Author Topic: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers  (Read 2447 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline CharlotteandCharlie

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 34
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 1432
  • These moments make my heart sing!
  • Location: AB, Canada
Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« on: March 17, 2006, 21:22:40 pm »
Oh my goodness!

I have nothing left but superstition.  It seems like everytime I post something she stops doing it so here goes...

Dd has been waking anywhere between 3 - 9 times a night for the last two to three weeks.   :'(

She is 7.5 months old and used to have a short A time until recently.  She can do 2 hours no problem, sometimes 2.5 and only if her last nap was screwy 3 hours till bedtime.  She is not consistant with naps, A time or hours of sleep at night so we have a loose schedule.  She goes to bed between 7 - 8 and has between 2 - 3 naps a day (depending on when she wakes up) of no more than 1 hour each 1.5 tops. 

So what she's been doing lately is waking up over and over again.  Eyes closed.  Crying mostly on her tummy sometimes on her back.  This is new.  She used to hate her tummy but before I can leave the room she is on it again.  This is okay with me but not her.  I go in flip her over, tuck her in, kisses and I'm gone.  Two hours later she is up again.  Her cry is loud and angry and I never know what position she is in so I don't wait too long to see if she'll settle because her legs have been hanging through the bars in the past or her face will be squished up against a corner bar.  I only feed her once out of those wakings and only later than 5 a.m.  She eats well during the day and has good bottles and snacks.

I am getting very tired of getting no more than 1.5 hours of sleep at a time because it takes me a while to fall  back asleep.  What on earth would cause her to wake up soooooo many times a night?  Why does she insist on turning to her tummy when she usually doesn't like it.  She will turn over on it and go to sleep nicely but then wake up 2 hours later.  She seems to want the comfort of sleeping on her tummy and rubbing her cheeks but then cries out. 

Any suggestions please !!!



Charlotte mom to
Charlie Anne August 7, 2005
Campbell Rose March 27, 2007
And wife to the man of my dreams.

Offline Gage and Sophie's Mom

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 17
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 644
  • How lucky am I?
  • Location: Kelso, Washington
Re: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2006, 05:01:41 am »
Oh I was in a similar situation about about 2 weeks ago. I dont know if I can offer any advice as I had no idea what to do either. Gage started doing a similar thing (trying to frantically to crawl) at naps when I got rid of the Aussie Swaddle and wedge. This was a new thing for him so he wanted to practice practice practice. So obviously nap time was a bad time for this so I let him practice in the crib, floor or where as much as possible. He stopped doing this after a few days. Also, to prevent body parts from sticking out through the bars you can buy breathable mesh bumpers at the safety first website. I may try this too. This too shall pass. HTH


Offline squeaky's mum

  • BW Devotee
  • ****
  • Showing Appreciation 24
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 303
  • Sophie and Tom
  • Location: Norfolk, UK
Re: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2006, 08:13:10 am »
Hi Charlotte,

I think you first posted about the same time as I did regarding our sleep or lack of it. My dd is just over 8 months and the last 4 months have been relatively sleepless in one way or another but I think we are starting to see an improvement.

Last week went from bad to worse when Sophie decided she was going to be awake for 2-3h at night and then drop her naps too! I tried doing pupd to keep her naps on track but all that happened was that we both ended up crying for the 1.5h that she should of been napping.

You may have done all this already but since I have started doing the following we have seen an improvement in night times.

In the end I decided to keep half an eye on the routine, but largely let Sophie take the lead. If I think back I was trying to keep an 8 month old on a routine that she started on at 5 months. The other thing we did was start a protracted bedtime routine. So this is what I am doing now and will be doing for the next few days;

This is possibly over the top and will probably lead to some sort of accidental parenting but what I am trying to do is decide what the best time for Sophie's naps are.

7am get up, feed, change and breakfast
9.30am go upstairs - I do housework while keeping a close eye on dd looking out for sleepy signs
9.45am put Sophie in her room, shut the curtains, turn the lights down put let her play on the floor, still looking for sleepy signs

When the sleepy signs start I give her a short cuddle then put her in her cot, if the sleepy signs continue I put her in her sleeping bag and lie her down. If she resists lying down I let her sit up in the cot until the sleepy signs get stronger. I then lie her down again. If I get it right she goes straight to sleep. If she is not quite ready to go to sleep but is relaxed then I will rest my hand on her until she closes her eyes. I do the same after lunch (1.30 go upstairs).

Her preferred nap times are emerging to be about 10am and somewhere between 2 and 2.30pm. At the moment she is sleeping for about 1/2 an hour in the morning and 1h15m in the afternoon. If I see some sort of consistency developing I will make 10 and 2.15 her new naps times and work on taking me out of the equation.

