PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Loves Vintage]

Skippy, Congrats on having one of your LOs home with you! I agree with Kunzite. That nurse's comment actually makes me very angry for you and your baby. It sounds like she's a bit outdated in her thinking? I would absolutely mention this to the doctor, and I would be really very surprised if he/she agrees with the advice you were given. Baby's job right now is to grow, grow, grow! My best advice to you is to follow your instincts.

AMC, I was in a similar situation as you in that I had to select a new OB because my then current dr did not do obstetrics. On a friend's recommendation, I went to a solo practitioner, who I quickly learned I did not care for (i.e., waiting 2 hours for a scheduled appointment did not work for me!) So, after I got my BFP, I went to a different practice. This practice has 7 physicians. There is a physician from this group at the hospital each and every day, for 24 hours. When one doctor leaves, another takes his or her place. My point is that the physical location of the practice is completely irrelevant given that there's always a dr at the hospital. The practice also has three offices. One happens to be a few blocks from the hospital, but the other two are satellite offices, one of which was 15 mins from work, so very convenient for the regular appointments during pregnancy. That is probably your more relevant consideration in terms of office location. You could always call the office to see if they have a doctor at the hospital at all times. Hope that helps.

Shiny, Good luck at the cardio appointment today.

Noel, Skye is such a cutie! How is daycare going? I really like ours. One of the young women who works there told me that she's taken care of 60 babies already!!! She started working at a daycare when she was 16, and I'd guess she's 23 -ish now. That's a lot of babies! I keep asking her for advice. Haha!

Tao, Violet is a doll!

Allie, You know I love all of your Charlie pictures! I've decided that not only do you have a stunningly cute baby, but you also have very good light at your place. Cute baby + great light = awesome baby photos. Keep them coming!!

HH, Baby in box pic is awesome!! Love your new band too.

Kunzite, Your scooter description is adorable. Can't wait for some scootin' over here! Of course I love, and am jealous of, your earrings. I hope they get a thread of their own too! They surely deserve it. One day, I will get my ears pierced and get some OECs too.

Tiffany, Sorry to hear about your pp hemorrhage. That's so scary! Thanks for telling us more about the boys. That's great that they STTN already. How did work go? Nice that you guys can each be home to take care of the babies! I'm sure my DH would jump at the chance to spend more time with S. Oh, it's a rose pillow, actually, that I use to prop her up in our rocker. I got it a week or so after her "due date" when I was huge and shopping to pass the time. Hee-hee.

RT - Very cute pics of you and C! I hope you're feeling better.

*******
AFM. My baby slept for 7 hours straight last night! Woo-hoo!

 

[NovemberBride]

Skippy,

I would for sure check with your dr., but wanted to add that my bff was told the same thing with twins. Yes, most moms of singletons are told to feed on demand in the beginning. But for moms of twins, feeding on demand can be impossible. I have several friends with twins and they have all said that getting the babies on a schedule was the only way they could function. Schedules are great for moms of one baby, but necessary for moms with two!

 

[amc80]

AMC, I was in a similar situation as you in that I had to select a new OB because my then current dr did not do obstetrics. On a friend's recommendation, I went to a solo practitioner, who I quickly learned I did not care for (i.e., waiting 2 hours for a scheduled appointment did not work for me!) So, after I got my BFP, I went to a different practice. This practice has 7 physicians. There is a physician from this group at the hospital each and every day, for 24 hours. When one doctor leaves, another takes his or her place. My point is that the physical location of the practice is completely irrelevant given that there's always a dr at the hospital. The practice also has three offices. One happens to be a few blocks from the hospital, but the other two are satellite offices, one of which was 15 mins from work, so very convenient for the regular appointments during pregnancy. That is probably your more relevant consideration in terms of office location. You could always call the office to see if they have a doctor at the hospital at all times. Hope that helps.

