EW with 6 month old

[nursemeg01]

here is a link about gradual weaning http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=52857.0

What I did was this: my DD typically nurses for 15 min at night. I let her nurse for the full 15 the first night and then every second night I decreased it by 3 minutes (or if her suck started to slow down). I would simply unlatch her and put her in the crib. She seriously didn't seem to care that I did this at all until we got into the single digits. What would happen then would be that I would put her in the crib, all would be well until about 15 min later. I would hear her on the monitor starting to fuss. The first night was the worst mainly because I wanted to go back to her (I hate crying) but I told myself that she was ok. Instead I just listened to her and realized that she wasn't really crying, kind of mantra'ing (she was saying AAAAH and then she'd stop for a few, then start back up). This went on for about 15 min and she fell to sleep.

We've only been feed free for 2 nights now. the first night she didn't wake up at all. I thought WOW she's got it. The 2nd night she woke up at 2, cooed for about 10 min, mantra'd for about 10 and then fell asleep. She didn't wake until 6. Although she was awake she didn't cry until 7 and that's when I went and got her. I'm curious to see what tonight brings...

[aselby]

WOW! big day over here....

karen- i'm so sorry to hear about your migraine! gosh, i sure hope you are able to get a good nights rest tonight and feel better for tomorrow. Ian sounds like a great little trooper to be such a happy guy during your ordeal at the docs. i hope your day with the inlaws tomorrow goes well....oh, and i was just wondering how long you had been doing the GW...sounds like its working well for you...i hope it goes well for us, too

meg- thanks for passing on that link. i will give it a shot starting tonight. i'm nervous and scared and excited all at the same time. he usually eat around 1230/1 and thats always a full feed, lastly about 10 mins....the next feed which is around 430/5 is alsways short so i know he doesnt need that one. should i do both at the same time or just work on the early morning one? i dont mind the one feed, i just dont want to confuse him. i mean, ya, not getting up at all would be a dream fantasy...but i dont mind if i have to do 1 a night for a bit longer.

i guess as far as the crying goes, i am a huge wimp too and HATE listening to him cry...but i do know that his cries are usually just mantra and i need to let them go. i just get so wrapped up in counting hours of sleep that i get worried if hes up crying and not sleeping instead. it will get better, right? ! it cant go on EVERY night. ugh. why cant this be easy?

so- he took a final nap today after that 2h7min A and it lasted 1 h15 mins....that was nice. he got up from that one at 330 so we'll shoot for a 630-645 bedtime tonight...we're slowly getting closer to a better bedtime.

[nursemeg01]

Amanda: Sounds like you made great progress today! I would just work on one feeding at a time. Seems like the early AM will be easier because he doesn't take much so I would try that one. I know what you mean about being a wimp with the crying. I am the same way. My best friend (who did BW) was here one night and my DD started crying. i was going to go up there and she told me that she wasn't really crying for me and to wait a few...I broke out in a sweat it was so difficult for me. But my DD settled and that gave me the confidence to stop and listen. I think it's because we hear so many bad things about CIO and we are doing BW to prevent CIO, so when they cry, we get all upset. As she gets older, it's been a bit easier to sit back as well.

Hope you get a later bedtime and good luck tonight!

[karendbrooks]

Thanks for the get well wishes ladies.  Feeling better.  Have been drinking a lot of water, and I think that has been helping.

I have been doing a very LONG drawn out GW process for about 4 days now.  I was feeding him 6 oz every 4 hours for a total of 36 per day.  Sounds like a lot, I know, but he's still only in the 35th percentile for weight.  Poor kid wasnt getting hardly anything while  BF, dropped completely off the charts, and has only now started to pick up and be average, thanks to formula.  wanted to continue BFing, but it just wasnt in my cards.  As of now, he gets 4 oz at night.  We're reducing an ounce every 3 days or so.  Starting solids next week, so I hope to be NF free by a week after that.  I want to make sure he's still eating enough.  It will be eventually 5 feeds at 7oz a day with our solids added in.  That's the plan anyway. Whether or not it works remains to be seen  Took a while to get Ian down for the night, so he was finally out at 7:45.  Hope this is ok, but his CN was at 5:30 -6.  Ok.  Gotta go cook now.  I'm STARVING!!!

