PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Pandora II]

Wow, all of you with 7pm bedtimes who''s babies sleep through till 4am... I can''t imagine Daisy doing that in a month of Sundays! Lucky, lucky things!

She''s been very odd today - we got up at 8am and had a long bath together, then after getting dry and dressed she seemed a bit tired, so I put her down in her cot around 10am and she slept for over an hour. So I got her when she woke up and fed her - and she fell asleep on the boob and slept through till nearly 3pm with a 10 minute wake-up for a snack at 1pm. She only woke up because the postman rang the doorbell and then she played with her dolly (the Lamaze one that ''does things'') and watched the Tour de France...

It''s now 6.15pm and I put her down at 5.30 - not a squeak so far... aliens have captured my daughter!

With the other stuff, I have a serious migraine coming on... we have a week postponement on the pre-court hearing (despite the other side asking for 28 days) and I''ve just found out a hour ago that they have totally screwed up regarding who and how the settlement agreement is drawn up. Geez, can nothing that that lot touch ever be done properly? Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhhh

I am so stressed out it''s not true - they want everything done and dusted by Friday, I want time to check everything properly before I sign anything.

When this is all over I want a nice boring life with no excitements good or bad for at least a year! I want to live in ''uninteresting times''...

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/22/2009 12:28:06 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 7/22/2009 7:36:20 AM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
More later but... Hunter only woke once last night at 2am!

He went to bed a little earlier than usual -- asleep by 7pm -- I wonder if that made a difference?

DD, I thought you were putting him down by 7 already? It may have something to do with it. HSHHC says the earlier you put them down, the longer they sleep although that may be counter intuitive. I notice to this day that if I put Amelia down earlier by 15-30 minutes, she sleeps better. If I don''t, she tosses and turns and has a harder time getting to bed, and will wake up here and there (but conks back out.)

Typically he doesn''t get to *sleep* until about 7:30 I would say, after bath and nursing and 10 minutes or so to fall asleep. So the bedtime routine often starts around 6:45 and last night he didn''t nap well in the afternoon and wanted to go to bed earlier so he was in his crib by 6:45! I guess I used "7pm" loosely

I am willing to adopt an "in the crib at 7pm" rule, but I wonder how this works when naps are not totally regimented? More days than not he does 2 hours in the morning, 2hours in the afternoon, then a short nap (30-45 minutes) in the early evening. But a few days a week this is messed up and his last nap of the day happens later than we would like, not at all, or earlier than we would like. Sometimes he is tired and sometimes not! Do you keep bedtime fixed no matter what went on with naps? I worry that he won''t sleep well if he has only been awake for an hour before bed.

Related question What do you do when baby wakes from a nap after only 45 minutes? Do you ignore it and let them fuss it out/cry it out until they fall asleep? I have always been getting him, but I don''t think that works as he is still tired when he gets less than 2 hours...

 

[Pandora II]

Hmm, does this mean that even with EASY you should still have a schedule of set bedtimes etc?

We don''t have a bedtime at the moment - mainly because DH doesn''t get home normally until after 8pm and so if she went to bed at 7pm he''d never get to see her, and if by chance she does happen to be in bed at 7pm, she will always be up again by 10pm.

I guess the not really napping in the daytime doesn''t help as I do have a pretty good idea of when she will wake up at night. Also seems to be set times - ie if we go to bed at midnight she will wake up between 3.30 and 4am, and if we go to bed at 1.30am, she will still wake up between 3.30 and 4am.


DD, if Daisy wakes up after 45 minutes (which is pretty usual), I will feed her as she will not have eaten since the E part of EASY and so will be hungry. IIRC, you are doing EAESY which makes it more tricky. Whenever I have done EAESY and she wakes after a short nap, I will offer her food (so as to reinforce E following S) but quite often she doesn''t want any and just wants to play instead.

If Hunter is eating again after the 45 minutes, I wouldn''t worry - my understanding was that you can''t overfeed a breastfed baby.

 

[nycbkgirl]

Date: 7/22/2009 1:55:38 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 7/22/2009 12:28:06 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 7/22/2009 7:36:20 AM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
More later but... Hunter only woke once last night at 2am!

He went to bed a little earlier than usual -- asleep by 7pm -- I wonder if that made a difference?

DD, I thought you were putting him down by 7 already? It may have something to do with it. HSHHC says the earlier you put them down, the longer they sleep although that may be counter intuitive. I notice to this day that if I put Amelia down earlier by 15-30 minutes, she sleeps better. If I don''t, she tosses and turns and has a harder time getting to bed, and will wake up here and there (but conks back out.)

Typically he doesn''t get to *sleep* until about 7:30 I would say, after bath and nursing and 10 minutes or so to fall asleep. So the bedtime routine often starts around 6:45 and last night he didn''t nap well in the afternoon and wanted to go to bed earlier so he was in his crib by 6:45! I guess I used ''7pm'' loosely

I am willing to adopt an ''in the crib at 7pm'' rule, but I wonder how this works when naps are not totally regimented? More days than not he does 2 hours in the morning, 2hours in the afternoon, then a short nap (30-45 minutes) in the early evening. But a few days a week this is messed up and his last nap of the day happens later than we would like, not at all, or earlier than we would like. Sometimes he is tired and sometimes not! Do you keep bedtime fixed no matter what went on with naps? I worry that he won''t sleep well if he has only been awake for an hour before bed.

Related question What do you do when baby wakes from a nap after only 45 minutes? Do you ignore it and let them fuss it out/cry it out until they fall asleep? I have always been getting him, but I don''t think that works as he is still tired when he gets less than 2 hours...

