any Aug/Sept 05 mommies out there?

[mandykittie]

At five weeks things seem to be getting a lot more complicated!  Any other moms of August or September babies out there? 
Amanda

[milliesmaw]

Hi Amanda - my DS was born on July 31st so he's almost an August baby! He is 7 weeks and I agree things are a lot more complicated at this stage. And it is such a different experience from last time around. Maybe it is a boy thing!

Ben weighed in at 13lbs 10oz at his 6 week check up which was last week so I guess he must be over 14lbs now. I am b/feeding and he goes pretty much 2-3 hours during the day but only takes 10-15 minutes which is fine. But he gets so tired and doesn't fall asleep during the day whereas my dd fell asleep for most of the day. He gets really cranky as the day progresses and if he hasn't had enough sleep will be screaming by 4pm. It was really getting to us all. So I've been making a big effort to get him sleeping during the day and am having more success this week than last. I've been pat/sshing and swaddling and he can certainly go to sleep himself if relaxed enough but not always for longer than 45 minutes. It all takes time and I find it really difficult to juggle having another LO who also wants lot of attention!
Nights are not too bad - he wakes sometimes once, sometimes twice and last night every two hours after 1pm :evil:

It'd be great to hear how you and other mums are getting on!

[mandykittie]

Hey!  Ben sounds like a big kid!  Jasper was 10 lb 4 oz at four weeks, which surprised me, and he eats much the way Ben does...every 2 hours (with his reflux, I try to feed more often), and he's really efficient.  Jasper's been having trouble getting to sleep too, but is clearly a better sleeper than my dd was.  Yesterday was just a nightmare, trying to pat/shush with a two year old is crazy, then he just wouldn't go to sleep last night and cried and figeted from about 8-11:30 (past my bedtime!!).  He also started waking every 10 minutes or so from his (formerly wonderful) naps when I tried offering him a pacifier.  Big mistake!  I'd rather pat longer than have the trouble we've got!  I think part of it is overtiredness for him too, since I really can't get him down when I see his first sleepy signs, since I've got a big one to look after and entertain.  We're still waking up every 3 hours at night, meaning 2-3 wakeups, but I think part of that is the reflux
How's your older one doing with a baby in the house?  Is she adjusting well?
Amanda

[MamaEzekiel]

My son Ezekiel was born on August 11th and life is definitely getting more complicated now!  I also have a son who will be 4 in November.   had a rough start with feeding... I nursed him for the first 3 1/2 weeks, during which time he dropped from 8lbs 10oz at birth to 7lbs 8oz and just wasn't gaining it back... I was nursing, pumping and supplementing, and my LO was starving.  Finally we switched to bottles and formula, and he's now 11 lbs at 6 weeks!  Ezekiel is fairly high maintenance... he hate sleeping in his bassinette, especially on his back.  He won't sleep for longer than 30 minutes at a time during the day unless I put him on his tummy which I know is a no-no.  I'm really trying to do the sleep training but finding it so hard.  Ezekiel is eating 4 oz every 3 hrs during the day and sometimes goes 4 hrs at night but it's rare.  He often decides to stay awake at night between his feedings which leaves me so tired. 

My older son has had a lot of behavioural issues since the baby arrived but that's a whole other story! 

I'm new to the BW philosophy but I'm hoping this is something that will make my life easier in the long run.