Hope everyone has a great night and a super weekend!  I will be thinking of you all!  Hopefully I will be able to get on a post

[aselby]

thanks meg! i know, i sweat buckets when i hear him cry....i cant take it. but, i guess its better to get this going now before he can stand up in his crib and cry....that will break my heart.

thanks for the advice on the GW. i will go for the early one...that sounds like something i can handle. hope youhave a great night!

karen- glad to hear that you are feeling better! thanks for the info on your journey with the GW...i think ours will be terrribly drawn out as well....i am preparing for a week at best. i hope he doesnt hate me too much

well, i just got him down to bed at 645! he went down without a peep.....final A time of 3h15mins....hope it doesnt end up biting me in the arse.  i'm exhausted and in my pjs and like you, karen, i am off to cook supper.


have a beautiful night ladies!
night night babies!

[Canadian_Mom]

Hi, just poking my head in.
Amanda - saw your post over here and was glad to see that you hadn't given up on this site.  I see that you have a very supportive thread here.  Also glad to see that you are still getting a longish nap in the morning!  Sending good sleep vibes to everyone here (moms, dads, and babies alike)!
-Nadia

[nursemeg01]

i hope he doesnt hate me too much Embarrassed

that will never happen Amanda. Don't think of it that way. You are actually weaning him from a feed he doesn't really need so that he will get a better quality sleep. If that isn't love, I'm not sure what is.

[aselby]

hey big momma! thanks for your continued supprt! these ladies rock and have been halping me ge through it while keeping my head up! hope you are doing well!

meg- you are so right, i am just such a wimp. i'm up in the middle of the night rightnow with a sick dog//but so far the  night has been a complete success! i have a feeling there wont be an EW this morning...but  i dont want to jiinx myself. be back at a proper time in the am!

[nursemeg01]

I have a grumpy child this AM. We had one NW at 3 am this time...she rolled on her tummy and couldn't get back over. I really tried to let her do it herself but she was really crying. So I went up there and flipped her over. Of course after seeing me she was mad that I left but that only lasted a minute (thank goodness). She fell asleep about 5 minutes later and I didn't have to feed her. whew.

We got out of bed at 7:15....she's SUPER grumpy. I'm trying to figure out why. My fear is that she's up more than I know. I don't have the monitor on at night because every little noise wakes me and I can hear her if she cries so what if she's playing with her feet or something and I don't hear it...anyways. My plan is to really try to get this CN in. I still think she needs it, but she has no interest. hope your days are going ok!

[aselby]

sorry about your night, meg....we went throught the same situation about a month ago...he rolled onto his belly and couldnt get back over....we just practiced ALL DAY LONG and it cleared up within 3 days. now he is a belly sleeper and sleeps so much better. yeah for no feeds! i think you are on your way! enjoy your long nights! hopefully, we're not too far behind

well.....NO EW! just as i had predicted! he went down at 645 and then i didnt hear from him until 12, but i just rolled over and went back to sleep...he didnt cry, just heard him rustling around ( i like your no monitor idea..i wake up FAR too often hearing everything) and then he was up at 230 to eat! yeah! and stayed up for 10 mins for a chat and then i heard him stir at 5 but only for a second and then we were up for the day at 615!  i am one happy mama! so, going to bed later helps with the nightfeeds and just might kick that EW feed out the door on its own?! i dont want to speak too soon, but so far so good...now i just need to concentrate on my EASY during the daytime...i really am impressed with the GW..i meanin the fact that i have been feeding him more in the day to try and make up for the calories he gets at night and i have seen a huge improvement in just 2 nights ! i'm really psyched!

so, he ended up getting his old norm of 11 hrs last night. maybe we are getting ourselves back on track as far as nighttime goes. now, i just need to get my A times down...ugh. one step at a time.

so, do you have any teething going on over there that could be making her grumpy? have you ever heard of the wonder weeks? she is starting her 26th week with is a big wonder week. that could be contributing to it?! maybe she's frustrated that she cant roll back over? maybe a combo of all of the above. i hope she's back to her old self soon!

[nursemeg01]

That is excellent news! I am so happy for you. That is a lot of progress in one night. here's hoping that he's figured it out and it's smooth sailing from now on. Remember that naps influence night sleep and vice versa (oh love the cycle) and so I think the key here was the later bedtime and the increased A times for more successful naps. great job!

what is the wonder week? WE're not teething, that just happened and we have 2 little ones in, nothing else a'brewin'. I'm wondering if it's the pollen---we're in NC (USA) and it is some kind of yellow here. I stretched the A time to make it to our 'usual' nap time. Hopefully that paid off...we'll see.

great job!

[aselby]

hey! oh, we love, love, love NC! we're in montana, but we're putting our place on the market in hopes of moving back home (vermont) ...hopefully, we'll be back east by the fall but i guess the real estate market will ultimately determine that. i've got some family down south and it would be nice to be back around driving distance to them . i have heard that the pollen is out of control across the southern states right now. ugh. i hope it gets better for you all . i think we're a ways off from springtime allergies out here. still snow in the forecast today is beautiful and supposed to be in the 50s. ah, the beauty of spring. snow one day, 50s the next. a real treat for your mood.

yes, i am thrilled about last night. i dont want to count my eggs before they've hatched, but it does seem like the later bedtime was essential in helping to eliminate that EW feeding. i hope we continue down this road....

