Hiii!!! I am a first time Mama of a healthy 5 month old girl. She is an angel baby for the most part, but has a streak of spiritedness...she is very active/high energy and loves to be in the middle of the action. We read Tracy's books and loved her ideas. We are attempting PU/PD this weekend and I am scared! Here's a little back story about her sleep etc. At the end I will ppst my many questions.
Back story:
*healthy baby born a week after her due date. 8lbs 7oz. No complications with labor. Born vaginally and without medication or intervention.
*at the time of her birth we were under a ton of stress as a familymAll 4 of her grandparents and her great grandma were hospitalized for serious illnesses within the first 2 months of her life. No joke. (Everyone is okay now)
*From birth to 4 months old she was sleeping 6+ hours a night. We thought we were the luckiest parents alive. (We still do)
*Around 3 weeks old she had pretty significant silent reflux that affected her daytime sleep. I could still get her to sleep long stretches at night, but naps were a mess. She would go down for a good 2 hour nap in the morning and that would be it except for maybe a catnap or 2. I would have to hold her upright for 4-5 hours some days. It was rough, but I was highbon oxytocin.
*Found out that she has a milk protein sensitivity that was triggering her reflux, so I cut all dairy. (I am exclusively breastfeeding)
*Found out when she was 3 months old that I have a serious oversupply of milk and an overactive letdown. Both were affecting her feedings. Most of the time she was only nursing for 3-5 minutes because she was drinking from a firehose. In working with lactation consultants things are way better, but she still eats too often (every 2.5 hours or so) because we started feeding her smaller meals more frequently to help with her reflux.
*She started hitting milestones early. She was rolling over both ways at 3 months. She cut 2 teeth at 4 months. She's barely 5 months old now and I suspect she's going to be sitting up very soon.
*We have a handful of accidental parenting issues. When her reflux was bad, the only way to calm her was to put her in her car seat and swing her around. After a few minutes of that, we would bounce the carseat on a yoga ball. I'm not kidding. It's so ridiculous! She weighs 17lbs now, so we are experiencing major back pain with this technique now.
*since the 4 month sleep regression she hasn't been napping well at all during the day, and now wakes up 3+ times a night. She was sleeping through the night before.
We are starting the PU/PD method this weekend and I am resolved to seeing it through. I am scared though. I know it's going to be really hard. I am determined though.
Here are my questions:
Does anyone have any tips or advice for starting? I'm preparing snacks and meals in advance. Anything else I should to prepare?
*I've been working really hard to get her on the E.A.S.Y routine. But it's been a challenge. She should be on a 4 hour routine according to Tracy, but she got very accustomed to eating a lot more frequently because of her reflux issues. I've recently been able to spread most of her feeds out to every 3 hours by distracting her, but it's hard. I don't think she will be happy eating every 4 hours on the new routine. Any tips?
*She hasn't been swaddled since she was about a month old because she's a master at getting out of them which scared me becsuse of SIDS. Also, she has always liked having her hands by her face. I didn't want to hinder any self-soothing. Should I try another type of swaddle? Or is it probably better to do without because she's 5 months old and can roll? Should i try a sleep sack, or is that another prop?
*she likes sleeping on her side but it's hard to get her in that position naturally because she's often trying to look around and starts arching her back to see me (if she's facing the wall) or rolls over if facing me. I have a wedge that doesn't seem to be working and I'm going to try the towel technique next. Did most og you have better luck with your babies on their sides? Any tips?
*Are there any videos of PU/PD? My baby fusses a lot when she's frustrated, but rarely cries. I'm kinda afraid that I won't know when to pick her up because I anticipate a LOT of fussing, but noy a ton of crying.
I think that's all my questions for now. Any and all tips are welcome!!!! If you read this far, thank you so much!!!!! Apparently I had a lot to say.
I'm excited for success, and determined to stick it out! Thank you for all of your help in advance!
