PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[nycbkgirl]

Date: 7/5/2009 5:01:59 PM
Author: TanDogMom
Pandora-

I am so happy for you that you got naps figured out - now can you help me!?!?! I have skimmed one of the baby whisperer books but must have missed the part that helped you so much. Can you please advise on these things:

how do you know exactly when to put her down?

What happens if she seems drowsy, you put her down, then she is almost immediately wide awake and crying? (That is what has been happening to me ALL THE TIME lately - we haven''t had a good nap in at least a week)

Say she has a super short nap like 10-20 min then starts crying - do you go in to soothe her, or do you give her some time to see if she''ll go back to sleep and if so how long?

Thanks in advance!

have u tried the pick up put down routine?....DD put me on to that and it works like a charm!!....after about an hr that they are up, u know that they are already getting tired and when they start crying for no reason (meaning they have eaten, burped etc.) then i know they wanna sleep...so i take to the rocking chair, rock, bounce, pat until drowsy and calm then put on stomach (face is to the side)....smtimes they start up again and i repeat until they are out....i put them on stomach bc i dont swaddle anymore and their arms wake them when on back, side...i am always monitoring while they on stomach but they move and pick up their heads nicely already so im not worried.

duno if u tried that or not but hope something works!

 

[nycbkgirl]

MGAL, COURT- too cute! will post our 4th pics soon

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 7/5/2009 5:01:59 PM
Author: TanDogMom
Pandora-

I am so happy for you that you got naps figured out - now can you help me!?!?! I have skimmed one of the baby whisperer books but must have missed the part that helped you so much. Can you please advise on these things:

how do you know exactly when to put her down?

I don''t always know 100%, but basically if it''s over an hour from when she fed she ''should'' be getting tired even if she looks wide awake so I know to start looking to see what she''s doing. Then if she starts doing the cough, cough, cough type crying it''s definitely tiredness (took a few days of really listening to spot that one). Very occasionally she''ll start yawning.

When I know she''s getting tired I''m trying to start winding her down, so I''ll hold her quite tightly on my knee with one of her hands in each of mine so she can''t wave them about and wake herself up and rock back and forwards until she calms down. Once the eyes start closing I put her straight into her cot or wherever she''s sleeping. Normally she wakes up a bit and then either goes completely awake and starts crying or she makes little noises, plays with her hands a bit, sighs a few times and goes to sleep (but only ever on her side - put her down on her back and she goes ballistic still).

What happens if she seems drowsy, you put her down, then she is almost immediately wide awake and crying? (That is what has been happening to me ALL THE TIME lately - we haven''t had a good nap in at least a week)

I pick her straight up again, back on my knee and repeat the calming down thing. When the eyes start to roll upwards it''s back in the cot. Sometimes it takes 3 or 4 goes.

Say she has a super short nap like 10-20 min then starts crying - do you go in to soothe her, or do you give her some time to see if she''ll go back to sleep and if so how long?

Ugghhh I HATE those ones - it''s like a super-fast recharge! Also Daisy has now learnt that waking-up = lunch, and convincing her that 10 minutes does not merit even a teeny snack let alone a full meal is not always easy!

Anyway, sometimes she''ll start crying and even full-on screaming in her sleep (oh the guilt that my 7 week old baby has nightmares already

) so I''ll wait until the crying has gone on for over a minute and not turned back into little noises and check if the eyes are open. I''ve tried just patting her back etc and it doesn''t work at all.

I don''t do CIO at all, but If I''m in the middle of doing something - ie putting the laundry out to dry, then she has to wait till I am finished and then I will go and get her, otherwise I will get her up as soon as I know that this is not going to stop on it''s own. If I leave her too long she gets in such a state that I have to completely redress her as she''ll be soaked through with sweat.

To get her back to sleep I either do the tight hold and rocking thing or we do proper activities for 30 minutes or so and then try again (rarely works and then she''s up until the next cycle goes round to the ''sleep'' bit)

Thanks in advance!

I know that the rocking thing is really frowned upon, but as Daisy doesn''t get drowsy on her own I have had to find some way of getting her in the mood for sleeping. She does sometimes fall asleep after she''s been fed which I don''t mind at night or if we are out etc but I don''t want her doing it on a normal daytime basis.

I rock back and forwards with her on my knee so it''s not something that will become more difficult as she gets older and heavier. Since I will be at home with her for at least a year I''m not too worried about using it - but I would love to know what other people do to get them to get sleepy.

I only discovered the nap secret by doing the rocking thing at the ''right time'' - it doesn''t work if I leave it way too long or try to do it early - and I know that she won''t put herself to sleep, so I don''t have any option at the moment.

Good Luck!!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Ditto everything Pandora said, TanDog... and pandora I wouldn''t worry about using the rocking thing, everyone has to help their child *calm down* in some manner. That is different IMO than actually having them fall asleep using some type of method (liek nursing or rocking), which could pose more troubles long term. If Hunter is having a good day and I put him down at the right time, all he needs is his soother and he is out. But when he is over tired or I really worked up for some reason, I usually nurse him until he is calm before putting him down. The key in my mind is that he is not *asleep*.

