Author Topic: HELP- lost the plot at 7 months  (Read 1672 times)

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Offline joannad

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HELP- lost the plot at 7 months
« on: September 09, 2006, 09:37:44 am »
I used similar to EASY with DD1 - NO PROBLEMS.
Picked up BW to help with DD2 as struggled to get her to take feeds initially. Discovered she was touchy/textbook.  Took on Tracy's additional advice about DF & clusters & got EASY sorted.  Problems were found to be lactose intolerance @ 9 weeks & within 2 days of meds 3 hour EASY was textbook & by week 11 we could finally 'tank her up' to sleep through.
Apart from the odd time this has been the case.  She's been almost textbook since & been on 4x4 EASY since 4.5 months.  I left dummy weaing too late (she was ill, then teething & then I went back to work) so we started in the school hols - little success for cot eventually cold turkey the last little bit of resistance & 3 days later - whe-hey - 10 mins to settle & settled herself during the night. 
She had been waking between 3-4am & we'd had to use dummy to settle her but now I'm beginning to wonder if it was hunger, because..............
5 days into the dummy free world - we all came down with bad cold. DD2 being touchy was difficult to manage & was quite sick with the mucus - sleep was sparce. She was waking about 3-4 & signing 'milk' - fine, was ill, wasn't feeding properly.  After the 3rd night alarm bells were ringing - habit forming!!  Tried a cluster feed - didn't work - she just didn't take her DF @ 22:30 & woke at 01:00.  DH is now preparing an extra bottle & feeding her between 3-4 am!!! It's really hard but we can live with that at the mo but once he's back at work too we'll not cope.  Each morning she's taking more & more & I don't know how to break the habit.  She IS hungry not just comfort.  We're trying to give more food in the day but she's not taking it.
Getting desperate as I really believe the EASY works - DD1 is proof.

I'm pouring over feeding books & BW & can't find what I need.
PLEASE HELP!!!!
JO


Offline Lªuren

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Re: HELP- lost the plot at 7 months
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2006, 12:37:46 pm »
Jo

Calum has a cold at the moment, he has starting waking at 1am and I have realised he is thirsty, because of the blocked nose and mucous (sp?).   The first night I gave him milk, but the last 2 nights I have just given him water in a sippy.

Have you tried just offering water, your LO might just sign milk, because she is thirsty.

How much milk does she take during the day? How many bottles are you giving her?
Lauren
Lauren x


Offline joannad

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Re: HELP- lost the plot at 7 months
« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2006, 22:43:21 pm »
OH it's definately hunger!! We did the water 1st! She wasn't being fobbed off at all!! The other night she had a 4oz bottle & when it was done signed for more!!!

We've stepped up the solids today by adding more rice & pasta etc. She's fed well BUT DH couldn't get her to take her DF!!  :(
 :-\ No idea what is going on!!
JO


Offline Lªuren

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Re: HELP- lost the plot at 7 months
« Reply #3 on: September 10, 2006, 07:00:24 am »
can you post your routine, including amounts of food and formula for each feed?

Lauren
Lauren x


Offline joannad

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Re: HELP- lost the plot at 7 months
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2006, 21:06:01 pm »
Callums Mum thanks for looking -we added more food & almost force fed yesterday (she ate it no matter how long it took, she wouldn't DF at the usualu time so I tried later at 00:20 & she took 4oz & got through to 06:45 - big improvement.

Usual routine was:
Wake 6-7am
7am - 6oz bottle & cereal (was 4 tablesp - upped to 5 as of yesterday) leaves 1-2 oz milk
9am sleep
11am feed (wondering if this should be a bit later now) 4cubes (1oz cubes) veg then 2 oz fruit/ baby yoghurt 4oz bottle (was leaving 2oz of her 6oz so reduced it - but upped it to 6oz today.)
12:30 - sleep (her not me -we try & push to 1am)
3pm feed - as for lunch but this week she's wanted food at 2.30pm
4-5 - nap
6pm -start for evening - usually eats 6.15- 6.30 6oz milk & 1.5 rusks (just upped to 2 yesterday)
bath/wash
7-7.30 bed asleep by 7.30-8pm
DF 10.30-11pm - but she's been waking at 10.30 if we're not ready

TOday I added potato to lunch & pasta to tea feeds to add extra cals as carbs and rice to fruit!!
We've had problems trying to get her to take more so we've bulked it up instead.  Hopefully this was the mistake. Unless you can see somthing I've missed.
JO


Offline Lªuren

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Re: HELP- lost the plot at 7 months
« Reply #5 on: September 11, 2006, 20:04:06 pm »
Hi I have seen this and will have a look tomorrow am - off to bed  :)
Lauren x


Offline joannad

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Re: HELP- lost the plot at 7 months
« Reply #6 on: September 11, 2006, 20:17:02 pm »
The extra food didn't work next night - 4oz at 4am in the morning!!!  Signed for milk - tried water but she spat it out & kept on signing til she got water!! : :(
JO


Offline Lªuren

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Re: HELP- lost the plot at 7 months
« Reply #7 on: September 13, 2006, 05:18:14 am »
Jo
Sorry for the delay, so I have come on mega early this morning to reply. :-[

Usual routine was:
Wake 6-7am
7am - 6oz bottle & cereal (was 4 tablesp - upped to 5 as of yesterday) leaves 1-2 oz milk
9am sleep
11am feed (wondering if this should be a bit later now) 4cubes (1oz cubes) veg then 2 oz fruit/ baby yoghurt

What make you think that the 11am feed should be moved later?  Usually, this is a classic sign that your LO wants to move to 3 bottles per day.  However, I see you still have a DF in place so you would'nt start cutting out any day time bottles until you have weaned the DF.

