PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/9/2009 12:17:53 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 6/9/2009 12:14:05 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
DD, I have always read you should put him down at first signs of sleepiness. So if he is tired at 6:30, I would put him down then. I know you are not looking forward to pumping but it really does help to determine if he needs food or comfort. Good luck. T didn''t STTN until 6 months. It was a LONG first 6 months.

I have been thinking that too... So do you think I should put him down at 6:30 for the night or for a nap? The main difference would be a feeding prior to going down. I think if we start bedtime so early then we would cut the batht ime thing because it is too much hulabaloo at that time of day. I plan to go buy a pump soon! I think it is time...

DD, it''s all fun and games, isn''t it?

My experience (which may not be yours) is that putting Amelia down later or earlier didn''t wildly affect the 1st wake up. It moved on its own from time to time even when her bedtime was set, but back when I was experimenting, it didn''t change too much. However, like Hunter, Amelia had a few times of wake up at 5 am. For that wake up, as long as she wasn''t screaming for me, I just simply didn''t go in until later (I''d do a quick check though), and usually she''d knock out again. I''d go in around 7. She will STILL do that, btw...sometimes waking up at 5:50 and babbling away to herself. I just turn the monitor on low and roll back over to bed.

Training her to not expect me at her first waking was as important as getting her down early. But again, she never screamed or anything upon wake up. If she sounded unhappy, I''d go the paci and pat routine. Since Hunter sounds like an easy going baby like Amelia, I''d see if you can get that part going as well (especially since you are not a morning person as I''m also not.)

Also, I know Hunter is out of the swaddle, so I don''t know if that makes a difference. Amelia was still in it when we were dealing with middle of the night feedings, so I''d swaddle her back up, stick a paci in and she''d go back to bed.

Could be that he just isn''t ready to give up that feed yet. Amelia took three months. Tessa magically gave up her middle of the night feed after her 6 month shots. Neither baby ever looked back. It just sort of happened.

So I second trying to put him down between 6:30 and 7 when he shows first signs of tiredness. A few nights of 5 am wakeup might happen, but as he gets older, hopefully his sleep would get longer anyway. Amelia was always on a bottle after 2 months, so I don''t know how much trying a bottle would help vs boob but it sounds like a good idea to try to me. If you don''t want to try that right away, have your DH go in for the middle of the night waking and try and offer the pacifier. Might be that Hunter is smart enough to know that mommy''s comfy breast and food lurks nearby. Of course, it could just piss him off more that your DH is in there and not you. But keep trying..consistently. Just because one thing doesn''t work one day doesn''t mean it won''t ever work.

Anyway, from reading what I was trying, anytime to I tried anything new, it took a few days to settle (and it was scary to move the schedule again, but I kept doing it). So try 6:30 and stick with it a few days, take notes and see what''s going on. It''s just a lot of effort, a little luck and a heaps of exhaustion (i.e. those early morning wake ups) coming together to make it happen.

 

[MustangGal]

DD, I guess I have the baby that does fit the STTN myth

sorry!

He started sleeping 8:30-4am just before 2 months, and 8:30-6am around 3 months. He''ll be 4 months on Friday, and still does about 8 or 8:30pm to 5:30 at least, and sometimes 6:15. What we started doing was trying to cut night feeding. If Hunter is sleepy at 6:30, maybe put him down without feeding so he just takes a nap, then when he wakes up do the bedtime ritual. Kyle used to do a 30 minute evening nap before bedtime. If Hunter wakes up in the middle of the night, try to let him cry for 5 minutes (it''s the longest 5 minutes of your life!), and if he doesn''t stop then go in and try a paci and/or rocking him until he quiets, but don''t feed the first time he wakes up. He''ll probably wake up again about an hour later, and let him feed the second time. Eventually the first wake-up will become later, and go away. This is what worked for us, but your little guy my be different. Good luck!

 

[pavelover]

Hi you guys! I am so ridiculously behind I am really considering becoming a full time lurker(I think I may already be one anyway)!!! But I wanted to give dd some info from baby whisperer(hopefully I get it right).