TanDogMom The real key is persistence... when you put you son down and he wakes again, you just do the calming routine again. Know that it *can* take up to 30 inutes or even an hour of picking up, calming, and putting down before it works. But if you are really persistent, then it gets better each night I promise! Also, try to experiment with when you put him down. If he is too alseep, then being put down will really wake him up. For us, its best is Hunter is totally calm, but not actually sleeping when we put him down. And we always give him a binky when we put him down, he likes to suck as he falls asleep and it seems to help. Otherwise he sucks on his hands which is too stimulating.

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 7/5/2009 7:30:02 PM
Author: Pandora II

Date: 7/5/2009 5:01:59 PM

Author: TanDogMom

Pandora-


I am so happy for you that you got naps figured out - now can you help me!?!?! I have skimmed one of the baby whisperer books but must have missed the part that helped you so much. Can you please advise on these things:


how do you know exactly when to put her down?


I don't always know 100%, but basically if it's over an hour from when she fed she 'should' be getting tired even if she looks wide awake so I know to start looking to see what she's doing. Then if she starts doing the cough, cough, cough type crying it's definitely tiredness (took a few days of really listening to spot that one). Very occasionally she'll start yawning.


When I know she's getting tired I'm trying to start winding her down, so I'll hold her quite tightly on my knee with one of her hands in each of mine so she can't wave them about and wake herself up and rock back and forwards until she calms down. Once the eyes start closing I put her straight into her cot or wherever she's sleeping. Normally she wakes up a bit and then either goes completely awake and starts crying or she makes little noises, plays with her hands a bit, sighs a few times and goes to sleep (but only ever on her side - put her down on her back and she goes ballistic still).



What happens if she seems drowsy, you put her down, then she is almost immediately wide awake and crying? (That is what has been happening to me ALL THE TIME lately - we haven't had a good nap in at least a week)


I pick her straight up again, back on my knee and repeat the calming down thing. When the eyes start to roll upwards it's back in the cot. Sometimes it takes 3 or 4 goes.


Say she has a super short nap like 10-20 min then starts crying - do you go in to soothe her, or do you give her some time to see if she'll go back to sleep and if so how long?


Ugghhh I HATE those ones - it's like a super-fast recharge! Also Daisy has now learnt that waking-up = lunch, and convincing her that 10 minutes does not merit even a teeny snack let alone a full meal is not always easy!


Anyway, sometimes she'll start crying and even full-on screaming in her sleep (oh the guilt that my 7 week old baby has nightmares already

) so I'll wait until the crying has gone on for over a minute and not turned back into little noises and check if the eyes are open. I've tried just patting her back etc and it doesn't work at all.


I don't do CIO at all, but If I'm in the middle of doing something - ie putting the laundry out to dry, then she has to wait till I am finished and then I will go and get her, otherwise I will get her up as soon as I know that this is not going to stop on it's own. If I leave her too long she gets in such a state that I have to completely redress her as she'll be soaked through with sweat.


To get her back to sleep I either do the tight hold and rocking thing or we do proper activities for 30 minutes or so and then try again (rarely works and then she's up until the next cycle goes round to the 'sleep' bit)


Thanks in advance!

I know that the rocking thing is really frowned upon, but as Daisy doesn't get drowsy on her own I have had to find some way of getting her in the mood for sleeping. She does sometimes fall asleep after she's been fed which I don't mind at night or if we are out etc but I don't want her doing it on a normal daytime basis.


I rock back and forwards with her on my knee so it's not something that will become more difficult as she gets older and heavier. Since I will be at home with her for at least a year I'm not too worried about using it - but I would love to know what other people do to get them to get sleepy.


I only discovered the nap secret by doing the rocking thing at the 'right time' - it doesn't work if I leave it way too long or try to do it early - and I know that she won't put herself to sleep, so I don't have any option at the moment.


Good Luck!!

Pandora - thank you very much. This gives me lots to work with! Thank goodness he is usually OK at night. Usually. I am going to try putting him on his side - that might be key. I'll try the rocking too. I'm with you, I don't do CIO but sometimes I am in the middle of something and he has to wait a minute or two.

What's really frustrating is that a lot of times he will seem drowsy or even fall asleep while feeding. I know if I hold him he would sleep, but I don't want to get him into that habit so I put him into the crib (that is, the cot - I love your British terms!) and he wakes up, either immediately or in 10-20 min. I don;t want to nurse him again but then I wonder, what if he is still hungry? The docs were worried about insufficient weight gain the first few weeks of his life so I am very hesitant to NOT nurse him when I think he might be hungry. It is such a mystery.

