looking for Jan/Feb 05 moms to chat...

[Deb_in_oz]

Heather - i finally posted on night wakings this morning - i have been up since 420 today since could not get back to sleep.  she finally went down at 630 until i got her up before 0800.

there is absolutely no crying from dd.  she "chats", coos, kicks her feet, rolls her head around, etc.  someone suggested leaving her be since she is happy but she is up for 1 1/2 - 2 + hrs doing this and always starts EXACTLY 0420!  she (and i) needs that sleep.

Dh has told me to turn down the monitor so i can sleep at least (as the mom i tend to hear even the lowest level cooing whereas he barely hears a cry  :roll: ) but i am still concerned about 1) the lost sleep for her 2) the fact that it has been every day all of a sudden and 3) figure out why??? to see if there is soomething she needs.

at least she is feeding well again!

[HeatherC]

Debra, like most things I have encountered with Kelsey, nothing stays the same for long.  I would be inclined to leave her alone as well since she's not crying.  I think she'll grow out of it.  I can't remember your previous posts, but does she nap well?  Is she napping too much?  Do you ever get her back to sleep after 420?  If not, she must not be tired anymore.  Tracy mentions several times in her books that babies may talk to themselves for up to an hour.  Have you ever left her until normal wake up time to see what she does?  I would turn down the monitor and try to get some rest.  If she really needs you, you'll hear her.

[Deb_in_oz]

hi again - she usually goes back down after we intervene with bottle (have been too chicken to go in empty handed  :oops: ) but won't be doing it tomorrow.  sh never had early wakings before - either night feed or up at 6:30-7:30am.  this just started the other day (Saturday mornign was first time).

for her naps she has been getting between 3 1/2 - 5  hrs per day during this period.  it has really varied.

she has been pooing a lot - some scary ones too.
feeding better than ever so not hunger

strange!!!  she is just trying to drive me further around the bend  :?
at least Dh was still home today (probably back in the office for good later this week).  i actually got the girls down for midday naps within half hour of each other and i took a nap for over an hour.  Dh did not wake me when dd2 woke and he gave her bottle until i woke up and took over  :lol:  i had been up from 0420 - 1320!! and was deliriously tired after 4 mornings of her waking this early.

[dkjokisch]

she has been pooing a lot - some scary ones too.
feeding better than ever so not hunger

Could it be either a growth spurt (several books reference one around 4 mos) or a gastrointestinal bug?

Our lo was up several times last night too (something she has never done since she started sleeping 12 hours at a stretch two months ago), but luckily she was able to resettle herself without us having to intervene until about 6:30am (she's usually not up until 7:30am).  She wasn't herself last evening or this morning either.  I have no clue what it is - growth spurt, illness, visiting MIL?

[thitz]

My dd has started teething!!!  :shock:    (She's 17 weeks and 16 lbs)  I had two terrible naps with her yesterday so I read up in my baby books and when she woke up I ran my finger around in her mouth and voila she has a tooth coming thru!  Most babies don't teeth till 7 months :? .

Her signs were popping on and off the the bottle by moving her head sideways (no other body squirming), rubbing her cheek/eye area many times during the day, wanting to lay only to one side during sleeping, digging her head into the mattress when laying on the other side and of course very bad naps and making a constant talking/whining cry.  I gave her two doses of tylenol last night but I don't think it did much.  I hope it doesn't last too long.  It looks like she's getting a bottom tooth too

Tarri

[Heather_Samantha's Mummy]

Hi Everyone,
Sounds like everybody is having nightwakings these days including myself. I finally got my dd's bedtime back to a decent time (btwn 7:30 & 8:00 PM) as she was not going down until 10 or 10:30 for a few weeks now. I cut back her late afternoon nap for the past few days and that has seemed to help. My problem at the moment is frequent wakings. Last night she went down at 7:30 PM but then woke at 8:00PM, 9:20PM, 10:50PM, 1:45AM, 2:45AM, 4:45AM, 6AM, 7AM ....BRUTAL!!!!  I fed her at the 9:20, 10:50, 1:45 and 4:45 wakings because I was worried she wasn't getting enough food. I was wondering if her evening wakings are hunger or habit? I know that her 1:45 and 4:45 wakings are due to hunger because she takes almost a full feed but I don't understand the rest. Is anyone having a similar problem or have any suggestions?
Thanks
Heather
Mom to Samantha
born Feb 5, 2005

[Leah's Mom]

DD rolled over from her back to her belly last night!  Then back to her back, then belly and so on until she crossed the entire living room floor. She thought it was funny and of course I broke out the video camera! They are becoming more mobile! Soon they will be crawling!

