Looking for advice on implementing EASY with my 6 mo lo

[Jodiejo]

Hi,

I have been trying to implement EASY with my six month old - I only came across it a couple of days ago so am very new and need a little advice. Abbie usually sleeps from 9pm-7am straight - she has been a full night sleeper since only a few weeks old, despite being breastfed and I am so grateful for that. Up until the last couple of weeks she has slept for 1 hour round 10am every day and usually another round 2. Then, round 5 or so she would nap for 30 mins. She gets plenty of activity and up until recently could be put into her cot to fall asleep herself and usually there would be no problems, but of the last week or so, she is not sleeping for her hour at 10 and 2 - maybe only going 20 mins or so. Then she is becomming tired earlier (and maybe having another little nap round 7-30 or eight and so pushing bedtime out til 930). Also, her feeds are quite eratic and this is probably where the problem lies. She still feeds totally on demand and I think a lot of it is purely because she can rather than for a need. The problem is I need to go back to work part-time and would like her to have a reasonably predicatble routine that I can work around - I have another problem seperate to the routine and that is that she point blank will not take a bottle. She will sip juice from a cup (usually with the lid off), but insists on her breastmilk being from the boob. I have to admit I haven't tried the haberman, but spent a fortune on every other bottle until I just resigned myself to continuing to breastfeed (I wanted to continue to breastfeed, but hoped she would take the occasional bottle of breastmilk - I am a very happy nursing mum). This morning I tried to use the EASY routine, guided by one of the posts on the sample EASY routines thread. I breastfed at 7.00, gave her breakfast at 8.30 and put her down round 9, she was having none of it and I felt that she wasn't tired enough, so I picked her up and did more activities until 9.30 and tried again in a darkened room, with lullaby playing (her favourite) and as soon as I put her down she started crying so I started pu/pd, but each time she cried for ages when I picked her up and I keep wondering is there something wrong with her that I'm missing - I know it wasn't a mantra cry - I know that one. The other thing is that she is inclined to roll onto her tummy and get stuck and then get upset. I have rolled up blankets either side of her to prevent this, but she puts her two feet up on the bars of the cot and uses them as leverage to roll over the blankets. She is very averse to swaddling. She hates her arms being confined (again, I could be doing something wrong here). I feel she is a little constipated and have made changes in her diet to try and rectify it, but so far I'm still not happy with the consistency - and I know that will probably affect her sleep slightly. Any suggestions? By the way, this morning I gave in a gave her a breastfeed, during which she fell asleep and then I put her down - not a good habit I know. So by all accounts her rountine is more like E A E A E S A - you get my drift...

[LŠuren]

Wecome to the boards Jodiejo

Have you had a chance to check out this post https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=62100.0 - it give an excllent overview of how to start on EASY, at 6 months you are looking at 4hour EASY (see attachment).  You are going to find that the catnap is going to be 'dropped' soon as well.

Do you have any of the baby whisperer books to refer to?

Let me know if you need anymore help, I am on and off all day.
Lauren

[LŠuren]

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=9215.0
Above is a link on the breastfeeding board - Share your tips for getting B/Fed babies to take a bottle

This could be an excllent place for you to get more ideas from mums that have gone form breast to bottle and encountered difficulties.

[Jodiejo]

Thanks. Don't have any of the books at the moment. I must invest in one. Do I need to introduce the dream feed if she's sleeping straight through - I really don't want to upset a good thing? Since I posted the earlier message, she slept a full 1.5 hours for her morning sleep (even though I used the breast to see her off) - which was great and she was in brilliant form when she woke, she had another b/f and we had loads of fun. I fed her lucnh at 1.15 and have just put her down for afternoon sleep, but again had to resort to b/f - so she appears to be doubling up on feeds - getting one before and one after each sleep. Thanks for the feedback. I have read through that info before. In theory it's great, but the nitty gritty of getting her settled for sleep is not as easy - in fairness though I'm only doing it a couple of days, but I dont want to get into the habit of feeding her to sleep.

[LŠuren]

Hi
I wouldn't introduce a DF if your LO is already sleeping through.

It sounds like she is using you as a prop to get to sleep, I will see if I can get a someone to help out.   

You are doing really well so far!

[daisymelan]

Is there anyone else that is around during the day to help you?  Has your little one ever fallen asleep without the breast? 

If I understand you correctly, you are trying to feed on a 4 hour routine now, but yiou end up feeding before she falls asleep and then again when she wakes?

At 6 months, nursing on demand doesn't work very well with EASY so you would likely have to decide which is more important for you.  And both have their merits, it's a very personal choice.

As for the bottle feeding, the link Calums Mum provided will offer a lot of benefits.  Most importantly, someone else should do it with you no where in the vacinity, also, they should do it in a spot where you don't usually nurse.

Let me know the answers to the questions above.  It will help me help you out!

And welcome to the boards!   

