How to start EASY with 6 month?

[Purple_Rose]

Hello everyone

I am currently reading Tracy's "solve all your problems" and i want to start EASY with DD who is 6 month and 2 weeks old. She has never been on a structued routine, is breastfed to sleep, wakes up about 2-3 times during the night, and she co-sleeps with DH and I. As you can see a lot of accidental parenting going on here   I started her on solids and she has about 3 meals a day.


However i am determined to fix all this but i dont know how or where to start. I know that before i intially start i have to montior her for 2 days and start implemeting on the 3rd day. So my questions are:

1 Do i start the EASY when she wakes up in the morning?

2 Once i start her on EASY does this mean that i wont be breastfeeding her to sleep anymore?

3 I dont quite get what a mantra cry is...

That is all for now, please help i am desperate!

[Intransit]

Conratulations on startinf EASY with your LO!I remember going through much of the same "accidental parenting" issues you mentioned. I took time and patience, but it will come!
I might suggest that you start implementing EASY by setting an awake time and a bed time. The bed time is usually easiest, since you can say..ok bed at 7:30 etc. I began with a bed time routine-_I found that it was a great way to start. For example, bath @ 7, bottle, or bf afterwards, and then bed. The key of course, is not to allow your LO to fall asleep during the feed. So, if you find that feeding after the bath, before bed is leading to your LO falling asleep, then maybe feed, bath and then bed. Whichever works best for you and your LO.
Which leads to your question about BF to sleep---by allowing your LO to fall asleep without feeding, you are helping DD to fall asleep independently(eventually). By feeding to sleep, your DD is thinking that they go together, so even when she wakes at night, she will not  be able to go back to sleep without that. Pat/Shh or Pu/PD are the ways in which Tracy has set out to use to assist our LO's in getting to sleep. My DS is 10 months old, and we still do Pat/Shh when he needs it--he never adpated well to PU/PD--just screamed more.

I would also suggest taking a look at some of the sample routines for 6 mos, found on this same message boards--they are a great guidline, and can give you an outline as far as what you should be trying for. But you will adapt your own routine with your LO as far as times go etc. I do remember feeding my son a bottle at 7, and solids at 8 then bed at 8:30-8:45--but watching his cues to see when he was tired.
Mantra cry--I wish I had my book with me--I leant it to a friend though! It sounds different than a hunger cry, or an Im hurt cry...its the same thing over and over again. Maybe someone else can better explain that.....

HTH and WELCOME!

[Purple_Rose]

Thank you sjeb for your reply. DD already wakes up at 7am and goes to bed around 8pm. I kind of have a bedtime routine which is bath, massage, feed and cuddle with mummy and bed. She doesnt always fall asleep during a feed but it is what gets her most relaxed and in a sleepy mood.

I did have a look at some of the routines and found them very helpful. However i am still not quite sure about the PU/PD method. You also mentioned the shh/pat method i had the idea that was only for bubs under 6 months and that the PU/PD was for bubs who are 6 months + Oh and i think i get what mantra cry is...

Another question i have is with regards to co sleeping when i start EASY should i making her sleep in her cot or do i wait to get her settled into a routine then tackle the cot?

[Lªuren]

Hi PurpleRose
I think that you can start EASY, then tackle the cot later it may be too much for (and your LO) to handle all at the one time.

1 Do i start the EASY when she wakes up in the morning?  I personally started in the morning - 7am, this means I can be more flexible with the bedtime as he grows older, just recently I have had to bring it forward to 1930, becasue he is refusing his catnaps.

2 Once i start her on EASY does this mean that i wont be breastfeeding her to sleep anymore? It may not happen straight away, however you will get there - remember this is a huge change for both of you, so take it slowly.

3 I dont quite get what a mantra cry is...

Here is some info about the Mantra cry;
...an odd burst of a cry which most babies do as they are settling down. We don't pick up with a mantra cry. Instead, we hold back to see if the child can settle herself. We do pick up with a genuine cry, because its your babies way of saying "I have a need that has to be met".

Each mantra cry is individual, get to know your babies mantra cry sounds like. You'll see it when she's physically overtired, she'll blink and yawn, and her leg and arms fail if she's overtired. She'll also do a kind of "waa.....waa...waa...."sound, like a mantra that repeated over and over, the pitch and tone is the same throughout. It does not sound the same as a genuine cry, which escalates in volume.  - TBW -SAYP p235