PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[blushingbride]

Hi All!

Popping in to say hello and to let you know that I'm still here...lurking, but here.

Question for you all - the twins are 7 weeks today ( ) and I was wondering when we should start a bedtime routine with them? Right now, they are feeding every 3-4 hours (pretty much 9, 12, 3, 6, etc. Also, keep in mind that even though they are 7 weeks, their gestational age is two weeks.

At what point did you start a routine? What time did your routine start daily? Did you bathe them every night (I heard only twice a week at this age)? Also, did you feed them before the bath or after. Oh...did you give them more oz's before bed so they'd sleep longer? Just wondering how we can get started.

BTW - I started the domperidone for the milk supply and it definitely worked for me. I've been getting 5-6 oz's in the morning (taking blessed thistle and fenugreek too) as opposed to the 2.5/3 oz's I was getting.

 

[somethingshiny]

RE: bedtime routine. JT did bedtime at around 3 weeks. That's when he moved from our room into his. We did book, bottle,bed. Baths were very stimulating for him so we did those during the day. Night feedings were done in his room with the lights very dim and not much sound. By 12 weeks, he STTN 10-12 hrs a night. Lily doesn't really have a routine. The closest thing to a routine we have is bottle and fall asleep on me in the living room. Sometimes she's awake to hear me read to JT and say prayers. Then I try to put her in her crib. Sometimes she stays there until 10 pm, other times she's back on me until 10. Then she gets her last bottle, falls asleep on me and gets put in bed for the night. (STTN 10 hrs) Baths are also too stimulating for her at bedtime (btw- we only bathe 2x/week until about 12 mo old. JT is almost 5 and gets a bath every other day.) My best advice is try a routine. In my experience, with my own and my nephews, some babies immediately love the routine, others take more time and are usually older before they're willing to do it. We will be trying more with Lily in the next couple weeks as she reaches 4 months. I've got a new crib soother coming and hopefully that'll help!

lots of hugs to those of you at work! We can barely make ends meet, but I feel so blessed to stay home with my babies.

 

[Sha]

We started a routine with D at around 2 1/2 months. Before that things were all over the place.

Her routine then was:

6 ish - nursing
7:30 - bathtime and getting ready for bed
8:00 - nursing and bedtime

I live in a hot climate and D sweats a lot, so started bathing her every day from about 4 weeks on. She woke every 2 hours from birth onto 6 months... I tried giving her formula and cereal after 4 months to get her to sleep longer but it didn't work. So basically she just nursed until she was full, at bedtime.

I amazed at how calm you sound with twins, Blushing! I think I would be pulling my hair out! Mamas of multiples have my utmost respect and admiration!

 

[Mara]

hey BB..!! with twins things might be different, maybe Mandarine or another twin mama can chime in too, but we started on a routine almost right away. even if they feed every 3 hours, you can make the 'evening' feeding the bedtime routine feeding and just start building around that. you may even have a loose routine going where you do most of the same things around the same time every night (like when you get ready for bed you do 2-3 things every night but you may not consider it a 'routine')... already with the baby. we did from the first few days even.

i think the easiest thing for me was to just build on that. we only bathed J about 2x a week at first, then 3x, and then moved to about 4x a week around 10-12w. we moved to every other day slowly and it stayed like that for a long time, maybe 3 months. when he was around 6-7mo we just gradually started adding more days in until now it's pretty much every day he gets a bath. it's part of our routine now for sure. we waited so long to go to every day because he wasn't crawling or moving around a ton yet until 5-6mo and also he didn't really spend time outside in the grass etc. but once they start crawling and getting into things (portia's dog water bowl, etc) then i would be like does he need a bath today umm yes. oh and solids also moved us more toward every night bath because they get so much stuff on them and like under his neck and stuff--and i felt bad just wiping him down sometimes esp in summer when it was really hot and stick and then he'd have food on his face. i would imagine i would hate that!