Thank you! As far as I know, they always have a doctor on call, but not necessarily at the hospital. A friend of mine goes there and her doc said she will deliver her even if she's not the on call doc, as long as she's in town (my friend is due over 4th of July and the doc is going to be out of town that weekend). I talked to my fiance about it and we've decided it makes more sense to go with the practice with the great reviews than one that might be more convenient.

 

[Skippy123]

I REALLY appreciate your thoughts. I will for sure talk to the pediatrician today. Thanks for your input!

 

[somethingshiny]

Skippy~ SO glad to see you on this thread!!! I know that with a newborn, you're told to feed on demand. But, with twins, is that even possible?? It seems like you'd never get a break.

Noel~ I'd definitely take S for a while! lol. What have you been using for the cradle cap and excema?? The best thing I used for JT's excema was Cetaphil. I don't know if you have it there. It's a non-soap, gentle facial cleanser. I used it on his whole body.

knock-on-wood, things went well again with Baby T here. Cardio appt in a couple hours. I'm really nervous. She's getting to the age and weight where if there is an on-going issue, they may consider surgery. Heart surgery, no matter how simple/minimal is still heart surgery, ya know?

Sorry I can't respond to everyone. I've been reading all the posts and cooing at the baby pics though! Yay for all the bebes sttn!!

 

[Lanie]

I'm such a bad PSer, but A is down for a nap, I thought I'd catch up:

Love all of the baby pics!!!!!

HH: Love your new bling! It looks great with your rings. I love the airport pic!

Pupp: I can't believe your little guy is 10 months either! I don't want you to graduate to the next thread!!!!! Are you going to have a theme for his party? Some of my friends have had these outlandish one year parties, and I feel I have to step up to the plate when my time comes. So cute, but I think I'm like you and don't want to do something big. I have a while yet.

SS: That is so scary. I hope Lily doesn't have to have surgery. One of my friends' sons had heart surgery at 6 weeks old. It breaks my heart any time I see his little (big) scar. He did fine though and is thriving and super active. Still scary though.

Allie: I love his yoga pose picture!

tao: V is such a pretty baby! I love her spiky hair!

noel: Skye is getting so big and such a pretty girl. I can't believe you have her in long sleeves. What is your weather like there?

amc: At this point since you aren't even pregnant, I would just go with a doc/group that you like. So many things are out of your control during delivery, that sometimes you won't have your doctor at all. Ask them where they deliver, and if you like the hospital, stay with them. The hospital (to me at least) isn't a deal breaker, but a nice doc I'm comfy with would be. I'd go with a group I was happy with bc I'd hate for you to base your decision on something, and then it turns out that your doctor didn't deliver for you at all. I hope that makes sense! Good luck TTC!!!

Skippy!!! Congrats! Wow that flew by. Hope the bebes are healthy and that the other one will be home soon. No advice here...I would think you could get them on a schedule after a couple of days. Until then, I'd feed M on demand. Good luck! Post pics!!!!

RT: Hope you are feeling better soon. Nothing sucks more than being sick and having a sick baby.

HOU: Hey lady! Love the new pics of Ellie! What a sweet little face! She’s getting so big.

AFM: So many changes from my end. I officially weaned a couple of days ago. It's a little sad, but very liberating. I got very sick with a stomach virus and couldn't get out of bed to pump. I was down to 2 pumps or feedings a day, and for 18 hours I didn't pump or feed. Too sick! So my supply went down BIG TIME and so I just decided to stop altogether. It's nice not having to pump now! And Anderson was getting so distracted if I nursed him, so it's better for both of us. I'm also out for the summer! Yay! So we went to the pool to celebrate our record breaking 100 degree weather. Seriously. 100 degrees actual temp, not the heat index. So I've been out of school for a week and I'm bored to pieces. I can only sing and dance around and read to him and put him in his bouncer for so long. I can't really go on walks unless I go before 9am, again bc of the heat. What do you ladies do with your babies all day long! I'm having fun, don't get me wrong, but I feel like I'm boring him. He's in daycare 2 days out of the week, so he'll still get to play there, but when it's just me and him, I am running out of ideas. I have the order of the songs on all of his musical toys memorized!!!! I don't want to take a mommy and me class this summer. I want to wait until he's older to really get any benefit from it. What else...oh! He slept for 11 hours straight last night, unswaddled, no pacifier, not even a little tiny peep out of him. I was thrilled and shocked! I know it probably won't be like that tonight, but I'll take it! He sleeps SO MUCH BETTER now that he's on formula. It fills him up, I guess. OK that's the end of my novel. Here is sweet little A ready for the pool!