The other thing we have done which has given us much more settled evenings is a long protracted bedtime routine, really working on calm and relaxed. It starts at tea time.

4.15 - bf followed by tea
5 - last activity time, usually with nappy off or bath
5.30 - nappy, creams, clothes
5.45 - go upstairs for stories in dim light
6 - cuddle
6.10 -6.15 - bf
6.45-7 - bedtime

I will sit with Sophie until she has gone to sleep putting my hand on her if necessary. When Sophie was hardly sleeping I would do whatever necessary to get sleep into her, take out in the pram, car, on my lap in front of the computer, whatever worked.

Last night we had our first sleep through the night for months. I don't know if it is coincidence or whether she is just becoming more relaxed with all the things that are going on with her body but slowly we are seeing an improvement. I don't really care!

I found myself getting so bound up in what dd 'should' be doing I think I stopped listening to her. I reminded myself that all the stuff about babies of such a such an age shoul be sleeping for so many hours a night was all about averages. I.e. for every baby that sleeps exactly that amount there is one that sleeps more and one that sleeps less. The other thing I have done is accept that babies do wake up at night and when dd only wakes once or twice that's not too bad. As a result I have become a little more less stressed.

You have probably thought all this already and tried it out, but I thought it may be worth recounting my experience and I'm sure I'm not out of the woods yet.

Good luck
Claire

Mum to Sophie (08/07/2005) and Tom (09/02/2008)

Offline CharlotteandCharlie

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 34
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 1432
  • These moments make my heart sing!
  • Location: AB, Canada
Re: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2006, 18:00:05 pm »
Thank you so much for responding.

How did she sleep last night.  Funny how we get one full night and do anything in our power to duplicate the activities of that day in hopes of ...

I am sad to report that my jinx theory did not work.  She is consistently up every hour to two hours although for some reason she woke at 11 last night and not again until 4:30 but was up until 6.  Arg.

She goes to sleep independently now but has this crazy tummy thing and cries 20% of the time on her back.  Her naps are sometimes 45 mins but mostly 1 hour.

Could I be feeding her too much ... or too little?  I just read the "10 reasons your baby wakes at night other than hunger" sticky.

I have to admit I am a bit confused about the EASY and feeding solids and bottles.  Does EASY go away when you are almost 8 months old?

7 a.m. I bf
7.30 breakfast of cereal and fruit
9.30 ish bottle of about 4 oz (nap)
12.30 lunch protein, veggie, fruit
1.30 ish bottle 4 oz (nap)
3 ish snack of finger foods (eats very little)
5.30 dinner of protein, fruit, veggie or cereal
7 bottle 4 oz
7.30 bed

dd really never drinks many oz of a bottle.  Aren't they supposed to drink around 32 oz a day?  It seems like alot of liquid mixed in with all three meals and a snack. 

I realize this should be over in the E forum but maybe my having NO IDEA what I'm doing for food is causing her to wake all night long.

Sigh!!!

Oh, I also wanted to mention in case it means anything ... she is just over 16 pounds and is 27 inches long.   She is skiny and long but has been gaining consistantly that the doctor's are not concerned.  If that determins her food intake at all.  She was born at 36 weeks but perfectly healthy.
« Last Edit: March 19, 2006, 18:06:03 pm by CharlotteandCharlie »
Charlotte mom to
Charlie Anne August 7, 2005
Campbell Rose March 27, 2007
And wife to the man of my dreams.

Offline teezee

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 157
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 2610
  • Location: chatham, ontario
Re: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2006, 05:43:29 am »
my lo is 9 months and still on easy! it does get a little tricky to find what works for you but it all balances itself out. 
charlotte and charlie - do you feed your lo when she wakes at night?? it seems that she is not on 4 hr routine/easy at the moment - am i correct in saying that?  i will post what my lo's routine was at that age.
8am bf
9am solids
10:30am nap
noon bf
1pm solids
2:30-2:45pm nap
4pm bf
5pm solids
7:30pm bf and then bed
this is not 'set in stone' and may vary by up to a half hr on any given day - but i do try to keep bf and solids approx 45 min to 1 hr apart to keep the consistency for my dd.
could it be that you are giving your lo too many oz of solids in the day and she is not getting enough bm/formula because of it?? i think that if you spread out the daytime feedings more evenly ie 7am bf; 9:30 ish bottle - why so close together?  have you tried giving water during solid feedings? and if you are feeding at night it may be that she is getting the calories at night instead...it could very well also be developmental (if you have ruled out all of the other factors) let me know some of the answers to the questions i have asked and hopefully i can offer you some further insight! :)
Tawnya
Mommy to Alecksandria
June 11, 2005




Offline squeaky's mum

  • BW Devotee
  • ****
  • Showing Appreciation 24
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 303
  • Sophie and Tom
  • Location: Norfolk, UK
Re: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« Reply #5 on: March 20, 2006, 07:46:58 am »
Hi charlotte,

We just had a bad night with Sophie. She was up from midnight to 3am. I am sure her waking last night was due to constipation. She ate a lot of apple and banana yesterday and didn't drink much water. This morning her poo was quite hard.

