PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[sunnyd]

B was super cranky last night and I put him to sleep at 8. He woke up at 10:15 to eat, and then slept until 6. I got about 7.5 straight hours of sleep. OMG that was amazing.

Woohoooooo!!! We've had a few nights like that and it's the best!

Hi Monnie! Agree with Haven, A is your mini!

Yikes, so we had our first "daycare" day yesterday (my SIL watches H) and I didn't get home until after 6. Then it was a whirlwind of feeding, changing, bathing, packing, cleaning, and putting to bed. This new schedule is going to be quite tiring, I foresee. Also, I think H should be going to bed earlier than 9, which means we'll hardly get to see each other. Bah! Is that how you other working moms feel? What time do your kids go to bed?

 

[Kunzite]

B was super cranky last night and I put him to sleep at 8. He woke up at 10:15 to eat, and then slept until 6. I got about 7.5 straight hours of sleep. OMG that was amazing.

Woohoooooo!!! We've had a few nights like that and it's the best!

Hi Monnie! Agree with Haven, A is your mini!

Yikes, so we had our first "daycare" day yesterday (my SIL watches H) and I didn't get home until after 6. Then it was a whirlwind of feeding, changing, bathing, packing, cleaning, and putting to bed. This new schedule is going to be quite tiring, I foresee. Also, I think H should be going to bed earlier than 9, which means we'll hardly get to see each other. Bah! Is that how you other working moms feel? What time do your kids go to bed?

Yep, when O was little and in DC we only saw him for about an hour and a half a day! We'd get home at 5:15, do solids, bath at 6, bedtime bottle and stories at 6:30, and asleep around 6:45/7. And since logistically it was easier if only one of us did bedtime, we would only get the full 1.5 hour when it was our "turn" to do bedtime. But here's what's ironic about that... Now that I have to split my time in thirds I feel almost like O got more quality time even though it was short. So I really think that no matter how much time you get together, what's important is making it really count!

 

[Kunzite]

When two of the kids are awake and the third wakes up everyone wants to join the party! The babies are in a phase where they like to be able to see me at all times ( ) and O looooooooves saying hi to them when they wake up! So poor E had quite the welcoming party when he woke up (can you tell he was thrilled??).

And since I keep telling myself I'm going to stop posting O's photos... everyone just pretend you can't see him

 

[sunnyd]

B was super cranky last night and I put him to sleep at 8. He woke up at 10:15 to eat, and then slept until 6. I got about 7.5 straight hours of sleep. OMG that was amazing.

Woohoooooo!!! We've had a few nights like that and it's the best!

Hi Monnie! Agree with Haven, A is your mini!

Yikes, so we had our first "daycare" day yesterday (my SIL watches H) and I didn't get home until after 6. Then it was a whirlwind of feeding, changing, bathing, packing, cleaning, and putting to bed. This new schedule is going to be quite tiring, I foresee. Also, I think H should be going to bed earlier than 9, which means we'll hardly get to see each other. Bah! Is that how you other working moms feel? What time do your kids go to bed?

Yep, when O was little and in DC we only saw him for about an hour and a half a day! We'd get home at 5:15, do solids, bath at 6, bedtime bottle and stories at 6:30, and asleep around 6:45/7. And since logistically it was easier if only one of us did bedtime, we would only get the full 1.5 hour when it was our "turn" to do bedtime. But here's what's ironic about that... Now that I have to split my time in thirds I feel almost like O got more quality time even though it was short. So I really think that no matter how much time you get together, what's important is making it really count!

Oh gosh!! Well I guess I know what we have to do now...

Kunzite your boys are so so cute! Love it!

 

[stephbolt]

[quote="sunnyd|1358357013|3356934Yikes, so we had our first "daycare" day yesterday (my SIL watches H) and I didn't get home until after 6. Then it was a whirlwind of feeding, changing, bathing, packing, cleaning, and putting to bed. This new schedule is going to be quite tiring, I foresee. Also, I think H should be going to bed earlier than 9, which means we'll hardly get to see each other. Bah! Is that how you other working moms feel? What time do your kids go to bed?[/quote]

I pick N up around 5:30, home at 6, and she goes to bed at 8. I think she could probably stand to go to bed a little earlier even, but 8 is a good balance for us. DH gets home at 6:45-7, so that gives him at least 30 minutes before we start the last nursing session at 7:30ish. But it definitely especially at first felt like a crazy whirlwind! Now that' she's a little older though it's better, she can sit on the kitchen floor and play with toys while I do a little dinner prep rather than needing to be held the entire time.

