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

[Leah's Mom]

Welcome Sarah! Ah yes, the four hour schedule! We are all battling moving from three to four hours, but I think Branwen in the only one having much success....! I hope to try soon, but it seems weird to move her from thre to four hour feeds when she still is not sleeping thru the night!!!!

By the way. what I assumed was a paci addiction or gas (multiple wakings) was actually hunger, I think.  :shock: I kept giving DD the paci at night and she kept waking every half hour to an hour thereafter till morning. The other night I gave in around 1:30 and fed her, then she slept straight thru until 5:30, whoops! It's so hard to know what they want!!! The problem is I have no idea how to get more good into her during the day, becuase she does not want more than 4 ounces - MAX!

What type of formula does everyone use? If you use it.

[Maddysmum]

I've been using Hipp Organic, not sure if you get that in the USA, although it would be useful to know as I'm off to Florida on Saturday! (Not sure how that will affect her routine though)

Christine (Leah's mum) - my DD used to only eat 4oz on the 3 hr routine, and I struggled sometimes to get her to eat that, but now she is polishing off 7!! I guess she is just that bit hungrier now.

[Deb_in_oz]

welcome Sarah - it sounds like you have recovered nicely from a rocky start. are you doing a gradual switch to 4hrly?  maybe she needs to adjust a little at a  time for the lost sleep.

Christine - i know how hard it is to gauge night wakings for hunger - i usually assume it is unless she just stirs rather than cries.  Dh was finally the one to deal with waking this am and he did not do as i asked (wait and see and hang back..) but just went in half asleep (it was 5:50am) and offered food.  she only took 60ml, got agitated and will not go back to sleep.  i am finally getting her up now (7am) but i did not want to get her up while it was still dark and dd1 asleep.

as far as how much olivia eats - she takes between 4 1/2 - 7oz at each feed (i know - what a range!) we aim for 6-7oz but when she is done she really means it and will not take another drop!  FWIW i wouldn't move to 4hrs if she is not taking enough calories in the day - i would think she still needs to get in the extra food - have you tried EAESY - that's what we do - Liv rarely takes 3oz when she has first part of feed.  she likes to take a break and play... and then we offer her the rest of the bottle at the end and she will take another 3-4 oz.   
got to go and get my girls fed - c u later

[sedona314]

Hi all:

Im new.  I tried posting to Jan/Feb baby thread but wound up as a new topic.  I hope Im in the right place this time.  Here is my post (again):

Im so happy to have found this board. My little guy was born Jan 31, 2005. And he is definitely Spirited!

I read that a few of you said that you had started taking your lo's out around 3 or 4 months of age? We have taken Matthew out here and there but he is usually so fussy, or his reflux kicks in, that we havent ventured out near as much as I would like. Im sometimes envious of mothers out with their babies all the time, Matty would never be able to handle that much outside time. But the good news is that he is getting easier to handle and I think we can take him out more now too.

Christine, I totally empathize with you regarding your lo getting up so often at night. My lo usually has his DF at 11:00 and wakes up at 3:00, then again at 4:30 or 5:00, then again at 6 or 6:30 or so at which time I sh/pat him til' 7:00. He never wakes at exactly the same time though, so I dont think its habit. He is also VERY hungry at the first wake up time (only 3 to 4 hours after DF!) so I BF a full feeding at that time. The other wake ups I have to sh/pat or Pu/Pd. sheesh, alot of abbreviations here.

Anyway, all the books, including Tracy's say that ds should be sleeping through the night by 4 months, but try telling Matthew that!
I've tried her suggestion of feeding more during the day, but he won't take more. There's nothing in the book about how to get a baby to take more 

Okay, I've rambled on long enough. Im pleased to meet everyone and looking forward to reading the posts.

Julie

Matthew 1/31/05 Spirited

[Deb_in_oz]

Welcome Julie - amazingly another spirited one - we will definitely be supportive!  about sleeping through the night - there is no hard and fast rule.  they hopefully get there in the end, but sometimes even when they eat all "they can" during the day it is still not enough.  remember that they all have different sleep needs, stomache sizes, food needs, etc.

i have actually tracked when dd2 has slept through and it does not seem to matter how much she takes in total, but really comes down to last feed before bed + dream feed for her. if both of these are good amounts she might sleep through (or at least only wake once for food).  it is frustrating when you want them to do "what other babies" are doing, but remember that 6-7 hours of sleep in one block at night technically = sleeping through.  dd1 used to sleep from 7pm - 3am from 8 weeks and i had to remind myself that was 8 hours!!  some people put their bubs down at 10pm and then they do 8 hours.... so bear all this in mind.

we have not been taking olivia out really - i feel terrible thinking about it - we seem to be doing things in turns unless absolutely necessary b/c i am so afraid of how she will sleep or eat (fussy and needs the right setting to eat). we are still just working on extending her awake time and ability to handle stimulation.

[HeatherC]

Hi, Ladies.  I feel bad for not posting for a long time, but I have reread everyone's posts to try and catch back up with things.

