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

[thitz]

I've just been thru a week of bad night wakings, she'd consistently wake around 2:30am and every hour after that :evil: .  And now I've had two nights in a row where she didn't wake till 5! YEEAAAHHH        I'm not sure what the magic solution was but both nights I've put her to bed with her full length pj's on, swaddled her from the waist down in cheese cloth, had my dh get ready for bed around 1am (he's still going to bed around 2:30am because that's when he used stay up till when we took shifts getting Emily to sleep, that was 2 months ago now) and turned my monitor down low.  Or maybe she just stopped teething.

Question about the growth spurt :?:   After the growth spurt do they drink more than they did before the growth spurt?  I was just wandering if they go back to their old consumption.  So far Emily's been drinking 27-30oz of formula steady for about 2 months now.

Deborah,  I'm so sorry about your panic attack.  Thanks for letting us know.  I definately know now not to go on any big trips.

Branwen, the shortest E/A time Emily has is now 1.5 hours.  This is after she wakes up in the morning and before bed in the evening.  The other E/A's I do my best to keep her up for 2 hrs.

Jamie, Emily also has eczema.  I've been using the cortisone cream and it seems to help but I've got to use it all the time and your not supposed to.  Thanks for mentioning you use Eledil.  I'm going to call up our pharmacy and see if they have any. 

I also changed laundry soaps to one from the health store.  I don't think this has helped.  I'm also using a little bit of pure avacodo oil in her bath, I don't think this has helped either, but it also hasn't hurt anything.  Also I have to carry her super careful because she's so slippery.

Also I wanted to share that Emily can only sit in her exersaucer about 5 mins before she completely overwhelmed and starts to cry.  But I've started putting her in a jolly jumper and she last an easy 10 mins.  The last couple of days she's finally figured out that moving her legs makes her bounce.

Have a good day/night everyone!  Tarri

[dkjokisch]

Branwen - When Maya gets up before 6am, I treat it as a night waking and put her straight back to bed.  After 6am (that's been pretty rare of late), I am still putting her back down within 45 minutes to one hour.  During the next two EA intervals, it's 1hr 30min to 1hr 45min.  When she wakes up from her thrid nap (4-4:30pm), she's up until her 7pm feeding; if she gets any sleep, it's only a catnap.  However, once she gets settled back in, I'd like to slowly extend the first morning EA interval so she can get solids then (she gets them at her 10am feeding right now).

Where does the time go?  More to contribute, but I must get in the shower before the nap ends.

[Jaime]

Tarri - the cream is awesome, but (at least in the US) you can only get it from your dr or with a prescription, so you may want to call your dr first.  congrats on some good nights!  hope she keeps it up.  regarding food... i think they kind of plateau around 30-34 oz.  she may very well return to her old habits once she gets through.  i'd watch what she eats for a few days & that'll probably tell you

Branwen - if eirwen does have something like bed sores, you may want to try putting A&D on that part of her skin before you put her down.  it'll help reduce the friction.  good luck at the dr.  luke goes down after about 2 hours for all naps. 

i think we've found medicine that is working!!!  luke is coughing much less, and although he did wake himself up coughing once last night, I did not have to do anything to get him back to sleep!         one of the meds does have a couple nasty side effects (he wants to split all his feeds now) but only a couple more days on them anyhow....  oh, i hope this does it for him!!!

think we're going to stop on solids for awhile & try again later... don't think he was really ready - just humored me!

[dkjokisch]

I think we're finally starting to get back on track.  Maya slept until 7:30am this morning.  It was heavenly.  And she took two good naps yesterday (out of three), waking up looking more refreshed than she has in weeks.  There's hope!

[Shell]

Hello!  My little girl was born Feb 21st and I feel as though a light has finally turned on in her world.  At first I was pretty nervous with her.  We have had to battle reflux, but it appears that is under control for the moment.  Once we got her medication worked out she really took to her routine.  Solid foods seemed to help her alot too.  The best luck I have had with naps and sleeping is with swaddling.  I kind of feel strange that my 5 month old still needs to be wrapped up tight, but she loves it.  She takes a 2 hour nap in the morning, a 2 hour nap in the afternoon and a 45 minute cat nap after dinner.  She sleeps through the night very well!  I guess if the swaddling works I won't change it.  I am so glad her routine has worked out because I couldn't take the reflux fussiness.  I hope all is well with you other moms

Shelley

[Deb_in_oz]

Hi everyone.

i am back - have read through as much as i can... and will give the short version of our time away - will post more on my goodbye thread later tonight.

we now have a baby on a 4hr EASY who sleeps UNSWADDLED and is still sleeping through the night until 7-7:15am after a DF at 10:30 (moved up from 11pm).  we now feed at 7:30, 11:30, 3:30, 7ish and 10:30. 