 

[amc80]

What time do your kids go to bed?

We get home at about 5:30. B refuses to go to sleep for the night before 8:30/9. He usually ends up taking a short (15m) nap at some point between when we get home and when he goes to sleep. I've tried putting him down for good at that point, but he won't have it. We get home, I make dinner, B plays or eats, depending on what time he last ate, then some play time which may also include his mini-nap. Then, around 7/7:30, he's replaced by Mr. Crankypants. Depending on how that goes, bath time starts around 7:45. Then he gets a bottle and generally falls asleep while eating. I know he should be going down for the night around 7, but the kid just refuses. I've tried moving everything up to trick him into it, but I think he can tell time.

The mornings are really when I feel I get very little time with him. Some mornings he's only up long enough to eat, then he's back to sleep, which means I have very little interaction.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Sunnyd, we're still figuring this all out too. It's hard going from being with your baby every minute of every day to only getting a few hours each day. So far, E has been pretty sleepy (and crabby) when he gets home in the evenings. It's weird because he is really restless and fidgety, but he can't seem to keep his eyes open. We take turns holding him while we make dinner and eat, and then we bathe him and sit together and watch tv or something for awhile. We don't put E in his crib for the night until after his last feeding, which can be anywhere between 9 and 11:00, depending on when he previously ate and how tired he is. I know eventually we will need to put him in his room sooner, but for now, I like keeping him out with us awhile longer even if he is sleeping. I love the mornings because E is definitely at his smiliest and sweetest then. I get up early to shower and get ready, and then I get to spend time with E while DH gets ready. Then DH takes him to daycare, and I go to work.

Kunzite, how can you stand it? They are so darn cute. How much older is O than the boys? If you had to do it over again, would you have them so close in age? Just curious to hear your thoughts, as we consider when to add to our family. I am also struggling with whether I should keep posting pictures of E. It's fun sharing them, but I do worry about his privacy.

Monarch, what a little beauty! And yes, I have the nosefrieda. I was completely revolted at the idea of it until I tried it, and gosh darnit, that thing works! It is oddly satisfying to see the snot come of his nose. E doesn't know what to think. He either laughs or cries hysterically when I use it on him, but it has really helped with his breathing.

Dani, we basically have no set sleep schedule either. He naps when he naps and sleeps when he sleeps, and we work around it. I have read a few of the sleep books, and it all sounds great in theory, but my kid seems to defy any sort of schedule so far. Maybe in a few months, I will revisit the issue.

 

[Kunzite]

Kunzite, how can you stand it? They are so darn cute. How much older is O than the boys? If you had to do it over again, would you have them so close in age? Just curious to hear your thoughts, as we consider when to add to our family. I am also struggling with whether I should keep posting pictures of E. It's fun sharing them, but I do worry about his privacy.

MP, they're 19 months apart. I would absolutely do it again! There are moments every now and then when I get frustrated that O is too young to understand something (i.e. being quiet during nap time) but if your LOs are in DC it wouldn't be much of an issue at all. I honestly can't think of any other negatives! We're extremely lucky though because O adores the babies and is never jealous. I know if that weren't the case my answer might be different. As for pictures... I do really well for a few months and then I just can't seem to help myself again!

It sounds like things are going much better for you and Ev, but I wanted to let you know we finally turned the corner with E!! I had a suspicion that he would be a new, happier baby once he was mobile and I was right! As soon as he started crawling his entire personality changed! Now he's the funniest little guy I've ever seen

 

[Loves Vintage]

When two of the kids are awake and the third wakes up everyone wants to join the party! The babies are in a phase where they like to be able to see me at all times ( ) and O looooooooves saying hi to them when they wake up! So poor E had quite the welcoming party when he woke up (can you tell he was thrilled??).

