Author Topic: Can anyone help, have lost my routine!!  (Read 1439 times)

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Offline KB

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Can anyone help, have lost my routine!!
« on: October 25, 2005, 02:50:51 am »
I just don't know what is happening at the moment.  We have gone from a good 4 hour EASY to mayhem!

It did look like this:

6.30 wake and BF
8.30/9.00 Nap 45 to 1hr
10.30 bf
12.30/1.00 nap
2.30 bf
4.30 catnap
5/5.30 bath
6.00 bf,
6.30 bed.
Sleeping through without dreamfeed since 41/2 months

Now going on 61/2 months.  We have introduced a few teaspoons of rice cereal mid morning, this is the only change.

DD is fussing at feeds.  Not wanting to feed at the usual times and biting me! (bottom two teeth came through at 4/12 months)  I have really sore nipples and none of the feeds are very good.

She is needing a night feed anwhere between 10.30 and 4.30am, is hungry.  Sometimes now she sleeps through but wakes at 5.30, has a good feed then wants to go straight back to sleep and has been sleeping until 8.30.  This is really throwing us off.

It has been suggested that I am feeding her too often and she is starting to snack?, hence the fussing at the breast but she just isn't eating enough in the way of solids to drop a feed.

She also fluctuates between two naps and three in a day and still has a lot of 45 minute naps (but this is improving).  Sometimes she is happy to stay awake 3 to 31/2 hours sometimes grizzly after 11/2 hours.

Does something need tweaking, am I missing something?

Any ideas most appreciated :D

Offline Deb_in_oz

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Can anyone help, have lost my routine!!
« Reply #1 on: October 25, 2005, 03:22:12 am »
i don't think you  need to get rid of any BF at this stage. it just sounds like she needs more solids.  how has she reacted to the rice cereal?  when exactly did you first offer it?

at 6 1/2 months if she is fussing at BF and waking for food overnight i think you can assume she is looking for more calories in the daytime to sustain her growth and development.  i am not saying she should be on 3 meals a day or anything (we also started at 6 mo) but the progression of solids when you do start at 6 mo needs to be steady - is she gaining any mobility (rolling more, starting to try to crawl, etc) as this will cause her to be hungrier.

when you say she does not want to feed at the usual times - is she looking for food earlier?

her awake times can really vary at this age - just watch for her cues and get her to bed when required.  we also varied between 2-3 naps depending on how each day's naps went (if 2 shorter naps i definitely offered the catnap until 7 mo) - also if she is starting to lengthen naps that is another good sign - olivia has started doing this of her own accord after months of 45s (which i accepted for the first nap - our routine was similar to yours  45- 1hr in am and then 1hr 30 in afternoon)

sounds like it is just a food issue if everything else is ok.

also - if she feeds at 5:30 i woudl get her up before 8:30 to start the day if that is throwing you off - maybe set a maximum of 7-7:30 if you want her to have her first nap withina 1/2 hr or so of usual time...
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Offline KB

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Can anyone help, have lost my routine!!
« Reply #2 on: October 25, 2005, 07:14:19 am »
Thanks Debinoz, great advice.

She has definitely started rolling around and her A time is so much more active suddenly.  I had thought she needed more calories but can't seem to get her more interested in the rice cereal.  She will happily eat about 3 teaspoons then no more.

I am going to try some pears tomorrow as we have been on the cereal a week now.  We have to watch what we introduce due to her eczema (possible food allergies) so will have to keep it a bit bland.

Great idea about getting her up at around 7 7.30am if she has that morning feed and sleep.  I am guilty of letting her sleep longer as I am catching up myself if I have been up at night with her :oops:

Today has been a bit better, even though she slept from 5.30 to 8.30am she then happily stayed up until 12pm and then napped until 2pm so is pretty much on track today.  I think what was happening the last couple of days was the late start put us on a 8.30, 12.30, 4.30, 8.30 feeding schedule.  Considering bedtime is around 7pm it was hard to get a decent last feed into her since she only just ate around two hours before.  So I think this resulted in the need for night feeding.  That's my guess.

Do you think I should reintroduce the dreamfeed, even though she hasn't had it in ages or concentrate on the solids?

I hear you re: the 45 minute naps.  Ours started at around 3 months and are only just sorting out now.  We tried everything to extend them but it just wasn't worth it for us as she mostly woke up happy.  We only persisted if she was cranky.  It just seems to be sorting out on it's own now.