I remember you asking about the baby''s naps last week or so and also now his nighttime bedtime. Tyler still sometimes takes 3 or more naps a day and he is close to 6 months. He maybe getting on a 2 hr morn nap and 2 hr pm nap but it is still sketchy. In addition, often between 4 and 5 oclock I put him down again and he sleeps for maybe an hour or close to it. I''m pretty sure the baby whisperer recommneds this for babies who need it- she calls it a cat nap I think??? then maybe you could still keep your original bedtime. In addition, and to contradict what I just said, either the bby whis or hshc(healthy sleep habits happy child or something like thta) I think he recommends if your baby is nighttime waking/getting up too early you actually put them to sleep a little earlier. I think tgal can chime in on this if she is around.
Sorry hunter is not being as good a sleeper as before. It''s crazy how fast things change withthe little ones. At tylers 4 mo shots, he was so sleepy after for a few nights and it was heavenly(I know that sounds odd that I was happy for the side effects of the shots, but Im a desperate sleep deprived mommmy,llol) and now for his 6 mo shots, he was up omg almost all night, and fussy, even with tylenol. Usually he is a happy camper if I let him camp out on my boob but that didnt even work last night! yuck. ah well...

ok everyone else I am still reading and enjoying keeping up(sort of)with what goes on with all of you.

pandora I am so happy you are managing so well!! You guys are adorable. yucky employers!! they stink, alot.

I gotta go get in the shower while t is napping. keep up all the good work mommies!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/9/2009 12:59:25 PM
Author: pavelover
Hi you guys! I am so ridiculously behind I am really considering becoming a full time lurker(I think I may already be one anyway)!!! But I wanted to give dd some info from baby whisperer(hopefully I get it right).

I remember you asking about the baby''s naps last week or so and also now his nighttime bedtime. Tyler still sometimes takes 3 or more naps a day and he is close to 6 months. He maybe getting on a 2 hr morn nap and 2 hr pm nap but it is still sketchy. In addition, often between 4 and 5 oclock I put him down again and he sleeps for maybe an hour or close to it. I''m pretty sure the baby whisperer recommneds this for babies who need it- she calls it a cat nap I think??? then maybe you could still keep your original bedtime. In addition, and to contradict what I just said, either the bby whis or hshc(healthy sleep habits happy child or something like thta) I think he recommends if your baby is nighttime waking/getting up too early you actually put them to sleep a little earlier. I think tgal can chime in on this if she is around.
Sorry hunter is not being as good a sleeper as before. It''s crazy how fast things change withthe little ones. At tylers 4 mo shots, he was so sleepy after for a few nights and it was heavenly(I know that sounds odd that I was happy for the side effects of the shots, but Im a desperate sleep deprived mommmy,llol) and now for his 6 mo shots, he was up omg almost all night, and fussy, even with tylenol. Usually he is a happy camper if I let him camp out on my boob but that didnt even work last night! yuck. ah well...

ok everyone else I am still reading and enjoying keeping up(sort of)with what goes on with all of you.

pandora I am so happy you are managing so well!! You guys are adorable. yucky employers!! they stink, alot.

I gotta go get in the shower while t is napping. keep up all the good work mommies!

Yes HSHHC does recommend that. It''s counter intuitive, but for some reason, it actually worked for us.

And I also put Amelia down for a nap at 3:30ish. You think, how the hell can will they go to bed at 6:30 if she just took a nap until 4:30? Yet she did. HSHHC said, "sleep begets sleep." Go figure, it did for us.

 

[MustangGal]

She''s cute Pandora!

I did also find it a very abrupt change from preggo to non-preggo. I don''t miss it at all, but it does take a little adjustment. I now find myself trying to guess the ages of other babies I see around like I used to try gussing how far along other preggos were.

On the sleep issue, yesterday Kyle took a nap from 4:15pm-6:15pm (very long for him), and still went down about 8:30pm, and slept without a peep! He got up at 6am, which for me is fine since I have to feed him and get him to the sitter by 7.