 

[Lanie]

OK my internet is acting up and I can't post pics. I'll post them later.

 

[icekid]

Just a quick update from me and some photos in honor of Jumper turning 6 months old a few days ago

It's been a battle, but I am super proud to say that we've made it to 6 months with exclusively breast milk. 6 months was my real big goal, so it is pretty exciting around here Pumping at work is still.. a TON of work, especially as I work 30 hours straight every third night at the moment But it feels like just a routine now, so I'll keep up with it for the time being. Who knows, maybe we'll make it another 6 months.

Speaking of Baby Commemorative jewelry (I don't like 'push present' ) I have a couple, both tsavorite garnets-- photos below.

Jumper little man is a total joy. Except during the nights when he does-- sleep, roll onto belly, scream, rinse, repeat, repeat, repeat. Ha. He is the happiest sweetest little man. And such a little sponge. He is constantly amazing us with what he picks up just from watching. He is such a little mover too. Just starting to crawl.. and can stand for a few minutes holding onto the couch. What happened to my tiny baby?? He looks like such a little man when he is standing.

We have a big summer coming up with lots of visitors who cannot wait to see him. (I do not kid myself that they are coming to see mommy and dadddy.. ha)

No teeth yet, but continued waterfalls of drool. They'll come someday, no doubt. We've been slow on starting solids, mostly because work has been so awful. He is soooooo interested in everything we eat and drink though. He grabbed a handful of my PBJ sandwhich today and shoved it in his mouth before I could stop him. Bad baby. No allergic reaction though, oops.

 

[tiffanytwisted]

Skippy, I feed them on demand. I don't think at that young age you can really get them on a schedule. My pediatrician just told us to feed on demand and to make sure they ate at least every 3 hours when they were newborns. The one thing that kept us slightly sane was if one was hungry, we would offer to the other. So while they weren't really on a set feeding schedule, they were getting fed together. Typically they are both hungry within about 30 minutes of each other anyway. Sometimes they go 2 1/2 hours between feedings and sometimes they go 4 hours between. During the day it doesn't bother me to feed them at different times (if I'm by myself as I usually am it makes it a little easier) as we get closer to bedtime I try to get their last feeding at the same time. Now they are sleeping about 6 hours at night and sometimes one will wake up hungry but not the other, in that case I just feed the hungry one and let the other sleep.
I agree with HH that this could be a growth spurt.
I'm interested in what your pediatrician has to say. I don't think by feeding him before the 3 hour mark that you are going to create a snacker.
Great news that one got to come home!! How old are they now?

 

[Skippy123]

Hi Moms! Thank you for All your INPUT!!! I REALLY appreciate it. Well we saw the doctor and he said if he is hungry to feed him. He did gain 2 ozs so that is good. He has a clogged eye duct so we got some med to massage and hopefully it will clear in a few months. We take him back to see the doc next week. It was great having my son home but it was a little stressful because I wasn't sure if I could deviate from the hospital schedule, etc. I just want an easy transition for him. I think if they were born so early I would be more relaxed so having all of you to get your input really helps, THANK YOU!!!

TIFFANY, they are 37 weeks gestation and 7 weeks old on Monday. How are your guys? I appreciate your thoughts. I was curious how twin moms do it. How old are your beautiful boys now?

aww Jumper is so cute. I LOVE all the baby pics!!! Beautiful babies mommas

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Skippy-So glad that you have M at home now!!! Hope that his brother joins him soon!

