any april/may 05 moms want to chat?

[Jamom]

I got mine off the Internet.  I can't remember exactly which site but there are quite a few if you just google it.  I think I got it from http://www.bumbobabyseat.com but am not sure. There's also http://www.bumboseat.com, among others.  I think I paid $34.95 because the blue one was on sale but it was regularly $39.95.  It's also good for when you start solids and you are just doing it a couple of times a day -- makes it so I don't have to get out a highchair quite yet.  (And I don't know if Jake would like a highchair). I also like to bring it places so that Jake can sit upright and is out of his carseat-- like friends' homes, etc.

[krice]

I totally agree with Erin (Jamom) about using the bumbo to start solids.  Another plus is that it is so easy to wipe clean.  I first saw the bumbo online and almost ordered it, but then one of the specialty baby stores in my city purchased them.

I've been reading some posts about 5am ish wakings and can relate.  Over the past week, I re-read portions of BW Solves all your problems and it has helped so much.  I think that after we have read the book once or twice, we put it in the back of our mind, but then our LO's change so rapidly and the book needs to be revisited.  I found page 34 (the 4 hr EASY schedule helpful to remind myself of the times).

Pages 189-190 were also very helpful to re-read (The Perils of rushing in).  I noticed immediately that I was too quick to go in when I heard a noise in the middle of the night, or near the 5am wake time.  I decided to leave DS when I heard him fuss and see what would happen.  The first night/early morning it took about 45min for him to resettle.  The second night/5am I again heard him, but decided to leave him be.  It was less time.  I used to rush in and try to sooth him before he awoke fully.  For 3 days now, my DS has slept until his 6am wake time!  It's been heaven.  It's not that he doesn't wake up at 5am anymore, now if he does wake up he is better able to 'entertain' himself and doesn't make the big squawks saying "Mommy are you coming to get me?".

I just thought I'd point out those pages for you - since they've been so helpful to me.

Things are 'ticking' along well over in our corner.  My LO is so social!  Loves to go to a mommies and babies group every Thursday.  Gets so excited, smiles, laughs, tries to touch other babies.  It's so fun to see his eyes light up.  Of course, since he has reflux he 'yacks' when he is excited, but hey at least he's happy!!!!

I hope all of you moms are taking some time for yourselves.  I've just started a routine for myself where I have certain days that I can get away for an hour or two (thanks to DH or my mom) and do something for myself (exercise is my vice).  It's been wonderful to feel like I have a life outside of my home and baby.

Here's hoping everyone is well . . .

[motherofquinn]

Just joining in!

My Quinn was born on the 5th of May, so is just now over four months.
I discovered BW only recently by word of mouth and it was just in time!

We are on day five of the EASY and PU/PD routine and it is working beautifully.

Before, when he was three months old I used to feed him to sleep...(more like ESA..)until I started to make an effort not to use the boob as a prop. Then he would only fall asleep when I carried him and shushed loudly in his ear. Sometimes it would take an hour or more to do this and at 15+ pounds, carrying him was killing my back- walking him to sleep like that for every nap and at bedtime! When I was exhausted I would resort back to feeding to sleep..no wonder he was confused.

I think with EASY and PU/PD he is learning to put himself to sleep. I only have to PU/PD a few times if ever, now after five days. He still fusses and mantra cies before falling asleep, but overall it is a vast improvement.

He goes to bed at around 7ish and I do the dream feed at 11. He is still waking up at 4ish, and I can't tell if he is hungry or not. I usually end up feeding him, then he sleeps a bit longer until about 6 or 7.

Does this early morning feed (4 am) ever disappear?
Do I need to increase calorie intake during the day so that he doesn't wake for this feed?
Has anyone successfully eliminated the early morning wake-up?

And we are still trying to extend his naps...the longest he has slept so far is an hour at a stretch during the day. I usually try to soothe him back to sleep until his next feed. Sometimes it works, sometimes he is just too awake.

I'll let you know how it progresses!
Glad to know you are out there!

[jjstar]

Welcome Lesley! Your LO has the same fun birthday as my Jameson!

Carrie...I am going to try to let others help but I think the MIL wasn't the one for me to try it with first. I do leave him in the nursery at church during bible study and don't seem to have the panick thoughts as I do other times. Oh well I figure I'll either figure it out eventually or he won't be a baby anymore whichever comes first?!

And I must admit I was a really bad mom today. We were out on the boat and Jameson was alseep on the seat. We were off in the water and I looked up an realized that he was waking up and of course as usually was rolling himself over to his back. He rolled OFF the seat onto the floor before I could get to him. As soon as I picked him up he stopped crying so I don't think he was hurt but boy did I get scared.