Julie, I wouldn't worry about your lo not sleeping through just b/c the books say they should.  The books also say lo's should be taking 1.5-2 hour naps, but mine and several others only take 30 minutes.  I also used to fret about getting DD out and about, and I was so frustrated not to have a life outside of the house.  But I have eased into it and taken it in stride.  Once I got her trained to fall asleep without being held and crying, I could get her out so that she would fall asleep in the stroller.  Granted, I don't go to many restaurants because she does get fussy, so I try to go to shopping places instead.  But I totally understand being envious of moms toting their babies around like it is no big deal.  I went to a friend's house today and everyone had their babies, but I left Kelsey at home for fear that she would get overtired and throw a fit and I wouldn't be able to calm her.  It all comes with time.

I also wanted to ask about the 4 hour routine for those of you charting into that territory.  If we do this, and we don't have a DF anymore, does this mean Kelsey will get 4 feedings only?  Is this okay if I just up the amount of intake?  I worry about her not getting enough to eat, but I suppose she'll let me know. :?:   Plus, her naps are only 30 minutes, and she's tired after 2 hours of waking, which puts us at EASA anyway, so should I just try to increase her A time gradually so that I'm not left with a ton of A time after S?  Does what I'm asking make sense?  I just don't want to be on 4 hour and her want to sleep after 2 hours, and then after a 30 minute nap have 1.5 hours until next feed.  Maybe going longer btw feedings will promote longer naps?  Has anyone encountered this yet?  I think if I'm going to start 4 hour I will have to devote some serious time into pu/pd to extend her naps or something.  Thanks.

[Leah's Mom]

Deb- That's what I was thinking - not starting the four hour routine until she sleeps the night - hence -is getting enough calories during the day.

Welcome Julie! Your DS and my DD are but a few days apart! It is frustrating to not have them sleeping thru the night, don't you think? We ventured out to a birthday party for our goddaughter last night and there were about three other babies there around the same age as Leah. Of course they were all sleeping 7-7 or 9-9 etc. The most frustrating thing is when I hear: Is she a good baby? Does she sleep thru for you? I usually just tell them she is a great baby and she sleeps well - it's really not a lie I guess.... But what am I suppose to say: Oh she's a bad baby cause she gets up multiple times during the night?? Frustrating!

Glad to hear everyone is doing well! Like I said we went to a b-day party last night past Leah's bedtime. This is the first time we have done this. She took a late night catnap, then we had her in bed by 9. (Usual bedtime is 7) She got up around 12:30, then slept till 5:30, then slept till 7. That was better than what DH and I thought was going to happen. DH was so funny. The whole time at the b-day party he kept coming up to me with this scared look on his face and saying: I'm nervous about what is going to happen tonight. I would just feel better if she were in bed sleeping now. So cute for him to worry! She's got him wrapped around her finger already!

Smiles to all!

[branwen]

this is my touchy baby's infamous pouty lip.  :lol: just had to share  :wink:

[Leah's Mom]

Oh my god Branwen - too cute!!!!!!! I would love to see pics of everyone else's little ones. I will try to see what I can find to show everyone!

Heather - I worry about moving to the four hour routine becuae of the same thing. Right now we get so messed up because of the 30-45 minute naps. For example: Today she woke early from nap #1, then had 1 and 1/2 hours of activity, then she needed to eat - but she was so tired, she couldn't eat well and kept waking from her nap hungry. It's a vicious cycle! She is a fussy eater so she eats best when she has just woken from a nap. SOme days I think that maybe a four hour routine would cure all, but who knows?!?! At least your DD sleeps the night. MIne was up twice last night to eat!!! I feel like she is a newborn again!

[branwen]

I want to see pics too!   

Ahhh, yes the four hour routine. :roll:   My daughter is doing well on it but we aren't on a true 4 hour routine...and some days, like yesterday its all out of whack.  According to Tracy you won't have 4 feeds because you keep the dream feed until 7 or 8 months- so 5 feeds.  I don't have a dream feed but I cluster in the evenings.  This is what we are doing the past few days (except for hellish yesterday) 6, 10, 2, 5:30, 7.

Yes- the whole nap thing.  EASY really doesn't work too well without those longer naps or awake time.  Even with Eirwen sometimes she'll go down for the nap early and even though she sleeps 2 hrs she will still wake up and have an 1 hr left to a feed. I still don't know how to extend her, esp in the mornings...I mean her cues are so obvious and if I don't put her down when she cues she will take forever!  I've learned my lesson with that :wink: 

Oh Julie- welcome and also don't worry about the night esp because you're breastfeeding.  My LC told me that breastmilk can be digested in 40 min or less! :shock:   I couldn't take her out until a month ago- she was such a fussy one! She would cry and want to nurse to tune everything out.  When we started EASY everything changed and now I do errands during A time and she loves it Give it time!  Oh, if you are nursing, and he seems done you could try changing his diaper or taking a "break" and then offer the breast again...that is how I got Eirwen to eat more, eventually she caught on.

[sedona314]

Thanks for all your input. I'm so glad I found this board.

Branwen, your little one is so cute.  I too would like to see everyone else's babies.

