starting easy at 5+ months, anyone else out there did the same?

[staceyr]

I've been reading through this forum for the last several days (having just got the babywhisperer book and excited there was a website) and was amazed at the wealth of information and loving parents willing to share their thoughts and time.  after reading 1/2 of this book I've decided to try to put my 5 month old on the babywhisperer program.  The thing that I noticed though is that most of the posts that I have read are parents who've had their little nantucket on the babywhisperer program since birth - 12 weeks.  It would be neat to have mom's share their experiences about what it's like getting their little nantucket on the easy schedule post 4-5 months (as there is a huge emotional/intellectual/physical growth spurt after 3 months.  I got very excited about the easy schedule and threw her on it for two days and she did fairly well on it, except for the sleep thing... holy hannah.  I don't think I've ever seen a baby sleep so little.  I kind of threw the book in garbage for a day or two thinking grrr! that doesn't work.  I get little enough sleep the way it is these days.  So, after a few more days of thinking I have decided to try again, but not in the fad diet fashion... but in a methodical planned way.  I'm planning to do the deed in a week or two when I have 3-5 days off in a row from work.  It would be nice to hear problems/pitfalls/things to avoid from mom's who have started the easy program mid-stream.

Here's my story. I'm a single mom who has a mixture of angel/on-track/spirited baby.  She is mostly content and happy to explore.  when she was just born she screamed everytime I tried putting her down, especially in her crib on her own.  As I'm a believer in attachment parenting decided that baby wearing (I pretty much wore her with the baby bjorn 90% of the time) was the way to go.  some people encouraged me to use the CIO, especially grandfather... but as I'm more of the confident go with the flow parenter I scoffed and was adamant about not using CIO.  the only thing else out there I saw was attachment parenting.  so, here we are five months later...  I know her cues and she knows I will always pick her up and tend to her needs   we have a pretty great relationship so far.  but the 6 month mark is looming.  I told myself at 6 months when she can better understand what's going on I would put her in the crib.  (and not in one day like a banishment, but we have been practicing weening from bed to crib these days)  if anyone knows anything about attachment parenting you know that we are co-sleepers.  which I love and she loves... except for one thing.  she's awake every two-3 hours (sometimes even more) at five months.   I have two good friends who have a 18month who ferberized their baby and at 7 months was sleeping beautifully in the night (and while I am not willing to practice ferberizing, I have to say it's not horrible... my friends attend to their daughter's every need in every other way and now their baby sleeps beautifully through the night)  they are encouraging me to ferberize and I'm not wanting to go their...  I love the pu/pd philosophy and am all over that.  but after the sporadic this is great and putting her on easy without thinking fiasco... she was cranky and slept even less then she does now.  (did I mention she is somewhat spirited and can come out of a tired I'm going to sleep daze With a blink of an eye)  when I put her down in her crib (after a pick up) she thought it was play time and started laughing and playing with her feet.  (it is only after I pick her up and do a little B.F. that she gets calm enough to sleep.)  She is currently exclusively B.F. with a starting of rice cereal thrown in the mix.  (I'm blessed to have a cousin who is my nanny while I work willing to use a finger feeder to her breast.  My spirited little tyke is a bottle refuser and would go a whole 10hrs without eating at 3 1/2 months old until I came back from work to feed.)  I actually hired a mom to B.F. my baby while I was at work, until my cousin figured out she could use the finger feeder on her breast.  Yes, my girlie girl knows what she likes and will go without if she doesn't get it...  anyway, I'm bringing her to the doctor on Monday to rule out any actual physical ailments for her waking up so often at 5 months.  I have developed my plan and after I get the go ahead from my doctor (she was 2 weeks premature and weighed fivelbs so I'm very concsious of how much she eats and want to make sure I feed her enough.  at 5 months she is still only 12 lbs and fits into 0-3 months still   As I work evenings I have to tweak the easy method to 10pm sleep - 10am wake up time.  yes.  I certainly do feel like a ghetto mom, but as I'm a single mom who is a nurse working 3-11:30 get home and finally am able to settle into bed at about 1am.  on nights that I work (obviously since I co-sleep) she sometimes is up till 1:00am.  my cousin is also a spirited excitable 21 year old, who doesn't seem to be able to tone down the energy even at 12:00am in the morning.  so, the three issues I need to tackle are 1. getting my adhd cousin, who is her nanny 35 hours a week in the evenings,  to calm down enough in the evenings in order to get Kylie down for her afternoon naps and go to sleep at 10pm.  2. breaking the b.f. to sleep association. 3.  getting her to take longer then 45 min. naps/sleep longer then 2-3 hours at a time.  but in the scheme of things my little nantucket is happy as a clam, easy going, goes with the flow, smile maker, warm my heart little girl...  so I take it all in stride and am thouroughly enjoying my time (sleep deprived and all).  and am wondering if there are any other ghetto mom's out there who have to have such a late start to their day and how this easy schedule works with their little nantucket and other stories from the hood of parents who have started easy after 4-5 months... has it been as short a time as 3-7 days to do the transition as the book says?  let me know if ur out there