DD- i usually try to figure out what he/she wants....jon for exxample...sometimes he wet burps and he doesnt wanna lay in that

so i change the sheets and rock him back to sleep, if not wet i change diaper and rock back if that doesnt work and hes awake i know he doesnt wanna sleep so i put him in the swing (if its too early to eat) if he crying hard and nothing works (i.e. swing, burping, changin etc) then i know hes hungry.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/22/2009 2:29:30 PM
Author: Pandora II
Hmm, does this mean that even with EASY you should still have a schedule of set bedtimes etc?

We don''t have a bedtime at the moment - mainly because DH doesn''t get home normally until after 8pm and so if she went to bed at 7pm he''d never get to see her, and if by chance she does happen to be in bed at 7pm, she will always be up again by 10pm.

I guess the not really napping in the daytime doesn''t help as I do have a pretty good idea of when she will wake up at night. Also seems to be set times - ie if we go to bed at midnight she will wake up between 3.30 and 4am, and if we go to bed at 1.30am, she will still wake up between 3.30 and 4am.


DD, if Daisy wakes up after 45 minutes (which is pretty usual), I will feed her as she will not have eaten since the E part of EASY and so will be hungry. IIRC, you are doing EAESY which makes it more tricky. Whenever I have done EAESY and she wakes after a short nap, I will offer her food (so as to reinforce E following S) but quite often she doesn''t want any and just wants to play instead.

If Hunter is eating again after the 45 minutes, I wouldn''t worry - my understanding was that you can''t overfeed a breastfed baby.

I think that if you want to shift "night" until later than 7pm, hence shifting "morning" until later than 7am there is probably no issue with that, but I *do* think that a schedule that doesn''t vary too much from day to day is important. Hunter usually goes to bed between 7pm and 8pm, but upon reflection I do think he would prefer an earlier bedtime that is less variable -- 7pm into the crib! -- because he really seems consistent with his morning wake up. It is possible that right now Daisy doesn''t show much of a pattern because you don''t have one for her yet? I notice that Hunter''s napping and sleeping at night are so linked and carry forward from day to day, and they is probably the case with Daisy as well. With a schedule or some sort for bedtime, she will develop a circadian rhythm that will cause her to always feel tired at the same time of night, which is nice. The fact that she consistently wakes at the same time for a night feed suggests that she has a biorhythm already that you can take advantage of to select the bedtime you want. What time does she wake for the day? I would set bedtime at 12 hours after that. maybe she needs a catnap at 7pm and then proper bedtime at 9:30?

I was asking abou tthe 45 minute naps more because I think he needs to sleep 2 hours to be really rested. When he wakes after 45 minutes, he is a little cranky and wants to nap again after an hour, which is not normal for a 5 month old. When he gets his 2 hours he is awake for close to 3hours now and is happy right up until the end! So I wondered what to do when he wakes after too short a nap...

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/22/2009 2:50:34 PM
Author: nycbkgirl

DD- i usually try to figure out what he/she wants....jon for exxample...sometimes he wet burps and he doesnt wanna lay in that

so i change the sheets and rock him back to sleep, if not wet i change diaper and rock back if that doesnt work and hes awake i know he doesnt wanna sleep so i put him in the swing (if its too early to eat) if he crying hard and nothing works (i.e. swing, burping, changin etc) then i know hes hungry.

I think once Hunter is awake he is awake, but I have never actually tried to get him to go back to sleep! Rickin getc isn''t his friend, but I could just leave him and see if he quiets I suppose... but I don''t like to do that more than is required...

 

[nycbkgirl]

Date: 7/22/2009 2:56:05 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 7/22/2009 2:29:30 PM
Author: Pandora II
Hmm, does this mean that even with EASY you should still have a schedule of set bedtimes etc?

We don''t have a bedtime at the moment - mainly because DH doesn''t get home normally until after 8pm and so if she went to bed at 7pm he''d never get to see her, and if by chance she does happen to be in bed at 7pm, she will always be up again by 10pm.

I guess the not really napping in the daytime doesn''t help as I do have a pretty good idea of when she will wake up at night. Also seems to be set times - ie if we go to bed at midnight she will wake up between 3.30 and 4am, and if we go to bed at 1.30am, she will still wake up between 3.30 and 4am.


DD, if Daisy wakes up after 45 minutes (which is pretty usual), I will feed her as she will not have eaten since the E part of EASY and so will be hungry. IIRC, you are doing EAESY which makes it more tricky. Whenever I have done EAESY and she wakes after a short nap, I will offer her food (so as to reinforce E following S) but quite often she doesn''t want any and just wants to play instead.

If Hunter is eating again after the 45 minutes, I wouldn''t worry - my understanding was that you can''t overfeed a breastfed baby.

I think that if you want to shift ''night'' until later than 7pm, hence shifting ''morning'' until later than 7am there is probably no issue with that, but I *do* think that a schedule that doesn''t vary too much from day to day is important. Hunter usually goes to bed between 7pm and 8pm, but upon reflection I do think he would prefer an earlier bedtime that is less variable -- 7pm into the crib! -- because he really seems consistent with his morning wake up. It is possible that right now Daisy doesn''t show much of a pattern because you don''t have one for her yet? I notice that Hunter''s napping and sleeping at night are so linked and carry forward from day to day, and they is probably the case with Daisy as well. With a schedule or some sort for bedtime, she will develop a circadian rhythm that will cause her to always feel tired at the same time of night, which is nice. The fact that she consistently wakes at the same time for a night feed suggests that she has a biorhythm already that you can take advantage of to select the bedtime you want. What time does she wake for the day? I would set bedtime at 12 hours after that. maybe she needs a catnap at 7pm and then proper bedtime at 9:30?