[nikipowerssa]

Sounds exactly what is happening right now with my dd.  She was born a week early and low birth weight on 25th July 05.  I had no idea about what to do with her when she came home.  I stumbled across the baby whisperer by chance when things started going wrong at about 6/7weeks old.. i now have her on the 3hr EASY plan and she has made remarkable progress in less than a week.  We stay on schedule for much of the day and nights are beginning to be constistently good with her feeding at around 2 and 5.,30am  ( I will eventually drop the 2am feed but there are a few issues - bit of reflux and the fact that she has only been on the programme for a week).  The only snag we still have ( This was what caused the problems before) is the major crying rages we have if just one of her nap times is missed or messed about.  Today I went round to my antenatal friends house to meet up as we do every week.  Everthing had being fine up until I went round.  She had fed fine before setting off an the car journey was her activity time.  When she had been there ( very content) she let me know she was tired by yawning.  I always act immediately with her as the window is small but crucial.  She has so far managed to sleep in the pram and the car seat in noisy and quiet environments in the day ( I did start by stayong in and putting her to bed but wanted to be realistic about day naps and get her used to being outside the bedroom in the day to sleep).  She went down in my arms fine and, as I have done several times before, I put her in her car seat before she fully fell asleep.  All seemed well until a few mopments later we got the frown and the start of a cry which escaltated to a rage one in less than 5 seconds!  I reacted to the rage cry not the first sounds.  She then would not settle despite immediate swaddling and ssh/pat.  I made my excuses and left thinking a familiar environment would help.  She was not too bad in the car but at home would calm and close eyes - I stayed for 20 mins as usual but the moment I left there would be rage cries!  I eventually decided to use common sense rather than trying to stick to the schedule as it really had gone  up - she ha had no sleep for 4hours and was wanting to snack randomly again ( our old habit) so i brought foprward her batyhtime 1 hr in the hope it would signal the start of the long sleep to her and my theory was that she would need that extra hour if she was not to be cranky the next day.  It worked.  She is, as I type, still asleep - 2hrs later. 
I am not sure wether or not to batten down the hatches and not take her anywhere unfamiliar or too stimulating until she is 3mths or carry on.  She once went to sleep in her pram in the middle of a busy street (* heavy traffic) and the pram was stationary with no aid from me.  IT is bizzare.  She can get herself to sleep with seemingly no problem in any situation then, out of the blue, when everything has been going fine with the routine - Bamn! Cannot sleep then it messes her up for the rest of the day and we get lots of rage cries. I accept that we will just keep soothing her with the swaddling and ssh/pat ( she does respond to this) and she will eventually get better either through practice or age!

[milliesmaw]

Hi all - sounds like we've all got similar issues! Amanda - my dd is now coping fine with #2. She was quite unsettled to begin with and was waking up at night screaming for us and not going to sleep but she seems to be over that now. She is v enthusiastic and likes to help with nappy changes and today tried to put a hair clip on him - amusing as he has no hair :roll: The only difficulty is once I've got him to sleep she likes to shout really loudly and wants to see him...
nikipowerssa - my ds is also prone to horrific meltdowns. He just won't go to sleep and today pat ssh did not work this afternoon nor did feeding etc and he screamed off and on for hours. there is no consoling him and I feel so bad as he is overtired and I can't get him to sleep. So I too am apprehensive about taking him out and about. But then maybe he would fall asleep :wink:

[Julie K]

My dd was born on Aug 11th - I just got the book yesterday and today was my first day of EASY...wish me luck!!

[CC's Mum]

My DD was born on 24th August......I haven't managed to get the book yet as had a caesarean.....didn't take things easy (who does/can?) so felt quite poorly.   Oh...and had to go back into hospital this  week as they left part of the placenta in!!!!!

I end up getting all my advice from this board as I don't have any friends or family close.....it's a godsend!!!!

[MamaEzekiel]

Does anyone else have a baby who HATES sleeping on their back??  We've had such a hard time with Ezekiel.  Even swaddled he constantly wakes up and cries.  I gave him and started putting him on his stomach for nap time during the day, but at night he winds up sleeping on the couch with me.  I suck at Baby Whisperer!!   I'm trying to make a fresh start today... he's currently swaddled and actually sleeping in his basinette on his back, so maybe there's hope... it's just so hard with two kids because I can't be constantly spending 20 minutes in there doing the pat/shush thing when my four year old is needing my attention.