And since I keep telling myself I'm going to stop posting O's photos... everyone just pretend you can't see him

E and M are holding hands!?!?!?! Do they do that a lot? Gosh, sweetest photo ever! You've got your hands full there Kunzite!! You're like a super-momma! How do you do it?

 

[lliang_chi]

Congrats AMC for the 7 hrs of sleep! My mom also croons that she had us on a schedule too. But she also didn't have us STTN until we were well past 1yr old. So whatever. She's a TOTAL backseat parent too. Telling me I should/shouldn't feed Ethan X,Y,Z. Back off, lady! He's MY kid!!! Dust for your drive this weekend. Hoping things will be OK. It's hard when you're the only one and the baby starts crying/screaming in the car seat. At times I've pulled over to give him a bottle, but that doens't really always fix it. Now we just let him CIO. He usually goes about 10-15 mins, then falls asleep. Sounds mean but thems the breaks.

Dani, grandmas are the WORSE that they think they have the solutions to everything. My mom does the SAME THING. See note to AMC above. I'm getting to the point where I'm about to snap at her. THank goodness we live far away. But re: schedule, don't sweat it. Aim for a routine. Schedules can get you obsessive and as babies grow, their needs change. I can't tell you how many times I've moved Ethan's bedtime earlier, later, earlier, later. Now I'm thinking I'm going to move it 30 mins earlier again. See it's ALWAYS changing, so the whole IDEA of a hard and fast schedule for a 3 month old is funny. Only exception would be if you're dealing with multiples or something.

Monnie, A looks so beautiful! She still has her super cute baby chubbiness, but yes, right around 8 months was when I started seeing less baby and more kid in Ethan too. TBH I'm not sad, I'm really looking forward to all the new adventures we can have as he gets older.

MP, I can't believe Ev is 3 months old already! Hope you're doing alright back at work. I agree that the amnesia thing is pretty accurate. Except we're getting most of our issues as Ethan's OLDER not when he was a wee baby. Regardless don't think we're going to try for #2 until this one is consistently STTN..

Haven, Br is still baby, his cries are still rather soft and cute. Whenever I hear a wee baby cry, I'm always looking over because I want to see the wee baby, not necessarily because I'm annoyed that he's crying.

Buttons, I'm sorry you're stuck with Nurse Cray-cray. That sucks. Well, don't listen to her. She knows squat about your lovely T and you know him best. I'm glad you liked the swimming class. I'm looking into taking Ethan swimming too. It's cold here so we have only indoor pools now. I hope you can find some friends in the different Mommy classes. That's a great way to meet new mothers.

Muff, wow, you did a great job with L and his sleep. Dude, we are/were terrible, and we're slowly trying to fix it now. J is COMPLETELY against gradual extinction CIO so we're doing Pick Up/Put Down sleep training. Oy!

Choro, how's N doing? Ethan is 11 months this week. We don't co-sleep with Ethan but I have taken to climbing into his crib with him to keep patting him. I extricate myself pretty well.

Sunny, hoping you're doing OK on your first week back. I'm sorry to hear about your gallstones. You've done a great job with the nursing and breast feeding so don't you for one second develop a complex about her taking formula. I can't believe she's trying to sit up etc already. Have you tried putting her in a Bumbo/Bebe pod? If she's already developing ab muscles she must have decent core strength to stay up in those seats.

S&I I'm glad A's doing great. I hope A doens't get sick. Ethan has constantly had a runny nose, but I think it has to do with teething more than actually being sick. I use the Nosefrida literally every day to clear his nose. He still hates it but he knows it's over quickly.

Steph, Im glad you had some "me" time. We're trying with the sleep training. We're keeping our expectations realistic. We're not expecting perfection, but we just want something better. He'll get there.

Kunzite, your boys are so adorable. I love how your kiddos are so close in age. I kinda want to do that with Ethan too (I'm close in age to my siblings, brother 15 months older and twin sister). But Ethan's not STTN so this is likely not going to happen. I love how much O loves his little brothers.