Ice-Jumper is gorgeous!

SS-hope that Lily is doing well!

All these PS babies are gorgeous!

So, I'm not a newborn mom, but my husband and just learned that we will leave at the end of June to go to Ethiopia to adopt our 2 1/2 year old son So, I'm going to be a new, first-time mom, but am jumping into the toddler side of the pool, so now I have a great excuse to post on all the threads

The first of many questions--How did you find a pediatrician and did you meet them before your child was born?

 

[Skippy123]

That is wonderful news Bella; I am so HAPPY for you.

My sister and the NICU nurse recommended the same group of doctors. I called and they said they would give me a tour of the group and introduce me to the doctors. I think a lot of them will let you stop by the office. I would ask friends and family. I wanted to know that the Ped returned phone calls if I called at night or on the weekend and they do. Good luck; I am so excited for you BELLA!!!

 

[taovandel]

We honestly just picked the closest pediatrician to our house that was recommended by my group of doctors and it worked our great for us...we love them both! We've recommended them to a few other people and they all have loved them also.

Also Bella, I've been following your story on the Adoption thread and TTC and I'm super excited to see that you will be bringing your baby home this month!!

 

[somethingshiny]

Lily's appt went well. (I thought I already posted this. Maybe it got eaten. Maybe it will reappear?)

No signs of damage or heart failure. Since she's older now and still experiencing cardiac events, she's less likely to grow out of it. But, since she comes out of it quickly and easily (once we know she's in SVT) we're going to keep her off meds. She'll figure out how to communicate it with us soon when there's a problem. And, within the next couple years, we'll start teaching her the tricks to do herself to get out of it. Once she's school age, we may consider surgery to remove the pathway. So, we just keep an eye on her and keep checking her regularly and see what happens. You know, a few months ago, I would have been a blithering idiot if I was told just to wait and see. I'm so blessed that God has gotten us here and that He's taking care of us all.

On a side note, we also discussed a possible #3 with the cardiologist. Normal rate of heart defect is 1 in 100. Ours is now 1 in 50. I know it doesn't seem likely, but it really has us thinking. If, God forbid, we were to have another child with a defect, it could be simple like Lily's, it could be the sudden death version of Lily's or it could be something requiring open heart surgery. Lots to think about.

 

[Skippy123]

SS, thank goodness no heart damage. Your Lily is a fighter. Sending you a giant hug momma and prayers.

LAINE, I heard moms have to breastfeed more often then giving them formula, that is interesting. Glad he sleeps lots better.

 

[Kunzite]

I wanted to do a proper post but my little stinker is waking from his nap early! He's decided that he no longer likes to sleep this week

So quick update.... we started rice cereal this week!! It was so much fun and O took to it really well. I think he's been ready for awhile but we were trying to hold out for 8 months. We didn't quite make it, hehe!

 

[Lanie]

SS -- glad there's no major damage! I hope this isn't an ongoing battle, but it sounds like you know what to do. Does your son have problems with his heart?

Icekid -- good to see you again! Jumper is getting so handsome!!!! You are a super momma keeping up pumping with your work schedule!!!!!!

Kunzite!!! He's so cute! Why were you waiting on rice cereal? Just curious....if your pedi said it or if it was a personal decision. I didn't think he'd have such dark hair. What a cutie! And whatever happened with his eye? It looks tons better to me in these pics.

 

[Skippy123]

Hi Moms! I just realized I never posted pics on PS. Here is Miles and Evan. On Monday they will be 7 weeks old. Miles is home right now and Evan is still in the NICU. Here is a pic of the only time I ever held them together; I think they were 2 or 3 weeks old in the picture. A sweet nurse helped make it happen since they were in two different isolettes and it was hard to move them to be together. I wished I had the chance to hold them together one more time but I am sure that time will come real soon when they can be together again.
Thank you for all your tips and thoughts!! I really appreciate everyones input!