Well I have a major early night waking issue. The past 3 nights he has woken at 7:50. I wait until he is really crying and then it only takes 5 minutes to get him back to sleep. The odd thing is that he has gone to sleep at different times so it isn't like it is 45 minutes after he is sleep. (Friday down at 7:20, Sat at 7:25 & tonight at 6:45). It is the oddest thing. Thoughts??

[Katet]

Hi Lesely, welcome
Re the 4am feed, you're bf still? does it take about the same time as other feeds or is he just sucking for a while & then asleep, if it is the latter, then it is a habit. Sounds like things are going well for you with the PU/PD though, so if it is habit, that may soon dissapear

Jill, that first "accident" is a killer isn't it. It won't be the last time your heart is in your mouth, I can tell you.

Kathy, yes the perils of rushing in... that is the long & the short of why I have a toddler who wakes at night...I used to be good about letting him self settle if it was a mantra cry & then it started to be a "mummy please" call... well I was teaching him mummy please in the day time, so I thought I'd better respond... well dumb thing I must say, although this did all happen when I was 7mo preg & wasn't sleeping anyway. But with Liam, I listen & unless it is the "urgent cry" I count to 100 & then work out what to do. Is working great thus far.

Well I am considering joining the Paci weaning club, not because Liam sleeps badly, as for the most part his sleep issues are due to the number of times he gets disturbed for activities for the rest of the family (mainly his big brother), But I am noticing I am using it for my needs not his  (it's my prop!) & as he is a good self soother some of the time, I think I will prevent him from improving those skills. As I only use it to lengthen short naps & when I'm too busy to settle him properly, I don't think it will be too big an issue, I just need to re-adjust some of our routine so that his last nap (when I use it the most) doesn't fall around when I need to be doing dinner  & Aiden wants my attention too, its his "witching hour" & there is no way I get enough time to settle Liam properly.
I've also just started doing some small projects on a contract basis for my old work... just 2-3 hours a week, but enough to keep the brain active & help us have the odd luxury.

[s_olano00]

Hello Ladies,

So we went to the Lactation Consultant last friday and it turned out that my sore nipples are due to Dermatitis caused by a silicon part that my breast pump has  :shock: Honestly, I didn't see that one coming....

So now, I have 2 different creams that are supposed to help and next friday we have to go again to correct AK's bfeeding issues, although when the LC saw the way how she bfeeds (fussy, tugging, on and off and for no more than 5 mins), she told me that she is a very smart baby that just found that the bottle is an easier way to eat.

Now meal times are a struggle. AK really likes to hold her bottle and won't let my hands come near it and of course, the bottle is too heavy for her little hands, so it keeps on falling, so we keep on fighting because I want to hold her bottle and she will just keep on pushing my hands away. This will happen at almost every meal, including the 4am one  :evil:

Also, she has just changed her way of falling asleep. Before, I used to shh/pat her, but since mid-last week, as soon as I put her down, she will start sucking her fist and when she has her eyes closed (still sucking) I leave the room and she eventually falls asleep. The night sleep is harder, because she closes her eyes, I leave the room, but 5 mins later I hear her fussing and I let her be, but her moans grow and grow until they become a "COME HERE NOW" yelling, so I go and as soon as she sees me, she'll smile and won't settle down. We can be about 1 hr. in this until she finally falls asleep. Can the sucking be estimulating her too much? I have tried to "hide" her little hand, but it doesn't work...

Lesley, I am having the same issue with the 3 - 4 am wakings. AK will eat each 4 hours, an that includes the early morning hours.... Since she's taking almost a full feed, I guess it's just hunger, and although I have tried to increase her daily calories, she just won't take anymore than what she wants, so now I am just hoping that she'll grow out of her early morning feeds sooner....

Jill, we had a similar accident with AK some weeks ago. DH was taking care of her while I was trying to catch up with my sleep and suddenly, I heard a loud THUMP.... DH left her on the sofa-bed while he went to the bathroom. I was mad at him because he was careless and she had a little purple mark on her forehead and on top of it, the next morning we had a brunch with the IL's. What really helped me int his case was that I was reading the BW book the night before and it said that you should be very careful in the way you comfort your baby. ie. what you say and your tone of voice. You might frighten you LO even more if you use the wrong tone of voice.

Well, I hope everyone had a good weekend, and again, THANK YOU for your advise and support. If it wouldn't have been for you, I wouldn't have looked for support from the Lactation Consultant.