I was asking abou tthe 45 minute naps more because I think he needs to sleep 2 hours to be really rested. When he wakes after 45 minutes, he is a little cranky and wants to nap again after an hour, which is not normal for a 5 month old. When he gets his 2 hours he is awake for close to 3hours now and is happy right up until the end! So I wondered what to do when he wakes after too short a nap...

so theres no way to rock or put him back to sleep? Are u saying...hes awake and up.? bc jon does that too but i can put him back to sleep for the rest of the time by picking him up and patting butt and bouncing a little....bc i know after 30-45 mins he will be off schedule..he also needs at least a 2 hr nap!

 

[Mrs]

DD, I''m interested in everyone''s reply regarding this as well since I too struggle to get Sage to sleep for longer stretches during the day. I try to get her to sleep longer when she wakes after only 45 minutes but sometimes she wont have it... Yesterday she took a short nap in the morning (in her BOB) and then slept for 2 1/2 hours in the mid day (in her stationary swing) , followed by another shorter nap in the afternoon (car seat). She seemed relatively happy all day and I think that 2 1/2 hour nap helped a lot. Today she slept for an hour from 8:30-9:30 (BOB) and was still tired but fussed like crazy when I tried to get her to sleep more. She finally did sleep again from 11-12 (Crib) but was still cranky when she woke up. Now she''s out again and it has been 1 1/2 hours (car seat). I''m thinking she will be much happier after this nap since it''s longer. we''ll see.

Pandora, wow that''s a lot of sleep in the day! I hope she sleeps okay tonight as well! Like DD said, you could try to adopt a relatively set bed time since it seems like her middle of the night wakeful periods are static regardless of bedtime.

re: fixed vs flexible bed times, HSHHC suggests that the bed time should be flexible depending on how well the baby has napped in the day. On those days when Hunter doesn''t nap well, an earlier bed time might be wise. I believe that HSHHC also suggests that if your baby wont sleep in the afternoon as needed, it''s better to get them up instead of keep trying since letting them nap too late in the day can have an adverse affect on bedtime and their night sleep. One night I put Sage down for bed at 6PM since she had napped so poorly and she clearly needed to sleep.

Do you all have black out shades in your LO''s room? I''m finding Sage''s early wake up (6:30AM) rather frustrating now that I''m home and I think she might actually sleep longer if her room didn''t get so bright in the morning. Perhaps it''s good though to let her get up that early if it''s what her body is telling her to do though? Thoughts?

I went for a run today for the first time in almost a year and I think I''m going to be very sore tomorrow. I only ran 2 miles and it felt fine while I was doing it but once I got home and stretched a little I could feel how tight my muscles were... If only getting (and staying) in shape were easier!!! Ug.

Mrs
Sage is 4 months, 1 week

 

[nycbkgirl]

Date: 7/22/2009 6:44:45 PM
Author: Mrs
DD, I''m interested in everyone''s reply regarding this as well since I too struggle to get Sage to sleep for longer stretches during the day. I try to get her to sleep longer when she wakes after only 45 minutes but sometimes she wont have it... Yesterday she took a short nap in the morning (in her BOB) and then slept for 2 1/2 hours in the mid day (in her stationary swing) , followed by another shorter nap in the afternoon (car seat). She seemed relatively happy all day and I think that 2 1/2 hour nap helped a lot. Today she slept for an hour from 8:30-9:30 (BOB) and was still tired but fussed like crazy when I tried to get her to sleep more. She finally did sleep again from 11-12 (Crib) but was still cranky when she woke up. Now she''s out again and it has been 1 1/2 hours (car seat). I''m thinking she will be much happier after this nap since it''s longer. we''ll see.

Pandora, wow that''s a lot of sleep in the day! I hope she sleeps okay tonight as well! Like DD said, you could try to adopt a relatively set bed time since it seems like her middle of the night wakeful periods are static regardless of bedtime.

re: fixed vs flexible bed times, HSHHC suggests that the bed time should be flexible depending on how well the baby has napped in the day. On those days when Hunter doesn''t nap well, an earlier bed time might be wise. I believe that HSHHC also suggests that if your baby wont sleep in the afternoon as needed, it''s better to get them up instead of keep trying since letting them nap too late in the day can have an adverse affect on bedtime and their night sleep. One night I put Sage down for bed at 6PM since she had napped so poorly and she clearly needed to sleep.

Do you all have black out shades in your LO''s room? I''m finding Sage''s early wake up (6:30AM) rather frustrating now that I''m home and I think she might actually sleep longer if her room didn''t get so bright in the morning. Perhaps it''s good though to let her get up that early if it''s what her body is telling her to do though? Thoughts?

I went for a run today for the first time in almost a year and I think I''m going to be very sore tomorrow. I only ran 2 miles and it felt fine while I was doing it but once I got home and stretched a little I could feel how tight my muscles were... If only getting (and staying) in shape were easier!!! Ug.

Mrs
Sage is 4 months, 1 week

hmmm..interesting thought! we have light shades too.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 7/22/2009 1:55:38 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 7/22/2009 12:28:06 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 7/22/2009 7:36:20 AM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
More later but... Hunter only woke once last night at 2am!

He went to bed a little earlier than usual -- asleep by 7pm -- I wonder if that made a difference?

DD, I thought you were putting him down by 7 already? It may have something to do with it. HSHHC says the earlier you put them down, the longer they sleep although that may be counter intuitive. I notice to this day that if I put Amelia down earlier by 15-30 minutes, she sleeps better. If I don''t, she tosses and turns and has a harder time getting to bed, and will wake up here and there (but conks back out.)