The df should be stopped around 7months, as this is the time that your LO is on 3 meals per day.  All the DF does at this is age is take away your LO's hunger the following day during the core day hours. i.e. wake 'til bedtime.

At this age it isn't so much the solids that is her main nurishment, but her milk. From the routine you posted she doesn't take that much during the day (unless I am reading it wrong).


How much do you offer at the DF?
Here is the info on dropping the DF;

:)

How to stop the dream feed…from Tracy’s Book “The Baby Whisperer Solves All of Your Problems”.

The process of cutting out the dream feed – usually around 7 months – is to be done in 3-day increments, to insure that your baby makes up during the day what you’re taking away at night.

Day 1: Add one ounce to the first feed of the day, and take away 1 ounce from the dream feed that night.  If you’re breastfeeding, go back to clustering so that you get more calories in.  Give the dream feed (now 1 ounce less) half an hour earlier, at 10:30 instead of 11.

Day 4:  Add one ounce to the first feed, one to the second, and take away two ounces from the dream feed.  Give the dream feed (two ounces less) at 10.

Day 7:  Add once ounce to the first feed, once to the second, one to the third, take away three ounces from the dream feed, and give it at 9:30.

Days 10 (dream feed at 9pm), 14 ( 8 :30) 17 (8:00 ) and 20 (7:30):  By continuing every 3 days to add ounces during the day and take away the same amount from the dream feed, you will end up doing a feed at 7:30 with only a few ounces.


Note:  If your little one doesn’t take that extra ounce(s) that is offered during the day, that is ok….they might not take to drinking more right away during the day, but it is there if they want it.

I suggest cutting out the dream feed at around seven months, as your baby starts to get solid food in him. If you continue to give it, you’re working against the introduction of solid food, because for every 25 5Th/Ounce of extra liquid your baby takes, he won’t be hungry for 25 gram/an ounce of solid food. However, as the box indicates, when you cut out the dream feed, you have to add the same number of ml or grams or ounces to the day feed. If you don’t, your baby will wake up at night.

Also...the above is taken from Tracy's book "SAYP - p123".  Every baby is different though so there may be variations of the above "how to" that work - including dropping it cold turkey.



Jo, I am going to shift this post to bottlefeeding.

Lauren  :)



Lauren x


Offline joannad

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Re: HELP- lost the plot at 7 months
« Reply #8 on: September 14, 2006, 22:21:01 pm »
Must be honest I'm worried about dropping the DF yet.  She's just turned 7 months & I know Tracy recommends that but no way will she go through with out it. DD1 - I did Babywise (don't know if you know it but EASY is similar routine only they're a bit more CC/CIO  which we didn't really do & Cluster/DF isn't mentioned just feeding at the right time on routine - she was angel/textbook DD2 is more touchy!!)
DD1 had  10pm feed until about 9 months so I'm not fussed about dropping it at 7 months. Also DD2 is a whoper baby - she was 10lb 2 born and is just into 9 months clothes (at 7) so she needs a lot.
Do you think she should be taking more solids?
Or more milk?

I'm concerned that it might be a feeding problem (she's putting on weight fine bang on the centile - so that suggests not) as we thought she had reflux from birth - diagnosed as lactose intolerance - but until she got meds to add to her milk she was taking pathetically small feeds.

What to you think?

DF - we make up 9oz & she usually drains it (certianly at leat 7oz)  when I first posted this she sometimes was taking a couple of oz & then waking at 3-4am starving hungry.  She's usually been a good feeder when asleep!!
« Last Edit: September 14, 2006, 22:23:36 pm by joannad »
JO


Offline Lªuren

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Re: HELP- lost the plot at 7 months
« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2006, 20:07:35 pm »
How are you getting on?
Lauren x


Offline joannad

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Re: HELP- lost the plot at 7 months
« Reply #10 on: September 18, 2006, 21:08:45 pm »
Quite mixed!!  We had an awful night on Sat & then got her through the last 2 nights.
I don't think it helps that this is coinciding with getting rid of the dummy and horrendous teething!!
Last night I put her in a short sleeved sleepsuit in her 'grobag', she had her 'supper' earlyish so  I offered a 'top up' (I supposed you'd call it a claster feed) after her bath - she took 3oz & was dozing so I put her to bed, she drifted off all smiles!!!
Problem - couldn't get her to DF until after midnight!!!! (DOn't scold - I know the theory) BUT she slept til 07:15 this morning!!! BLISS!!!!
I'm just wondering if an extra couple of oz is the answer!!!!
DH & I have worked very hard to keep the bones of the routine in place.  It could be that she's a touchy baby & doesn't do routine - but I'm not giving up on it!!!
Keep tweeking things to try & get it right!
JO