6 mo. old EASY - can't get it right

[Mjaz]

Yeah, I told DH he wasn't helping my new Buddhist mother mindset with the alarm situation. Ha ha.  He rolled his eyes at me, I believe.

Yes, C_mother, I think he has high sleep needs.  4 hours during the day and 11 at night - from what I can tell.  I do think his A times were so low b/c of needing to catch up on OT.  This morning he went 2:25, but woke after 1:06 (?) with hiccups...I have definitely figured out that I will NEVER know with Elijah whether he has taken and OT or UT nap b/c he always, always wakes alert and happy.  I guess that's not a terrible problem to have.  So for now I'm just continuing to go off of his cues...and waiting to see what he does with his A times.  There's no way we can drop the CN for now...

Elf, good job holding off on the feed!  Yay!  And yes, E is very sensitive to OT in that last A time.  Sounds like your LO needed that 20 min nap.  As C_Mother said, until A times are SOLIDLY at 3 hours, it's tough to do 2 naps.  It may be 8/9 months before we make that transition, I think

Kate, how's Austin doing?

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

We are not good.  Well actually, I am not good.  Austin is somehow just fine and dandy today after he was up, mostly screaming, for 4 hours last night.  I think it's probably teeth although I'd like to think it's routine-related so that I might have a chance to do something about it.  Ugh.

Hope you're all doing better than we are. 

[Mjaz]

(((HUGS Kate))))  Sorry...I would think pain...poor guy.  Poor Mummy.

[elf]

So sorry Kate - 4 hours is tough.  I would be at breaking point  Last night my boy slept from 7pm to 4am.  Went to him and he had escaped his swaddle!  I re-swaddled and put his dummy in.  Took just under an hour for him to go back to sleep (I did not feed him, this is night 2 with no night feeds).  He didn't seem so p*ssed of!  Just trying to work out how to go back to sleep.  He started the day at 6.30am.  I gave a 20 min cat nap yesterday as well as like E Melinda, all those stirrings were definitely OT.  I think I will be re-joining you and maybe transition this catnap at 9/10 months as well!!!!!  Maybe we will have to start a whole other thread in a few months time again for it!!!!  But I totally agree.  After mucking him around for the past 6 weeks all I have learned is not to 'push' him before he is ready.  Even when I pushed for 2.45mins/3 hours activity time and he did longer day naps, he clearly couldn't cope with the large activity and I think OT just built up.  Anyway, things are looking up here and I am hoping that tonight we will have a shorter time in re-settling if he wakes again.  I don't even go in to the room with a bottle, so I can't cave.  I hope you all have a good night - especially you Kate

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

He didn't seem so p*ssed of!  Just trying to work out how to go back to sleep.

This is exactly how Austin was.  He just had to figure out how to go back down without eating.  An hour isn't too bad! And at least he made it until 4am, that's great!  I'm still doing a 4-ish am feed.    I'm going to have to join you in dropping that soon.

So we had a MUCH better night.  Wonderful Wendy told me to try swapping his meds (ie Tylenol at bedtime and Motrin later on) and he slept until 4:30!! I was so so happy.  Another night or 2 like that and I'll feel remotely normal again.  He is, of course, equally happy this morning as he was yesterday!  Crazy kid.

Hope all of you had good nights, too. 

[C_mother]

So glad to hear the pain meds worked!  I hope that everyone is feeling more rested today -- it is amazing what a little sleep can do 

Elf - how are the 20 mins CNs working for you?  I plan to try them, but for whatever reason, I always just let him go to 30mins.  With these shorter nights, I think that we could use the extra 10mins really    I just hope that the shorter nights don't become a habit.  Do you find a difference in the length of his night with/without the CN?

So for now I'm just continuing to go off of his cues...and waiting to see what he does with his A times.  There's no way we can drop the CN for now...

I know the feeling. So unfair - they don't need it, yet they do. argh.

Hopefully everyone is getting some rest 

[Mjaz]

Well, Eli has a cold and was up on and off most of the night - so I have a little OT monster on my hands.  JUST IN TIME for daylight savings!  Ugh.  Doing my best to get him as much rest as possible today...

Hope you are all doing BETTER :0

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Yuck, Melinda. Poor Elijah!!     Hope he feels better soon.


Well, guess it's my turn to be doing ok.  Slightly short naps yesterday but another 12h night with 1 waking (and Wendy's med schedule).  So I'm a happy lady today.

