once perfect sleeper gone crazy...

[charmie]

Mind if I butt in  ??  Sorry I didn't have time to read through the whole thread.  But I read your first post where it says your lo was a champion sleeper, then got a cold and then it all went wonky.  My thought is that while she was sick she also changed her routine, so when she got better and you tried to put her back into her old perfect routine it wasn't working for her anymore.  Could this be the case?  Sorry if it has already been mentioned.

Anyway, if I am making any sense, I would like to see your routine as it was when everything was going well.  And also would help to know what age she was then and what age she is now. 


xxx
charm

[~Alexa~]

It hasn't been mentioned, Charm!! And it sounds very logical.  So, Jes try to post your routine as it was and how old she was!

About OT, try w2s to extend her naps, or do some APOP to get her to sleep longer.   

Big hugs, Jess!! Hang in there!! And don't feel bad about last night!! You also need to sleep, so if she slept on your chest, that's fine for the moment, until we get her out of the OT and back on track!! You need to rest too!!

[Leia and Sabrina's Mom - Jessica]

Thanks Charm. THat is a good point. I just thought I would post my day today and I will take a look at what she was doing when the sickness, NW started. It was only a matter of three weeks but it is possible that her routine needed a fix anyway. So my mom came to help today so I could rest and get my milk back.

We had a 1.5 nap this morning. my mom do some APOP to get her to sleep and then W2S. she made me go to bed during all of this and I made her promise to try W2s. So it must have worked cause I woke up to DD after her nap which was 1.5 after I went to sleep. 

She was still OT so we didn't wait her regular 3 ish hours for her next nap. My mom was totally on board and she didn't another APOP for her second nap. I know i am breaking rules here but at least it was my mom doing it and she just needed to sleep. I couldn't put her down bec. I am too overtired and stressed to be patient with her and I know she senses it. Anyway - my mom did W2S again but this time it didn't work. she did 45 and then was up. SHe was happy however so we didn't stress. This was at 2:50.

Around 4:00 she was getting really tired but I didn't want to push her another hour or two before bed. So - I took her out in the stroller for a LONG walk. She fell asleep after about a half hour and slept for about 30-45 mins and was up right when I got home at 5:15. PS - it felt great to get some exercise. I love to run and haven't done one mile since I got pregnant.

So - I probably tried to put her to bed too early but we had dinner and a long bath and some books and then some B/F and then she was in by 7:30. only 2hr 15 after she got up but I am still trying to get her out of her OT. I didn't use APOP but she didn't want to sleep right away. To maintain my sanity...instead of fighting her...I left her in the crib and went to make dinner as long as she wasn't crying. When she would cry...I would go in and do PD. When she clearly wanted to stay down...I stayed with my firm hand on her chest and she was asleep by 7:50.

I am trying not to get my hopes up for this evening but maybe she will have less NW than the previous nights.

What do you ladies think??? DH goes away for the weekend on THursday...I need this to work itself out so I don't really lose it while he is gone. Mom is coming to help me for the weekend.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU THUS FAR!!!

Jessica

[~Alexa~]

I think you did a great job today!! And it is great that your mom came to help you!! My hunch is that if she had better naps today, she will not have so many NW! (hopefully, fingers crossed)

May be w2s didn't work for the 2nd nap b/c she was a bit UT when you put her down.  When I used w2s, it never worked if my lo was UT. 

Don't worry about using some APOP to get her out of the OT cycle.  We can deal with that later, the important thing is that your lo is getting some sleep and she is happier!! 

How did the night go, Jess?  Keep us posted! And whenever you get the time, try to post what Charm suggested so we can see what was working, and compare it with what is going on right now!

Alexa

[Leia and Sabrina's Mom - Jessica]

Well the fact that she caught up on some sleep def. helped. We were in bed and asleep by 7:45....no NW until 3:30. At that time I heard her crying, jumped out of bed...but by the time I had pants on and made it to her room, she had resettled herself and stopped crying and went back to sleep! YEAH!!!

After that she woke at 5:00 and was crying and I couldn't really settle her....(honestly I didn't try that hard). I let her sleep on me again but only bec. I am still sooooo tired and it was 5 am already. We slept until 7:00. I am going to post my old routine when I have some time later today. I know that I was being really lax about my consistancy and maybe that is why things started to get wonky. That and her cold. I was getting cabin fever here since the winter has been so long and I am sure that I was doing too much with her.

Thanks again....I just hope we nap today!!

[~Alexa~]

Yaaaaaaayyyy!!!  Those are great news!!! 

Good luck today!! keep us posted!!

[Leia and Sabrina's Mom - Jessica]

YAY! THANKS AGAIN TO ALL OF YOU!!