"the wonder weeks" is a book i had originally heard about on a different forum. its written by a husband-wife team of doctors from europe. it explains and breaksdown the major developmental leaps that your baby takes and how it can affect them physically, mentally, sleeping, eating....everything and how you can work with them to encourage their development. it's pretty fascinating. i ordered it online from amazon a few months ago. its just another book to add to the shelf but has some interesting info in there. you can google it and read a bit through amazon. or i think you can actually read about wonder week 26 online. i think someone has copied the text in their blog. anyways, just another thing to think about. these babies are so complex! if i remember correctly, week 26 is all about your baby being able to detect distance and its relationship to them them. like when you leave the room....are you coming back? does your daughter show any signs of seperation anxiety yet? man, when we were around this time a few weeks ago, C was having a hard time if i put him down...really fussy and out of sorts. the premise to this book is essentially that when they go these "wonder weeks " they become, clingy, cranky, and something else with a c....while they are trying to master a new skill....it sounds like its rolling? so, who knows? maybe she's going through something.

i hope your first nap went well...just put C down for #1. it looks like he is starting to go down around the same time for his first nap which is pleasing to me. maybe it'll help him set his internal clock, so to speak. now that he is slowly getting better rested, i'm sure i will have to work on his first A time again. at least i know what ballpark i'm playing in. i just need to get the subsequent As intune now.

hope you're enjoying the start of the weekend! too bad they dont make neti pots for babies. i'm sure it would help with the pollen!

[aselby]

alrighty....quick question...so, this morning we did a first A time of 2h38mins (we started our WD at about 2h10mins) and he wouldnt settle until i put him down and he fell asleep at the 2h38min mark. fair enough, he;s gotten more sleep within the last few days. anyways, i put him down and i think i hear him now, waking after 1h 5mins?! no crying...so, could he have used a titch more A time before this nap? are we closer to 2h45min than i think at this point? he is 6.5months now. i just cant imagine that 2-3 days of better sleep has caught him up already for a boost in A time? what do you think? also- should i copy this Atime before next nap or shorten? i'd hate to have  a UT nap next......

so...he was hard getting down for the 2nd nap...he ended up doing an A time of 2h50mins...ugh. and he slept for 40 mins and woke up happy:) UT or OT? i dont know how he could be UT from that length of A time?! any ideas? i think we'll shoot for a 2hr A time before our last nap today.

hope everyones having a good one!

[nursemeg01]

Hi Amanda,

i think you described exactly what is happening to A. She is very clingy and will whine if I put her down. When I'm holding her she coos, smiles, and laughs but the minute I put her down she whines. Weird. Pretty poor napping today too. #1: 1 hr, #2, 35 min, tried for an hour to get #3, took a 15 min break and then tried again. No go. I was hosting a 'baby reunion' party today so I really needed her to sleep! She was fussy and I ended up putting her to bed for the night at 6:40. She had a SUPER long A time again because of the party and the poor naps. Probably in for a long night. I'd been trying to wean her one NW but now I don't know what to do if she wakes up tonight...she's so off I don't want to frustrate her more by not feeding her....any ideas?

I would think it is possible that he could be caught up--and not really OT yet. He didn't seem super OT to begin with and he was getting 11 hours of sleep so he could be ready for a move in A. Did you see this link?

http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64158.msg476652#msg476652

With his age, it does seem like he needs more A time. I'd still keep pushing it, every day. I think you'll know when you've gone too far because he'll wake up cranky. You might get lucky and find the perfect A first which will be the 1.5-2 hr nap. I think you're getting closer though. I'd try to increase the 2nd A time since he seems to like a shorter A for the first nap and he also seems to be going down at the same time (why change what's working).

hopefully tonight will be a repeat of last night for you (not me).

[inoella]

Hi ladies,
I have a 6 mo. old with all sorts of nap issues so I just finished reading this thread - wow! you've covered a lot! I just want to tag along for the ride to read your advice.
And I thot I'd mention that someone gave us Walgreen's brand diapers and I love them! Would have never thot to get them myself, but since she started rolling over and sleeping on her tummy a month ago she was waking up wet - poor thing. I now use the Walgreens brand in the next size up and it's working great for us. We're pretty erratic on the night feedings - sometimes none - so not sure if we're the best ones to go by, but I thot I'd drop off my 2 cents worth.