ICEKID, I have to tell you after reading your post you are my inspiration for pumping and all the other pumpers out there!

KUNZite, awwww he is so precious! Hope it is okay to ask this question but M won't bf; did O bf right away or did it take awhile? The LC said M might be too young still to get the hang of bfing. I try a few times a day but he falls asleep while trying.

TAO, your daughter is darling!!!

LV, that is awesome your beautiful daughter slept for 7 hours!!!

eta: sorry the pics are so big.

 

[taovandel]

Skippy---I love seeing pictures of your little ones! I'm thinking they are still too young to get the idea of latching on---keep trying though, just being close to the skin is probably doing wonders for Miles.

 

[Skippy123]

Skippy---I love seeing pictures of your little ones! I'm thinking they are still too young to get the idea of latching on---keep trying though, just being close to the skin is probably doing wonders for Miles.

Taov, thanks for the support/encouragement; I appreciate it! You are probably right. I will keep working at it. I love seeing picture of your two beautiful lo's!!! thanks

 

[Lanie]

Oh Skippy! I just cried looking at the pics of your little boys! So sweet! I know they are doing fine, but it just makes me so sad you have to leave one at the end of the day. Hopefully very soon they will both be in your arms at your own house and you will remember it forever. So precious! I love the pic of you holding both of them. How much do they weigh? Does Evan have to be a certain weight before he can come home?

As far as bfeeding, I had a problem with my Anderson and he was full term! He was a super sucker in the first few days, then would scream and cry whenever I tried to feed him. Very frustrating. I tried every trick in the book, and it just didn't work. So I pumped and then bottle fed, and felt guilty about it. Every couple of days I'd try again, and the nipple shields worked, but were frustrating as well. He sucked so hard, it was like my nipple was going to come off. Anyway, he got the hang of it after a month or 2. Then I was able to feed without the shield and it was soooo much easier. So yes, it's hard, but don't get frustrated and if it doesn't work, just try another day or another feeding session. And if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, and don't feel bad. Best of luck! I hope you have time to post updated pics...my little A had a head full of dark hair like Evan and I think that's what made me cry. I have a soft spot for hairy babies!

 

[Kunzite]

Skippy!! Your boys are beautiful! Wow, those pictures bring back some memories! And look at you three with your kangaroo care To answer your question, no, O never picked up BFing. That's why I exclusively pump. I think if we'd worked at it more once he came home we might have gotten there, but I was only off work for a few weeks after he came home so for us there wasn't much point.

Lanie - Yes, the GI told us it would be a good idea to wait on solids until he was 6 months adjusted. His eye has been looking better lately hasn't it? The opthamologist told us that the extra skin that covers the white of the eye is because babies have flat noses. Maybe his nose is getting less flat! Haha. She also told us that his brown spot isn't because his eyes are changing to brown, but that it's just pigment, like a mole. (So Lynnie if you're out there, V's spot is probably also just pigment!) I have small brown spots in my eyes too, but O's is much bigger.

shiny - So happy to hear that Lily's appt went well and that she can stay off meds!

ice - So good to see you in here! Jumper is just a doll (but I think you forgot the pictures of your tsavs!!) 30 hour shifts sound awful. I missed getting home before O was in bed three nights this week

 

[CatLuver]

Eek, I can’t seem to find the time to post and won’t be able to catch up, but have been reading about you all.

Lanie, yay for 11 hours! Did you let him CIO at any point before he was able to do 11, or did he just drop his feedings on his own? How did you approach deswaddling? It’s super hot here too and pretty much the only place we can go for walks is the mall. I think C gets bored at home too, looking at the same things and doing the same things every day – same as you, singing and dancing, reading, playing with his toys.

Skippy – your boys are precious, hope they can both be home very soon.

SS – great news about Lily.

