Jan/Feb 05 Babies chat!

[Leah's Mom]

Nikki- I can't believe the hair that Lise had when she was born, and it's so dark! You're blonde aren't you?! I have the mesh bag - fresh food feeder. I LOVE it! DD really loves it when I put pears in it. I have also put frozen peas in it before.

[Daniel's mummy]

I'm hoping someone can help us out here - early morning wakings are killing us and have us very confused.

Ds always goes to sleep a dream.  never any problems getting him down for naps (usually about 1 to 1.5 hours and 2 times a day).  Bedtime too is fine.  He falls asleep almost before we leave the room.  But he is just waking up earlier and earlier.  Last night we didn't put him to bed til 8.15pm.  He woke at 5.40am :evil:   Absolutely nothing we do will convince him to go back to sleep.  He drank his bottle in about 3 minutes flat (6 oz).  He's back in bed again as he's worn out before even 9am (usually goes down at 9.30am for first nap).  I don't think he's teething.  If he is then it will be a molar I guess as he has his front 8.  I keep looking in mouth but can't see anything.

So here are my questions. 

1.  If it's a growth spurt, what do we do?  Don't want to reintroduce the dreamfeed as we weaned him off that about 3 months ago.  Do we just try to get more into him in the day.  Should I worry about overfeeding him (seriously, he is one of those babies that just never seems to want to stop eating!!!)

2.  The last few days his afternoon nap has been a bit later than usual (ending at about 4 or 4.15pm.  Could that have anything to do with the earlier waking in the morning?

3.  Should we keep his bedtime when it is (between 7.30 and 8pm) or try bringing it forward (I don't want to push it back any more)?  I'm concerned he's not getting enough sleep.  Last night for instance he only got about 9.5 hours :shock:

Hope someone can help.  Thanks

[Leah's Mom]

Hazel- I don't know if I can be any help. We have the same problems. We still do a catnap, so I was wondering if that was our problem. I don't think 4:00 is too late to get up, especially if he doesn't go to bed till 8:15. Maybe 8:15 is too late. I know this sounds crazy, but when I put Leah to bed at 7:30, she wakes around 5:45-6. But when I put her to bed earlier, around 7, she'll sleep till 6:30-6:45. Maybe an earlier bedtime?

Everyone - Our website is up and going. If you checked it before last night, check again. I totally re-did it last night and added pictures for every month she's been born. Stayed up WAY to late!  :roll: To see all the photos you need to click on photo galleries at the top of the page. Enjoy!

http://ebner.gotfamiliesonline.com/website

[dkjokisch]

Hazel - I would try moving bedtime earlier, maybe in 15-20min increments.  You've got nothing to lose at this point.  It may take a day or two before you see a change in the wake-up time, but in the meantime, he's still getting more sleep.

We went back to the neurosurgeon today.  I still don't like him.  We also met his PA today, and he's not much better.  They offered no insight, said her case was 50/50, and left the decision up to us.  I am going to call the specialist for the banding and see if I can't get more information out of them.

[HeatherC]

Great job Christine!  She's so adorable, especially with the pumpkins.  I'll have to do that with Kelsey.

[julieb]

Bad day yesterday.  Bad naps.  Bad whining and shrill screaming cries.  Bad bedtime.  After I went to bed at 10, I only heard him a couple times until almost 7 am though.  So he managed to settle himself despite his meltdowns earlier in the evening.

Makes me wonder, do babies' arms/legs ever fall asleep like adults?  Sometimes I wonder if these sudden screaming episodes (that end just as suddenly) are because he's in pain from something falling asleep.

He also gets all stuffed up at night.  Could he be allergic to his bedding (like bedmites, etc)?  He's fine during the day.  Or could it happen so suddenly from the crying by time I make it into his room to comfort?

Today is better so far.  Soon yesterday will just be a distant memory!     

Christine:  I love your website and all the photos!  It looks like you guys do a lot as a family!  I feel like we're indoors all the time.     It's still triple digits here.  I hope we can go outside again soon!   :?
Is Leah feeling better yet?  Tracy says in her book to sleep in their room if you have to and bring in a mattress.  I figure I'd sleep in the spare bedroom with Asher if it ever came down to it, as opposed to our bed.

Vidya:  Can you cut back the salt gradually?  I keep seeing chefs using a small amount of salt on homemade baby foods because it brings out the flavor.  So maybe a little is okay?

