Any March & April 05 mums/moms want to chat?

[Erin M]

Hi all - was away for the long weekend, hope everyone spent it well 

Mickymuscles, I agree with Michele that we too could never survive on two naps (although Katie likes to think she can) - we attempt two long naps and a late afternoon cat nap, although getting her to take it is a challenge - usually I'll resort to a walk in the stroller to get her to drift off for a bit.   Makes the evening a bit more pleasant. 

For all you battling short naps, keep on working at it!  Katie took short naps from about 4 weeks until just last week (she'll be 4 months tomorrow) and now she's suddenly started napping longer (knock wood, I will cry if I jinx myself by typing this) - prior to that we had a couple of really crazy weeks where she seemed to be in the midst of a growth spurt - night wakings, short naps, general fussiness.  Seems like everything has just come together now - we have increased awake time and she's much more active now so she's wearing herself out more I guess.

Chris - I know how you feel about having an unhappy baby.  Your baby is so well off already because of how much you care, so keep at it.  As for activity time, we do a lot of blanket on the floor playing and lots of walks around outside to look at bushes, trees, etc.  Is is possible your little one is getting overstimulated? - maybe more quiet activity would be good - and listening to music works well with us too.  Once he starts getting better control over his hands that should help him too to entertain himself more.

[mickymuscles]

hi, yeah....i meant 2 or 3 naps plus the catnap!!  there is no way jack could survive without the catnap.  we are doing the tansition that is in tracy's last book.  i think that might work more smoothly for him rather than cold turkey.  the 2 hr awake period is just a little too much of a stretch just yet.

[Jayri]

Riley is doing fairly well, I still can't get her to feed for very long.
Today it went like this;
9am bf
awake
10am bf
awake
11am nap
12 noon bf
awake
2pm nap
4:30pm bf ( after we all had our afternoon siesta :wink: )
awake
6:15pm nap
7:15pm bf
awake
8:45pm bf
bedtime was about 9pm after daddy got home from work.
I was very impressed at dh, he got her to calm down quite well, and then she woke up when I put her in her crib. She did bf b4 bed, but I made sure she was only half asleep when she went into bed. She does well at going to sleep on her own, usually within 5mins of putting her down, it is just getting her to that point once she is tired. I think I just have to figure out her sleepy cues as she may be getting too tired b4 I put her down.
It is still the beginning, but I think because she is a relatively big baby(last check was 13lb 3oz @8wks, and she was 8lb 15oz at birth) that I will try her on a 4hr routine, I'm thinking this as sometimes I have to wake her from her naps.
I was wondering also what do you all think of df, last night I tried it at 11, after her last feed at 8, but then she woke up at 1:30am adament that she wanted more, and yet her df was about 20mins long.
If anyone has any suggestions let me know, overall she is doing really well, I just have to iron out the kinks a little.

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

Well my computer's been out of action for a week, so here's our update:

We had 5 nights of sleeping 10-12hrs and then hit another growth spurt and went back to feeding 3hrly during the night for 3 nights - so I put the DF back in in the hopes that we can get back on track - still trying but last night had 2 wake ups after the dF, and she was definitely hungry.  Her feed after the DF was only 3.5hrs which was a bit dissapointing, but hopefully that will stretch out again soon like it did last time.

After reading the book again, I realised our GS was a sign that we also needed to go to the 4hrly routine.  So for the last 2 days we've done that and Danielle's been great going the distance during the day.  It's taken a little bit of work to keep her sleeping for her two naps (the mornign one I've been going out and get her to renap in the frontpack, but the arvo one I pat her back to sleep), but not a big deal - at least the afternoon nap coincides with Nathan's which is fab - it actually frees our afternoon up with her feeding at 3pm rather than 4pm now.  Just got to sort out the nights.

[BiancaB]

Hello all,
Well Sienna is still going strong on a 4hr routine, it is flexible at the moment sometimes we have a 3hr popped in during the day. For example I may feed her at 7, 11 then 2, 6 bedtime 7pm it all depends on how her naps go and how busy we have been during day etc.
Nights are going quite well and have been consistent usually 11pm DF 3am or 4am wakeup and 7am her day starts.
This morning she woke at 6am!!! and decided to start her day but we had had a really busy weekend so I think she was just a bit out of routine. I cheated and brought her into bed with us and after her feed she had a short 40 min nap next to me which got her to 7am thankfully
I have weaned her off her paci HOORAY and she has been happily sucking her little knuckle so cute, actually can you believe she is sleeping so much sounder without it, the other night she actually slept a full 8hrs I was so excited I thought Danielle was sending her sleeping through the night vibes :wink:  but no it was only a one off.
Glad to hear that your move to a 4 hr routine is working well by the way Nikki and I hope your nights get back on track a.s.a.p.
Take care all and keep posting your questions and advice
Bianca

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

Judy, I'd be inclined to say if it aint broke don't fix it - yet!     I think you'll see the signs when it's no longer working for them - ie naps getting shorter, night wakings when there weren't etc.  I went cold turkey when I did transition Danielle to the 4hrly routine at 14wks, but then she's never really wanted food at 3hrly intervals anyway so it works better for her and because nights had turned into a mess anyway it was worth the risk. 
Last night she went from her 9.45pm DF to 3.30am and then 7.30am, so that's more like it (of course I'd quite like my 12hrs back! :wink: ).