we fed before bed (still do) and definitely tried to tank him up to sleep more. you can do a cluster feeding--one thing that worked pretty well for us. so if they eat every 3 hours then lets just say something like 9am, 12, 3, 6, 9, 12. at the 6pm if you normally put them down at 9:30pm then i would change it to be 9am, 12, 3, 6, 8, 9. and even if they normally take 3oz at the 6pm and 3oz at the 9pm; and they end up taking 3oz at 6pm, 2oz at 8pm and 2oz at 9pm for the cluster that's still 1 more oz than they typically would. and you can kind of build on it off there. if you are bf'ing... you can still do the cluster you just don't know how much they are getting.

i always felt like the first 5months were really like just trying to get as much food as possible into J in the afternoon and evening to help him sleep longer. now it's not so much that way because he is eating solids and stuff so he can snack more, but i remember being super excited when he'd even eat 1-2more oz. there's no PROVEN info around like if that even makes them sleep longer but i felt like he slept better and longer when really full and in his milk coma.

long post to say not much. hope you guys are doing well!!

happy friday all!!! not too much to report here other than that tooth and J's runny/congested nose seem to be bugging him most at night...he's totally fine during the day, his cheery self, but at night he is REALLY restless. last nite he woke at 10pm and then was just low-grade fussing every 10-20 min but not crying. i finally went in and sat with him to rock him and he wanted to play. he kept smiling and trying to dance on my lap (something we do when he's awake and i hold him so he's standing on my legs). so i was like umm ok you obviously aren't in a ton of pain! so i put him back down and he fell back asleep and slept til 6am. so weird. is there a 9mo wakeful??? i figure it's the combo of the not breathing well and the tooth coming through. ALSO i think i see his two top buckie beaver teeth getting closer to the gums, you can see two huge white blocks under there. and those upper teeth are HUGE. poor poor baby. i am freaked out for him.

 

[gingerB]

happy friday all!!

routine-wise we also tried to start right away. we did a loose version of EASY and it slowly solidified over time until A fell into a much more clockwork like routine by 3 months or so.

dreamfeeds: we didn't do these. initially i resisted even doing a bedtime feedingdue to allthe dire warnings from all the baby books etc about how its a bad habit and bad for teeth (future obviously) but one night in desperation we did it and O.M.G. did it make the going to bed routine so much better. it turned a nightly fight to a relaxing quiet time. anyway, that was our experience FWIW.

lulu - big hugs girl...the first few weeks are def rough...but you WILL get into a groove and things will be better. i didn't think i'd survive those first few weeks (they threw me back in doing 14 hour days, 5-7 days a week). the engorgement was so bad -- i would literally be on the brink of crying driving home i was in so much pain, and knowing my A would already be asleep so i wouldn't get to see him. i didn't thinkit was ever going to get better -- bt it did for me, and it will for you also. ditto what mara said about being able to say no. i had to put my big girl pants on also and stick by my re-arranged priorities.

mp - A is doing the head shaking thing too! too funny our monkeys

AFM - drum roll please....we have a toofus! my little guy popped it out just in time for my b-day . in other milestone news, he is now pushing himself to a stand with out needing to pullup on something. he's cruising pretty steadily now, and can take a few wobbly steps on his own, but nothing i would call walking yet. gowing like a weed, this one. can't wait for his nine month exam in a couple of weeks to check his stats.

lately, it's been harder to keep him interested in mealtime. he's still hungry, because he still opens up his mouth in between fusses but kind of has mini fits beause he wants to get out of his chair. i don't want to get into the habit of chasing him around to feed him. meal time is in the chair at the table. period. but i don't want mealtime to becaome a fight either. he seems to want to feed himslef, because when we do fingerfoods he's happy as a clam, but obviously he's not good enought to feed himself a full meal yet. thoughts? i'm going to post this on the toddler thread also to get more input.

 

[gingerB]

oh yeah...totally forgot my psa. i know a lot of mamas like the plum tots organic foods and they're on sale at bru 10 for $10, no coupon needed. their organic puffs are on sale 3 for $8, but i worked out the math ( nerd, i know) and it's still more per ounce than happy baby puffs at regular price. but they have more/diff flavors so in case anyone is interested. the sale is fri and sat only.