Typically he doesn''t get to *sleep* until about 7:30 I would say, after bath and nursing and 10 minutes or so to fall asleep. So the bedtime routine often starts around 6:45 and last night he didn''t nap well in the afternoon and wanted to go to bed earlier so he was in his crib by 6:45! I guess I used ''7pm'' loosely

I am willing to adopt an ''in the crib at 7pm'' rule, but I wonder how this works when naps are not totally regimented? More days than not he does 2 hours in the morning, 2hours in the afternoon, then a short nap (30-45 minutes) in the early evening. But a few days a week this is messed up and his last nap of the day happens later than we would like, not at all, or earlier than we would like. Sometimes he is tired and sometimes not! Do you keep bedtime fixed no matter what went on with naps? I worry that he won''t sleep well if he has only been awake for an hour before bed.

Related question What do you do when baby wakes from a nap after only 45 minutes? Do you ignore it and let them fuss it out/cry it out until they fall asleep? I have always been getting him, but I don''t think that works as he is still tired when he gets less than 2 hours...

I started not going in there right after she woke up early on. In the morning she is in the crib by herself for about a half hour. If she wakes up early from a nap, I leave her in there for awhile too. When she was younger, it didn''t always work getting her to fall back asleep, but it did work some of the time, especially if she woke up only 45 minutes in.

Bedtime is ALWAYS bedtime in our house, regardless of nap schedule (but since that was pretty much kept as well, it wasn''t a big problem.). I want her to know bedtime is bedtime regardless of whether she wants to pass out or not. There have been times where she sings to herself an hour or so before passing out!

Sounds like Hunter is getting plenty of naptime. If he is consistently getting those 4 hours during the two naps, I''d say stretch out the evening period of wakefulness a bit and put him down for the night earlier. He naps from about 9-11 and then from about 1-3ish, right? At this age, he can handle 3 to 3.5 hours of wakefulness late in the day, although he will get cranky in hour 3. That means bedtime routine starts at 6 and he''s probably in the crib with lights out by 6:30. When we put Amelia on a 2 nap schedule her bedtime went from 7pm to 6 pm. Worked like a charm.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Black out shades REALLY helped T sleep longer. Also I love having a video monitor! I think I used to rush in there WAY too soon. Now I can look and only go in there once she stands up (obviously different for you guys with younger kids). Still I can see if she is just talking to herself or really wants to get up for the day. Often times she falls back to sleep for another hour.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 7/22/2009 8:08:01 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Black out shades REALLY helped T sleep longer. Also I love having a video monitor! I think I used to rush in there WAY too soon. Now I can look and only go in there once she stands up (obviously different for you guys with younger kids). Still I can see if she is just talking to herself or really wants to get up for the day. Often times she falls back to sleep for another hour.

My one regret is not splurging on one of these. It would have helped immensely with not having to go in and check on her (which sometimes made her stir). Plus now that she is older, I am SO curious as to what she is doing in there when she entertains herself for that half hour in the morning. Does she just sit and sing? Lay down and play with her fingers and toes? Inquiring minds wanna know!!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 7/22/2009 8:36:07 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 7/22/2009 8:08:01 PM

Author: Tacori E-ring

Black out shades REALLY helped T sleep longer. Also I love having a video monitor! I think I used to rush in there WAY too soon. Now I can look and only go in there once she stands up (obviously different for you guys with younger kids). Still I can see if she is just talking to herself or really wants to get up for the day. Often times she falls back to sleep for another hour.

My one regret is not splurging on one of these. It would have helped immensely with not having to go in and check on her (which sometimes made her stir). Plus now that she is older, I am SO curious as to what she is doing in there when she entertains herself for that half hour in the morning. Does she just sit and sing? Lay down and play with her fingers and toes? Inquiring minds wanna know!!

It is HIGHLY entertaining to watch her. Other other night she sat up and started "reading" a book I left in there my accident. This was at like 11 pm and it is pretty dark in there. She is silly! Check out ebay. I think Burk got a good deal on there.

 

[Burk]

Too funny you guys are discussing this as I sit and spy on Miss Tayva!

I bought mine a couple months back off Craig''s List. I bid on a ton on Ebay as well, but ended up getting the best deal off Criag''s List and I was able to pick it up that day! I too watch to make sure she''s standing before I go in and am certain I was going in too soon at times prior to the video monitor.

 

[nycbkgirl]

Date: 7/22/2009 8:08:01 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Black out shades REALLY helped T sleep longer. Also I love having a video monitor! I think I used to rush in there WAY too soon. Now I can look and only go in there once she stands up (obviously different for you guys with younger kids). Still I can see if she is just talking to herself or really wants to get up for the day. Often times she falls back to sleep for another hour.

ditto...when i dont see monitor but hear it...i wake dh up constantly throughout the nite...and he is not a happy camper bc he is always still asleep

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/22/2009 7:59:07 PM
Author: TravelingGal

I started not going in there right after she woke up early on. In the morning she is in the crib by herself for about a half hour. If she wakes up early from a nap, I leave her in there for awhile too. When she was younger, it didn''t always work getting her to fall back asleep, but it did work some of the time, especially if she woke up only 45 minutes in.

Bedtime is ALWAYS bedtime in our house, regardless of nap schedule (but since that was pretty much kept as well, it wasn''t a big problem.). I want her to know bedtime is bedtime regardless of whether she wants to pass out or not. There have been times where she sings to herself an hour or so before passing out!

Sounds like Hunter is getting plenty of naptime. If he is consistently getting those 4 hours during the two naps, I''d say stretch out the evening period of wakefulness a bit and put him down for the night earlier. He naps from about 9-11 and then from about 1-3ish, right? At this age, he can handle 3 to 3.5 hours of wakefulness late in the day, although he will get cranky in hour 3. That means bedtime routine starts at 6 and he''s probably in the crib with lights out by 6:30. When we put Amelia on a 2 nap schedule her bedtime went from 7pm to 6 pm. Worked like a charm.