Kunzite – SO cute, is O 6 months now? How long did it take for O to get the hang of solids?

HH – thanks for the info a loooong time ago re: the half swaddle. I tried it but C moves a lot and came out of it. Love the baby-in-a-box.

LV, yay for sleeping 7 hours. S has such a precious little face.

AFM, C is 15 weeks now and thank goodness is sleeping a LOT better (combination of in-crib soothing training, CIO and him getting better on his own) – he goes to sleep after eating, will sleep 7-8 hours, then feed and go right back to sleep for 3-4; even though he still wakes up and cries sometimes, he goes back to sleep on his own. Such a huge change from when it would take a couple hours to make him fall asleep, then he would wake and scream every 20 minutes 4 or 5 times before finally going to bed for the night, and still wake up every 2-3 hours to eat. Unfortunately, I have sleep issues now, from being used to waking up so much, so I can’t go back to sleep after he wakes up, and since he goes to bed at 7 and I go to bed at 10 at the earliest, I only sleep 4-5 hours. I’m debating when I should try to wean him from the one night feed, whether I should let him CIO or wait for him to drop it on his own. Anyone?

Bottle feeding - He still absolutely will not take the bottle even though he used to in the first 6 weeks. I tried the Playtex nipples, tried having others feed him, tried putting him in the swing and carseat, it doesn’t work. Bliss – if you’re out there, did you ever get M to take the bottle? He just rolls it around with his tongue and won’t suck, and eventually starts crying. I haven’t tried starving him for hours because I don’t have the heart to do that. I’m going back to work in a few weeks and I am going to try starting rice cereal at 4 months in hopes that it will get him through the day and he can just nurse in the morning and at night (but hopefully not in the middle of the night).

Swaddling – any advice on deswaddling? I tried it and C keeps waking himself up either flinching when falling asleep or just shifting around every few minutes and can’t get into a deep sleep, and will start crying. Is this something they grow out of or do they have to “learn” to sleep without swaddling? How old is reasonable to keep being swaddled?

Drooling/teething- C started drooling like crazy around 10-11 weeks (he’s 15 now) and there are two little dots on his bottom gums, isn’t it quite early to start teething?

 

[noelwr]

I wrote up a whole long post last night and lost it so here I try again.

Catluver - I think you should wait for C to drop the feed on his own. for us, it never happened that Skye all of a sudden skipped a bottle. she would just slowly go an extra half hour every few days before she'd wake up crying for milk. you can try the pacifier first and see if he falls back asleep. I think the most dramatic change was around 13-14 weeks that S was sleeping longer. and it wasn't until she about 4.5 months that we started making her bed time earlier, but that went quickly and now she can go 12 hours without a bottle and sleep anywhere from 8 - 10 hrs without waking me up. regarding deswaddling, that is our biggest concern right now. unfortunately our problem is a bit different because S will rub the heck out of her face and head and that is really bad for the eczema. so at 6 months, we are still swaddling and hope she doesn't grow out of this swaddle bag too soon.

Skippy - love your cute bub pics. are they identical? Evan looks happy with his bottle.

Kunzite - cute photos of feeding O! we gave up quickly on spoon-feeding rice cereal as it's too liquidy and S would just get mad because it tastes like her formula and she just wants to get it down her throat asap. luckily she does really well with her veggie dinner.

shiny - are you happy with the results of the appointment? it must still be scary that there might have to be heart surgery at some point in time.
we used the Gentle Naturals cradle cap stuff you recommended. it is going really slowly, but definitely getting better. we also GN's cream for eczema and all different stuff that was sent by family in South Africa, but that only keeps her skin moisturized and doesn't really treat the eczema. when it flairs up we have to resort to cortisone. poor kid gets so itchy. I will order the Cetaphil.

Bella - how exciting for you! where will you be posting most of the time? I will make sure to check up on your exciting family expansion story.

icekid - wow, Jumper standing! that is really fast. where are the garnet photos?