[shelliz]

Hi there!


Ahhh... I just wrote you a whole long post and LOST it!

We started BW'ing when Jessica was 4 months old. We had a bunch of accidental parenting going on too.  BF'ing to sleep, bringing her into our bed when she would wake in the early morning hours and sometimes bouncing her to sleep (on a yoga ball).  She is also a "petite" baby. She weighs 16 lbs 10 oz at her 9 month visit.

You have alot on your plate right now and my dd is just waking from her nap. But....just wanted to respond and say that we were right where you were several months ago. Now I have a dd who sleeps independantly (w/ one night waking for a BF), in her own bed, no feed-to-sleep association and can soothe herself to sleep if she wakes. We began on the 3 hr EASY and fairly quickly moved to the 4 hr EASY. It is hard when you think they are hungry but if you get her used to eating every 3 or 4 hrs (depending which EASY she is on)....she will consume more at those feedings instead of snacking every 2 hours.

Please come back w/ any questions and I will share my experiences w/ you as well.  Baby Whisperer is a wonderful way to go! I would NEVER consider CIO! Glad you didn't want to either! Gotta go get my sweetie out of bed now!

Take care and good luck!

Shelby

[staceyr]

I'm so glad that you responded to this post I hope my long bookish type intro to the post string didn't scare off any takers...  I just got home from work and this seems to be the only time that I have time to do electonic fun.  I haven't set an exact date yet on when we are going to start the easy plan.  but I'm starting to ease her into it.  fortunately her schedule fits into the easy schedule quite naturally.  So, I don't think it will be a super hard transition, except for the falling to sleep thing and sleeping on her own.  she is half and half now.  half in her crib and when I get home I scoop her up and put her into my bed.  (I don't want her to go into shock...  one day nice and snugly cozy and the next... out into the cold   so here's a question.  you started your sweetie pie jessica at 4 months on the 3 hour easy instead of the four hour easy.  my rabul rouser is now 5 months and 1 week and her feeding shedule fits into the 3 hour easy while her sleep schedule fits into a 4 hour easy (however she still is only taking 3 1 hour naps during the day)  the schedule I have set up for her is a 4 hour easy...  I think I will try the four hours and see if I can stretch her feedings (she is definately a snacker   what do u think?  it's nice to hear success stories...  especially from parents who didn't start out with a set schedule, but who inched into one down the line.  It's nice to dream about the day (or night I should say) when I can sleep for more then 5 hours in a row.  hope all is well with your little jessica (my kylie rolled from her back to her front side for the first time today.  at first I was in shock at how she got ont her front and then I realized she did it herself   it's supersparky to watch ur little one grow and explore their world!

[Nay - Mateo's Mom]

Hi Stacey.

We became BW parent when Mateo was about 4 months.
Prior to that, Mateo would sleep in a bassinet, next to me for about 3-5 hour stretches, and during his first nw he would come into bed with me, and nurse on and off until morning time. He NEVER slept in his crib, as a matter of fact, for the first few months, his crib was used as a storage bin.   We also had nap issues since he would go all day without a nap. Of course now we can look back and say that he never slept straight through, due to overtiredness, overstimulation, props, etc. etc...