Hmmm... interesting. I think I will experiment a little with naps when they are short and see what happens. When you put her down at 6pm did she wake earlier in the morning? He wakes at 7am now and that is perfect for us.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/22/2009 6:44:45 PM
Author: Mrs
DD, I''m interested in everyone''s reply regarding this as well since I too struggle to get Sage to sleep for longer stretches during the day. I try to get her to sleep longer when she wakes after only 45 minutes but sometimes she wont have it... Yesterday she took a short nap in the morning (in her BOB) and then slept for 2 1/2 hours in the mid day (in her stationary swing) , followed by another shorter nap in the afternoon (car seat). She seemed relatively happy all day and I think that 2 1/2 hour nap helped a lot. Today she slept for an hour from 8:30-9:30 (BOB) and was still tired but fussed like crazy when I tried to get her to sleep more. She finally did sleep again from 11-12 (Crib) but was still cranky when she woke up. Now she''s out again and it has been 1 1/2 hours (car seat). I''m thinking she will be much happier after this nap since it''s longer. we''ll see.

I hate to say it, but you may need to start scheduling your life around her naps

I used t ocart Hunter around and have him nap wherever we were, but he really doesn''t nap as well or as long. Like Sage, he will do 45 min in the stroller or car seat, but never the full 2 hours. Have you tried transitioning her to her crib for naps? Hunter just seems so much more rested and energetic when he has had a good 2 hour nap in his crib. I make sure he gets one nap per day like that, usually the morning nap, and then a couple times a week I will go out in the afternoon and he will do the nap "on the fly". It isn''t as fun for me, but it really helps him a lot.

Do you all have black out shades in your LO''s room? I''m finding Sage''s early wake up (6:30AM) rather frustrating now that I''m home and I think she might actually sleep longer if her room didn''t get so bright in the morning. Perhaps it''s good though to let her get up that early if it''s what her body is telling her to do though? Thoughts?
Sage is 4 months, 1 week

We didn''t want to buy black out shades because we are moving and don''t know how big the windows will be, but we dd nail two thick towels over the window as a makeshift black out. Made ALL the difference, espcially now when the days are so long and baby goes to bed when the sun is still shining! You know, Sage may sleep better in a blackened room for naps too! Just thought of that.

I went for a run today for the first time in almost a year and I think I''m going to be very sore tomorrow. I only ran 2 miles and it felt fine while I was doing it but once I got home and stretched a little I could feel how tight my muscles were... If only getting (and staying) in shape were easier!!! Ug.

I really hear you on this one. It is taking me so long to get back into shape pp! At the start I could only walk about a block, and then I worked up and up and up, then I started going to the gym again and doing the old lady aerobics classes

which were too hard! Now I just started going to a high level class and it is great! I can''t keep up the whole time, but I''d rather be challenged. It killed me. I can''t believe what terrible shape I am in

But I''ll keep it up! I want to be in better shape prior to #2 so that I recover faster. This last 5 months has been really hard for me -- I''m used to being able to do whatever I want physically -- and I don''t want to go through it again.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 7/22/2009 10:04:04 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 7/22/2009 7:59:07 PM
Author: TravelingGal

I started not going in there right after she woke up early on. In the morning she is in the crib by herself for about a half hour. If she wakes up early from a nap, I leave her in there for awhile too. When she was younger, it didn''t always work getting her to fall back asleep, but it did work some of the time, especially if she woke up only 45 minutes in.

Bedtime is ALWAYS bedtime in our house, regardless of nap schedule (but since that was pretty much kept as well, it wasn''t a big problem.). I want her to know bedtime is bedtime regardless of whether she wants to pass out or not. There have been times where she sings to herself an hour or so before passing out!

Sounds like Hunter is getting plenty of naptime. If he is consistently getting those 4 hours during the two naps, I''d say stretch out the evening period of wakefulness a bit and put him down for the night earlier. He naps from about 9-11 and then from about 1-3ish, right? At this age, he can handle 3 to 3.5 hours of wakefulness late in the day, although he will get cranky in hour 3. That means bedtime routine starts at 6 and he''s probably in the crib with lights out by 6:30. When we put Amelia on a 2 nap schedule her bedtime went from 7pm to 6 pm. Worked like a charm.

Hmmm... interesting. I think I will experiment a little with naps when they are short and see what happens. When you put her down at 6pm did she wake earlier in the morning? He wakes at 7am now and that is perfect for us.

I think for a couple of days she did, but it didn''t matter because by that point, we got her used to waking up and playing by herself. So we just went in at the usual time. Training for wake ups was as crucial to our sanity as nightly put downs! We did this because HSHHC recommended that you don''t go in as soon as they wake up, because they may wake up earlier and earlier since they want to play. Sometimes she''ll wake up at 6 and then conk back out again after a half hour and sleep a bit more. Either way, she knows we''ll get there when it''s time to get up and has never once screamed for us in the morning.

btw, FWIW, Amelia wakes up somewhere between 6-7, and usually it is closer to 7 (6:45 is a common wake up time). We don''t go in until 7:30, which is niiiiiiiiiiiice.