[FrasersMum]

Hi All

I have not yet posted on this topic but it seems that this is the place I need to be!!

My first born DS arrived on 26 March 2005.  He's Grumpy/Touchy (!!) which has made life fun over the past few months but DH and I are getting used to him and I am learning that he won't be the same social, smiley being that I was expecting!!  (He's still really, really lovely!!)

Anyway,  just wanted to hop on and say hi, I imagine I might hang out here a bit if that's ok! 

This week's "BIG ISSUE" (doesn't everyone have one every week?  I know we do!) is the transition to 4 hourly feeds.  If anyone has some tips etc to share I would love the advice.

Speak to you all soon
Jo

Mum to Fraser Jeremy - 26 March 05 - Grumpy/Touchy

[FrasersMum]

Hi All

I have not yet posted on this topic but it seems that this is the place I need to be!!

My first born DS arrived on 26 March 2005.  He's Grumpy/Touchy (!!) which has made life fun over the past few months but DH and I are getting used to him and I am learning that he won't be the same social, smiley being that I was expecting!!  (He's still really, really lovely!!)

Anyway,  just wanted to hop on and say hi, I imagine I might hang out here a bit if that's ok! 

This week's "BIG ISSUE" (doesn't everyone have one every week?  I know we do!) is the transition to 4 hourly feeds.  If anyone has some tips etc to share I would love the advice.

Speak to you all soon
Jo

Mum to Fraser Jeremy - 26 March 05 - Grumpy/Touchy

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

Hi Jo!  Well my only advice for switching to 4hrly feeds is to keep them sleeping up until next feed time.  My dd has been in the habit of doing 45min naps, and while that worked out ok on a 3hr EASY (we'd have EASAE), it made it impossible for 4hrly.  So if she wakes early from her morning nap I tend to go out to get her back to sleep (it gets my toddler out of the house otherwise we're a bit confined - she goes in the front pack at the mall or we go for a walk and she's in the buggy) - it doesn't matter to me if she's awake for 20mins after her 45min one as long as she falls back asleep for at least 20mins prior to her 11am feed.  For the afternoon nap I "pat" her back to sleep since it coincides with my toddlers nap.  Danielle is fine going the 4hrs as far as feeds go, so it's just maintaining the nap length that's our only issue.

Good luck.

[BiancaB]

Welcome Jo and baby Fraser ,
My little girl Sienna(21st of March) and Fraser are only a few days apart so we are also just getting the hang of the 4/4 routine :shock:
My son#1 was a touchy baby so I know how much they love a good routine, he just thrived on a consistent E.A.S pattern and he still does at 2yrs
My advice for you is to make sure Fraser can handle the longer awake times before transitioning as overtiredness/overstimulation can be a big deal for these little personalitys. As Tracy advises increase awake times gradually and pu/pd to lengthen naps if you need it...

Nikki is spot on with her comment, it is the longer naps that will get you by on the 4/4.
If Si doesn't get a good 2 hr nap she won't last the awake time for 2hrs so that shortens the length between her feeds. We are still in the transitioning stage, she has some days where she just can't manage being up for 2hrs so she goes back to having 3 naps and a catnap instead of 2 big naps and a catnap if it is needed.
Our news for this week, she has been moved into her own room in cot and out of her bassinet(she just got a bit big for it) so I'll be doing the night walk for her 4am feed, at least its only across the hall

My latest personal research :idea:  on the DF...
Seems that if I make it a four hour gap from her last feed ie 6pm--10pm df she then sleeps just as long if not longer than if I do DF at a later time ie 11pm but I still have to test whether this will apply if her last feed is 7pm because then 11pm will be 4 hrs :!:  Hey, now I'm even confused :?  Hopefully you girls will understand what I'm saying.
 I am not cluster feeding so this may change things for others but if you test my theory out let me know!!!
Take care everyone
Bianca

P.S Judy, well done with getting those two little angels almost in sinc on e.a.s. I had to wake Sienna for nearly all feeds until she was almost 12wks sometimes I would let her sleep a max of 3 hrs during the day and she never really seemed to get off track with her naps. But she sure does love her sleep.