Hazel:  We were having early wake up problems so I started experimenting with his bedtime.  We were at 7 pm or so, but it seems 6:30 is the magic time.  He's slept in till 6:30 am (and content in bed until I get him up at 7 am) the last 4 days.  I was worried that the A time wouldn't be long enough before bed, but it doesn't seem to make a difference for us.  Daniel's naps seem on the short side though, so I suspect you may be in a cycle of overtiredness like I think we were several weeks ago.  I started charting the bedtime and wake times two weeks ago to figure out a pattern.  It really helped.  You could try moving the afternoon nap up too, and see if that helps for a few days.
I wouldn't worry about overfeeding at this age.  The quality of food is more important.  It's not like you're feeding him potato chips!   :lol:   Have you tried giving him a feed and putting him right back to bed in the morning?  Never worked for us though.  I also upped Asher's solid intake during the day.  He also seems like a bottomless pit when it comes to food!

[Daniel's mummy]

Well, I've just put Daniel to bed (7pm).  We'll do this for the next few days and see what happens.  He has had a better nap day.  Had 1hour and half this morning and then 2 and half this avo     I half suspect that the increase in naps today in itself will make him sleep longer tonight, but knowing him he'll prove me wrong!  We did go through this early wake time once before when his bedtime used to be between 6.30 and 7pm.  Moving it back did mean he woke up closer to 7am, but gradually the wake returned to closer to 6am which just meant he was getting less sleep.  maybe we just have to accept that he's gonna be an early riser :?

Have also given him a little more milk and solids today.  Hopefully that might begin to help.

Julieb - we were thinking about feeding him and then putting him back to bed but I doubt it will work.  If anything,I think it would wake him up properly.  He always seems to get a new lease of life after a feed.  Has never fallen asleep feeding.  Not even as a newborn. 

Christine - Lovely photos. 

Heather - that video clip of kelsey playing with the dog is soooo funny.  Daniel has done that as well.  Gets so excited that he tips himself over. :lol:

Deborah - sorry that you don't seem to be having much joy with the neurosurgeon.  I hope youmanage to get some more info that can help.I noticed your other post on this site and hope there are som people who have experience of it.

[herbst99]

Deborah Sorry if you have answered this before - might have missed the info - but why are you seeing a neurosurgeon again??
It really is no fun if you and your dr, don't click - I never believe a thing they say if I don't connect with them (I am a little bit of a hypochondriac also so that might have an influence) Is there no one else you can go to?
I look forward to some more info.
Christine Jip - I am blonde - so when they showed me a babygirl with dark hair I suddenly thought - it is not possible - she doesn't look like me!! I had thought that her being a girl she would look like her mom!!  :oops:
Hazel I read somewhere (can't remember where!!) that 10-12hrs sleep is a full night sleep so it could be he has "finished" sleeping - BUT I do agree with trying to move his bedtime earlier - and AGAIN - really look at sleep signals!!

She is waking!! OOH NO - gotta run
Nikki

[sedona314]

Deborah, I want to know what happened too, that she needs a neurosurgeon.  As for bananas, Matty got a bad tummy ache when he tried jarred bananas a month ago. He hasnt had any since. I  was about to try fresh bananas for finger food but now Im thinking maybe I shouldnt.  I dont see bananas as being least allergenic.  They give me stomach upset and heartburn, so maybe they cause more people problems too.

Everyone, I love all the baby pics.  I would comment individually but dont have the time, they are all beautiful.


Christine:  Wow, I didnt know you went through such a rough time delivering!    I was upset that I had Matty at 9 am and didnt get to see him until 3:00 because of the C-section, but obviously I cant complain! 

Julie

[dkjokisch]

Since about 2mos, Maya has had a very pronounced flat spot on the right side of her head.  We've asked about at every check-up, and they've always told us not to worry about, that it would round out.  It hasn't.  It's gotten worse, to the point that her face is no longer quite symmetrical. 

At her 6mos check-up, they said to give it another month or two, that we could discuss it at her 9mos check-up.  We insisted on coming back at 7mos.  At that time they discovered a mild case of torticollis (tightening of the muscles of the neck, predisposing them to turn their head in one direction or the other).  They referred us to a pediatric PT for the torticollis, and a neurosurgeon for the flat headedness.  The neurosurgeon wanted to give it another month since the first time we were there she had just started sitting on her own.

Today was our follow-up visit.  I don't like the neurosurgeon at all (but it's not like there are alot of pediatric neurosurgeons in our health plan to choose from and supposedly this guy is the best).  We still did not get a clear recommendation from him on his preferred course of treatment.  He just kept saying it was up to us.  He said that it will LIKELY round out some eventually, but not until she was ~4yrs old.  The problem is that if it doesn't, at 4yrs old, we're way past the point of being able to do anything about it.