 

[Dreamer_D]

OKay I need more time to digest and process it all, but thanks as usual for the good tips! Right now Hunter is pretty predictable in his sleep patterns... he usaully has 2 45 minutes napes in the morning and then either 2 45 minutes napes in the afternoon (last one from about 4:30 to 5:15) or he has one long nap in the afternoon for about 2 hours. Either way he wakes at aorund 5pm from his last nap. And yup, he is about ready to go to sleep again at around 6:30. Tonight and for the next few nights we are going to put him down then and see how it pans out... back later, gotta run!

 

[janinegirly]

what do other mommies use to wash bottles (those who use bottles). I''ve always handwashed with anti-bacterial hand soap and scrubbed until squeaky clean. I don''t know why I decided this--figured it killed bacteria but not as harsh as dish liquid. Well now I''ve picked up a "baby organics dish and bottle wash." 3x the price of course--is it just marketing? Once in a while I boil everything, but not that often because it seems to make the bottles/nipples weaken.

 

[janinegirly]

another questions for you mommies (esp those over 4-5 months, i.e. STTN): does anyone still cradle/rock their baby to sleep? Is this a habit that has to be broken or will they grow out of it? I still do this for my LO..I KNOW all the books say don''t, but it''s only for 20mins or so and then she''s down easily. I can''t handle CIO..tried (admittedly not very hard) and she just cries louder. I know I''m the one to blame for this habit--so more curious if anyone can relate or share their experience.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/9/2009 1:57:40 PM
Author: janinegirly
what do other mommies use to wash bottles (those who use bottles). I''ve always handwashed with anti-bacterial hand soap and scrubbed until squeaky clean. I don''t know why I decided this--figured it killed bacteria but not as harsh as dish liquid. Well now I''ve picked up a ''baby organics dish and bottle wash.'' 3x the price of course--is it just marketing? Once in a while I boil everything, but not that often because it seems to make the bottles/nipples weaken.

I just have Amelia lick the bottle and air dry.

Honestly, I''ve never been anal. I use antibacterial soap or dishsoap...whatever is handy. Lather, rinse and dry. I have never sterilized any of her bottles after the initial cleanse out of the package.

 

[lili]

Date: 6/9/2009 2:03:43 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 6/9/2009 1:57:40 PM

Author: janinegirly

what do other mommies use to wash bottles (those who use bottles). I''ve always handwashed with anti-bacterial hand soap and scrubbed until squeaky clean. I don''t know why I decided this--figured it killed bacteria but not as harsh as dish liquid. Well now I''ve picked up a ''baby organics dish and bottle wash.'' 3x the price of course--is it just marketing? Once in a while I boil everything, but not that often because it seems to make the bottles/nipples weaken.

I just have Amelia lick the bottle and air dry.


Honestly, I''ve never been anal. I use antibacterial soap or dishsoap...whatever is handy. Lather, rinse and dry. I have never sterilized any of her bottles after the initial cleanse out of the package.

Same here.
Just boiled the bottles before first use.
After that, it''s just regular wash w/ dishsoap, rinse and dry.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/9/2009 2:01:19 PM
Author: janinegirly
another questions for you mommies (esp those over 4-5 months, i.e. STTN): does anyone still cradle/rock their baby to sleep? Is this a habit that has to be broken or will they grow out of it? I still do this for my LO..I KNOW all the books say don''t, but it''s only for 20mins or so and then she''s down easily. I can''t handle CIO..tried (admittedly not very hard) and she just cries louder. I know I''m the one to blame for this habit--so more curious if anyone can relate or share their experience.

No experience personally but the gal who has a son 5.5 months older than Amelia and I talked and hung out a lot (and still do). She rocked her son to sleep and he did grow to rely on it. They tried CIO at first when the son was around 7 or 8 months but couldn''t handle the CIO process.

The problem is that he was a BIG boy...95 percentile in everything. So by the time he was a year old, it was extremely difficult to rock him for naps and bedtime. She asked me what I thought and I said I don''t know what they could do but CIO, and to not go back in the room once they start since it would only teach him how long he needed to cry to outlast them.

It took two hellish nights of big time screaming (for about an hour to an hour and a half the first night and less the second night) but it worked. She said she couldn''t believe it only took two nights. To be honest, neither could I.

