I need help :(

[Kimberly®]

Alright I've been trying to set up a schedual for my LO but it just doesn't seem to work. She's just seems to have her own schedual..

I can't get ahold of Tracy's books for about another week (I have to order them o/l tomorrow then wait till they arrive) And I'm a tad confused about the E.A.S.Y. routine since I havn't been able to read about it.

My LO feeds every 3-4 hours 3-6oz at each feed depending on the time of day.
She's what my her doctor told me is a "wakeful baby" She has periods during the day where she's very alert for any where from 2 hours to 5 hours. I try to watch for tired signs and to not over stimulate her but nothing seems to work. She just seems to need to be awake. If not suring the day then at night.

Mind you she doesn't spend much of that time crying, she's quite quiet for the most part. Just stareing around the room at different things. She'll even lay awake in her basinet without complaint at times too. Its quite enjoyable when she does this during my day I usually take her for short walks, sing or talk to her, or just hold her.

The doctor says there is nothing wrong with her and I've managed to, for the most part, move these wake periods from the middle of the night to during the day. However there are times, like this morning, where she does it in the early morning hours.
She was up from just before 4 am till just after 7 am this morning, and the other day she was up from 2:30 am till almost 6:30 am.

Its making it hard to set any sort of schedual for her though for feeding. When she's up for long periods of time she's constantly topping up.

I'm at a complete loss as to what to do.
HELP!!

[Holly n Harvie]

Ooo sounds like your little princess is running you. One of the things Tracy's book says is that you need to start as you mean to go on. The need to start your LO on a routine is VERY important. Try to feed her every 3 hours. She should feed and be up for 1.5 hours and sleep for 1.5 hours. The EASY stands for Eat, Activity, Sleep and You time. Having those in that order is imparative.

Don't look at what time it is really. Babies can't tell time so as long as you are feeding about 4 oz (depending on weight) every 3 hours or so (15 min on either side is fine, sometimes it has to be 1/2 an hour) and you are doing the same sequence of things (eat, play, sleep) she will fall into a pattern.

Be aware that it may take a couple of days because she will be like "hey mum, what are you doing?!" My lo took to it pretty easy and I started him on a routine at like 10 weeks. It made life SSSOOO much better.

Babies do better when they can anticipate what is next. They also do well when they know Mummy knows what she is doing (even if she feels she doesn't  :wink: )

The fundementals of Tracy's book are: Start as you mean to go along, it routine, not schedual, persistance and consistancy. She also says that if a baby feeds well they sleep well and vice versa. There are many other important points, but that is what I basically got from the book. (I have the latest one: "The Baby Whisperer Solves all your Problems") It covers from newborn to how to handle toddlers... GREAT !!! Good luck and PM me know if you need anything else. I can send you a sample routine that is in her book.

 I wish I started at 2 weeks!!! Good luck and remember it may take a few days for her to get used to the routine, but it will be worth it in the long run.

[Deb_in_oz]

hi - congratulatuons on your little baby.

it sounds like what you have is a sleep issue not a food issue.  she seems to be doing just fine if she is taking 3-6 oz every feed. just make sure she has an average of 6 wet nappies per day and is gaining weight.

as far as the wakeful periods i would suggest your #1 goal right now should be on trying to get her to take a nap in EVERY single EASY cycle during the day (that is until bedtime). you do not need to put her on a set schedule so to speak but want/need to eliminate those periods where she is awake for 4 hrs, etc

Olivia is now 6 months and for the first 7 weeks she was like your lo.

this is our story from another post yesterday:
1st 7 weeks - Olivia was insane! and as a result we were too. she gave no tired signs (maybe yawned 3 times in 7 weeks - woudl yawn sometimes IN the cot but never as a tired sign  ) so we woud finally decide she HAD to nap and when put her down was always overtired - she could fight straight through an entire nap period and then be up again... so sometimes we had 4-5 hr stretches in the day and then when we would do nighttime feed and bath etc we would put her down bet 7-8 (because she usually had a decent nap around 5-6 thank god) and she would be up and down until 10-11pm with me hysterically crying etc and dh pat/shhing her and finally rocking the basinette (he could jiggle well and she owuld finally go to sleep) as a result i ended up with PPD

turning pt came at 7 weeks when we started putting her down at 45 min and she started napping. gradually improved from there. i think this is the cornerstone for getting on track with a spirited one - get them to take regular naps (length not as important) . she never nappd the same 2 days in a row (usually from 2-4 months she had at least 1 x 2hr nap and then the others were 45min - 1 1/2 hrs) but the goal was to nap every cycle so she never again got overtired.

i think this is what you need to try.  she is obviously not giving you tired signs that you can see and she needs to rest - even if she can physically stay awake for hours it is not healthy for a young infant to do so - when they are sleepinjg is when they recharge, brain development takes place, etc.  It is critical that she gets regular rest - the length is not as important just yet - try finding how long she can stay awake without getting overstimulated and overtired (which are what prevent her frojm going down for a nap). if she goes down for a nap and then wakes up before 1 1/2 hrs then you can try pat/shh to resettle her.  she has to learn to resettle herself over time (some learn quicker than others).

i would guess that she is going to be a spirited baby (at least as far as sleep but possibly in other ways too) so maybe check out the thread i was mentioning as it can be helpful to "watch" this thread over time.
http://www.babywhisperer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40851&highlight=

let me know how you go if you try putting her down earlier - no more than 45 min from waking up - and she naps.  we can start to work out an EASY plan for you but the key is to have her EAT, then have some up time (at 2 weeks this can be a feed + 5 min cuddle / chat + nappy change, or even longer if she feeds quickly and seems ok).

if you try 45 min and she is overtired - fights sleep and won't go down, then the next cycle try 35 min and work back until you find her "magic numnber".  does this make sense to you -

[Kimberly®]

That does make sence to me.  Thank you. My one concern is what to do when I'm out? I spend a couple days a week at the local family center with other parents, I take a parenting program there as well as a baby bonding program. Do I try to do the same thing there even though the enviroment seems to stimulate her quiet a bit or should I maybe cut these out? Though they are helping me keep my feet on the ground so to speak. I started taking these programs because I found I was getting stressed a lot and my dh was really getting worried for me and suggested them. I've found them quiet comforting.

[Deb_in_oz]

as someone who ended up with PPD - anxiety it sounds like you are doing what you can to prevent that so good on you and Dh.

how long are you there for - the entire day or for a few hours? from when to when?

to keep her stimulation as low as possible while there if you need to put her down for a nap you could try to settle her in pram with a dark shade over it to block out visual stimulation.  if you are able to go for a 15 min walk around tghe time she needs her nap you have an even better chance of getting her to nap (as long as you keep an eye on the clock once you figure out what her "time" is) and then wheel her back inside - i have found that even at 6 mo this works for olivia on the Fridays i take her to alex's playgroup.

if it is not all day you can focus on at least getting her off for one nap so she gets a 45 min catnap so she can make it through to the next feed and then hope she takes a longer nap the next cycle when you are at home.  if it is an all day thing do they have rooms set up for naps - it would make sense if they are a parent support centre that they woudl be equipped with some quiet nooks for you to settle her to sleep.