I called the orthotist (the specialist who does the banding), and we have an appointment for Monday to get her head measured so we know the exact degree of deformation.  Unfortunately, there's no place local to have it done, so we have to drive to Orlando (about 2 hours from here).  I also want another opinion from someone who's dealt with this before.  The orthotist I spoke with today said he has handled over 400 cases of plagiocephaly (and the other varieties of skull deformation), so I am interested in his opinion.

Next week, we have the orthotist on Monday, PT on Tuesday, and our ped on Wednesday.  Hopefully, by the end of the week, we'll have a better idea what's going on.

So sorry if I haven't been contributing much of late, but between this and trying to get Maya back on track after our week of "vacation", I've had alot on my mind.  And as if I needed anything else, AF and her merry band of hormones are back this week.

[Schae]

Deborah, you are really having a tough time. And I'm cross on your behalf at the neurosurgeon for not treating your family with respect, just because he's 'seen it all' doesn't mean his patients have. Makes you wonder why people choose their professions if they can't behave properly.  :x

We are having nightwakings again for the past week or so. I've posted in the nightwakings board. After sleeping through for a couple of weeks, Luka has started waking at night again. Since I put him down for the night at 8pm he's woken 5 or 6 times. I go back in (if he can't resettle) and kiss him or just touch him and he'll go back to sleep and if he's crying hard then I pick him up and then put him back down again.
But 6 times in 2.5 hours is a bit much eh?

I can't for the life of me work out what is bothering him. It's as if he just needs to know that I'm still around.
What do you guys think?
I've put him down earlier, and it doesn't make a difference. Separation anxiety?

[julieb]

The Children's Place online:
HMREA5 25% off entire order expires 10/30
FSSS95 free shipping expires 10/10
http://www.childrensplace.com

Just got some good deals for Asher...

[sedona314]

Deborah, that is tough, hang in there and let us now what you find out.

Schae, Matty went through a few nights here and there of night waking a few weeks back.  The other night I did need to hold him for about 15 to 20 minutes but then he went back to sleep.  Also, one night recently he was crying on and off hourly (I only went in to peek in on him) and I realized the next morning he was probably teething and crying in his sleep.  If I had realized it at the time I would have given him some Motrin (duh).

Anyway, its tough, but hopefully it will pass.

Julie, thanks for the web site.

Im still having a hard time with the Avatar.  Schae, I went to the photobucket and downloaded a few pics, then put the address in the appropriate line in the profile on BW and it still wont work!  Now for some reason the picture shrunk too much (on photobucket) and when i delete it and reload it from my computer its all messed up!!!  I am fed up with this avatar thing!  :?   sigh

Julie G.

[Tammy: Ethan & Kaden's Mom]

Schae - I'm with you on the nightwakings thing, although not quite as bad as you!   :?  Ethan has been waking up in the middle of the night, never the same time, and cries out, then he quickly resettles.  He has been doing this 2 or 3 times a night the past few nights.  The other night, this started at 3:30, and went on every 30 minutes until about 5, when he wouldn't resettle, and I had to go in.  I can't quite figure out what the deal is.  He just cut both bottom teeth, and I don't see the others coming in yet.  He is eating plenty - although we are in process of cutting out his df, but it's not hunger waking him.  I thought perhaps developmental or separation anxiety.  I guess time will tell, or not!

Deborah - sounds like you will be having a stressful week next week.  We are all pulling for things to go well with Maya (btw, love that name), and hope you will find some decent answers. 

Hazel - here's hoping your boy decides to sleep in!  Ethan's mornings have gotten earlier the past 3 days.  He was sleeping until 7, then lengthened that to 7:30 (yes!!!), but now he's inching his way up to 6:30.  I'm trying to fight that as hard as I can!   :?  :roll: 

Julieb - I was thinking about Asher getting stuffed up at night.  I can tell you that I'm not allergic to anything like bedding and the such, and I can get very stuffy at night.  When I get up in the morning, sometimes I can feel my head start to drain, for lack of a better word.  I do have some seasonal allergies, but sometimes that just happens to me regardless.  Also, I notice that Ethan can get runny / stuff nose from crying pretty quickly.  It could just be that!  Gee - I was a lot of help, huh?

Dh and I are babysitting our niece (almost 2 years old) all day tomorrow, along with Ethan, so wish me luck!  I've never tried to do two at once - I guess this is a short one-day practice for when we try for #2 - and that's  not yet!!!

[sedona314]

Picture worked!!!  Yay!  I'd like it a bit larger, but glad to have finally figured it out.


Julie