Oh, and he wakes up at 3:30 AM and doesn't go back to sleep for several hours.  I'm one frazzled and sleep deprived mama right now.

[Michael's mommy]

Heidi,
My DS HATED sleeping on his back. I spoke to his Dr about it, and it seemed for us, it was just a stage. Try his left side, sometimes it's gas, and sometimes it's reflux. Lay him on his side and roll a towel up and put it behind him so he dosen't roll back. My ds started getting up at 3:30 and not wanting to go back to sleep eaither. I finally woke my husband up at 4:30 and made him get up, as I thaught ds was just sick of me. DH said he didn't get back to sleep until around 6:15. He has to work, I'm still on maternity leave. I do go back to work in 1 1/2 weeks, so this has got to stop. Maybe I am letting him sleep to long during the day? Yesterday I was out all day, and didn't long anything, but I know he was sleeping for almost 4 hours at a time (like he does at night) maybe he's switched around again...oh well, we'll start fresh today

Good luck

Jess

[mistilouwho]

Hey Everyone,

My son, Luke, was born on August 21st and I'm a first time mom.  I read the book while I was pregnant and knew I wanted to get him on EASY from the beginning.  However, I have run into issues (mostly dealing with nap times) and was starting to feel like a failure.     I'm so glad I have found this website.  I feel so much better since I have read the boards and found that other people are dealing with the same things.    It has renewed my resolve to stick with EASY and really tune into what Luke is trying to communicate to me.  This rocks!

Misti

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[TayTay'smummy]

Hi everybody! My daughter, Taylor, was born on September 14th and the road has been both smooth and bumpy. I read BW book when she was four weeks old when we starting to notice a pattern of rage crying in the evening. We have been doing our best to keep her on Easy during the day, but it's been really tough. I also find that if her naps get messed up or missed in anyway, it's like opening up a can of worms for the rest of the day and we spend the entire night trying to calm her down. It's really tough! Especially when company comes over. I've basically had to become really mean when company comes over because they get into her face when she's starting to get tired or they pick her up while she's napping and end up waking her and then her routine gets shot to hell and then we pay for it for the rest of the day. Another thing that is so hard to deal with is when we go for outings because she gets majorly overstimulated and I myself have given serious thought to just giving up on leaving the house until she settles down or gets older. I wish Tracey had some advice in her book about what to do with EASY routines on outings such as doctor's appointments, moms groups, shopping, etc.  Anybody have any insight ?

[samb]

Hi everyone, my little girl (Becky) was born on the 14th September, her due date was the 23rd, so she was around 9 to 10 days early.

I haven't tried the EASY, but as of yet I'm not really sure what to do as I haven't read any of Tracey's books to give me any ideas, I guess I should really so that I can get some ideas as to what to do, I guess I'm just muddling through with things at the moment, but I am trying to get Becky into some sort of routine.

She is ok as far as sleeping on her back goes, when I put her to bed for the night she will sleep like that all night.  As far as her sleeping through the night goes she went to sleep last night at around 8.30 and woke up this morning at around the 4.30 mark, so by my reckoning she slept for around 8 hours.

Sorry I can't be of much help

[mummy2bee]

My baby was born August 30th and I have found that everything got more complicated at 6 weeks.  More wind and short 45 minute naps.  I've got the wind under control with gripe water but I'm going crazy with these naps.  I'm exhausted from the crying.

[Luke-n-Me]

Hello all,

I've never really posted here, but my lo was born Aug. 31.  How is everyone doing now?  Cheryl-are things getting better for you?  We are in 45-minute nap hell too, so you are not alone.  Do what it takes to get through it, things will get better.  I know it's hard because I struggle too and come here for advice and I've already been through all this with DS 2 years ago. I swore I wouldn't be so ridged this time around, but once you start Tracy's techniques, it's hard to stop them, I always feel like "maybe today will be the day" so I have to hang in there.  Anyway, just thought I'd check in and see how everyone is doing.