June/ July 05 Mom's Chat

[~Jency's*Momma~]

Be careful of Sweet Potatos!!
They stain BAD!

[mrshamilton24]

Howdy!  I have been at BW techniques (pu/pd) for about 2 weeks now and the nights are not getting ANY better!!!!!!  I will gladly take any suggestions at this point!!!!!  Here is a rough idea of what nights are like at my house so you can get an idea of what baby Brock's schedule is....

6:00- bottle, 6 oz, formula
7:00- bedtime, never fusses, goes right down
between 10:30 and 11:00- DF, an entire 6 oz
*some nights goes right back down with no fussing after df, other nights it can take up to 30 minutes shushing/patting, pu/pd to get him back to sleep
2:00-fussing/crying/awake
* shush and patt for about 5-10 minutes, back to sleep
between 2:45 and 4:00- fussing/crying/awake
*if its on the earlier side, I shush and patt, pu/pd again, if its later, i simply pick him up and bring him into bed with my dh and I until we get up for work at 5:30.  he usually goes right back to sleep in bed with us

he has been eating solids for about 3 weeks now and loves them!  he take 2 naps a day both for at least an hour, usually one at 11/2-2 hours and the other for a bit shorter.

help?  need sleep!!   :cry: dh is useless at nights and therefore it is pretty much just me!

thanks!
-brock's mom 

[ry,cait&alex]

Brock's mom-how old is Brock?  I think before any of us can even start suggestions, we need that bit of info.

Great job on the "going down without a fuss" at bedtime!  I can NOT get Cait to go to sleep on her own for anything.   :roll:   So you already have an advantage over me. 

Let us know his age, we have alot of great moms on this thread that give great advice.  (we also have a wide range of baby ages, which is why I am asking his age.)

bj

[Critter]

We have the same car seat as Superman's Mom...in fact we have TWO.  It's GREAT!  Luke was too long for his infant carrier in October, so we had to get them then.  I love them.

In case any of you are still wondering how to get off those last few baby pounds, I have found that the flu works wonders for your figure.  :shock:

[~Jency's*Momma~]

Maybe he's hungry.  I know that Tracy says that babies can go until morning but some babies are the exception.  Jency used to eat every 3 hours at night, on the dot.  Now he wakes twice.  The first time he really is very hungry the second time he eats but not as much.  So this is what our nights look like.

8:00pm bed
11:30-12:00 feed
3:30-4:00 feed
7:00-7:30 up

I think here in a month or so we are going to start making him do two 6 hour stretches.  He is Breastfed.

But like Amy said we really need to know the age!

[LeslieG]

Did I tell you that I bought an avacado and some bananas?  I think I am going to try the avacado tomorrow.  If nothing else, I will just turn into guacamole and eat it myself!!  LOL.

Glad your back, daisy.  That's great that Owen did so well, congrats.

bj

My DD didn't eat the avacado but I had yummy guacamole for a couple of days :-)

[Superman'sMom]

Send me some I've been craving guacamole  :wink:...

Brock's Mom- I think maybe he might be hungry as well. Aiden still eats once or twice a night(but no df). You might also try to stop the dreamfeed especially if he is waking up and hard to put down. I found it only distrubed Aiden's sleep. So I dropped it and he still woke up at thesame time but it gradualy moved back. I stopped worrying about whether he should or shouldn't be up at night and just fed him when he woke up. He is doing better and better. Last night he went 8 hours by himself! Now if only I could sleep.

[mrshamilton24]

thanks so much for all the great advice already!

Brock is 5 and a half months.  He was born June 28th.

I am hesitant to believe he is more hungry at night because we actually just started the df 2 weeks ago.  before he was going almost 11 hours without a feeding.  However, at that time he would wake at around midnight and then every hour on the hour after midnight.  He usually doesn't wake again after I bring him in bed with us at around 3:00am.  I know this is the wrong solution to bring him in with us but i am just so exhausted that i end up giving in.

thanks again, i appreciate your help!

-brock's mom (christine)

[Critter]

Brock's mom,
Do you use a pacifier?  If you do, have you considered getting rid of it?  We had to do that with Luke not too long ago because it was waking him up.  The first nap was HELL, but after that it's been smooth sailing.

[Critter]

one more thing, Brock's mom,
How many times a day does he get his solids?  We had to add a meal b/c Luke needed more calories.

[mrshamilton24]

yes. he does use a pacifier.  i guess i have to give in and lose it all together, right?  he doesn't rely on it that much.  once he has fallen asleep, i remove it but then i put it back in when he wakes up again, and remove it again, once he falls back asleep...

another mom suggested adding a solid feeding in the chat room last night and i am going to try today.  until now he has only had 2 servings of solids a day, once for breakfast and once for dinner.  today i am going to try and add a lunch time solid feeding and see if that helps.

-christine

[Critter]

Christine, I'm telling you...getting rid of the paci solved SO many sleep issues for us.  Luke was waking up at 3, 3:30, 4, 4:30, 5, 5:30 and we'd finally get up and feed him at 6.  Once we got rid of the paci he slept for 12 or 13 hours STRAIGHT!

[mrshamilton24]

Wow!  That sounds wonderful!  Why is it that getting rid of the paci causes them to sleep better?  I will definitely try it tonight and see how it works.

thanks,
christine

[Critter]

My theory is this...
You know how sometimes you fall asleep with your glasses on, or you have something in your hand and THAT wakes you up?  I think that the paci was doing the same thing for Luke.  He was in a light sleep stage of his sleep cycle and the paci would be just enough stimulation to wake him up.  I gotta warn you that the first couple of times might be rough, but it is so worth it in the long run, if in fact that is what is waking your lo up.

[~Jency's*Momma~]

I agree with Amy.  It could be the pacifier.
And you don't have to give it up completely.
We stopped using for while he was sleeping and stuff but we still use it for his cool down time and when we are out and about and when he starts to fuss around the house.  He likes to play with it too.  So you don't have to get rid of it all together, just when it comes to relating it to sleep.

Also, sleep is a developemental thing.  Some babies master it sooner then others.  I know of babies that sleep through the night at 3 weeks and yet others that are 2 and still don't sleep through the night.  They wake up at least once a night still for a glass of water, or to go to the bathroom, or any excuse to get up.  It has alot to do with personality.  Like Tracy says Spirited babies will be this way, it's just part of who they are.  What type is your lo.

Jency was born June 30th and just last night only woke up 2x for the first time since he was 2 months old.  We went through 3 months of 5-6 or more times a night then 2 weeks of 3-4 times a night and then last night was 2x!  I hope he keeps it up.  He also just started taking naps that are longer then 45min (with help from mom patting).