Deb- Let me know how the wake to sleep goes for you. I will also check out your post on the night wakings board. I am still trying to figure out if she gets up at an exact same time every night before I try wake to sleep. It seems to be 2:50. Leah also woke last night at 9:00 after being in bed since 7. She was happy and cooing and playing so I left her until her DF at 10:00, then she went back to sleep till 2:50 am. At 2:50 she was happy and I (like you) want her to go back to sleep so I took her to the rocking chair and rocked her till she got REALLY drowsy then laid her back in her crib. May be a bad habit, but I find you really don't care too much in the middle of the night. I TOTALLY understand how accidental parenting begins in the night! She then slept till 5:40 in which she got up for the day.  :shock: I have also been having good naps. Two 1 hour naps in the morning, a two hour in the afternon and a half hour catnapt late evening. Hopefully it is all developmental. I keep telling myself that this too shall soon pass. (hopefully  :wink: )

Heather #1 - Isn't it fun to watch them play with thier feet. I think that was how Leah figured out how to roll over to her tummy!

Heather #2 - Does your DD have a paci? Is that what you give her to soothe her in the night? I had this problem with Leah (and still do) when she wakes looking for the paci. So I try to put her down for the night without it, though it rarely works. Can't wait till the day she can put it back in herself!

Tarri - Teeth! That's cool, maybe. I had teeth at 3 months, so your DD isn't too young. They grow up so fast! 

[HeatherC]

Tarri, Kelsey has been doing the exact same things, but her teeth are coming through yet.  She has been sooooo whining that it's unbearable.  However, tylenol does make her very sleepy, so it seems to give her some relief.

[Deb_in_oz]

Tarri - how exciting about the tooth - not so great to hear the negative bits  about pain and bad naps (i remember it all too well!).  you made me think and i ran my finger around Olivia's mouth and thought i felt a bump on the bottom but could not get i n there to see if it is just the normal ridge of her gum - can you actually get her to open up to see in there?  how?

have a DR appt tomorrow to follow up on my PPD meds, etc and am taking Olivia along to get checked out - the pooing is seriously out of control (to think i posted ages ago about her NOT pooing).  not to be too gross but it is like pea soup including little lumps of green in the really runny green poo/soup  :roll:  :lol:   that does not seem OK.  it has caused her to wake from naps several times now and she did it 3 times in the space of 3 hrs this afternoon.  she does have her sister's cold (her chest sounds bad when she is breathing and coughing - brings up mucus...), but i am worried it could be gastrointestinal.

am off to bed (it is 10pm here) please think about us at 2pm eastern USA time and send sleep vibes to Olivia so she does not wake up early and we finish off this 4am CR*P.

where is everyone else - it has been ages since we heard from some of you guys - assuming it is because everything is going well and you don't want to junx it by writing online.

[thitz]

Hi Deboniz, I held my dd so she was facing out and held her head still while my dh lifted her lip up and there was a big white tooth on her upper right side :shock: .  Then we did the reverse and I had a look. 

Leah's mom, that so awesome about the rolling over

Samantha's mom, by dd has the occasional night where she's up a lot.  Her usual is 3 to 4 times .  There's usually a definate reason like her swaddle is completely undone or she has her head up against the crib side or her tooth is hurting or she wants me to shift her to a different position.  But so far I've never her fed her in the night except for the dreamfeed.  On nights like you've had I start to think maybe it is hunger but I figure if she settles within 10mins it must not be.  Maybe only feed her if it takes a long time to settle her.  I think  if they're really hungry they'll just keep crying and crying even though you're trying to comfort them.

Tarri

[branwen]

Hi everyone!  This will be a LONG post.

Little Eirwen and I are back from CO.  I have been literally DYING to post on this board and I finally have some time to read all the posts and catch up!  I have missed the support so much.