PS - I just did W2S...I have no idea if I did it right...

can someone explain??? I guess we will see if she wakes up and then I will know if I did it right?

[Leia and Sabrina's Mom - Jessica]

ps- it didn't work argh

[~Alexa~]

So there are two methods of w2s.
1.  You stir your baby at the 25 min mark (you will have to experiment with timing).  This is supposed to help her get into the next sleep cycle.  Then you leave her and she will get into deep sleep by herself.
2.  Apply pressure on her arms and legs at the 38 min mark (when they transition to the next sleep cycle) and help her get through the jolts.  Here's a link with a better explanation.  http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64168.0

I used a combination of both.  At the beginning, I got into my lo's room at the 30 min mark, I touched his head and he would move (he didn't wake), then I waited for him to jolt.  When he jolted, I applied pressure on his arms and legs (He sleeps on his side).  Sometimes, he didn't open his eyes, I kept applying pressure until he got into deep sleep.  (20 min or so).  Sometimes, he opened his eyes, I ignored that, and kept applying the pressure. (I hid from him, so he wouldn't see me, b/c if he saw me, then it was game over. He saw my arms, but not my face) Sometimes, he would close his eyes again and fall back asleep. (even though he closed his eyes, I kept applying pressure b/c sometimes he would jolt again).  Other times, he totally woke up, so I shpatted him back to sleep.  I found it was easier to shpat him back to sleep if I started doing it as soon as he woke up.  Just remember that at the beginning, you may be in your lo's room for a long time.  (sometiems it took me 40 min), so try to have a chair so you can sit there as you apply the pressure, so you are comfortable.   

Sometimes, w2s doesn`t work all of the times.  When my lo was Ut, it never worked!

HTH
Alexa

[charmie]

You're so lucky that your mum is on board with BW. 

Consistency is key when you are in the process of establishing a routine.  When the routine is established you can relax a bit depending on the adaptability of your lo.  Having said this, I know it is so hard when you are exhausted.  Maybe try to get all the rest you can for a couple of days and then give it a good go?


xxx
charm

[Leia and Sabrina's Mom - Jessica]

I am frustrated because she has been on BW since 7 weeks and was the model baby. I still love her...don't get me wrong...we are just having a rough patch that I am having a hard time fixing. I am going to into a lovey and spend the rest of the week and weekend with my mom trying to get her back to her long naps. I had a really really crappy day trying to do W2S and my LO is exhausted. I guess babies just change. I should be glad that I got so much sleep for the last 7 months. I know that all of this is part of being a mom which I wouldn't trade. I am too exhausted to post more stories of her day at the moment but I am sure I will be back tomorrow with more frustration. Thank you all for listening.

[~Alexa~]

How did the night go Jess?

Have you tried feeding her during the NWs?

[charmie]

Jess I feel for you    But it's normal that babies change their routine as they grow.  You just need to find it again.  if the foundations were good, I am sure she can go back to being the champion sleeper she was.

In the meantime I am still waiting for the previous routine etc. if you want to post them of course.  That's the only way I can help you.


xxx
charm

[Leia and Sabrina's Mom - Jessica]

Thanks both of you. I am going to post my routine charm..I just have a really busy day today. I honestly think that the key is that she is still OT. we had a terrible day with naps yesterday....(I mean really terrible...lots of crying...I def. waited 15 mins too long to put her down for the 2nd nap and she was OT...) I finally got her to sleep and then I had to wake her at 5:15 cause she would have never gone to bed. I should have skipped the nap instead of trying to make it happen and put her to bed at 5. Anyway - the night was awful. 4NW argh. Not feeding her anymore during them. It is clear she isn't hungry...she is just OT. I really really believe that. The feedings helped when she was having the growth spurt but that is clearly over. It was a terrible timing thing....OT having NW and then growth spurt at the same time...that is when the nights got REALLY bad. Now they are back to just BAD...and I really feel she needs catch up. however...my milk is doing much better!

Again - the truth is about my old routine....after she turned 7 months...she was so good at adapting and was such a champion sleeper that I stopped looking at the clock or really worrying about when and how long her naps were. I don't know that I have a routine to post really. I let it fall by the wayside...when at one point I was charting everything. 11weeks - 8 months were amazing as far as naps, sleep etc (my YOU time was incredible). And then I got lax about it...I had cabin fever....and she was on a random schedule. Still sleeping twice a day...just not at any specific time or in any specific place or for any specific length of time. I will still try to post something however, I am really not sure it is relevant. I just need to focus on getting her back on track. Like you said - if she did it once...it is in her to do it again.

I am not trying to be stubborn...I am just trying not to go completely mental.

[charmie]

HUGS hun    If you're not sure about the routine you were doing at the time, maybe just post what you are doing daily so we can help you tweak here and there.


xxx
charm