The days she has had good bowel movements she sleeps much better. Could it be a possibility for you?

Just a thought

Claire
Claire

Mum to Sophie (08/07/2005) and Tom (09/02/2008)

Offline CharlotteandCharlie

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 34
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 1432
  • These moments make my heart sing!
  • Location: AB, Canada
Re: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« Reply #6 on: March 20, 2006, 17:10:47 pm »
Thank you very much Tawnya.  Your schedule helped me visually understand how to work with liquid food and solids on a 4 hour EASY.

I needed that.  Even if it isn't the solution to my problem I feel way more confident with that schedule.  This week will be all new for us.  I may have some more questions soon.


Hi Claire.  I am sorry to hear about your terrible night and Sophie's No. 2 issues  :(.  My night was rough as well but not three hours rough.  Charlie does sometimes have a solid little stinker but they don't seem to bother her that much.  Do you give her baby prunes?  I figured out, to Charlie's detriment, that four poops a day meant mommy was feeding her too many prunes.  Oh to be a first time mom.

I wonder if our problem is food and not having a good sleeping schedule.  I always thought I would be more regimented with schedules but seem to be the opposite.  That being said I think dd need a schedule and I have been doing the "household" harm in being lax.  I am not going to turn Boot Camp on her but value her need for normalcy a bit more.

Sorry, and to answer your question I don't feed her everytime.  I was feeding her if she woke past 5:30 and only then.  I am trying not to do that anymore though.  I think it is very possible that she is getting too many solids and not wanting milk as a result.  My breast seem very very deflated and she never seems interested (probably because there is very little there).  I need to post some questions on bfing forum too.  I think I may be accidentally weaned Charlie.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2006, 17:13:46 pm by CharlotteandCharlie »
Charlotte mom to
Charlie Anne August 7, 2005
Campbell Rose March 27, 2007
And wife to the man of my dreams.

Offline Gage and Sophie's Mom

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 17
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 644
  • How lucky am I?
  • Location: Kelso, Washington
Re: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2006, 19:55:28 pm »
Hi Charlotteandcharlie! I totally agree with puting you lo on a 4 hr EASY. Gage woke up all night before we switched. I finally figured out why. To get him to eat more and on at evenly spaced time periods, I used a larger nipple and fed solids an hour after the bottle to hold him off until his next feed. I would also feed him a full formula bottle at night before 4am and then after anthing after that was watered down so that he would have an apetite for breakfast (this was temporary until I could do the switch). I dont know if this will work for you, but you give it a try. Gage went from eating about 18 oz to 32oz. knock on wood he sleeps so far from 7:30 to 6:30 :o I hope this isnt short lived, as we have just switched. I guess you can never get too comfortable.

It looks like her naps are only 45min to 1hr. Is she happy when she wakes? You know your baby, but I think that her naps should be around 1.5hrs. At this age, short naps are usually due to not enough A time. How long exactly is her A time? Do you have a consistent bedtime routine? Gage reallly needed this to distinguish between a nap and bedtime. I noticed that she is up for about 4 hrs before bed. Iam not sure when you are supposed to drop the catnap, but could she be overtired with the other short naps? Gage usually has a catnap of 30-45 min around 5:30.

When she wakes what do you do? With Gage if I dont feed him when he is truly hungry (which sometimes is hard to tell) he will continue to wake until his tummy is full. I suspect that she may be truly hungry as she is only eating 12ish oz a day.

I hope something help here. Let me know if I can help further.

P.S I tried to PM you back but it came back undelivereable, so I left you a message a couple of days ago in the Activity section under your screen name. :)


Offline squeaky's mum

  • BW Devotee
  • ****
  • Showing Appreciation 24
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 303
  • Sophie and Tom
  • Location: Norfolk, UK
Re: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2006, 20:21:14 pm »
Hi Charlotte,

I was breast feeding Sophie after her solids but I was worried that she wasn't getting enough milk. She was very fussy and hardly took 5 mins if I was lucky. I switched to feeding her before her solids meal and it has worked much better. She doesn't take less solids but she definately takes more breast milk and our daytime feeds are now between 10 and 20 minutes depnding on her mood.