First- I will NEVER EVER do an overnight flight again.  It was terrible.  My baby did not sleep well at all.  She was so overtired when we got back that she slept from NOON until 7am the next day!!! and I only woke her to give her feeds which she either mostly slept through or cried hysterically if I tried to get her up.  I have never seen my lo so upset.

Parents were very upseting- constantly critizing and being LOUD  :evil: and distrespectful of my "touchy" baby's needs.  The familiar "you need to be louder" kept popping out of their mouths.  It didn't seem to matter to them that I tried that for months and she only napped an hr a day then.  Eirwen weathered it better than I.  Dh not too helpful on the trip- couldn't remember her schedule- didn't even do diapers and only 1 nap the whole 10 days.  I was with baby 24-7 it seemed and on many days I just gave up and went to bed at 5:30 with her (7:30 our time).

We seem to be back on a 3 hr schedule (as I had to add a nap for time change), which is okay for now I guess, until she feels resettled at home.  yesterday she could only do an hr of awake time and took 3 2hr naps :shock: But she needed them.  Maybe next monday I will start extending again...she's already going a little longer today.

I freaked out when we got home Monday am.  I think I was exhausted but I could simply not stop crying.  I told dh that I couldn't do this.  Even started hyperventilating and shaking a bit.  I felt like everything was pulling back. I think it was a real anxiety attack...concerned that I should have gone to hospital but took Ambien instead, crashed and felt more normal the next day.  dh was great about it, held me and told me he would help more etc.

LO doing SO MUCH now!  I was happy to read postings about the feet because dh and I found her in her crib yesterday morning sucking on her toes.    She would suck on one and then the other. SOOOO CUTE!  She had discovered her feet a few weeks ago but only recently got them to her mouth.  She has also started belly chuckling :lol: and squealing.  DH and I changed a diaper on the airport floor and he had taken the plastic bag with the diaper and had waved it above her head on accident.  SO MANY LAUGHS and then the squealing.  It was so great!  She still won't roll over but is "swimming" now with arms and legs up waving on her belly.  She is also got the most deadly aim with her hands now.  I had her on my lap and my purse had been there next too me- I look away and she had the purse strap in her mouth holding it up! :shock: Time to baby proof!!! :shock:

She is also teething...droooling buckets :wink:   I think a top tooth is coming but not sure..hard to feel with the normal ridges. You guys make me want to feel around again though!

Now for replies-

Deb- I think your LO is hitting milestones or is in growth spurt.  I would really think of not swaddling anymore.  When Eirwen found her fingers it was the best ever- or have you tried the swaddle with leaving the arms out- that is what I did for Eirwen at first.

Heather- how did you get to the 4 hr schedule?  I'm so jealous.  Eirwen and I seemed to stick at the 3.5 mark and now of course she has gone back to 3 b/c of trip.  My husband also doesn't know my baby well or her schedule and as soon as I tell him he forgets everything :roll: He can also sleep through her cries.  He says its a physical thing that happened to him after the birth.  His theory is that he has to be rested to "bring home the bacon"  so cliche but it is so common with other fathers I know that maybe he's right?  :?

Julie- I am doing it on my own with my touchy lo.  It is hell somedays and other days really awesome.  Basically my house is a tornado and dishes are hardly ever done and we eat lots of frozen food.  I'm even thinking of investing in paper plates.  :wink: That is how I do it.  Everything else has gone to SH*T.  And I cry sometimes. But I figure that's okay because it has gotten so much better than in the beginning.  I still get online to pay bills but other than that everything is about Eirwen.  I also manage to get out once a week usually for Yoga and dh puts her to bed with a bottle.  I have to do this or I will go nutty.  I'm also thinking that if I can't get the house picked up a bit better in a few weeks I will have a maid come in and scourer everything I can't get too.  My dh has resigned himself to digging for clean laundry out of the dryer or the basket.  I figure that if it's at least clean it doesn't matter where he gets it from.  Do I sound crazy or what?

Christine- I would definitely try solids.  Your lo is big I think for her age? Yes?  It could be that liquids are just not enough for her anymore.  Eirwen is almost 24 weeks and I was going to start solids this week but I'm delaying until we get back on track.  If you start let me know how it goes.  Oh, did you encourage a lot of tummy time with your lo?  That is SO FUN about the rolling around!  I love it!