Anyway, one day I came accross the Baby Whisperer Solves all Your Problem Book... and haven't looked back. We put him on the 4 hour EASY straight away. Tracey lays out a 5-7 day plan to get yourself there, and it's AWESOME! The first 2 days were BRUTAL ( I won't lie!) but the results are amazing. I know that letting your LO cry it out sounds like it may work, since so many parents use that method, but give BW a chance first.

Do you have the BWSAYP book? It's a great investment, and it's great because everything in it is so practical.

I hope this helps/encourages you. I would suggest that you review your "strategy" well before you start and envision the results so that it keeps you motivated. I can tell you that my little guy has 2 x 1.5 hour naps during the day, and sleeps from about 7p.m. to 7a.m....
He is even teething (has been for months now) and his sleep has not been affected! Awesome, isn't it?

Good luck,

Nay

[Nay - Mateo's Mom]

Oh, and about the 10 a.m wake thing... all I can tell you is that I tried (REALLY tried) to have Mateo on a 8-8 routine, but it was a no-go. It's something to do with their bio-rhythms. On the very rare occasion, he'll wake at 7:45 ish, but more than likely it's closer to 7:30. I preferred a later wake time and a later bed time, so that he could spend more time with DH, but it never worked out.

I'm not saying that it doesn't work, I'm just saying that it didn't work for me. A few other moms on my Birth Club tried it too, but to no avail. Some were successful at moving the wake time to about a 1/2 hour later. I guess it just depends on the baby.

Good luck with that... I'll certainly be crossing my fingers for you!!!

Nay

[shelliz]

Hi there Stacey!

   I would say if your daughter fits into the 4 hr sleep schdule then you could probablly fit her easily into the 4 hr EASY for eating too!  Really it shouldn't be too hard for her as she will quickly learn to intake more at each feeding. The 4 hour EASY will also help her to go for longer stretches at night!  I totally agree w/ Nay in regards to you daughters natural sleep bio-rythms. I can put Jessica down later (say at 8:00) and NO matter what...she will still wake at 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning. That is just her internal clock. She does much better, sleeps longer and more soundly if I put her to bed at 6:45 each night and let her rise at 6:30 or 7:00.  That is just her natural clock.
Congrats of Kilye roling over!!! My Jessi started crawling TODAY too!!! Sooo super exciting! 

Please come back w/ questions once you get started! Remember....that to be sucessful...you have to be willing to be very consistant. It is easy to give up if it seems like it isn't working this time around. It does take time for our lo's to really "learn" a new way to sleep. If we keep consistant...it will pay off big time! I promise!

  Shelby

[LŠuren]

Hi Stacey
If you haven't been able to get the books yet, you can get an overview of how to start here --> https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=62100.0   at 5 months you are most likely looking at a 4hr EASY.

General EASY Faq's are listed here --> https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?board=82.0

HTH's

Give us a shout when you need us. 

[staceyr]

this posting is awesome for me.  I went to the md yesterday and she said that there is no reason, besides behavioral learned problems, that kylie should not be able to sleep for 5 or more hours during the night.  she then recommended the ferber method, which isn't horrible awful but I do truly prefer the bw method.  So now that we have the go from the MD I think the start date will be saturday.  I have been trying to ease her into it by trying to keep her on the schedule naturally (which she does pretty well except for the eating and sleeping thing ;0  but saturday is start day.  also, I have a angelic spirited baby (emphasis on the spirited).  I'm going to read more in the sleeping/spirited posts to see how parents with easily stimulated babies try and get their baby to sleep.  when I put Kylie in her crib she thinks its play time and will kick and chew on her toes for 10 min. like a wild woman.  (she is much like me when I was a kid.  my mom said that I was horrible to put down for naps   anyway, if any of u have spirited tykes any suggestions on putting those easily stimulated babies to bed...  I will also be reading in other posts and finishing the book.  (yes I have the book and have gotten through about 1/2.)  it's soooo hard getting time to read with my super go go girl

I have decided to move the schedule down to 9am (if she's sleeping through the night I will get 8 hours sleep with my work schedule).  but I really can't do earlier...  I will see how she does on saturday with a 9-9 (but I have to say that she normally wakes up about 10 nowadays no problem, it's the middle of the night wakings that destroys our sleep.  anyway, thanks all for the info and words of encouragement.  I love reading these posts!!!