Lanie - yah, the weather sometimes gets cold enough to still need long sleeves, even though we just had a couple of warm days. regarding what to do during the day, these are the things that keep Skye entertained for a while:
- playing in her activity mat, usually rolled onto her belly
- taking the pacifier, putting it in her mouth, pulling it out, putting it back in, etc
- in her recliner seat with the seat belt undone and slowly wriggling on to the floor
- sucking on and playing with bread crust can take up 20 min
- sitting in her recliner seat playing with a chew toy while watching Mommy on the treadmill for 30 min or watching Mommy cook or Mommy get dressed/ready or watching TV
- wrestling with her stuffed animal in her crib while Mommy picks out outfits for the week or puts away her laundry or puts clean linen on the changing table
so basically, I don't need to be playing and entertaining Skye the whole time, as long as I'm near by and she can see me. but I must be actively doing something like ironing or folding laundry so she can follow it. if I just sit there and type at the laptop, she starts crying at which point I do need to physically engage, so then we practice sitting, dance in front of the mirror, practice kissing (so far I am only getting my cheeks licked) and she likes to be tossed up and down

LV - day care is going really well, but it is a bit hectic for Skye as she isn't used to having so much commotion around her. I'm the quiet type. S's day care teacher is a mother of a 17 yr old, so I think she's seen it all.

 

[Lanie]

Noel -- thanks for the list. I do many of those things too. I just feel like he can't possibly be that entertained sitting around his toys, but I guess he is. I think I'm bored, so I imagine he would be too. The other teacher friends I have are out for the summer starting next week so I think there are lots of play dates in our future! My Fisherprice rainforest jumperoo is still our best investment yet. He LOVES that thing.

Catluver -- I don't know if I'm going to answer your questions about sleeping, but I'll make a list of things I've noticed that have helped us: (4 nights so far of looooong sleep and not waking up AT ALL!!!)

--2 books I have say that 4 month olds can go for 8 hours without needing to eat, 5 month olds can go 9, and 6 month olds can go from 10-12 hours. So I gauged his feedings following that rule. It became a goal for me each month.
--I've also read in lots of places that the ideal time to start sleep training is 4 months. Months 1-2 is just get them to sleep whenever, wherever. Month 3 is to get them in a crib/pack and play and not in swings or carseats but just get them to sleep any way you can. Month 4 is when you can start.
--early bedtime (never past 7:30) and consistent naps throughout the day. Anderson has always been a good and consistent napper, and I follow his schedule from daycare
--if he cried during the night and I knew he couldn't be hungry, I just stuck his pacifier in, and sometimes I'd have to pick him up and rock him, but it got him back to sleep. I think that's when he started skipping the nighttime bottle bc he realized he wouldn't be fed
--we had him in his swaddle up until about a week ago bc he wouldn't settle down without it. He started getting his arms out, and then the last straw was when he had it around his waist, completely out of it. From then on I don't even swaddle him at all and he hasn't complained. I think fighting to break free was what was waking him up. (and I don't have the scratching of the face that noel has...that would suck)
--I started putting him to bed WITHOUT a pacifier and he doesn't cry for it anymore. That's 3 days so far, so I know it could still happen, but I'm happy with the last 3 nights
--we had him in a pack in play up until 2 weeks ago bc his crib in his nursery was so far away, that I didn't want to walk all the way on the other side of the house and downstairs to plug him every couple of hours. It's 56 steps to get to him from our bedroom (that's a lot...I counted!)But now that he's on a comfy mattress in his crib, it has totally made the difference! He sleeps so much better.
--stick to routine before bedtime (bottle, some books, sing a song, lights out)
--any habit or training takes 3 days for it to stick. I see this and hear this from so many of my friends. So for instance, if you want to deswaddle your baby, the first night is hell, the second night is a little less hellish, the third night is good, and then after that, they have learned to self soothe.
--We haven't had to do this, but I told myself that I could let him cry for as long as possible if it was early in the night or early in the morning. Something about crying and crying and crying at 2am does not appeal to me. But if it's at 8:30pm, then I can handle it. I don't know why, that's just me.