They felt they had no other choice, so they did it. She told me previously she could not handle CIO, but I guess in the end, her back could handle her son far less than her ears could handle crying. These days, he''ll still scream when put down, but it lasts about 30 seconds (which I''ve witnessed.) Then he''s out.

 

[jas]

Re: bottle washing -- Target has these scrubby bottle washers that get every last inch of crustiness out of a bottle; it has a little scrubber for the nipples. I use those because formula seems to get so nasty in the bottles. Regular dish soap.

I feel I spend half my day washing bottles.

 

[Pandora II]

Janine, I wash mine with normal dishsoap and hot water - then I stick all the bits in the plastic pot steriliser thing and bung it in the microwave for 3 minutes. Ditto for the breast pump. I don''t mind sterilising because it''s so quick and easy.

 

[MustangGal]

Janine, for bottle washing I use foaming dish soap and a bottle brush. Then about once a week I throw them all in the dishwasher. About rocking to sleep, my little guy is 4 months, and we haven''t rocked him to sleep in a long time. He goes down on his own pretty well as long as he''s starting to nod off when we put him in the crib. I just put a paci in, turn on the mobile, and walk away. He usually doesn''t even cry and just goes out on his own. The few times he cries its only for a minute or so, then he''s out. You might want to try to break him of the habit now, it''ll only get harder as he gets bigger.

 

[janinegirly]

thanks all!

re washing bottles: sounds like you are all doing more or less what I''ve been doing, so maybe the orgainic bottle wash is a bit of marketing! I just started wondering if the residue was an issue..sounds like it probably isn''t. I do have those bottle brushes..and I also spend half my days washing bottles! And my hands look like it too!

re rocking to sleep: ok, so in this area, I seem to be an exception. Urgh, I kind of knew I was starting bad habits. I''ll try putting her down with paci and mobile and see what happens. I know my mom has had success with it during the day (naps), so maybe there''s hope! She''s tiny so it hasn''t been harder to carry her, but I started imagining me rocking a 5 yr old!

 

[curlygirl]

janine, we use antibacterial dishsoap and a spongy brush and like Mustang, we put them in the dishwasher once a week. As for the sleeping, I don't rock but I'm guilty of letting her fall asleep on me with the bottle in her mouth. I don't really know how to stop it--she falls asleep while she's eating! After being an amazing sleeper as a baby, we've been having quite a few sleep issues with her for the past few months. Nothing I really feel like going into, but CIO may be in the future for us at some point. The only problem is that if she cries for too long, Lily wakes up and I really can't deal with 2 kids awake in the middle of the night. So I have no advice on the sleep issues. All I can say is that even some of the best "sleep trained" children go through phases and regressions and there's often no real explanation for it. I know that sleep is something that everyone is concerned about with their babies but I really don't obsess over it. They all figure it out at some point, right?!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/9/2009 3:12:36 PM
Author: curlygirl
janine, we use antibacterial dishsoap and a spongy brush and like Mustang, we put them in the dishwasher once a week. As for the sleeping, I don''t rock but I''m guilty of letting her fall asleep on me with the bottle in her mouth. I don''t really know how to stop it--she falls asleep while she''s eating! We''re having tons of sleep issues, nothing I really feel like going into, but CIO may be in the future for us at some point. The only problem is that if she cries for too long, Lily wakes up and I really can''t deal with 2 kids awake in the middle of the night. So I have no advice on the sleep issues. All I can say is that even some of the best ''sleep trained'' children go through phases and regressions and there''s often no real explanation for it. I know that sleep is something that everyone is concerned about with their babies but I really don''t obsess over it. They all figure it out at some point, right?!

This is true.

And Curly, hat''s off to you. It''s amazing what you do with everyone living in close quarters.

 

[Dreamer_D]

janine It may be a good idea to try gradually weaning her off the rocking... Maybe the first while you can just start doing it for shorter and shorter periods rather than cold turkey? The key would be to put her in the crib when she is dozey but not actually sleeping. I would maybe avoid the mobile. We actually find that Hunter finds it too stimulating. I just feed him and when he is getting dozey I put him in the crib with a binky and walk out. Depending on your kid you could try the pick up put down method instead of CIO. Put her down when dozey with a binky, leave the room. If she starts really crying go in and pick her up again and rock her until she is calm but not asleep, then put her down again. Repeat. We did this early on with Hunter and the first night took about 1.5 hours and the next 45 min and then he went down right away after that! Something to try if you don't want to CIO, which I don't really like either, so I know how you feel!