Well- that's all there is from hot humid gray MA.

[Deb_in_oz]

welcome back branwen - sorry to hear you had a difficult time travelling and that people were giving you a  hard time.  people can be so insensitive!  you will get back on track - give yourself and eirwan a little time to get some extra rest and re-orient yourself to home and routine again.

FWIW - just one note about all the drooling - sometimes it is teething, but also between 4-5 months is when the saliva glands kick in and it is just developmental for them to drool a lot until they coordinate swallowiing the extra saliva.  with Alex we started giving her teething remedies from 4 months thinking it was definitely teething (had not read about the saliva until recently) and her first tooth did not actually appear until 7 months so we don't know hoe much was teething and how much was normal and should have been ignored!

[sedona314]

Welcome home Branwen.  I would be crying alot! if I didnt have help with Matthew.  Its just so exhausting, especially since he is not sleeping through the night.  Sounds to me like you are doing a great job.

I wrote awhile ago that baby was sleeping with night sitter but not with me, and we had hoped that was because he was sleeping in my room in cosleeper next to the bed. Well, its been about a week that myself or husband has been sleeping in his room (yes, dh has actually done two nights!!!!! finally!!!!) and he is still waking up 3 or 4 times.  So my night sitter was here again and guess what, HE SLEPT THROUGH WITH HER!!!

I just dont get it   :x

Also, Deb, I'm happy for you that your lo is taking the bottle again.  Matthew is still fighting it, sometimes he'll take it sometimes he wont, and he is still fighting the breast at times.  We cant figure out how he can be so big when he is such a fussy eater.  sometimes I just want to cry when I cant get him to eat. Its not that Im worried about his health cause he's 17.5 lbs,  its that he is soooooooo cranky when he is hungry.  I was hoping this was a phase, like it passed for you, but its been over a month now.  And Im having  a hard time hanging onto my breast milk.  sigh

And last night he was really hungry around 1:30 -  I BF but didnt have enough and he was still hungry so we gave him a bottle but he wouldnt take it!   Therefore he woke twice more last night still hungry.

double sigh

I dont know what to do to get him to eat more consistantly.  Tracy doesnt talk about that in her book, at least not that i can find.  Its virtually impossible to do EASY when he simply wont eat at regular intervals.

Keep posting everyone

Julie

[HeatherC]

Branwen-One day Kelsey got off track from her 3 hour schedule due to a late nap.  She was exhausted from being out and about for awhile, so I let her sleep.  It had actually been over 4 hours since her last feeding when she woke, but she was fine.  From there on I knew she could make it and just dove into the 4 hour routine.  The only part of 4 hour EASY she does, though, is the feedings, because she still only taking 30 minute naps, and sometimes she does this twice in a cycle (EASASE).

I'm so sorry for those of you having so much trouble with irratic night wakings, fussy eaters, etc.  I truly wish I could offer some advice, but as a first time mom myself, I'm muddling through as well.  I've just been playing it by ear now that I feel more comfortable with my new life as mom, but it's still stressful as I never can feel completely sure of myself.  My prayers are with each of you, and I hope we can continue to encourage one another.

My motto has become, "this, too, shall pass."  Kelsey is starting to grow out of her fussiness while eating, but I believe it's because she's begun to like the bottle better than breast.  Either way, she gained 2.5 pounds in one month and grew 1.5 inches.  She's up to 13 lbs, 7 oz.  I'm sure it's the formula and cereal.

[Deb_in_oz]

Julie - how often are you offering food?  i really believe the reason why she is eating better is because i am trusting her more - if it has not been at least 3 hrs and/or she does not want to take it - i am waiting 20-30 min and then re-offering.  she has only fussed once this whole week and has eagerly let me slip the bottle in - whole new experience - no force feeding, no whinging.  she comes off and pauses and then happily goes back on for a bit (it still takes several stages to get a feed in over the course of an EASY cycle, but i don't feel like the "pusher" forcing her to eat)  maybe try waiting a little longer than usual so he is extra hungry and see if it improves.

also - so sorry he is sleeping for the sitter only.  who knows what the reason is - have you watched to see how she is with him - try carefully observing and see if there is something she says or does that makes a difference.  what a puzzle  :?