 

[Mara]

thank for the PSA ginger! I love plum right now. I get them online from drugstore, you can find coupons etc and it's normally about $1 each after all is said and done but it's way easier to get them at BRU for $1! and J LOVES plum organics!! I don't even bother with EB anymore.

re: food and fussing, we went through that too. we kind of sometimes do still. now i give him finger foods to fool with and in between him putting those in i feed him purees still. so between the finger food distraction and him being able to 'feed' himself that way he lets me put food in his mouth with the spoon. also the plum organics, he will squeeze and suck them directly into his mouth... so he can eat the whole container that way! it makes it WAY easier. his breakfast is still by spoon and some of his dinners but when he gets fussy i just give him the plum pouch and he goes to town and is happy as a clam.

 

[Sha]

Uhm...where are all the BPF pics???? I logged in to check out the cuties and there's like, one post from yesterday....

K, let me see if I can find one to post...

 

[Mara]

lol sha i thought that too but then got distracted and forgot to post...

this might be a little big. i call it 'shoes and drool'. these are J's super cute new SKR cameron shoes and shows also his crazy drooling, the top of his tee is so wet. we are going through like 4-5 bibs a day this week. poor baby! i love this pic because his eyes are just so lit up. my little boy.

and last nite he was up again at 9pm. i tried to let him CIO at 9 but he just works himself into a moaning state and if we are moving around the house he won't calm back down. i put the humidifer on at this point and gave him tylenol. he finally went down again at 9:30-9:40 and slept til 5am. then again til 8:30am. sooo over this runny nose and teething!!!

funny but during the day he's totally fine, happy as a clam and takes his nap great etc. it's just at night he is SO restless. happy saturday all!!

 

[Sha]

D from a few weeks ago....

 

[MonkeyPie]

Sha, I love how in all of D's pics she's holding out her arms like, "Pick me up!" Lol she's so cute.

Omg, Mara, super drool! Wow! Those teeth are definitely coming. Poor little guy. But super cute clothes, I love his pants!

Micah stayed with my parents last night so DH and I could, er, hang out. And I didn't wake up til 11am! Whoops! He's still over there, I decided to use today working on my craft stuff while he is happy over there. Apparently he was super restless and up every three hours.

I am at my wit's end here. I don't know what to do to make this baby STTN!

Here's my most recent picture of my monkey. DH bought him some camo print gloves, put on his black beanie, his camo pjs, and his new shoes. He nearly blends into the couch and he looks totally unimpressed.

 

[taovandel]

Monkey...I don't even see a baby his camo is so great! haha.

Sha....Still gorgeous! She also looks really really long!

 

[Sha]

Mara - cuutte!!! Love his bright eyes! The shoes are awesome too!

MP - that pic is sooooo adorable!!! he looks like a squishy teddybear and soldier all in one! It's so cute!!! His expression is priceless!

tavo - thanks! yeah, I think so too. I think she's going to be tall like DH. Or it could just be the way my cheapo camera takes pics...I hate the way her arms hands and leg are distorted in the pic because of the wide-angle lens.

 

[blushingbride]

Thanks ladies for all the advice on the bedtime routine (esp. Mara)! The past few nights that we've done some sort of a routine, they've definitely slept for almost 6 hours!

Question though...what are/were your babes doing before you started the routine? Were they awake playing or were they sleeping? In other words, I'm feeding on demand and lets say they sleep from 3-6...do I still do the bath, bottle and bed routine even though they just woke up from a nap?

Tonight they woke up around 7pm, so we fed them because they hadn't eaten since 3:30 and then we played with them for 40 min and then we started the bath, bottle and bed routine. So, they ate within two hours of each other.

I like being able to play with them a bit at night with my DH esp. if he's been at work all day, but was curious if some of you did the bath, bottle bed routine after they wake up for a nap with no playtime in between.

Thanks for all the props on being calm with the twins. For the most part, they are on the same schedule so, it hasn't been too difficult...that said, everything just takes longer since it's double the work. So even though I'm calm, I'm VERY tired! Thank god for my mother-in-law who has helped us tremendously!