 

[Mrs]

Date: 7/22/2009 10:12:29 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 7/22/2009 6:44:45 PM

Author: Mrs

DD, I''m interested in everyone''s reply regarding this as well since I too struggle to get Sage to sleep for longer stretches during the day. I try to get her to sleep longer when she wakes after only 45 minutes but sometimes she wont have it... Yesterday she took a short nap in the morning (in her BOB) and then slept for 2 1/2 hours in the mid day (in her stationary swing) , followed by another shorter nap in the afternoon (car seat). She seemed relatively happy all day and I think that 2 1/2 hour nap helped a lot. Today she slept for an hour from 8:30-9:30 (BOB) and was still tired but fussed like crazy when I tried to get her to sleep more. She finally did sleep again from 11-12 (Crib) but was still cranky when she woke up. Now she''s out again and it has been 1 1/2 hours (car seat). I''m thinking she will be much happier after this nap since it''s longer. we''ll see.

I hate to say it, but you may need to start scheduling your life around her naps

I used t ocart Hunter around and have him nap wherever we were, but he really doesn''t nap as well or as long. Like Sage, he will do 45 min in the stroller or car seat, but never the full 2 hours. Have you tried transitioning her to her crib for naps? Hunter just seems so much more rested and energetic when he has had a good 2 hour nap in his crib. I make sure he gets one nap per day like that, usually the morning nap, and then a couple times a week I will go out in the afternoon and he will do the nap ''on the fly''. It isn''t as fun for me, but it really helps him a lot.

I''m very happy to schedule my life around her naps but I can''t figure out how to do that since she falls asleep in her stroller and/or car seat when I don''t expect her to. For example: this morning she woke up at 6:30AM. I took her out for a run at 8 expecting to be back by 9 to put her in her crib to nap. But then she fell asleep in her stroller while I was running so I came back home ASAP so that she could keep sleeping without movement. Should I have transitioned her from the stroller to the crib when we got home? I knew that if I did that she would wake up.... Then after her nap from 11AM to noon (in her crib) I tried to get her to sleep more but she wouldn''t. So I took her out to run errands and she was awake until 2PM when she fell asleep in her car seat. Again, I came home and brought her inside to sleep with no movement but did not transition her to her crib and she slept for 2 hours... Tonight DH and I went out for dinner at a place that''s walking distance from our house and she again fell asleep in her stroller at about 6:30 right before we got home... I wasn''t sure if I should wake her and do the whole bed time ritual of bath, boob, bed or just curtail that to get her in to bed since she was clearly tired. I ended up skipping the bath...

Do you all have black out shades in your LO''s room? I''m finding Sage''s early wake up (6:30AM) rather frustrating now that I''m home and I think she might actually sleep longer if her room didn''t get so bright in the morning. Perhaps it''s good though to let her get up that early if it''s what her body is telling her to do though? Thoughts?

Sage is 4 months, 1 week

We didn''t want to buy black out shades because we are moving and don''t know how big the windows will be, but we dd nail two thick towels over the window as a makeshift black out. Made ALL the difference, espcially now when the days are so long and baby goes to bed when the sun is still shining! You know, Sage may sleep better in a blackened room for naps too! Just thought of that.

good point!

I went for a run today for the first time in almost a year and I think I''m going to be very sore tomorrow. I only ran 2 miles and it felt fine while I was doing it but once I got home and stretched a little I could feel how tight my muscles were... If only getting (and staying) in shape were easier!!! Ug.

I really hear you on this one. It is taking me so long to get back into shape pp! At the start I could only walk about a block, and then I worked up and up and up, then I started going to the gym again and doing the old lady aerobics classes

which were too hard! Now I just started going to a high level class and it is great! I can''t keep up the whole time, but I''d rather be challenged. It killed me. I can''t believe what terrible shape I am in

But I''ll keep it up! I want to be in better shape prior to #2 so that I recover faster. This last 5 months has been really hard for me -- I''m used to being able to do whatever I want physically -- and I don''t want to go through it again.

that''s so great that you get to do aerobics though! I wish I could do that but I don''t have anyone to watch Sage now. I''m glad you plan to stick with it! I''m sure you''ll be back to being able to do whatever you want physically before you know it. It is amazing what out bodies go through with pregnancy though... i can''t say I''m looking forward to going through it again

 

[Mrs]

Date: 7/22/2009 10:16:18 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 7/22/2009 10:04:04 PM

Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 7/22/2009 7:59:07 PM

Author: TravelingGal


I started not going in there right after she woke up early on. In the morning she is in the crib by herself for about a half hour. If she wakes up early from a nap, I leave her in there for awhile too. When she was younger, it didn''t always work getting her to fall back asleep, but it did work some of the time, especially if she woke up only 45 minutes in.


Bedtime is ALWAYS bedtime in our house, regardless of nap schedule (but since that was pretty much kept as well, it wasn''t a big problem.). I want her to know bedtime is bedtime regardless of whether she wants to pass out or not. There have been times where she sings to herself an hour or so before passing out!


Sounds like Hunter is getting plenty of naptime. If he is consistently getting those 4 hours during the two naps, I''d say stretch out the evening period of wakefulness a bit and put him down for the night earlier. He naps from about 9-11 and then from about 1-3ish, right? At this age, he can handle 3 to 3.5 hours of wakefulness late in the day, although he will get cranky in hour 3. That means bedtime routine starts at 6 and he''s probably in the crib with lights out by 6:30. When we put Amelia on a 2 nap schedule her bedtime went from 7pm to 6 pm. Worked like a charm.

Hmmm... interesting. I think I will experiment a little with naps when they are short and see what happens. When you put her down at 6pm did she wake earlier in the morning? He wakes at 7am now and that is perfect for us.