[Erin M]

Hi to all    -
We are doing well here on a mostly 4 hour routine.  (We are four hours our first two cycles and then things sort of vary after that.)  As far as switching to it, I tried for a few weeks to gradually stretch out awake times and times between feeds and then about a week before she turned four months, we hit a growth spurt and started teething and things were all over the place.  Then, when the growth spurt was over (still working on those teeth, I've been able to see them for 3 weeks now, but they haven't come through) she suddenly started sleeping longer and going longer between feeds.  Silly girl, she's always had a mind of her own (NEVER slept in her bassinet, hated it from day 1 - who ever heard of a 2 day old refusing to sleep in a bassinet?) so I guess she mainly just switched herself.  So I guess my only advice is to try to stretch them out gradually, but if they're not ready, they're just not ready for it yet.  On the plus side, she's always been a 45 minute (or less) napper and stretching out to a 4 hour routine has actually led to her napping longer.  Go figure.

Bianca - I do agree with you that the time between the DF and the last feed of the day makes a difference.  I think they take more when it's been longer and that keeps them sleeping through.

Judy - Wow, sounds as if things are going well.  I think I also would wake them right now to keep them on the 3 hour schedule, seems like shorter nap times are the signal for switching to a 4 hour routine.

We had our 4 month dr visit Monday with yet more shots  :cry: which made for an unhappy day.  Gave us the green light to start solids (rice cereal) whenever we wanted - basically she said anytime between 4 and 6 months, whenever we wanted to start them was fine.  I wish she would have just told us a certain date, now I'm just not sure when I want to start.  I may hold off for a few weeks as we're in such a nice routine now and I would hate for that to throw us off.  Anyone have any thoughts on the matter :?:

-Erin

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

Bianca, I know what you're getting at re the DF.  I decided again last night to not do the DF and Danielle slept from 7pm - 1.30am - 6.30am.  Whereas with the DF she was taking the DF, sleeping until 3amish and then till morning - so I'm thinking that the DF doesn't really work for Danielle and she's more "sleep driven" rather than food which kind of ties in with your theory which is possibly why she slept through those 12hrs without the DF before. :?   Consequently I'm a bit nervy about being on a 4hr routine (ie only 4 feeds a day) and that night feed not being enough to keep my milk supply up, so today I'm going back to 5 feeds.  I also found with the 4/4 that Danielle lost the ability to do her 2hr sleep in the afternoon and I had to pat her back to sleep every time - probably the overtired issue even though she appeared to handle the awake time fine, she settles a lot better after only 1.5hrs awake.  Soooo, if you've made it that far, I think we'll go back to a 3hrly without the DF and see what happens.  :lol:

[FrasersMum]

Hi again all,

Thanks for the welcome and the advice.

Today is our first day working towards 4 hourly, trying Tracy's 3 day step program detailed in the new book.  So far it's going OK.  Keeping Fraser awake that extra 15 minutes was a challenge but he just crashed when put into his cot with no settling needed.  After 45 mins though he woke so I did PU/PD right through until his next feed at 10.15.  He was trying so hard to go back to sleep but he didn't quite make it. 

During the feed it was hard to keep him awake but I changed his nappy mid way through and he is now in the middle of awake time and is playing quite happily.  The book says to try and hold him out until 12.15 before his next sleep which I'll try but that's another 45 minutes yet and that seems like a LONG time for him to be awake so we'll just see how we go.  I guess that is ideal had he slept better this morning... 

Anyway, that's the update.  Will let you know how we go!

Cheers all
Jo

[emmakate'smom]

Hello All,
My sweet girl was born March 11th. We have also recently transitioned to a 4 hour routine, in the last 2 weeks. I have tried it a couple of times before, but never had much luck due to 45 minute naps. One day she just started taking long morning naps (from 9A to about 11A)and that was when I knew we could transition. Even though her afternoon naps were sometimes only 45 minutes at first. After about a week of doing the 4 hour, her afternoon naps started getting longer too. Now she is doing great on a 4 hour schedule. The only time it gets a little hairy for us, is if we are out and about and it becomes nap time. She really only sleeps good if she is in her crib. I hate getting her out very much!
Thanks!

[BiancaB]

Hello everyone
Nikki-I am having a rethink about my routine AGAIN aswell!!!! The last couple of days Sienna has just not been able to last for 2hrs awake and she has been so unsettled, I thought it may be a growth spurt but she is happy to go 3hrs without feeding, but her naps have been all over the place she had about 4 short naps today plus one 1/12 hr one and no amount of pu/pd was going to help..She usually takes almost nothing to settle and goes to sleep without a fuss once she is in her cot... So something is going on :shock:  I think I will try getting her to bed earlier for her morning nap tmrw. She is terrific at night always asleep by 7pm at the latest so I really can't complain I'd just love to get rid of these rotten short naps AAAHHH.
Not sure if it is the 4/4 as she was so settled on the 4hrly feeds for over a week and was doing 2 big naps and a catnap with no wakeups...but as always being FLEXIBLE is the key to success when it comes to babies   So if I have to take a step back for awhile I will.
As regards the DF I will be doing the same as you this week, lets see how it goes. :wink:
Bianca