Post daycare evenings:
Definitely short on interactions. In the VERY beginning, Ethan was HAGGARD when he got home from daycare. Then I figured out to give him a short nap shortly after getting home. I would get home, Ethan got nursed/fed, then had a quick 1 hr nap while I pumped. Then J would come home and he'd get some play time with Daddy/bath/tummy time. Then nursing/bottle, then bed. This lasted until he started eating solids. With solids, he started skipping the early evening nap. We'd get home, he'd get a bottle, then some play/tummy time. Then get purees, bath, bottle, bed. That was his routine until about 10+ months, now he gets some play time when he gets home, starts table food dinner + milk in sippy, and then bath, play/story time, bottle, bed.

AFU:
Ethan was super cranky last night. And DH kept walking in so of course Ethan would perk right up whenever that happened and I'd have to start ALL OVER AGAIN getting him settled down again. Today was the first day that he cried at drop off when I left the room. I called them during the day and they said he had some really good naps and he's fine. So I guess he was just tired.

 

[monarch64]

Thanks for the compliments ladies!!! You guys are so sweet. Kunzite--those boys are gorgeous! Dang, you make the best looking babies!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Thanks for the suggestions, girls. A friend of mine has a Moby she's going to let me borrow, but it looks a little complicated. I had no idea baby wearing groups existed-- will look into it! Thanks again!

S. I-- yes 25 weeks; time is flying and I know it will ony go faster once baby is here! I can't wait to meet this tiny person.

Missy, so glad the benefit went well. And it's wonderful to know you have such a supportive spouse. That's a huge blessing during loss. Hugs to you.

 

[mayerling]

Missy, I think of you every day.

Fisher, it's getting close!

MP, at 3 months, N had no schedule whatsoever. He was on a sleep, play, eat routine but that's about it. At about 4 months, a schedule started showing up but it keeps changing as N gets older.

Muff, whoa! 17-18 hours of sleep for a 7-month old! I'm happy when N gets 12-14.

Amc, yay for the solid night's rest!

Hi to everyone else!

AFU, N turned 6 months early last week. He's sitting up more, though tips after a while, and he keeps trying to crawl. No babbling yet, but I'm not worried as he's being brought up bilingual so I expect some delay. He's on one meal of purées but I'm thinking of adding a second one soon. Have any of you ladies switched to 6-12 formula or do you still use 0-6?
He's also got bronchiolitis so we have to use a nebuliser 3 times a day which he hates.
On the sleep front, things are a million times better. I think he sleeps through the night by most definitions in that he does an 8-4 stretch every night. Then he usually needs a paci and will do another 2-3 hours. We eliminated night feeds 3 weeks ago. He's also consolidated his naps and will usually do at least one longish nap (longer than 1 hour) a day - we just don't know which one it'll be. He's also got longer awake times. He used to fall asleep easily after being up for two hours. Now it's closer to 3. Also, he's been on 3 naps a day for a few months now but I think he's ready to drop the third nap, partly because his wake times have gotten so long that the nap would mess with bedtime and partly because its the only nap that he's been consistently fighting.

 

[Buttons]

Haven I am glad to hear you are hanging in there! I remember that with the visitors too, they just wanted to hold the baby and I physically couldn't do much in the way of hostessing and it was just so hard. My MIL showed up one day and put me to bed and did all our ironing. I will never forget how kind she was that day! I had those exact same feelings at night and then the rollercoaster in the mornings. There were so many nights I just threw T at DH and lay in the bed and roared crying. Then in the morning it would all seem easier. The nights are so hard because your energy is depleted and you are vulnerable, and then that is when the baby is most needy. I know everyone says it but it does get easier, I promise! The first time I went out by myself was tough but it gets easier and easier. Just imagine if you saw another new Mum with a fussy baby, wouldn't you be thinking 'aw, look at that wee baby, I know exactly how she feels'? If Brienz kicks off just remember the other people around have most likely been there themselves and will be looking at you with nothing but compassion!

Monkey I want to do something outside the Mammies-and-babies scene because a work colleague told me that when she had her first child she made a lot of Mommy friends but then over time she realised literally the only thing they had in common was that they had a child the same age. She also said that as the babies got older differences in parenting styles became more obvious and that began to drive a wedge in the friendships. In the meantime she had neglected her non-Mommy friendships and now she feels very isolated. I don't want that to happen to me! And also with being new in this town I need to find my own feet here outside the baby scene, to set a good example for T. I'm off to the local choir rehearsal tonight, hopefully they are a nice bunch! Re blowouts, we find there is often a weight overlap on the sizes of the nappies, but if we put T in the bigger sizes we get blowouts. This is when we're using Pampers, when we have him in cloth we never get blowouts. I haven't had to deal with the poo up the back kind of blowout yet - not looking forward to that happening, as I'm sure it will one day!