Sleepy vibes to all of you!! 

[elf]

Hello, we're doing better - just suffering in another heatwave over here though!  My boy slept from 7pm til 5.20am without a peep.  Had to give the dummy at 5.20am and he went back to sleep though I would say it was a bit of a 'light sleep'.  He was up properly at 6.30am.  That was night 4 with no feeds.  Not only that, how that milk isn't offered, he wakes up happy and plays in his cot til around 7am when I get him up and feed him.  Our bottles and food is going so much better without those 2 night feeds. 

C-Mother.  I give DS a 20 min catnap MAX!  I walk him in the pram at around 4.15pm, swaddled and make sure the pram is covered.  I wake him up after 20 mins if he hasn't woken himself up.  I think the way we will phase out the catnap is keep walking him and maybe some days he won't take it and somedays he will.  If he begins to start the day early and not go back to sleep with the dummy then I will get rid of it completely though I think he will slowly wean himself off it. 

Melinda - Hope the cold gets better, that's all you need

[Mjaz]

Glad you guys are doing well.  Elf - GREAT news on the night feed front.  Every time I seem to be getting to a place where I'm going to tackle our one NF, something goes awry :/  Now that he's sick, we've been giving him small bottles when he wakes - if it's been longer than 5 hours or so.  Last night he STTN, but was up at 4am and was having trouble breathing - so I APOP'd him till he woke at 5:40.  Trying my best to get him back on routine today so we can take advantage of daylight savings.

Talk to you all soon!

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Poor Elijah, he sounds miserable!  I hear you on just APOPing to get him through.  Sorry you're both having such a tough time.

Nice work, Elf!!  I think once things settle for us that night feed is going to be out as well.  But then I feel like I need to add another milk feed to the day - did you do that?  A is only getting 4 milk feeds/day including his night feed and I don't feel like he can go to 3 quite yet.  So that would mean between milk feeds and solids I'd basically spend all day feeding him!

We had a not-so-great night over here. I think his short naps of the past few days caught up with him since his 1.5h NW was more of an OT-seeming waking than a painful one, plus I DF'd him Motrin just a couple of hours before he woke.  Anyhow, it was one of those long NWs where I had only been in bed an hour and a half before he woke (because I was dumb and decided to stay up until 11 watching TV - what was I thinking, I know better with this kid!!) so I was super cranky and having trouble dealing.  I had to walk away a couple of times.  Ugh.  I finally fed him, knowing that I shouldn't, and a bit after that he went down.  He's down for his first nap now, fingers crossed it's a good one and we can get back on track!

I am definitely looking forward to DST.  Yesterday we tried to get in a nice walk after DH got home from work and between that and dinner and bath and a 6pm bedtime (those bad naps....) it was a huge rush!  If I can get bedtime to 7 or 7:30 with the time change I'll be so happy!

[Mjaz]

I know what you mean...is there anything I'm not thinking through with DST?  My DH feels like he'll revert to the early bedtime and early wake after several days...  Hmmm... I am praying it helps us - Elijah was in meltdown-I-need-to-go-to-bed at 5:45 last night :/  I know he's sick, but seems like he's in this rut of early bed, early wake.  I'd love for it to be just an hour later!

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

I don't think we're missing anything.  From what I've read on here people say to just enjoy the shift (in the spring anyhow).  Perhaps he'll revert after a bit but I can't sort out why.  I've been thinking about this, too.  With the time change they will be more in line with going to bed when it gets dark (at least for a while) so I would think that will help?  I have my fingers crossed for sure!!

[elf]

Well last night we had 12 hours 7pm - 7am of sleep.  Not even a dummy re-plug.  He self settled himself a few times in the night and I think because he has forgotten that food was ever an option he has begun to learn, proper self settling techniques.  The 12 hour night came after no cat nap yesterday as he didn't need it due to the sleeps.  I had to wake him at 7am!    Breaking the feeding habit was a very good idea for us.  Kate - yes he does 4 bottles during the day and 3 solids  but once the night feeds were gone the day feeds improved so are easy to give to him...  Hope DLS creates a sleep in for you all....

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Yay Elf!!!!! What great news!!  I'm so inspired! 

So is he taking bigger bottles for the day feeds now?

Maybe we need to get rid of that last MOTNF after all.