 

[janinegirly]

thanks DD, that''s a great suggestion! I don''t see cold turkey working for me. I tried it and she cries and then waits. Cries....waits. And then goes into full on cry, the kind that takes time to soothe her out of. So I like the "easing into it" approach. I think it might work, because she is generally a good sleeper.

 

[lili]

Janine--
I think DD suggestion of easing is good.
CIO didn''t work for us either. J would cry to the point where she threw up.
Since she''s already going down on her own for naps, going down for the night routine shouldn''t be too bad.
I have just recently gotten J to go down on her own for the night (of course afer she thrash around the whole bed for 10-20 minutes before settling down -- probably need to release all those energy in her). I still need to be in the room though, but she doesn''t need me to cradle or BF her to sleep.
Now, napping for us is a whole other issue. It''s harder to get her down since the room is not pitched black like at night and she just want to get up and play.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/9/2009 3:47:20 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
janine It may be a good idea to try gradually weaning her off the rocking... Maybe the first while you can just start doing it for shorter and shorter periods rather than cold turkey? The key would be to put her in the crib when she is dozey but not actually sleeping. I would maybe avoid the mobile. We actually find that Hunter finds it too stimulating. I just feed him and when he is getting dozey I put him in the crib with a binky and walk out. Depending on your kid you could try the pick up put down method instead of CIO. Put her down when dozey with a binky, leave the room. If she starts really crying go in and pick her up again and rock her until she is calm but not asleep, then put her down again. Repeat. We did this early on with Hunter and the first night took about 1.5 hours and the next 45 min and then he went down right away after that! Something to try if you don''t want to CIO, which I don''t really like either, so I know how you feel!

Ditto on the mobile. We never used one because I did read it in many mobile reviews that their babies got all amped up looking at them. Not sure if it''s true but if you have one, worth a shot to get rid of it. Boring bedspace is a good thing!

How old is your daughter again? Dozey and down is a great technique, and I used it from the getgo with Amelia, but I wonder if it will work for the older ones. I recommended it to my friend early on, but she didn''t go with it and had a stronger willed boy by the time she really wanted to get him off the rocking. Anything other than "out" when she put him down, it resulted with him jolting up and screaming bloody murder again.

I''m not sure if DD and I are the best people to try and give advice since both our kids were in cribs early and it seems we started the dozey, binky, walk out method so early. My other friend did use the pick him up, put him down method to great success (she couldn''t deal with CIO either and I don''t blame her) but it took about 2 weeks. But the pick him ups became fewer and farther between, which was great. It was tiring for her though as she said she picked him up many many times during the first few nights.

BTW, HSHHC does advocate the method above, but just says it takes longer and can be harder to be consistent with.

Good luck!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/9/2009 4:04:13 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Ditto on the mobile. We never used one because I did read it in many mobile reviews that their babies got all amped up looking at them. Not sure if it''s true but if you have one, worth a shot to get rid of it. Boring bedspace is a good thing!

How old is your daughter again? Dozey and down is a great technique, and I used it from the getgo with Amelia, but I wonder if it will work for the older ones. I recommended it to my friend early on, but she didn''t go with it and had a stronger willed boy by the time she really wanted to get him off the rocking. Anything other than ''out'' when she put him down, it resulted with him jolting up and screaming bloody murder again.

I''m not sure if DD and I are the best people to try and give advice since both our kids were in cribs early and it seems we started the dozey, binky, walk out method so early. My other friend did use the pick him up, put him down method to great success (she couldn''t deal with CIO either and I don''t blame her) but it took about 2 weeks. But the pick him ups became fewer and farther between, which was great. It was tiring for her though as she said she picked him up many many times during the first few nights.

BTW, HSHHC does advocate the method above, but just says it takes longer and can be harder to be consistent with.

