to take turns, say 2 nights each.  That way,


xxx
charm

[mamahen]

blocks under the crib...good idea.  maybe it's a milestone.  And no, no meds.  Looking into thickening his formula, but it's when we overfeed that he gets difficult.  Today his activity times have been longer than usual, and he's easing into his naps a bit better.  Maybe a milestone.  Thanks for the support!

[charmie]

Blocks or books whatever works   I have not had 1st hand experiences with reflux, but the mums on the birth clubs all use meds for reflux.  Thickened formula is also a good idea...I think Paula uses it.  But I would try to look into some pain relief for that lo.  Have you ever had heartburn...ouchhh I would want pain relief for sure.  I'm glad today was a bit better.  Let us know how it goes.



xxx
charm