Sunny I found the back clip on the Ergo very difficult too at first. Then I worked out I had the strap pulled too tight. When I leave it very loose I find it is much easier to clip - seriously, leave a load of slack on that strap when you are putting it on. You can always tighten it once you have it clipped if you feel the need. I find that helps! Re poop - we only have one poop per day and we are EBF. I was told the parameters of normal for poo are 'once in seven days or seven times in one day'.

amc good luck for the road trip! Hope the shower is great fun!!!

Dani you made me laugh - my DH has a PhD in engineering and I had to teach him how to tie the Moby I welled up when I read your description of finding L gazing at you while nursing - I had that exact same experience yesterday. Moments like that make my heart sing Have you seen the Bebé au Lait nursing covers? Would those help you get out and about? I am completely shameless and will nurse anywhere and in front of anyone, but I am considering getting one as I think it will help keep T focussed on the task at hand as he gets older. He is starting to be easily distracted by the TV, the fire, DH walking around in the kitchen, a bird flying by the window etc etc etc! I also suspect I am dealing with early signs of teething. The drool production is in overdrive and he is GNAWING on everything in sight. Probably makes sense as our boys are so close in age! We don't have T on any kind of schedule, as everything I read said there is no pattern or routine before at least 4 months, and that any kind of rigid schedule is difficult to implement before 6 months. For us, I have found that if I let him stay awake longer than 2 hours he can get very hard to settle, but if I put him down in the 90 minutes to 2 hours window he will play by himself for a bit and then get a little crabby, and I turn on some white noise and he goes out like a light. And that's about it as far as routine goes! There doesn't seem to be any consistency in his wake/sleep/eat times as yet. Of course, it's fine for me to leave things like this when I am at home and I don't have any other children. I am sure I will be more regimented with no. 2 but for now I am doing like Monkey - accepting that it is what it is, and I will revisit it in another few months.

Monnie thank you for the kind words! The photos you posted are BEAUTIFUL! What gorgeous girls A and your niece are. A is your absolute double, it's uncanny!

Kunzite your boys are going to be heartbreakers! What handsome little men! You are giving me hope re the practicalities of having no. 2 - there is a huge history of twins on both sides of our families and I am a bit scared of having twins second go round!

Lliang thank you for the compliments and the supportive words, you made me smile so much The pool I take T to is a rehabilitation/hydrotherapy pool. They keep the water and the air temperature extra warm. You are not supposed to take a baby under 6 months into a normal pool apparently as the temperature is just that little bit too cool. There are no outdoor pools here, it wouldn't be warm enough even in July! I hear you re the Grannies. My own mother is amazing but my MIL can be a bit... well we're not always on the same page. She told me back in November I was spoiling him and to let him CIO. He was 4 weeks old. More recently she has told me I cuddle him too much, that while Grannies can cuddle babies all they want and not spoil them, their parents need to have more sense. Another classic is that I should give him a bottle as I could leave him with it propped up on a pillow and I'd get more done around the house... I hope the sleep situation improves for you soon! It is so hard on everyone when you are all sleep deprived.

mayerling that is great that the sleep situation is so regular in your house! I think you're the only person on this thread with a good sleeper? Sorry to hear about the bronchiolitis. How long will you need to keep using the nebuliser for?

==

AFU nothing much new to report. T is settling for naps during the day more easily, and settling at night more easily. My parents came to visit for a few hours yesterday so he got lots of grandparent cuddles Tonight as I mentioned I am going to investigate joining the local choir - it's a very informal thing, no auditions or anything, and I just want to do it as a nice way to meet new people. Hopefully it will be fun!