[Jodiejo]

Thanks guys. Abbie usually always falls asleep without the breast but her tendancy to roll over has become a problem and she gets so upset and it undoes all the winding down. She woke right after I posted my last comment where she had rolled over in the bed in her sleep and got stuck crossways in the cot.
Right now, routine is more of a priority if I am to go back to work. I had hoped that nursing on demand would have faded a bit by now (I thought between it and the solid feeds it would be more routine - although I'm aware the solids in the early stages are less important than the milk from the nutrition point of view) - I want to continue nursing, but just at more appropriate times.
At the moment having someone to help with the feeding is not really an option. I'm at home by myself in the early part of the day, but I guess my husband and I could try it on the weekend. I had kind of resigned myself to her never taking a bottle seeing as she is drinking from the cup, but it would never give her the kind of comfort she derives from the breast (and could get from a bottle if she toook one). She's gone down now (hopefully for the night) so that's an hour earlier than usual (she didn't take a cat nap this evening) but she was quire hard to manage for the last hour and she fed incessantly for the hour before she went off - she was slightly awake when I put her down and she seems to have dropped off herself but the breastfeed was only just finished.

[daisymelan]

The reason I asked about someone else is because if she is used to falling asleep on the breast, you may need someone else to help put her down, because she knows she can get milk from you. 

And slightly awake is ok when you are putting her down.  It's ok for them to be sleepy IMO. 

The rolling thing is something that all babies go through and they eventually learn to sleep on their tummies or roll over the other way.  Mine still can't roll the other way!  LOL

You can stick with the cup if you feel your girl can get enough milk that way.  If you do'nt want to offer a bottle, that is fine, but you want to make sure she'll take enough from a cup.

[Jodiejo]

That's the problem. I'm not sure she'll get enough from the cup and I don't know what "enough" is in measurement terms never having fed her other than from the breast. She's awake again - so much for an hour earlier going down! I'll persevere. It's my best option, but I'll be back for more advice and I'll keep trawling through the various threads! Thanks

[daisymelan]

I would be concerned she wouldn't take enough from a cup either. 

My suggestion is if you have to be away, work very very hard to get her on the bottle.  Try everything in the thread on how to get little ones to take it.  And I hate to say it, but she likely won't take it from you so someone else will have to be doing it.  My little guy took a bottle fine, but not from me for the longest time.  I couldn't even be in the room.

In tracy's book she does have her own method and the easiest way to describe it is cold turkey.... and you know what, they won't starve themself, but you have to be strong about it.  I would get the book to read up on it.

You may want to order the haberman feeder and see if it will work.

[Jodiejo]

I will try and get Tracey's book and order the Haberman. I don't think I can do cold turkey. It would break my heart. I'd be convinced I was doing her long term psychological damage and would be wracked with guilt.

How much bm should she be drinking from the bottle? Should I try introducing formula or just stick with expressed breastmilk? I want to at least keep the morning and night feeds. or shoudl I not even be considering giving up some of the feeds to formula?

EASY not going too good today. She woke at 9 last night and didn't go back down until 11.45. She was awake at 6.45 this morning. I did the E and A and had to do E again to get her asleep and she didn't sleep for an hour. Did E and A again and now she's in the cot for her second sleep but is voicing her objection (not crying yet), but I did giver her a little feed before I put her down. She doesn't sound like shes going to settle by herself this time either. Have to get the book.

[Camea]

She's awake again - so much for an hour earlier going down!

I'm new here too, and I also have a 6month old who I'm trying to get on EASY.  We started 5 days ago and for the first couple of nights she woke up about every hour but now she goes in her crib at 7pm and didn't wake up till 6:45...only now she's wakeing up at 4:50 and wanting to nurse...anyway I just thought I'd let you know that at least she's doing better at nighttime and now she's not waking up every hour! Naptime is still a challenge though, like your little girl she doesn't want to go down without nursing first and we're both getting frustrated!! *see kicking and screaming all the way to dreamland in naps .

Camea

[Jodiejo]

Thanks Camea, it's good to have feedback from people in the same position as well as the excellent and sound advice from the moderators! Night-time is not a problem for Abbie (except for last night). She usually goes down at nine and wakes at 7. I got her to sleep this afternoon by putting her in her pram and rolling it over and back - feeling it was preferable to nursing her to sleep. However she only slept for half an hour. On top of which I have a two hour journey to take at 5pm today which means she'll sleep for most of it and then be wired for bedtime. I have to own up at this point and say that last nights disaster could well be because I had a glass (small) of coke yesterday. I don't usually drink it, but got a major thirst and just needed th fizzy kick it gives when you take the first mouthful. I paid the price though!

[Camea]

LOL, Yes I know what you mean, sometimes you do need something.. I ate four coconut blueberry muffins yesterday, but I don't think that's affecting Evie much right now!, I'm really glad I found this site it really is great to know you're not the only one who feels insane!

[daisymelan]

There really isn't an average for milk intake so it's really hard to say.  A lot of children won't take formula, so my recommendation is to keep trying with breast milk.

You can always loan the book out at the library.