Claire

Mum to Sophie (08/07/2005) and Tom (09/02/2008)

Offline CharlotteandCharlie

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 34
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 1432
  • These moments make my heart sing!
  • Location: AB, Canada
Re: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« Reply #9 on: March 20, 2006, 20:56:27 pm »
Afternoon Claire

I knew I shouldn't bf after solids and I thought I was being good but things are now very tiny and not producing alot. (my breasts that is  ;D)

I am very torn because these last few days have been very easy to just pack a bottle and not worry about her hunger and having to look for a nursing room in the mall.  I love bfing but its just nice to wear tight tops and pretty bras in the day time.  I thought I could get away with just bfing her when she wakes up but I am not sure I my body will let me have my cake and eat it too.

Thanks for writting Gage's mom.


She sleeps 1 to 1.5 hours these days.  Its nice but sometimes we only get 30 mins out of her.  I really am going to focus on the 4 hour EASY this week and hopefully things will get in order.  Today is a bit tough.  I realized I can't just go from zero to sixty without a bit of tenderness so we are working at 3/3.5 EASY instead of nothing at all.

Mostly she wakes (naps) happy.  If she is screaming mad I use that as a sign she wants to keep sleeping and is mad she partially woke up.  At night all we have to do 99% of the time is tuck her back in.  That usually means picking her up (hovering, not in our arms) above the crib and back in place, blankets, kiss on her head and I love you.  I am glad that's all we have to do but 3 - 7 times a night is crazy at 7.5 months old.


Congratulations on the full nights sleep to you and Gage. 

Charlie has two good naps and sometimes a cat nap depending on how long our day is/her wake up time.  We used to have catnaps everyday but found 6 p.m. wake and 7.30 bedtime were too close together.  I think she eats alot of solids and go off of a chart from the Calgary Health Region as a guide.  She definitely doesn't drink more than 12 or so oz a day.  Today is good though.   Hopefully by the end of the week we will be a different household of sleepers.
Charlotte mom to
Charlie Anne August 7, 2005
Campbell Rose March 27, 2007
And wife to the man of my dreams.

Offline teezee

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 157
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 2610
  • Location: chatham, ontario
Re: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2006, 21:28:29 pm »
just wanted to mention - i had a problem with dd being constipated and gave her prunes...too many prunes...worked well at first then got REALLY REALLY gassy and made everything soo much worse and had three times as many night wakings b/c of it!  you may want to try white grape juice diluted works great and none of the gassiness!
Tawnya
Mommy to Alecksandria
June 11, 2005




Offline CharlotteandCharlie

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 34
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 1432
  • These moments make my heart sing!
  • Location: AB, Canada
Re: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« Reply #11 on: March 21, 2006, 05:17:43 am »
The more you ladies help and the more I read I am convinced her wakings are due to my poor feeding skills.  It is 10:14 p.m. and she has not woken yet.  I was not able to got straight to a 4 hour EASY today.  I will shoot for 3.5 this week and 4 next week.  Cross those fingers.

I am excited to see what happens.  Now I have to forgive myself for accidentally weaning dd and reducing my supply.  I really am torn.
Charlotte mom to
Charlie Anne August 7, 2005
Campbell Rose March 27, 2007
And wife to the man of my dreams.

Offline squeaky's mum

  • BW Devotee
  • ****
  • Showing Appreciation 24
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 303
  • Sophie and Tom
  • Location: Norfolk, UK
Re: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« Reply #12 on: March 21, 2006, 07:50:52 am »
Don't be hard on yourself Charlotte. I have found being a Mum a voyage of discovery our poor lo's are a one big experiment in a way. There is so much advice around, how are we to know what works and what doesn't? I suppose it is so much trial and error. You have done so well to bf Charlie until now. I have to continue bf Sophie as she has eczema and is intolerant to dairy produce and I don't want to give her soya formula. I am longing for the day when I can stop wearning those 'oh, so attractive' nursing bras.
Claire

Mum to Sophie (08/07/2005) and Tom (09/02/2008)

Offline teezee

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 157
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 2610
  • Location: chatham, ontario
Re: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« Reply #13 on: March 21, 2006, 14:52:51 pm »
if u want to keep nursing - just keep pumping!!! as soon as u are done feeding pump - even if nothing comes out - it should get things back to normal within a week or so!
Tawnya
Mommy to Alecksandria
June 11, 2005




Offline CharlotteandCharlie

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 34
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 1432
  • These moments make my heart sing!
  • Location: AB, Canada
Re: Jinx * Knock on Wood * Cross Your Fingers
« Reply #14 on: March 24, 2006, 15:34:26 pm »
HOT DOG!!

She slept the night through!  [/size]

For the first time in over three months I got more than 3 consecutive hours of sleep.

What a wonderful day today is.  Even if it was chance its wonderful.

Thanks for helping.  4 Hour EASY here we come.
Charlotte mom to
Charlie Anne August 7, 2005
Campbell Rose March 27, 2007
And wife to the man of my dreams.