[shelliz]

Stacey..

 As for your lo being overstimulated...I would suggest a longer wind-down time. Say Kiley goes to bed at 9:00 and you usually begin your bath at 8:00 and then feed at 8:30. Maybe begin your whole routine a bit earlier so you can have more quiet time after the bath and before you feed her. Maybe some lullabyes, a lotion massage or a rock in your rocking chair.  Sometimes they the spirite ones just take a while longer to wind down.  Also..another helpful hint it to try and do more stimulating things during the morning activity time and more relaxing activities (like a walk in the stroller or car ride) during the afternoon activity time.  That way as the day progresses they are slowly relaxing. I know it may be hard as you are working and can't always control what type of activities she does during the day. But...those are some ideas that you can at least try on the weekends.

Hope all goes well this weekend!

Shelby

[staceyr]

that is a great!!! suggestion.  I'm also going to get her very active in the morning hours.  I just put up her johny jump up (she absolutely loves it!)  She jumps up and down, twirls in circles, and she really feels like she is in control of her own body movements.  I'm going to try to focus on physical activities as opposed to ones where others are stimulating her...  Here is my easy schedule that I'm going to try to utilize... any questions comments?  (I'm still getting the nap and beddtime routine figured out)  it's a slow going project as she sleeps so little and that's the only time I have to read and work on these things...
9:00 awake and BF
9:20 activity time (get dressed and ready for morning)
10:30 Rice Cereal (1-2 oz)(my md said to try starting her on rice cereal.  after 6 months start solids)
11:00 nap (typically 45 min. but am aiming for 1 1/2 hours)
12:30-1:00 rice cereal (1-2 oz) BF.
1:00 Activity time (physical like johny jump up or trying to stand games)
3:00 naptime
4:30-5:00 Rice Cereal (1-2 oz) BF.
5:00 Activity time (maybe walk or something low key)
between 7 & 8 Catnap
8:30 BF.
8:45 sleep routine
9:30 BEDTIME
12:00 DREAMFEED when momma comes home...

how does this look for a 5 1/2 month old excitable girlie girl

[shelliz]

Hi Stacey!

  You lo's schdule looks like good. I know you have a job that doesn't allow her to go to bed earlier. If this works for the both of you...then that is fab!! 

 How are things going? Have you been able to stretch out the 45 minute naps? Have you tried wake to sleep?

Let us know how it is going!

Shelby 

[staceyr]

I'm glad the schedule looks good.  she now regularly and comfortably wakes and goes to sleep aroudn the 9ish hour which is fabulous for me.  Starting the easy program has not been easy....  holy man.  she has typically been a really happy giggly girl, but this last week she has grumpy little tired red eyes and the personality to match.  going down is much easier during the day, and for me at night is good (the first couple of days took an hour +, and now only takes 20 min.   however, when my cousin tries to put her down... the first day back to work was a nightmare and she didn't sleep AT ALL.  she went on a sleep strike.  after about 10min of laying in her crib she would cry and wake herself up.  I've been sort of cheating and keeping the co-sleeping thing going (I love co-sleeping).  and during the day she sleeps in her crib and at night she sleeps with me.  I have been trying to get her used to this, however... I think yesterday proved she is not able to adjust to doing both...  I will have to put her in her crib.  I just can't be there to sleep with her everytime she sleeps and I think that's the reason for the short naps.  when she sleeps with me she easily puts herself to sleep, but when she sleeps alone she thinks hey where's momma, how come I'm alone, I think some horrible animal has eaten her and is now going to get me and take me to his den and eat me.. help help (crying then ensues).  So... "sigh"  I will start putting her in the bassinet sunday night (the start of my weekend) next to my bed and slowly but surely move her to her own room.  I think both of us will need time to adjust sleeping in seperate rooms.  (I tried putting her into her crib when i started her on the easy, but I just couldn't do it and in the end we co-slept but I didn't do any breastfeeding until 5:30 in the morning) I did pick up/put down in the bed with me until she fell asleep.  this has worked miraculous and she now only gets up at around 5am, 7am, 9am wake for the day which is soooo much better   better get back to work but I thought I would give an update.  if there are any tips out there for getting over the co-sleeping hump it would be greatly appreciated   stacey