I think for a couple of days she did, but it didn''t matter because by that point, we got her used to waking up and playing by herself. So we just went in at the usual time. Training for wake ups was as crucial to our sanity as nightly put downs! We did this because HSHHC recommended that you don''t go in as soon as they wake up, because they may wake up earlier and earlier since they want to play. Sometimes she''ll wake up at 6 and then conk back out again after a half hour and sleep a bit more. Either way, she knows we''ll get there when it''s time to get up and has never once screamed for us in the morning.


btw, FWIW, Amelia wakes up somewhere between 6-7, and usually it is closer to 7 (6:45 is a common wake up time). We don''t go in until 7:30, which is niiiiiiiiiiiice.

good to know Tgal! I need to get better about continuing to sleep even though she''s awake since she hasn''t cried out for me in the mornings either. She''s just noisy talking to herself...

 

[Mrs]

re: naps. I think my problem is that Sage doesn''t exhibit sleepy signs all that often so it''s hard to time the naps just right. Also, I think she finds the movement of the stroller and car very soothing so she falls sleep really easily even if she''s just a little tired; whereas, she wont nap in her crib unless the timing is just right. Even if she''s a little tired and I put her in her crib, she can get really worked up... Perhaps I should try setting a nap schedule for her even if she throws a fit? I could start putting her in her crib at 8:30AM and 2PM for a nap every day even if she doesn''t seem tired and even if she throws a fit... But does that mean I can''t take her for a walk or go out to run errands ever since she might fall asleep in her stroller or car seat too soon? help!?!?

 

[Blenheim]

typing while pumping, please excuse typos.

interesting about naps on the run. dh does it so that g isnt cranky while hes running errands. ill ask him tonight how long g sleeps when he does that.

diapering 2 nights ago was a big fail. we try to put natural fibers next to g''s skin during the day & never have leaks (but also change when they''re wet), so i tried tripling up on the absorbant material and putting an otherwise day diap on him. he woke up at 3 am screaming (and he almost never screams at night), and while there were no leaks the diap was soaking wet, and natural fibers don''t wick away from skin so he was very unhappy. (they make liners that will wick away, but we don''t own any.) then dh put him in a pocket diaper, which are the ones that we''ve been having poo problems with, and sure enough we had another poo blowout in bed yesterday morning. so tonight i tried him in the pocket diaper - and the material inside does wick away moisture from the skin so that he''s more comfy - and put him in wool pants. the pants haven''t been properly lanolinized, so they''re not waterproof, but they should hopefully be water resistant enough. no issues yet, but they''re still asleep. fingers crossed. i loooove the cloth diapers other than this one issue, and it''s fortunately only been for about a week now, but it''s making me tear my hair out.

 

[cdt1101]

hey ladies....

so I''m at the end of my rope....I''m so tired and Lex is just NOT sleeping well. I think most of our problems are due to reflux unfortunately. Because he almost never sleeps soundly. He''s always moving and coughing and grunting and fussing...it goes on and on....I leave him in the crib for as long as 45 minutes sometimes to see if he''ll really fall asleep, but so far he has not. I can get 2, 2 hour naps from him during the day. That''s about it. At night he sleeps pretty well from say 7:30 - 11:00. We feed him and he''ll sleep to 2:00, and then all hell breaks loose! From 2:00 - 8:00 AM are an absolute nightmare. I''ll put him down and within 30 minutes it''s the fussy sleep I described above. And I''ve tried the pick up and pat pat pat, paci thing....he will fall asleep in my arms, but as soon as I put him down, the fussing starts again.

I''m assuming most of our issues are reflux because a few times this week I''ve noticed that when he does FINALLY go to sleep soundly, he''ll wake up crying because he spit up thru his nose! That has to hurt

Sometimes I can get him to calm down again, sometimes not.

I don''t know...I don''t even think I"m looking for advice, just venting really. I''m tired....really tired...and it''s sooooooooooo hard NOT to get frustrated w/ him in the middle of the night!

I just feel at this point that there is no light at the end of this tunnel....boooooooooooooooo........

Glad the rest of you seem to be working out your sleep issues

As for working out...i sooooooo wish i could! I''m so tired that I can''t bring myself to work out. Sucks, because I still have 15 lbs to lose....I hate my body right now....

oh well, sorry for being such a debbie downer

 

[cdt1101]

I haven''t posted a pic in awhile....so here are a couple...

this one was from yesterday, i did a photoshoot to send pics to my mom...such a cute face...it''s what keeps me sane when I''m losing my mind

 

[cdt1101]

and i had to post this because i think it''s hysterical! My DH put this hat on Lex....well after we took the pic we noticed his hands....hehehe........

we call this "East Coast Represent"....haha....or trekkie...whichever

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/22/2009 11:01:22 PM
Author: Mrs

Date: 7/22/2009 10:12:29 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
I''m very happy to schedule my life around her naps but I can''t figure out how to do that since she falls asleep in her stroller and/or car seat when I don''t expect her to. For example: this morning she woke up at 6:30AM. I took her out for a run at 8 expecting to be back by 9 to put her in her crib to nap. But then she fell asleep in her stroller while I was running so I came back home ASAP so that she could keep sleeping without movement. Should I have transitioned her from the stroller to the crib when we got home? I knew that if I did that she would wake up.... Then after her nap from 11AM to noon (in her crib) I tried to get her to sleep more but she wouldn''t. So I took her out to run errands and she was awake until 2PM when she fell asleep in her car seat. Again, I came home and brought her inside to sleep with no movement but did not transition her to her crib and she slept for 2 hours... Tonight DH and I went out for dinner at a place that''s walking distance from our house and she again fell asleep in her stroller at about 6:30 right before we got home... I wasn''t sure if I should wake her and do the whole bed time ritual of bath, boob, bed or just curtail that to get her in to bed since she was clearly tired. I ended up skipping the bath...