Well, I hope to catch up with all of you soon...in the meantime, I'll still be lurking and chiming in when I can!

 

[MonkeyPie]

I like being able to play with them a bit at night with my DH esp. if he's been at work all day, but was curious if some of you did the bath, bottle bed routine after they wake up for a nap with no playtime in between.

Micah would NOT sleep if I did this - in fact, he would just scream in his crib for an hour lol. He doesn't nap a whole lot, but he would be infuriated if he woke up only to get a bath, pajamas, and then back into bed. He has too much energy, so I would have to play awhile. But I try not to let him nap too late/too long just for this reason.

Speaking of sleep...this little man has ISSUES. Seriously. The last two nights he has been up every 2-3 hours! I don't know what the heck is going on! We have tried everything but CIO and I finally gave in and started giving him bigger bottles to try and get him to sleep longer. He went down at 6:30 (super cranky, and fell asleep on DH), and has woken up and cried twice since then (it's 8:30), but went back to sleep instantly when we put the paci back in. I thought it must be his teeth so I have him two of the Humphrey's quick dissolve strips and he seemed happier, but it isn't helping him relax to sleep.

It gets worse and worse every night. I just don't know what to do.

 

[mtjoya]

beautiful bebes!

Mara-I love his shoes! We got Jacque these stride rite shoes at Nordstrom. They are having a sale right now. Check it out. I also saw SKR too, alot more for lil boys.

Sha-What a beauty!

MP-Love the pic! so cute!

 

[Puppmom]

WTF, someone is in the Mother's Room during my time slot!

Oh, DH and I tried to DTD on Saturday. We've tried before with little success since N was born. Saturday was actually going well until we realized we didn't have any *protection*. I'm not on BC and DO NOT want another kiddo next summer so we put the brakes on. DH couldn't find anything in the nightstand but was sure he had some in his suitcase in the attic from a previous vacation that he could find pretty quickly. Uh, no! Game over...come prepared next time.

 

[mtjoya]

puppmom-hehe! I hate when that happens! We bought like a mega pack at Target hehe!

 

[MonkeyPie]

WTF, someone is in the Mother's Room during my time slot!

Oh, DH and I tried to DTD on Saturday. We've tried before with little success since N was born. Saturday was actually going well until we realized we didn't have any *protection*. I'm not on BC and DO NOT want another kiddo next summer so we put the brakes on. DH couldn't find anything in the nightstand but was sure he had some in his suitcase in the attic from a previous vacation that he could find pretty quickly. Uh, no! Game over...come prepared next time.

LOL LOL! I'm sorry to laugh but haha! That sucks! DH only likes the ones from a certain store, in a particular brand (Kimono), so if we run out, he is SOL unless he wants to drive 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back. Hah!

 

[Mara]

lol Pupp sorry but good for you for putting the kabosh on that!!! Costco here you come!

MP... so I know you don't want to CIO but girl I think you might have to. Seriously it seems to be the only thing that works for us sometimes with J. My boy is STUBBORN and if he knows that we won't come in when he calls he will settle down and fall asleep. Once I start being wishy washy with things and give him an inch, he definitely takes a mile. I totally see that he and I will have serious battles of wills as he grows up. Karma is biting me in the ass!

 

[drk]

DTD? I barely remember how. I'm going to feel like a virgin all over again if we ever end up having sex...

 

[MonkeyPie]

DTD? I barely remember how. I'm going to feel like a virgin all over again if we ever end up having sex...

After something like 9 months of celibacy (DH was scared of going anywhere near me there when I was PG after 3 months or so), it felt SO WEIRD the first time. Like I didn't know what to do, and I was petrified it would be weird. It wasn't, in the end lol.

Mara, sigh, I know. He did a little better last night - only woke up twice - but it's killing us. I told DH we will just have to do CIO this weekend, headphones on and doing our best to ignore him. I know he can sleep through the night, he's done it several times, but for DH he is so scared that we will be starving him. No, my little piggy is just bottomless!