also - we got rid of the noise machine (will see how that goes long term as the substitute there was a loud CD playing in the hall (lullabies and nurery rhymes) to drown out other babies crying etc.

she was near angel/textbook the whole time and of course got her home for 1pm nap and she is still awake at 2pm  :evil:  - am chalking it up to being overtired and unsettled back in her old room with too quiet surrounds.  :roll:

feeding is under control now - we have limited the length of her feeds and she now gets offered the bottle and then gets a 10 min playtime break, reoffer the bottle and then whatever she has taken is it - no extra top ups and nothing before settling to bed.  i had the courage to put her down with as little as 120ml (4oz) in her tummy and she slept fine.  she is now mostly taking between 160-220ml (6-7 1/2oz) per feed.  sometimes less and sometimes a little more.  i feel comfortable with this now.

the good news for me is that this new "routine" works with the 2 kids:
they will both be eating at 11:30pm and down for midday nap around 12:45/1pm
on Mondays when i take Alex to occassional care (i will move it forward to 9am start time) i will rush home and put Liv down for nap around 9:15 and should actually get a little break
her awake time is now 1hr45 - 2hrs so afetr i feed her i can actually run an errand with the girls if necessary or visit a friend for an hour or so   


will give more "details" later but wanted to share our progress in just 4 short days.  feel free to ask any questions.

PS I also got to have an amzing aromatherapy massage and met 2 great ladies to add to my circle of friends (both with 9mo olds)

[Leah's Mom]

Welcome back Deb! I'm so happy to hear that the clinic was worthwhile. I had visions of you coming back and saying how horrid it was.  :? Very jealous though! I want details as to how you went to four hour feedings. We have finally conqoured two naps, plus the catnap, but are still stuck at 5 bottles plus the dream feed. So sorry to everyone that I have not been around either! I have no idea where the week went! I will post more later. Take care all!

[HeatherC]

Christine, are you returning to teaching this fall?  If so, when do you start?  My mom is a teacher and she has worked in her classroom almost every day this summer.  Teachers start back next Friday.  It's so soon, and she's terribly sad because she has spent so much time with Kelsey and I this summer.
Kelsey has miraculously (spelling?) started taking two 1.5 hour naps.  Yet this morning she has been asleep for over 2 hours.  I hate to wake her, but I feel I must to feed her and not to interfere with the next nap and night sleep.  I can't take credit for this nap improvement; she's done it on her own.  I'm such a proud momma!!!  She's beginning to fall completely into the "angel/textbook" category, but she's always been my angel.  I'm having her 6 month pictures taken tomorrow.  They will be the first professional photos I've had done.  I'm very excited.
Deb-I'm so happy for you.  What a relief that the clinic was a success.  I'd also love to hear more details of the weeks events.
Well, as much as I hate to, I better go wake her.  If I had only known she'd sleep so long, I would have gotten into a project...

[Deb_in_oz]

we are having issues with settling back in at home - ugh - that first day homw she would not nap in her cot - was up from 11am (at the clinic) refused 1 pm nap. i stuck to feed time and then put her down at 4:10 and she slept for  1 hr 40min so we caught up fine.  that night she had a hrd time settling down for night but got there in the end.  yesterday was similar but at least she did 2 naps but refused catnap!!!  still sleeping through so can't complain.

Christine - we just went straight to 4 hourr feeding with no problem.  actually she went 5 hrs when we wre first there b/c she had missed her morning nap (arrival at clinic at 9:30 and she did not fall asleep in car or pram while we waited for check in process  :roll: )  they "made her" have a nap (meaning waited until she eventually worked it out that she needed to sleep first and she finally fell asleep) and by the end she had gone 5 hrs since first feed and we never looked back.  i also insisted that she not wait 4 hrs for evening feed as i still want that around 7pm.  we are still flexible - like last night when she refused catnap i know we would have problems so offered feed at 6:15 and top up afetr bath... in bed around 6:45/7pm

Most of the progress came from just jumping in with both feet and not doing all the gradual plans from BW books - it would ave taken me many stressful days to get rid of the swaddle, but it took 24 hours or less.  I am still having to watch her like a hawk after 1 hr 30 awake time and find it can backfire if she is overtired, but she does eventually go to sleep (yesterday she pooped afetr 20 min in cot, changed her and then it took another 30 to get to sleep, but then she did a 1hr 20 nap and probably woke b/c it was 10 min before feed time)

the rule of 1hr 30 in cot no matter what is very freeing as well - right bnow she has woken after 45 min but i have not even gone in because i heard her gently making noise - no crying out - so will leave her to resettle or have quiet time. i still get my "Y" time (dd1 is out with Dh and my sister  )

she is also having much better "A" time now.  they made me leave her to play more independently (which i used to do with Alex but was not doing as much this time) and provide a wider variety of toys.  she is so much more excited and actively playing.  she also LOVES her exersaucer!!! will get photos before end of weekend - i know i keep saying that but will really try to get Dh on board tonight!

if you ask specific questions i will try to be helpful - it is hard to break it all down - it actually was mostly about me gaining confidence again!!  many babies there had terrible night waking problems (between 6-20 times a night) and almost immediately some were sleeping though or having only 2 wakings...and everyine agreed it was mostly because they had the professional support backing them up and they felt stronger and more confident, the kids pick up on that!