The only time he whimpers or cries is when I first put him down for the night. The 1st night he cried for about 10 min, the second for about 7, and then last night he whimpered for about 3 minutes and then gave up. We are lucky that he doesn't cry when I put him down for a nap. I'm always shocked that he falls right asleep, but I have him on an airtight schedule so his body is ready to go to sleep.

 

[tiffanytwisted]

I'm also interested in the deswaddling- my babies are 12 weeks old but yesterday I found both of them laying on their side- I'm afraid they'll turn all the way over so I cut the swaddle cold turkey. I didn't really expect to deswaddle until they were closer to 4 months or so, but oh well. So now they are in a sleeper in a sleep sack, which went ok- they did wake up more than normal but they also reallly like to sleep with their hands over their heads. I think they were fighting to get out of the swaddle and that gave them the momentum to turn on their sides!

Skippy- Your boys are adorable and you are a glowing mama my friend! I"m so happy for you that Miles is home, but my heart goes out to you that they have to be in two different places. I'm sure that is difficult. I'm sure the time will fly and little Evan will be home soon! I LOVE the pic of you holding the two of them together- I wish they could have arranged for it once more before you took Miles home. Some of my favorite pics of us are holding the two of them together. Christopher and Travis are 12 weeks as of this past Thursday (they were born at 37wk 5 days)

SS- glad for the good news at the cardiologist appt.

I thought I'd have time for a longer post but T just woke up-

 

[tiffanytwisted]

Skippy- I almost forgot, it took my babies until about 7 weeks to really figure out the latch. I was so frustrated and almost gave up but then they finally got it.

 

[Lanie]

P.S. One of my friends swaddled her baby until he was 7.5 months old! I know a lot of people think it's crazy I had mine swaddled so late but I really felt I needed to. Most people I think swaddle only the first couple of weeks. I think the 5 C's guy has us all swaddling much later.

 

[tiffanytwisted]

Lanie- I would love to keep swaddling, but I'm terrified they are going to roll over and suffocate. did you use a blanket to swaddle or a swaddle me type thingy?

 

[Skippy123]

thank you for all your sweet words on my boys! Thanks for all the BF encouragement too!!! Sorry I can't catch up but I will try

Catluver, I use to watch my nephew (he is now almost 2) but we swaddled him up until about 9 months. He slept best swaddled. any baby pics?

LAINE, great pic and baptism pic! thanks about my boys. Evan has severe reflux and drops his heart rate and has a hard time bringing up when he does reflux so he needs to stop doing that. The OT is working with him to drink a bottle; M was drinking a bottle pretty early on so Evan needs to get coordinated at doing that since some babies have a hard time sucking, swallowing and breathing. sorry for such a long answer but once he does better with breathing/heartrate and eating then he can come home. We actually asked for a GI specialist to look at him just in case it is something else so that will happen in the next week or two. I love all the hair your lo has!!!

TIFFANY that is wonderful you had so many chances to hold them together in the hospital. They look so beautiful and happy; you must be so proud. Oh have you thought of getting the halo sleep sack? One of the NICU nurses suggested them in case you are worried about SIDS. that was my same worry. I am using the A&A muslin swaddles but I probably will buy the Halo sleep sack since I have your same worry but the night we brought M home he cried not being swaddled and the hospital always had them swaddled so we sort of had to swaddle him.
https://www.halosleep.com/

KUNZITE, wow, that is so awesome that you can do just pumping. I think if I had just one I might be able to do that but with two I need more milk, sigh. That is another reason I want them to learn because I hear it helps w/the milk supply. your lo is so precious!! hugs momma.

Noel, they are fraternal twins. M looks like my hubby and E looks a bit like me and hubby. your daughter is so beautiful!!! Great pics!