Speaking of being a piggy...this baby can EAT. Yesterday he ate homemade pureed mac and cheese, a BUNCH of puffs, homemade pureed pees (chunky), and three bottles of 6 1/2 ounces. Then when I got there he wanted what I was eating, which was pasta salad, so I mashed up a handful for him and he gobbled it down. I swear, he really is bottomless! Hollow leg and all that. He's going to kill me as a teenager. But he isn't fat by any means, just super tall.

 

[Mara]

lol drk , just rip the bandaid off!! it gets better after the first time hehe.

re: eating... I feel a lot of times like J eats a lot but then he doesn't seem to gain much! I guess that's good in the long run for him, but I was mentally making comparisons last nite (not a good thing I know) to Micah and Lindsey's Andrew and thinking OMG these babies are 2-3 months younger and the same size as J! I need to feed him more!

his typical day of eating consists of about 3 5-6oz bottles of formula (sometimes a 4th 2oz one if i can get it into him); 6oz of oatmeal mixed with fruit puree and whole fat yogurt; handfuls of puffs/cheerios; 1/2 a chopped avocado & 4oz whole milk yogurt for snack; 1-2 chicken nuggets, 2 tater tots and 6-7oz of chunky purees for dinner. oh and mum mums. which i feel is a lot but then again he doesn't ever pack it on. when this kid twists around i can see his ribs. and he's not bony, just not chub. the pedi said he will just be long and lean like us but as a Mom i can't help but wish he had a few good rolls on him...

and we basically feed him til he turns away or fusses to get out. and the bottles, he can't be bothered to drink them for more than 5 minutes anymore, playing is just TOO exciting, so whatever we can get into him in that time is what he takes and then we end up following him around with it for the next 30 min to try to get him to finish the last 1-2oz.

our pedi wants us to start giving him meat at his 'yogurt snack' time and not just yogurt, but i haven't gotten around to that yet...the yogurt is easy because i can just use TJ's whole milk organic mini yogurts but to add a meat in would mean i'd have to actually have it ready for the nanny etc.

anyhoo, be glad if your kids are oinkers! hehee.

re: CIO... it's definitely not fun at first, but you may be surprised... M seems like a smart kid... he probably will quickly figure out the deal. you never know. the last few times we instituted it, J doesn't even full out cry anymore. If he wakes up and flat out starts screaming, then typically I know something is wrong like teething or cold etc. But otherwise, I don't go into J now at night even if he wakes up talking and babbling because he eventually falls back asleep. but it took us a little while to get there. Last nite he slept from 6:30pm to 5am and woke babbling and chatting but he fell back asleep by 5:30 and then slept til 7.

oh and speaking of smart kids, this kid cracks me up. His room is weird that there are only 2 outlets in the whole room and they are the only two walls we could actually have the crib against, so I moved his crib last week so that one of them is just out of his reach (but if he figured out how to put his hand under the bumper and grab for it he could prob just reach it) which is our 'best' setup scenario at this point. I put this little bookcase against it to hide it from his view, which means the bookcase butts against the crib. On top of this is where I typically put his extra blankets but his bumper view hides them. The other morning I came into the room and was like Gee there are a lot of blankets in the crib, I could have sworn I only left one in there. Smartie figured out that they were just on the other side of the crib and pulled like 4 of them in there including one of his sleep sacks. Cracked me up. No wonder he was all talky at 7am and then fell back asleep in 15 min. He had made a little nest of blankets! Love it.

 

[Puppmom]

Anyone else's LOs stop cooing temporarily? N is 3 months (14.5 weeks) and has been SUPER quiet the past few days. I miss his voice! MIL has noticed this as well...very strange.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Anyone else's LOs stop cooing temporarily? N is 3 months (14.5 weeks) and has been SUPER quiet the past few days. I miss his voice! MIL has noticed this as well...very strange.

Yeah, when he was smaller he would be more quiet for a day or two than normal, then go back to cackling all the time. I think it was when he was in a growth spurt, so he slept more, too. As long as he starts talking again I wouldn't worry!