Have a good day / night

[cambeladamom]

hello all. life is more hectic now than when cambel was born! this weekend we were at the inlaws and now we are staying with my sister and her family. ds is at his first day at work and i am supposed to be looking for houses here. we will be going between here and our old home until it sells. so ds is sleeping in the storage room (the only dark quiet place) and i am trying to relax and remember that one day we will have our own space again:)
jjstar-i can totally relate to wanting to do it yourself b/c it is easier and you can do it better. i struggle with this too. no real advice, just wanted you to know you are not alone:)
silvia-i got your pm, i will pm you back when it is closer to january. thanks so much. and i hope nursing gets better for you.
about the early am feeding. i was just wondering the same thing. ours is at 5, and then ds will sleep until 7 or after. i think he is still hungry at this time...but also it is just easier to feed him than to get him to go back to sleep on his own. i guess i will wait awhile longer...maybe when we have our own house.
have a good day!
maria

[marlowho]

Just popping in- sounds like everyone is doing so well!
Kate- I'm wondering why you're wanting to do the paci weaning?  It doesn't sound as if he's addicted to it- so I'm interested in what you're worry is?  -You did mention thinking he's not learning to self-soothe enough- but if he's sleeping well, he must be doing some sort of self-soothiing, right?  I'm just curious.
As for those early wakings- does anyone else notice that it corresponds to what time they went to bed the night before?  Noel is pretty predictable in this- exactly 9 hrs. from the time she falls asleep she will wake starving.  So I go in and feed her and she goes back down until her normal wake time.  I guess it's not that predictable with all babies-just wondering if anyone else's lo's are like that.
Welcome to all of the new 'faces'.

[Jamom]

Ok, forgive me, I didn't go back and check all of the posts but could some of those early wakings be because you haven't moved to a 4-hour EASY schedule?  I recall reading that at around the 4 month age, that if your lo has not transitioned to the 4-hour EASY, then it may result in night wakings.  Again, I don't know if you all are doing that and since I am at work, didn't have time to check.

As far as rushing in, I have turned my monitor off at night.  I've been doing this for almost a couple of months and I think it is the reason that Jake will keep sleeping.  I've heard him talking to himself at 5 am frequently, but I just leave him be and he goes back down.  His room is next to our's and so if he gets upset, I definitely hear him.  If you don't feel comfortable turning it off, just turn it down-- it's made a huge difference for us.

As for us-- Jake is definitely getting more and more hungry.  I've noticed that if we don't do the dreamfeed within 4 hours of his last feed, that he wakes up hungry.  I would like to get him to take more earlier in the day and not be so dependent on the df but that is when he eats the most.  It seems that he gets progressively hungrier as the day goes on, which I would've thought he would be hungriest in the morning after going so long.  Oh well!

Daycare continues to go well.  My dh is out of town the next three days so I have a feeling that I am going to be exhausted!  But I did survive the week with the MIL taking care of Jake and she didn't even rock him to sleep as I feared she would.  I guess after saying that she couldn't to her a million times, she just decided to listen to me. 

Hope everyone is doing well.  Anyone else feel like their lo is growing way too fast.?  Yesterday, Jake was standing and hanging on to his daddy's leg and he looked like a little toddler.  Not a baby anymore! 

[mommytsa]

Erin- I totally know what you mean about them frowign up so fast and not seeming like babies anymore.  I ran into an acquaintance of mine this weekend and she has a 1 month old.  already it seems like Aaron is big and mature and such a little man, compared to a baby just 3 months younger!  I'm both happy and sad that he's growing up.  I guess that's parenthood, though.

Things here have been a little crazy.  Aaron got his shots on Friday, and had a low grade fever all weekend, and was really cranky and just unhappy.  So I cuddled and just tried to do the best I could to make him feel better (tylenol is a godsend!).  Lately he's been difficult to put down for naps-it's still taking 10-15 min of pu/pd to get him down.  Maybe we're finally coming around that, though.  I just talked to DH and he said ds settled in only 2-3 min of pat/shh.  Hopefully it a sign of good things to come!

[jjstar]

I completely agree with the fact that time has flown by so fast. I can't believe how big he is and that 1/3 of his first year is already behind us. Really makes your treasure each moment!