I have this issue sometimes too... but it sounds from your description that Sage is fairly predictable getting tired and sleeping roughly 2 hours after she wakes. Hunter is the same generally. He also doesn''t *really* show the typical sleepy signs any more. All of a sudden he will just get a little more fussy! So I wonder if you have to plan to be home 1.5 hours after waking to make sure you catch her when she is ready to go down. I have adopted this pattern maybe it will work for you: 1.5 hours after waking I nurse him again -- I find he naps much longer if I do this, because otherwise it would be 4 hours between feeds and that is too long for him, he is a 3 hour guy in the day) then at around 1:45 minutes after waking I rock him and sing to him for 5 minutes (I am trying to classically condition him that this is the cue for sleepy time) and put him down. He plays with his binky and toes for 5-10 minutes and then more often then not conks out for 2 hours!

When I first started doing this routine -- where there is NO BFing immediately before sleep -- he would cry for about 6-7 minutes before he went to sleep. That lasted 2 days and now he just sings and humms and sucks his fingers to sleep, that is his self-soothing technique, we hear him do it all the time when he is sleeping. I totally get if you are not comfortable letting him cry/fuss, it is completely painful to hear!, but it may be that she just needs a little time to figure out how to put herself to sleep. We have seen great improvement in Hunter this week that we have been using a 10 minute rule (we have only hit the full 10 minutes 1 time, all the others he is out within 3-5 minutes of crying). For us, the pick up put down worked great when Hunter was less than 3 months old, but now it just makes him madder and more worked up! So we stopped doing that.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/22/2009 11:10:05 PM
Author: Mrs
re: naps. I think my problem is that Sage doesn''t exhibit sleepy signs all that often so it''s hard to time the naps just right. Also, I think she finds the movement of the stroller and car very soothing so she falls sleep really easily even if she''s just a little tired; whereas, she wont nap in her crib unless the timing is just right. Even if she''s a little tired and I put her in her crib, she can get really worked up... Perhaps I should try setting a nap schedule for her even if she throws a fit? I could start putting her in her crib at 8:30AM and 2PM for a nap every day even if she doesn''t seem tired and even if she throws a fit... But does that mean I can''t take her for a walk or go out to run errands ever since she might fall asleep in her stroller or car seat too soon? help!?!?

I sort of answered this in my other post... I adopt a 2 hour timeline that varies based on when he woke from his last nap/in the morning. And sometimes you just run errends IMHO and let her sleep where she sleeps! Mama''s gotta have a life too! But I feel like as long as he gets at least 1 nap in his crib that day and naps the majority of his naps in his bed then its ok with me.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Blen

for the diaper issues! I hope you get it figured out! Maybe he needs a bigger diaper? Our friends use the Kushies brand, maybe you can try some different styles/brands just for the nights?

CDT I'm sorry you are having a hard time! Honestly, the first 2-3 months suck no matter how you slice it. I wonder, when Lex is being so noisey when he sleeps, is he actually awake? Meaning, are his eyes open? Does he do it all night or is it worse at a certain time -- like after 2am? Hunter also was like this when he was younger -- so loud it was ridiculous! He had a stuffy nose and he would snort and wheeze and grunt and moan! For a few weeks I thought he was in trouble and I would bring him in bed with me where he would settle right down and sleep quietly, but if I put him down by himself the noises started again! We discovered he wasn't awake and that was just what he sounded like when he slept! It usually only started at around 2am and I think coincided with his deeper sleep cycle. And that was when we moved him to his own room!

He stopped doing it around 3 months I think. ETA That second picture is HILARIOUS!!!

 

[cdt1101]

Dreamer - sometimes his eyes are closed and i''ll just let him be...but most of the time he is also crying, but not like a full on cry...i''ll say just fuss, but sometimes a little more than that. And the longer i ''leave him be'' he gets really worked up sometimes, so it''s even harder to calm him down. But after his 2:00 AM feed, I''ll leave him in the crib and let him make his noises....it''s just i can''t sleep because the rooms are next to each other. Sometimes he will fall in and out of peaceful sleep. But the past 2 nights it''s constant. So usually after about an hour of him fussing, he''ll start really crying and I pick him up, rub his back and he falls asleep in my arms. As soon as I put him down, the cycle starts again. It hasn''t been until after his 8:00 am feed that he will take a good 2 hour, mostly peaceful nap.

I don''t know...I know these things take time, but I''m known for not being very patient

So, yeah, this is all very new to me...hehhee.......

 

[nycbkgirl]

Blen- eek@ diaper issues..I have never tried cloth but I gather it must be nice against the skin and no diaper rash?

So jon slept from 10-6..and woke up screamin with no warning sign...he was THAT hungry...I kept him up from 6 fed,played,more play,bath, feed,sleep. Im hoping we are falling into a routine. I just go with the flow re their napping etc bc I know they will work it out and find they routine eventually.
Jackie woke once but gave her the bottle and she fell right back out..so she''s getting there.

We had therapy evaluations and jackie seems to be the stronger one at least in the legs dept and holding head. Hopefully we will have physical and occupational therapy sessions to improve their strength and avoid any developmental delays if possible.

So nanny came this morning, actually seems she''s getting along with MIL, they are kinda alike in terms of their beliefs about childcare (duno if that''s a good thing lol)...she''s nice ..but she came in this morning and had brkfast here..and even asked for coffee and bread n butter ??...is that normal...I wouldn''t mind her eating lunch here..in fact I told her plz help yourself to everything in fridge...but almost right away in the morning?..granted there wasn''t anything to do at the moment...but shouldn''t she eat brkfst @ home?..or maybe she didn''t have time this morning..not sure ??

Anyhoo....I feel weird having someone "handling" my kids but maybe in time I will adjust!