Mara, I always think my kid is just a giant beast! And when I look at him, he really isn't - he's still my tiny baby, he still fits in the crook of my arm, etc. But everyone who sees him always says, "Omg, he's so big!" And then I worry he has a growth problem or something, haha. I think he will just be tall like his daddy (thank God, I am a shorty), and when his daddy was little he was the same way. Super heavy and solid, not fat, just a big boy.

And LOL @ J for finding the blankies! He knew what he wanted and he made himself a more comfy bed, haha. I have a comforter under the sheet of Micah's bed to make it softer and then he lays on top of a fluffy blanket (now that it's cold), but he still has to have his "chew blanky" that he shoves his face in. I have to wonder if part of Micah's sleep troubles don't have to do with the cold. He stays pretty warm, but his crib is by a window, and sometimes when I go get him his cheeks and hands are cold. Maybe the window is making him chilly so he cries? I'll block it up this weekend and see if that helps, but CIO is on the schedule for Friday and Saturday. If we end up staying up all night, so be it. I just want him to sleep properly again. He used to sleep great! I don't know what happened.

 

[mtjoya]

DRK-LOL. I used to tell ppl that I was a born again virgin lol! so funny!

 

[Puppmom]

Back with a proper post after my drive-bys…

Sha, D is so cute…I mean GORGEOUS! She’s just so long and thin and that face!

Mara, love J’s outfit! And he’s such a handsome boy. I’m definitely going to have to use you as a resource when we start solids. I really don’t even know where to begin and am a bit intimidated by the whole thing.

MP, that camo get-up is just too cute. I love how serious M looks.

Blushing, I have the same schedule problem since N’s bedtime varies. Sometimes, he just falls asleep so the routine is a bust. For selfish reasons, I try to keep him up as late as possible because I love to play with him! I’m glad you’re getting more output at your pumping sessions. It sounds like your persistence has paid off!

Lovelylulu, how’s the work, pumping, taking care of N working out? I’ve yet to be on time for work…once of these days!

Ginger, yay for a tooth! A smiling baby with just one chomper is just so cute!

AFM, I think I might be getting my period soon. For the first time since N was born, I noticed cervical mucus today. Boo!

Things are going pretty well with being back to work…other than the fact that I would rather be at home! Pumping seems to be working well. My supply has settled in a bit so my excess is a little less than it was but still enough that I’m going to research donating.

What are you guys getting the kids for the holidays? My entire family is bugging me for a list but I can barely think of anything. I want to get an exersaucer and/or jumperoo but I’m thinking we would like to use those sooner…like maybe the beginning of December when N is 4 months.

 

[Mara]

lol mtj!!

pupp... happy to help with solids.

MP... it could be cold. i know J *definitely* wakes up more when he is cold. at my mom's house she keeps the heater lower and she said the first night he woke up 2x and then she put the heater on and he slept fine after that. at our house we keep the house at 71 at night and his room is 73 and to me it still seems cold. but he sleeps well with PJ's, a sleep sack, and then his blanket in the crib. can you put the heater on higher for a night or two and see if it helps?

 

[Puppmom]

DD just called. Nolan laughed today! I can't wait to go home and try to get a giggle out of him!

 

[MonkeyPie]

lol mtj!!
MP... it could be cold. i know J *definitely* wakes up more when he is cold. at my mom's house she keeps the heater lower and she said the first night he woke up 2x and then she put the heater on and he slept fine after that. at our house we keep the house at 71 at night and his room is 73 and to me it still seems cold. but he sleeps well with PJ's, a sleep sack, and then his blanket in the crib. can you put the heater on higher for a night or two and see if it helps?

The room he is in is our bedroom (four room house = sharing with baby), and it is already warmer than the rest of the house. DH talked about moving him to the opposite side of the room though, so maybe we will try that tonight so he isn't under a window. I know I can feel how much cooler it is over there, it never felt cold to me, but maybe it is to him. Worth a short!

pupp, yay for laughter! I was so stoked when Micah started cackling. Get out the video camera now!