[Taylor's Mommy]

Hi Ladies-wow so much to catch up on!  I ahve also joined the March/April chat thread because I like seeing what other LO's just a tad older than Taylor are up to.  So between work and trying to spend as much time with Taylor as possible, there's a lot to keep track of!.

solano00-so random abotu the breast pump!  at least it got diagnosed and now you can get it treated.
maria-hope life settles down at home soon.  it's nice to be with family but also can be soo hectic.  good luck!
JJstar-regarding feeling like you can do it better, I encourage you to let others do it when they offer!  the first week back at work was so hard for me as I was constantly worried about her ROUTINE, but it all went just fine and in fact I think she did better with DH and grandma than with me! :?  :shock:   My mom says that that is often the case because the know they can get away with mroe with mom.  And now I feel totally confident that other people besides me can settle her.

Jamom-glad daycare is going so well.  It's good to know they are in good hands right?

Regarding the early wakings, twice last week I fed Taylor at 5 am because she seemed really hungry, but for the most part for the last month when seh wakes up at 5 am (it happens a couple of times a week), we just pat her back to sleep.  Some mornings it takes 5 minutes, some it takes 25 mintues.  But I think it has helped overall with her sleeping through till 7. 
One thing we have changed too with Kate's advice is feeding her before her bath around 6:30 and then offering another feed after her bath at about 7:30.  I was shocked but she actually has been eating both times quite a lot and since we started doing this no more waking before her DF!!  knock on wood!

last bit of big news for us, I QUIT MY JOB!!! :shock:  :?     I kind of feel like I gave up after only giving it a couple of weeks, but I am also thrilled!  It's a long story so if anyone is interested I'll post it next time.

Have a good night everyone!
Andrea

[Jamom]

Andrea-- that is quite the news.  I am glad that you will get to stay home with Taylor.  Definitely post the story if you want to share.  I can see how it could happen because I feel so disinterested in my job, which I generally love.  It may be a combination of things -- 1) that I had to go back to work after loving being home with Jake and 2) as soon as I got back the big project I had worked on forever went away and now I am in "limbo" not knowing what will be happening next.  I find myself getting in late and leaving early, which I actually love because I get a lot more time with Jake.  Makes me think of going part-time and getting home early every day.

Jake woke at 5:45 this morning and talked up a storm to himself and eventually fell back asleep.  I generally get him up at 6:30-6:45 for the day but let him sleep in since he didn't fall back to sleep until 6:20.  So, now I am at home, and will be getting into work later.  :?   DH  is out of town so I can't rely on him to help out.

Jill -- as far as letting other's help out, I too, know how hard it is.  In fact, I would call myself a bit controlling at times because I really thought no one else could do it better than I.  And now I hate to admit this, but Jake has done so well when DH took care of him for 3 days, at daycare, and even a week with the MIL.  In fact, it has been great for me because I feel confident that he can go down for naps for other people.

That said, he's back up and I better get off to work. :evil:   Hope everyone has a good day.

[motherofquinn]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for your feedback on the early morning wakings.
I think at this point it is genuine hunger since he does a full 2 breast feed.
It has only been a week since we implemented the new 4-hr EASY routine so I'll see if it disappears on its own... I find myself going into his room almost as soon as I hear him so that he doesn't get too upset or wake up too much, but perhaps I should wait a bit longer to see if he will settle himself. I find it's easier to wait when I know he is not hungry. This morning he woke at about 5:30 and since I knew I had just fed him it was easier to let him be. It's harder to do this at the first waking!

Last night he woke just minutes before the 11:00 DF! which made me feel in the end that I was just feeding him back to sleep, but I suppose it is different. Maybe I'll try the DF a bit earlier so he is still asleep...? Does it matter?

Small victory...he slept for 1 1/2 hours on his own at naptime yesterday!
Who knows maybe it was just a fluke...
Baby steps!

Andrea- I have been planning on going back to work part time in December, Quinn will be about 7+ months, but I already feel like it is not something I want to do... I'm just not sure it's worth it. He would be in daycare two full days and then my DH would watch him one other morning.
I guess I see how I feel as the start date gets closer. I'd be interested in your experience

Hope everyone has a good day...

[Olivia's Mommy]

Hello all! I am just joining (thanks for the tip Kate!). I've also joined the Mar/April 05 chat (see you there Taylor's Mommy!).

I'm glad to know my Olivia is fairly "normal" in her "challenges." We, too, are facing the 45-minute naps after a couple of months of constant 1 1/2 to 2-hour naps. And now last night she cried for about an hour before going to bed...she NEVER does that. She's gone down (for naps and bedtime) easily since she was about 2 months old. I figure she's just worn out from all the short naps and the increased activity (she's rolling all around now!). Please tell me this too will pass!