 

[megumic]

Meg, I also never went back on BC and we're using condoms. We also used condoms for the first several years of our relationship. We only had one "scare" when the condom broke--other than that there have been no mishaps. Let's say we DTD on average 3x per week. Over the course of 4 years, that's about 624 condoms we've gone through. We've had one broken condom, so the failure rate has been .16%. For us, using condoms makes the most sense while we figure out the timing of our next.

NEL, thanks for doing the math for me and sharing your experience! I think for now condoms should be fine, just worrisome. ESP since last week I had two dreams that I was preg! Just not ready quite yet...although I do really miss being pregnant.

 

[Skippy123]

When two of the kids are awake and the third wakes up everyone wants to join the party! The babies are in a phase where they like to be able to see me at all times ( ) and O looooooooves saying hi to them when they wake up! So poor E had quite the welcoming party when he woke up (can you tell he was thrilled??).

And since I keep telling myself I'm going to stop posting O's photos... everyone just pretend you can't see him

KUNZITE, oh no, they are tooooooo cute!!!! Evan is my sleeper and Miles is my party animal. That is funny your Miles is like that too!

MONNIE, A & H are too precious for words in that pic She is a total mini you!

 

[lliang_chi]

Hooray, Ethan slept through his normal 2AM wake up! Well DH said he fussed but went back to sleep. Hoping for more of this. He drank a LOT at the 10:45 "dream feed." Yes, I have an 11 month old that still needs a dream feed... (head hung in shame...) Once we kick the 2AM habit, I'm going to try subbing the formula in the dream feed with more water. Then HOPEFULLY he'll be down from 9:30 fuss through 5 AM.... Sigh

 

[JGator]

Buttons, your MIL sounds a lot like mine. It's funny as my mother and his mother seem to have opposite opinions on a lot of things including swaddling...my mom is worried about it, and his mom wants to put her in a straight jacket! Good luck at choir - that should be a nice way to meet people.

Mayerling, happy 6 month birthday to N...and congratulations on the sleeping.

AMC, sending dust for your trip. You are brave!

LC, I hope E's crankiness has subsided and that your in-laws move is well underway.

MP, sounds like we have a similar schedule. K sleeps at night around 11pm or later. My doctor said there is no need for a schedule until at least 4 months.

Kunzite, your boys are too cute for words...they are definitely future heart breakers.

SunnyD, I start work again on Monday so I'll let you know how things go for us.

Monnie, I loved your post. It's great to see what I have to look forward to with K in a few months...crawling and talking! Yay! Beautiful pictures too!

Dani, we are dealing with teething too. My doctor told us last week when she was 10 weeks old that it had started. I ordered some teething rings and I have been giving her the Hylands tablets that Kunzite recommended previously.

Haven, hope things are going well and you are getting some sleep. As far as leaving the house, just make sure you have a well-stocked diaper bag (diapers, wipes, pacifier, food, change of clothes and you'll be fine).

AFU, K has slept from 11pm till about 8am two days in a row which almost seems too long for 11 weeks. Today, she was sideways in her pack n play when she woke up. We double-swaddle her with 2 aden anais swaddle blankets. She got her feet out and somehow moved 90 degrees. I don't know how she did it, but she was in there the way I left her at 1am and by 730am, she had moved. Do I need to worry about her with the swaddle blankets now that she is moving in her sleep? My nanny may not be working out due to communication/language issues. We are interviewing other people and flying my mom in from FL so that I can start work again on Monday. Wish us luck.

 

[JGator]

LC, I missed your post. Yay for Ethan skipping his 2am feeding!!!

 

[lliang_chi]

JGator, K is so adorable. Wow, she's a little wiggle worm isn't she? If you want to continue with the swaddle maybe try one arm out? Then the other arm. Looks like she's almost 3 months, that's kinda when the pedi told us that we needed to wean Ethan off the swaddle. Which was sad because he LOVED it. We ended up going cold turkey and that was when his sleep went to pot. If I had to do it over again, I'd much preferred to do it gradually. It also didn't help that he started day care, got sick, and we went out of town with him all around 4 months old.

And Ethan rarely eats at 2AM, we most of the time try to get him back to sleep without milk. Only exception is when he's sick. So it's more like a 2AM Stubborn fuss.