[branwen]

Deb- Wow!  That is all great! I am so glad the clinic worked for you and Olivia! YAY!    We can't get to the 4 hrs...pretty lost right now...PUPD failing us   Anyway, do have questions for you. :wink:    How long is her awake time now?  What do you mean by wider variety of toys?  Are you doing AEAS? or EAES? 

I'm really struggling with Eirwen's awake time.  She seems to fuss constantly.  I give her toys, then take some away, try others but it is a lot of whining, and eventually I end up picking her up, moving her room to room, etc.  I haven't found a toy that makes her really happy...like you see with some babies- maybe it is temperament...  It is crazy right now...sometimes she lasts only 1.5 then other times she is up 2.5 refusing nap.  Tonight it took us 2 hrs to get her to bed...had been 4.5 since she woke from last nap!  oh, boy, this is a challenging time!

Heather- congrats on the naps!  And post pics when you get them!  I'm sooo bad, we haven't done them yet...

Christine- we have missed you!  I love your new pic- please tell me about swimming!  I really want to take Eirwen but have been shy about it?!  Any tips?

About eczema?! Cortizone made Eirwen's worse!!!  Any ideas?!

On a positive note little Eirwen has learned to sit!  It's crazy cute!  I didn't think she could and then she goes and shows off for the doc!  We also had to get a new carseat- she's in the 95% for height!!! :shock:  :shock: and although she hasn't reached the weight limit- doc said carseat is unsafe anyway 'cause of her length....

[HeatherC]

Just thought I'd post a pic of Kelsey sitting up...

[Deb_in_oz]

Yay Eirwen and Kelsey sitting up - cute pic!  i know you guys are 2-4 weeks ahead in age but i can't wait until olivia is sitting up...  for now atr least she is getting practice in her Exersaucer (yipee new toy)

Branwen : Olivia's awake time is now averaging 1hr 45 (sometimes closer to 1hr 35 and sometimes 1h 50-2hrs).  this is for all cycles.  we are doing EASY or AEASY depending on her wake time from nap - I am sticking as close as possible to 4hr feeds so she has some activity time if wakes from nap early and has been in cot for at least an hour and a half.

for the "wider variety of toys" there are 2 aspects: 1) i was in a rut and only offering her a few things through the day (under gymini, holdig 1 of 2 dog toys, laying on her tummy with same toys, etc)  BORING!!  2) i tended to give her 1 thing at a time

now i am doing what i did with alex (when i was a much saner, clear headed mom  :lol: ) and i 1) put her on her tummy on a playmat and put 2-4 toys around her.  she can then "choose" what to reach for, hit etc.  this is what helped Alex crawl by 5 months - starting at 3 months she used to do hand over hand to go "get" whatever toy she wanted. and 2) am making sure she gets a balance between playing alone and interacting with me, exersaucer, music etc. 

the result was immediate: she is so much more animated now during "A" time and i just change activities if she fusses or gets upset being on her tummy...

A key thing the nurses told me about activities though was that it is not the toys that cause overstimulation but our overinvolvement / interaction that does it.  For example, the first day they put her in the playroom and laid 4-5 toys with her and i protested saying she gets easily overstimulated/spirited baby etc and they said the above comment.  by leaving her be, she was able to determine how much stim.  she wanted.  Now if you put them in a situation they can't control that is a different story (ie - in front of TV that is too noisy, etc and they get upset or with a noisy/loud toy that they can't control)

[Jaime]

so many happy things are happening with our babies! 

welcome back Deb!  saw your post in the lounge too - that place sounds amazing!  you also sound much better in your posts.  glad things went well.

heather - yay on the napping!  i'm sure it's nice to have more than half an hour to yourself.  the pic of her sitting is adorable.  can't wait to see professional shots.  want to take luke soon but don't want to go until he can sit by himself.  he's close, but he keeps listing to the sides.  :lol:

branwen - yay on eirwen sitting too!  we also had to get a new carseat for luke.  he was way too long (27.5") and he was close enough to 20lbs (19-3).  believe it or not, i think he likes this one better.  about the eczema... if cortisone made it worse.... are you sure it is eczema?  sorry, i have no more ideas other than to keep bugging the dr at all her appointments.  oh, except for a humidifier in her room at night if you aren't already.