As for the four hour routine:  we found this book just three weeks ago so Matty has been on it a little over two weeks.  We started with the four hour, we try to make it look like this:

A - 7:00 wake
E - 8:00 eat (he usually wont eat right when he gets up)
S - 9-11
E - 11:00
A - 11:30-1
S - 1-3
E - 3
A - 3:30-5
S - 5-6
6-7:30  mellow activity/bath and eat when hungry

This was working out pretty well the first week or so, but Matthew has decided to nap shorter periods of time.  so we often wind up doing Eat, Activity, Sleep, Activity, Eat, Activity, Sleep and so on.

For some reason his 1.5 - 2 hour naps are going for 45 - 1.5 and we usually have to pat/sh him or do pu/pd.   I think he is starting to teeth so I wonder if that may be whats going on?

Also, get this:  We treat ourselves to a night time sitter a few nights a week (otherwise I would not be able to function without those two full nights of sleep!) and with the sitter the last two nights she was here, he slept from DF at 11 all the way through until 5:00 and last night he slept until 6:00 AM!!!!
 Before you get too excited at that, the night I had him in between, he had DF at 11:00 and was up at 1:30 (feed, yes he was hungry), 2:45, gave him mylecon and settled him back down, 4:50 (feed again!), then 6:00 (i patted him back to sleep until 7:00).  See Christine - you are not the only one 

Now we'll see what happens tonight.  Kind of worried about it as I have a very full work day tomorrow.

If anyone has input on teething, let me know.  Im hoping thats what it is with the shorter naps.

Julie

[Leah's Mom]

Ah thanks Julie! It is so nice to know that I am not the only one up at 1:30 in the morning going: You just ate! You can't possibly be hungry baby!!!

[Maddysmum]

Any excuse to show everyone my gorgeous little girl!!

[Leah's Mom]

She's adorable Sarah!!! Here is my DD Leah.

[thitz]

Hi Everyone,

I've been reading your posts and there's so many and there so interesting it's taking me a long time to get thru them all.  So I've skipped the last couple of pages so I'd have time to write.  I just want to say thank you for everyone who's written because it's such a huge help just knowing other moms and baby's are going thru the same thing.  I'll try and answer anyone's questions as I ramble on below.

My dd is 4 months old and weighs about 14 lbs.  We started 3 hr easy at 10 weeks doing sh/pat for sleeping.  It took a good 5 days before she started getting it and that was without giving in to the breast or bottle once.  I was really lucky the my dh is home (currently looking for work) because when I got absolutely fed up I would call him and he'd take over and I made sure he didn't let her fall asleep on him.

At around 12 weeks she wouldn't nap for any longer than 45 mins and I would have to sh/pat for 40 mins until her next E.  Also she would only eat 3 oz at a time.  So I took the plunge and started trying the 4hr easy.  I looked at Tracy's transition schedules in the book but I didn't want to keep changing her schedule so much and I knew she was never overly hungry after 3 hours so this is what I tried. 

I basically aim for a 4 hour easy but because activity time is rarely 2 hrs the day ends around 6:30pm.  I try not to feed her any sooner than 3.5 hours.  So I usually do 15 mins to 1/2 hr activity time after she wakes.

Her naps have improved by leaps and bounds since moving closer to the 4hour easy.  She still wakes up at about the 30-45 mins mark but puts herself back to sleep.  For the past two days she's had 3 2hour naps w/o a single sh/pat.  At night she usually wakes around 3:00, 5:00 and 6:00, but all I have to do is reswaddle or flip her to the other side (she mostly side sleeps).  It seems she just wants to know that I'm there if she needs me.  So, I'm in and out in 2 mins. flat.  Once in awhile she's really good and sleeps straight thru to 6:30.

A  6:45 mobile/diaper while bottle warms & I drink juice for some energy
E  7:00 5 oz Nestle GoodStart Formula with Playtex liner bottles
A  7:15 sit w. pillow, floor play, booster chair while I load dishwasher
S  8:15 sit for 2 mins and pat bum then diaper, swaddle in crib, turn her on side btwn bolsters and she sucks her thumb and falls asleep

A  10:15 delay w. mobile and take extra long diaper so it's at least 3.5 hrs since last feed.
E  10:30  5 oz
A  10:45 stroll/floor play
S  12:00

A  2:00
E  2:15 5 oz
A  2:30  sit w. pillow, floor play, chair in kitchen
S  3:30

A  5:00  sometimes do a bath here if she wakes up too early, this nap is usually hard to make longer than 1 hr.
E  5:45 6 oz
A  6:00 sit w. pillow, floor play
S  6:30

E  DF at 10:40 6 oz

Also, I switched two days ago to a fast flow nipple.  Her feedings were a nightmare almost all the time before the switch.  She would arch her back and push with her legs and move her head all around.  It took her a good 1/2 hour to drink 4 oz.  Now she only gets fussy after drinking 5 oz in about 15 mins and I know she's done.

Also another thing for those struggling with short naps is that I never gave in.  I always would keep sh/patting till she was in the crib for 1.5 hours.  This is probably impossible for those moms with toddlers too.

Anyways my dd is starting to stir.  And I always like to end her nap on a positive note so I better go.

Have a good day everyone, Tarri