 

[monkeyprincess]

JGator, K is such a pretty baby! As for the moving around in the crib, E has been doing that since he was just a few weeks old. It is CRAZY how far he can manuever himself in his crib. We always start him in the center on his back, but he never stays that way and ends up rotating and moving against the sides of the cribe. We can see him kicking his little legs up in the air and using them to propel himself counter-clockwise. Unfortunately, he often wakes himself up by kicking the side slats. We still swaddle him though because he hasn't made any attempt to roll over on his tummy. I'm getting a little nervous though because he does know how to turn onto his side. For the longest time, we were just swaddling him from the chest down, but then we discovered he would sleep in his woombie (after initially hating it), so we have been using the woombie most nights now. I feel a little better because we have the Angelcare motion sensor and video monitor, so we can keep pretty good tabs on him, but still, it makes me uneasy that he moves so much. I'm so dreading having to wean him of the swaddle. Did anyone keep swaddling or partially swaddling for several months?

 

[amc80]

Did anyone keep swaddling or partially swaddling for several months?

B absolutely had to be swaddled when he was really little. Then, one day (I think around 8 weeks or so) I just stopped doing it, and he was fine. I think we lucked out on that one.

 

[mayerling]

N is just over. 6 months and we still swaddle. His legs are free but his arms are swaddled pretty tight as he still has a startle reflex and wakes himself up if not swaddled. I dread the time when we'll have to stop swaddling. How long do you think I can keep postponing it?

 

[stephbolt]

We swaddled N until six months in the miracle blanket. She slept like a champ and I was so afraid to mess with that! Over Christmas she was not sleeping well though, and was waking up early at 4 am or so and wanting to stay up for the day, so we decided to sleep train her and ditch the swaddle simultaneously and it worked.

 

[sunnyd]

No swaddling past 3 months? I didn't know that, because of the roll over risk? Crap, H loves being swaddled while sleeping! Crazy girl still startles herself awake sometimes.

MP and JGator, H turned herself 90 degrees the other day. I remember getting up to pee and looking at her like, how in the world did you get over there?! Good luck at work JG! K is such a cutie pie!

Buttons, I love that idea about loosening the straps! I'll have to try it next time we go out. Hope you had a good time with the choir group. I hear you on non-mommy activities. My voice was in a high pitched sing-songy level for the past three months, I'm surprised it came back down to normal! Haha! I have a Bebe au Lait cover and H was starting to be distracted by the pattern. Dani, look out for that!

Hi Mayerling, hope the bronchiolitis goes away soon!

Lliang, no Bumbo yet, but I want to get one! She got all the abs that I don't have right now. LOL. I think my supply is sloooowwwwly going up a tiny bit. Now that I can pump regularly at work I end up with 5ish oz per day instead of 3. Yay E for skipping a wake up!

MP, H is also a morning person. Sadly, DH and I are the opposite! She slept from 8:30-5 last night though, woohoo!! It was nice to get 7 hours of sleep. Ahhh...

 

[Kunzite]

Jgator - Super cute! I wouldn't be comfortable with the blankets like that. When my guys started breaking out like that we had two options, deswaddle or straight jacket swaddle! We chose to go the Miracle Blanket route and I've regretted it ever since. Now here we are at 7.5 months STILL trying to wean the swaddle. Sleep at our house is a disaster anyway so we've had a hard time making it worse. So far we've gotten M unswaddled at night but not for naps. No progress for E! ::::::sigh:::::: And the risk with rolling over in the swaddle isn't that their arms aren't free, it's more that the blankets can get loose with the rolling and then there are loose blankets in the crib. E will tummy sleep in his swaddle sometimes and it doesn't bother me too much because it doesn't get loose, although I'd rather get him out of it ASAP because we need to get sleep training going. I think we're going to need tough training for these two!