Many thanks again

Offline Deb_in_oz

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Can anyone help, have lost my routine!!
« Reply #3 on: October 25, 2005, 08:23:12 am »
Quote from: KB
 
I am going to try some pears tomorrow as we have been on the cereal a week now.  We have to watch what we introduce due to her eczema (possible food allergies) so will have to keep it a bit bland.

you might find the taste of the pears is more appealing to her - you can also try mixing the pears into the cereal... whatever you have to do. i understand about food allergies but is there any advice you have received that tells you which foods to offer and when - i know pears are very low risk for allergies...  as far as quantities go, let her have as much as she will take... which for now is 3 tsps... but will hopefully increase over the next 2 weeks.


Quote (selected)
Do you think I should reintroduce the dreamfeed, even though she hasn't had it in ages or concentrate on the solids?

this really depends on you - you could try it and see if it helps.  if so you could do it for a month or so until she is taking more solids to increase her calories... i normally would not suggest adding in DF for someone who was getting by fine without it, but if she is likely to take a long while to get any substantial calories from the solids you will probably find you have to choose between DF and night feeds anyway unless she suddenly starts taking bigger breast feeds.


 
Quote (selected)
We tried everything to extend them but it just wasn't worth it for us as she mostly woke up happy.  We only persisted if she was cranky.  It just seems to be sorting out on it's own now.

that was our case too - and she did settle on a 45 min am nap and i worked more on the second nap because that eventually becomes the only nap.
Debra - a New Yorker living in Australia married to a Brit

dd1 - Textbook/Angel, born July 2003
dd2 - Spritied through & through, born Feb 2005

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Offline KB

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Can anyone help, have lost my routine!!
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2005, 00:36:51 am »
The pears are a much bigger hit and it has actually resulted in a renewed interest in the rice cereal - around a whole tablespoon yesterday :D I have a suggested list of foods for her to try - not so much different foods, just have to leave some of the favourites (eg banana) until a bit later.

We are having an issue with her waking at around 10pm so I am using the opportunity to feed and change her.  She takes a good feed, however is still waking every 45 minutes after that until around 1am.  I haven't had to go in as it is mostly five to ten minutes of mantra type cries.  She resettles on her own after that then sleeps through till around 5.30 now rather than 4am  I think it's because I have been getting the 10pm feed in.  I am not sure whether this is considered CIO or not?  She is absolutely not distressed and it never escalates, just grizzling, the odd wail with breaks in between.  I have never left her to CIO so not sure what this actually would sound like.

I am still treating the 5.30 feed as a night feed (this is a good feed also)and putting her back to bed then concentrating on getting her up around 7.30 to start the day.  Of course this is only two hours after last BF so now the day is panning out like this.

5.30 feed/change and back to sleep
7.30 wake and pears
9.00 BF
10.00 nap
12.00 wake
1.00 BF and cereal
2.30 nap
3.30 wake
4.30 BF
5.30 bath
6.30 BF
7.00 bed

It is not ideal as again her BF are getting to close together by the end of the day.  Short of starting the day at 5.30 I'm not sure what to do.  The morning nap has lengthened to two hours the last two days afternoon is still fluctuating and the third catnap is disappearing.

Also think I may have an answer for the breast refusal/fussing.  Just got my first period today and I have heard that the hormonal change can affect the taste of milk and result in refusal.  Maybe this will sort back out now?  Would also explain sore nipples!!

Many thanks for all your help

Offline MomtoRee

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Can anyone help, have lost my routine!!
« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2005, 01:41:48 am »
Just wanted to post a reply as your schedule is very close to what ours use to be.  The difference is that I would feed her again when she got up at 7:30.  She would get up anywhere from 4 - 6.  This way we were not off with the feedings at the end of the day.  I would then feed breakfast about an hour later.  We actually just dropped this feeding  :oops: .  I didn't want to mess with the good routine that we had.  So this is what our schedule looked like (very similar to yours):

4-6am BF
7:30 wake & BF
8:30 breakfast
10 nap
11:30 wake & BF
2 nap
3:30 wake & BF
4:30 catnap 30 min if the naps were short or bad day
6 dinner
7:00 bedtime routine
7:30 BF & bed

maybe try moving the first feed to when she gets up and see if that helps.
we too had problems with the 45 minute naps and they worked themselves out around 6 months.  I think that most babies go through a nursing strike but they seem to work themselves out.  I say just keep trying.  I feel for you with the biting but that too will stop.  Just make sure that you stop feeding her a few minutes and put her down when she does so she will stop. 

Good luck  :D
Ree November 2004