Good luck!

We use our mobile during the day when I need to put Hunter in a safe place and I want him to have some amusement. It never goes on at bedtime or naptime. But I am not wondering if even having it hang there at night is making it harder for him to settle! I am going to try taking it down at bedtime and see what happens.

Yeah, you are probably right about this. I have other friends with kids with different temperaments and they had NO luck with the pick-up-put-down method. But maybe it was user error? I know we had about 3 nights when we were "trianing" him when he would groan and fuss and writh in our arms while we soothed him, and he kept it up for like 45 minutes or more. I could have caved and just BFed him to sleep, but I was stubborn, more than him. But it was hard and took a lot of patience. And you have to put them down at the right time I think too! If I wait too long, H cries a fair bit when I put him down. If I catch him at the right time I put him down and he goes out without any fuss at all!

I am fast learning the patience is probably the most important quality when parenting. That and being more stubborn than your kid

 

[Blenheim]

On the topic of disinfecting feeding supplies - how often does everyone disinfect pump supplies, versus just washing with antibacterial soap? I wash everytime I use it but only disinfect on the weekends, and when I read the guidelines on what''s required of milk donors it made me feel pretty negligent - their guidelines are to disinfect each and every time. (I have 2.5 gallon freezer bags full of milk cubes and was wondering what I could do with them if we move - apparently donating is out.)

Vaccines - George went in for the DTaP and rotovirus today, and apparently our doctor won''t give rotovirus?? So he just had DTaP. They told DH that rotovirus was taken off the market about 5 years ago because it was unsafe, and replaced a couple years ago with another version but our pediatrician''s office hasn''t come to an agreeement yet about whether they''re willing to give it out to patients. I''m just confused. It''s on the AAP schedule. I''m wondering if DH didn''t interpret what she said correctly, but he''s repeated it to me several times now.

Pandora - ugh. I''m so sorry, both about the sleep and about your &^(&*^*##@ former employers.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Pandora I love the laser eyes! LOL! I always say that Hunter has a staring problem. Now that he smiles and has more of a persoanlity, it is really fun when he just stares at me when I am nursing him. Its like I am the most facinating and amazing and funny person in the world! Kids can be good for the ego sometimes. My favourite time is after I nurse him and he is done and he pulls off and rolls a little so he can stare at me and he just smiles and smiles and smiles. DH gets a little jealous

 

[nycbkgirl]

hmmmm...regarding bottles...i feel odd one out bc i dont use any soaps bc im scared of stuff being left behind in there(veryyyyy anal)....i wash the milk out right away with hot water and then i sterilize in the steamer ( it actually broke and i boiled everything instead)...i think boiling allows me to skip the soaping which i prefer.

RE rocking: i also wondered about that and i do the same....i wait til they doze and put down ...thats the only way for me!...otherwise they will be wide awake in bed and fussing which leads to constant paci giving and butt rocking...which sometimes needs to be done.

pandora- o my goodness what a cutie pie!

no help in the sleep dept..im still on a 2-4 hr feed schedule

? about tummy time......does anyone put babies to sleep on tummies and if so from what age??

 

[lili]

Blen
I was pretty diligent (or at least thought so) about disinfecting my pump supplies at the beginning -- boiling in water once a week.
After a month of that, I just wash w/ normal dish soap then rinse and dry

You could bathe George w/ your milk (I think that''s what QT did).

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/9/2009 6:33:24 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 6/9/2009 4:04:13 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Ditto on the mobile. We never used one because I did read it in many mobile reviews that their babies got all amped up looking at them. Not sure if it''s true but if you have one, worth a shot to get rid of it. Boring bedspace is a good thing!

How old is your daughter again? Dozey and down is a great technique, and I used it from the getgo with Amelia, but I wonder if it will work for the older ones. I recommended it to my friend early on, but she didn''t go with it and had a stronger willed boy by the time she really wanted to get him off the rocking. Anything other than ''out'' when she put him down, it resulted with him jolting up and screaming bloody murder again.