 

[Skippy123]

just an fyi I know a couple of mommas that use the Merlin from transition from swaddle to unswaddled in the crib. I wish I knew about this when I was transitioning http://www.magicsleepsuit.com/pages/faq

 

[sunnyd]

Jgator - Super cute! I wouldn't be comfortable with the blankets like that. When my guys started breaking out like that we had two options, deswaddle or straight jacket swaddle! We chose to go the Miracle Blanket route and I've regretted it ever since. Now here we are at 7.5 months STILL trying to wean the swaddle. Sleep at our house is a disaster anyway so we've had a hard time making it worse. So far we've gotten M unswaddled at night but not for naps. No progress for E! ::::::sigh:::::: And the risk with rolling over in the swaddle isn't that their arms aren't free, it's more that the blankets can get loose with the rolling and then there are loose blankets in the crib. E will tummy sleep in his swaddle sometimes and it doesn't bother me too much because it doesn't get loose, although I'd rather get him out of it ASAP because we need to get sleep training going. I think we're going to need tough training for these two!

Ahhh that makes sense. H will loosen herself sometimes and get the blanket up around her face. Luckily, that's only when she's waking up so we can catch her quickly, but it does freak me out.

 

[Buttons]

Jgator - Super cute! I wouldn't be comfortable with the blankets like that. When my guys started breaking out like that we had two options, deswaddle or straight jacket swaddle! We chose to go the Miracle Blanket route and I've regretted it ever since. Now here we are at 7.5 months STILL trying to wean the swaddle. Sleep at our house is a disaster anyway so we've had a hard time making it worse. So far we've gotten M unswaddled at night but not for naps. No progress for E! ::::::sigh:::::: And the risk with rolling over in the swaddle isn't that their arms aren't free, it's more that the blankets can get loose with the rolling and then there are loose blankets in the crib. E will tummy sleep in his swaddle sometimes and it doesn't bother me too much because it doesn't get loose, although I'd rather get him out of it ASAP because we need to get sleep training going. I think we're going to need tough training for these two!

This is gas... Over here the hospitals advise no swaddling for full term babies, and I recently tried to buy a Woombie for a friend who's due soon (as I found swaddling T in a stretchy blanket was helpful at the height of his fussy phase) and I couldn't get one as the shops don't stock them because the hospitals are so against them. Buuuut then the hospitals here tell you to make sure baby has six layers on at night: vest, babygro, sleepsack, warm blanket, and a doubled cellular blanket. The two blankets you just drape over the baby.

So - in the States - no blankets, baby swaddled.

Over here - no swaddle, two loose blankets.

 

[Kunzite]

Jgator - Super cute! I wouldn't be comfortable with the blankets like that. When my guys started breaking out like that we had two options, deswaddle or straight jacket swaddle! We chose to go the Miracle Blanket route and I've regretted it ever since. Now here we are at 7.5 months STILL trying to wean the swaddle. Sleep at our house is a disaster anyway so we've had a hard time making it worse. So far we've gotten M unswaddled at night but not for naps. No progress for E! ::::::sigh:::::: And the risk with rolling over in the swaddle isn't that their arms aren't free, it's more that the blankets can get loose with the rolling and then there are loose blankets in the crib. E will tummy sleep in his swaddle sometimes and it doesn't bother me too much because it doesn't get loose, although I'd rather get him out of it ASAP because we need to get sleep training going. I think we're going to need tough training for these two!

This is gas... Over here the hospitals advise no swaddling for full term babies, and I recently tried to buy a Woombie for a friend who's due soon (as I found swaddling T in a stretchy blanket was helpful at the height of his fussy phase) and I couldn't get one as the shops don't stock them because the hospitals are so against them. Buuuut then the hospitals here tell you to make sure baby has six layers on at night: vest, babygro, sleepsack, warm blanket, and a doubled cellular blanket. The two blankets you just drape over the baby.

So - in the States - no blankets, baby swaddled.

Over here - no swaddle, two loose blankets.

Of course there is no shortage of conflicting information! That's why I've never been one to blindly follow what's "recommended" and instead made informed decisions. The answer always seems to be that each baby is unique. M is unswaddled now at night because he would wake up in a mess of his Miracle Blanket wrapped around him this way and that. My mommy instincts yelled from the roof tops to fix the situation immediately, and so I did. E, on the other hand, still wakes up in a neat little swaddle. I almost wish he'd make a mess of it so I could just take it away and deal with the awful nights already!

ETA - your post actually reminds me that I was just reading about rear facing in Europe. I'm wildly passionate about extended rear facing so I was horrified to read how early most of Europe forward faces despite the very clear research on the risks! I couldn't believe it was worse than even the antiquated US laws.