we have some great news - the meds are working!!! luke is pretty much back to sleeping through the night w/o assistance.  i've been able to get him off of 2 of the meds, but the 3rd i think will be around for a while. 

luke has a tooth!  :shock:  totally did not realize it was coming!  wasn't expecting it since jaina didn't get any till 11 months.  he was really fussy yesterday and last night i looked & there it was. 

we have also dropped the catnap.  i am thankful cause it means he gets into bed earlier for the night.  makes it hard to go out in the evenings but hey, around 12 hrs at night is worth it.

i go back to work tomorrow.  i am excited, but i can't belive how fast the past 6 months have flown by!  it seemed like such a long time when he was first born.  fortunately, i have a week of preplanning to get used to the new routine - and i won't have to be in till 8am.  i have no idea how i'm going to get 2 kids up & ready & off to the sitter and then get to work by 7:30 once school starts.

[Leah's Mom]

Heather - Yes I am going back to teaching. I have mixed feelings about it. Part of me is excited to get back to my kids and colleages, and the other part of me is VERY sad to leave Leah. I don't have to go back until August 30th though, so I have another month of vacation!!      I love the picture! Does Kelsey love her fuzzy tie blanket? Leah has one, actually three, just like it and loves to play with the ties! Kelsey looks so big sitting up. Does she do it totally independently? Leah will sit for about thirty seconds or until she sees something and reaches for it, then kilters over! DH keeps saying her head is just a little too big for her body, she's still off balance. Leah has also started taking good naps one will usually be 1 1/2- 2 hours and then the other will only be an hour. We still have our days of 45 minutes though. I almost think once she starts crawling she will take better naps? She always seems to take loner naps if we've had lots of activity before the nap so she can burn off her energy.

Deb - I also read your post on the lounge. The clinic sounds wonderful. I wish there was something like that around here. I totally agree about the confidence thing. It's just so hard when you are not sure what they need.

Branwen - Thanks for the pic compliment! Leah LOVES to go swimming. Our in-laws live on a lake so we take her there. We usually just sit in the shallow water and hold her. We will twirl her around and put her feed in etc. We don't take her out where the water is over our heads becuase she doesn't have a life jacket small enough to wear. I also try and make sure it is a very warm day, so the water doens't seem so cold. Go slowly though, Leah loves her bath but the first time we put her in the lake she got scared. This is a challenging time. The past few nights it has taken Leah almost an hour to fall asleep. She just plays in her cot, working herself up into a tizzy! Don't worry, we're not at four hours yet either. Not sure if we will every get there!  :wink:
We also had to get a new car seat. I miss the handy carrier, but Leah likes this seat much better than her old one.

Jaime - Back to school!!! I still have a month off, not trying to rub it in. I would love to hear how you are planning on tweaking Luke's schedule. I did go back to school for the month of May, so Leah was waking up at 6:30 (I have to be to school at 7:30) WELL, we have gotten into the bad habit of feeding at 6:30, then Leah goes back to sleep with me in bed until 7:30 - 8.  :shock: I know, bad habit, but I love this cuddely time! and extra sleep!  :wink: What do you think Luke's schedule will look like once school starts?

Well, there we go! I FINALLY caught up! I promise to be better at this. Nothing too new around here otherwise. We are preparing for when DH leaves on August 10th. He is going to Alaska to see a friend stationed up there. They are going caribou hunting. The trip has been planned for many years before DD came around. So I told him to still go. He will be gone for almost two weeks!  :shock: We'll manage. Anyway, take care all and I will check in again soon!

[diyasmom]

I have been a stranger for quite some time. I don't get enough me time:(
I will try to write as much as possible before Diya wakes up.
Deb, that is awesome news. Yay to Olivia! How did you manage the nightwakings?I don't remember about her nightwakings before the clinic. What did they do there to change that? Also for the naps, did they just put her in the crib so that she will go to sleep on her own exactly after 1hr 30 mins. Please elaborate on those because these are the problems which we have now.
Heather, that is a beautiful pic of Kelsey.
Branwen, my DD was born on 1/25 and she has been giving me a hard time too for the past 2 days. She used to nap on her own and now when I put her in the crib, she just rolls and scoots from one end to the other end and almost tries to be up on all four as though she is about to crawl and she keeps looking the different sides of the crib. DH was home and he wouldn't let her do the mantra cry too and so got her out and she had 30 min naps(I used to complain about the 45 min naps and look what I have got). A time is completely dependent on her now and it became 2hr and 25 mins today. IS Eirwen doing the same too? Also she wakes up around 2-5 in the morning and takes a full feeding and another one at 7.30 before she is up for the day at 8.30. When I do 4 hr feedings, she woke up at 2.30 and then at 4.30 last night. I don't know which is better, 3 or 4 hrs. Does Eirwen sleep through the night?
Schae, long time since we heard from you.
Yay to Luke!

Vidya