I''m not sure if DD and I are the best people to try and give advice since both our kids were in cribs early and it seems we started the dozey, binky, walk out method so early. My other friend did use the pick him up, put him down method to great success (she couldn''t deal with CIO either and I don''t blame her) but it took about 2 weeks. But the pick him ups became fewer and farther between, which was great. It was tiring for her though as she said she picked him up many many times during the first few nights.

BTW, HSHHC does advocate the method above, but just says it takes longer and can be harder to be consistent with.

Good luck!

We use our mobile during the day when I need to put Hunter in a safe place and I want him to have some amusement. It never goes on at bedtime or naptime. But I am not wondering if even having it hang there at night is making it harder for him to settle! I am going to try taking it down at bedtime and see what happens.

Yeah, you are probably right about this. I have other friends with kids with different temperaments and they had NO luck with the pick-up-put-down method. But maybe it was user error? I know we had about 3 nights when we were ''trianing'' him when he would groan and fuss and writh in our arms while we soothed him, and he kept it up for like 45 minutes or more. I could have caved and just BFed him to sleep, but I was stubborn, more than him. But it was hard and took a lot of patience. And you have to put them down at the right time I think too! If I wait too long, H cries a fair bit when I put him down. If I catch him at the right time I put him down and he goes out without any fuss at all!

I am fast learning the patience is probably the most important quality when parenting. That and being more stubborn than your kid

This is definitely the key to parenting.

 

[Blenheim]

Lili - so once a week is diligent, in your book? That makes me feel better. And I would never have thought of the bath idea - thanks!

NYC - back to sleep, tummy to play is supposed to really help cut down on SIDS. I think the risk of SIDS goes down around 6 months, so maybe it would be ok to start putting babies to sleep on their tummy around then - hopefully someone with a slightly older LO can chime in on this.

Pandora- I meant to say - those pictures are precious! LOVE the laser eyes!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/9/2009 12:57:05 PM
Author: TravelingGal
...
However, like Hunter, Amelia had a few times of wake up at 5 am. For that wake up, as long as she wasn''t screaming for me, I just simply didn''t go in until later (I''d do a quick check though), and usually she''d knock out again....

He doesn''t wake up screaming, but he has never really done that. He starts our by grunting and then sort of moaning... I could act it out for you but that doesn''t really help over the internet.

I''ve gotten good at recognizing when his noises mean he will go down and when they mean he will just amp it up. I usually listen for about 5 minutes before I go in. I think in time I may try just ignoring the second wake up, but I''m not there yet. Right now I think its more important for him to know I am responsive to him than it is for me to get sleep! If he was sounding content I would ignore, but he usually sounds distressed enough for me to go in. The paci doesn''t seem to cut it though.

So my plan right now is to move his bedtime up to 6:30 and see what happens over the course of a week. We also triend somethng new where I fed him before bath, then topped him up after before he went to sleep. I am hoping this means he got a good tummy full and maybe will sleep longer. Before he was fallig asleep eating after bath and I wonder if that contributed.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 6/9/2009 12:57:56 PM
Author: MustangGal
DD, I guess I have the baby that does fit the STTN myth

sorry!

He started sleeping 8:30-4am just before 2 months, and 8:30-6am around 3 months. He''ll be 4 months on Friday, and still does about 8 or 8:30pm to 5:30 at least, and sometimes 6:15. What we started doing was trying to cut night feeding. If Hunter is sleepy at 6:30, maybe put him down without feeding so he just takes a nap, then when he wakes up do the bedtime ritual. Kyle used to do a 30 minute evening nap before bedtime. If Hunter wakes up in the middle of the night, try to let him cry for 5 minutes (it''s the longest 5 minutes of your life!), and if he doesn''t stop then go in and try a paci and/or rocking him until he quiets, but don''t feed the first time he wakes up. He''ll probably wake up again about an hour later, and let him feed the second time. Eventually the first wake-up will become later, and go away. This is what worked for us, but your little guy my be different. Good luck!

Well I know babies like Kyle exist, but their rarity sure makes me question the rule! Seems like the myth is propogated to sell sleep books

I think what I am finding frustrating is before we went on vacation and H got sick, he was waking once at 3/4am! That I loved! Now it is all higgledy piggledy and I want it to go back