NYCBKgirl

thanks for your post, I don't have a video monitor so I won't put him on his tummy, but maybe when he is older he will like sleeping on his tummy.

DreamerDaschie

Good advice. I agree with you on the rocking. I do need to be more persistent and also consistent - it is just hard sometimes to even realize I am being inconsistent! Also, as I mentioned above my tendency is to keep feeding him but maybe sometimes I shouldn't....



Sorry, I can't get the bold to work.

Ugh, we are having a rough night so far -gotta run attend to crying baby!

 

[Dreamer_D]

TDM remind me again how old your son is?

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 7/5/2009 10:06:33 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
TDM remind me again how old your son is?

3.5 months. I think he is just a few weeks younger than yours!

I guess he was hungry tonight. I did our usual bedtime routine and he just would not settle (rare at night, common in the day). I could not comfort him and we had just had a long nursing session. I had some pumped milk in the fridge from a few days ago and offered him that - he drank 3 oz! That's a lot for him. He settled right down to sleep afterwards, so he was hungry! Sometimes I have trouble telling when he is hungry and when he is not. Now I am wondering what happened to my supply today

These little guys and gals just keep us on our toes!!

 

[nycbkgirl]

TDM- I duno how it works with breastmilk but 3 oz isn''t a lot for 3.5mos...I think he may be hungry?....I had that issue bc I didn''t know howmuch they were supposed to eat then close to 2 mos they were still crying and not sleeping...and I realized I wasn''t giving them enough ....I fill a 4oz bottle and let them eat as much as they want (mine are almost 3 mos) they eat the full 4oz most of the time. Just wondering if that may be why they aren''t napping as well???...but again not sure if the form feeding is same as bm in terms of how much?

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 7/6/2009 12:20:00 AM
Author: nycbkgirl
TDM- I duno how it works with breastmilk but 3 oz isn''t a lot for 3.5mos...I think he may be hungry?....I had that issue bc I didn''t know howmuch they were supposed to eat then close to 2 mos they were still crying and not sleeping...and I realized I wasn''t giving them enough ....I fill a 4oz bottle and let them eat as much as they want (mine are almost 3 mos) they eat the full 4oz most of the time. Just wondering if that may be why they aren''t napping as well???...but again not sure if the form feeding is same as bm in terms of how much?

Hi NYCBKgirl,
I may not have written this very well, but what I was saying was that he nursed - which should have been enough food for him - and then he still wantd 3 oz! So I wasn''t making enough milk for him

Must be a growth spurt or else my supply was too low today. That is the tough thing with breastfeeding, you don''t know exactly how much you''ve made or how much they ate unless you pump and bottle feed. I agree 3 oz is not a lot for him at his age if he was only having the bottle.

 

[nycbkgirl]

Oooook maybe I read it wrong lol...I read n post quick wit 2 babies lol....but I have thise moments too when they need some more food ...can''t figure them out yet

 

[Dreamer_D]

TDM I have days where my supply seems low. Usually it is because I am not drinking enough water or eating regular meals that day! So I try to drink 12 glasses a day and when I do I seem to have ample. When my supply feels low I just switch Hunter from side to side a lot and that seems to help because he gets a let down on each breast when he starts. Around your son''s age I actually started nursing Hunter a lot more often. When he wakes I nurse him, then he is awake and plays for a couple hours, then I nurse again, then after another short period of wakefullness he has a nap for about 2 hours. Repeat when he wakes. This means he is nursing every 2 hours in the day. He goes to bed at around 7pm and I do a "dream feed" at 10pm. He gets one more feed at around 3am. So in total, he feeds 8 or 9 times. This works really well for him because he is a big and active baby and needs the calories, and at his age he is so distactable that sometimes in the day he doesn''t feed well or for long when he wakes up -- he''s too excited to see what''s going on! So he needs the extra feeding an couple hours later.

Before I started feeding him again before naps he was really fussy and wouldn''t go down at all! The biggest things I learned about naps are that if he won''t go down easily there is a reason -- he either isn''t tired or he is hungry. That was how I stumbled on the fact that he needs another feed. He isn''t an every 4 hours kind of guy and that''s ok with me. I''m actually not convinced that the 4 hour chedule works for most older babies who are exclusively BFed, but that''s just based on my personal observations of my baby and my friend''s BFed babies.

How long is your son (what is his name anyways?) awake between naps? It may be time to start extending that time and feeding him more if he isn''t going down for naps easily! It took me a long time to figure that one out

But now Hunter goes down for naps so easily and is very content most of the time.

 

[Dreamer_D]

As for me: Operation Eliminate One Night Waking is going great!

Night one DH slept in Hunter''s room and when he woke at 1am DH picked him up and offered him a bottle, which he rejected. He then took a binky but took about an hour to settle because he seemed to want to play

. Once he settled he woke again at 5am and drank 5oz from the bottle, which is a lot, so we knew he was hungry!

Night two, DH slept in Hunter''s room again and when he woke at 12:30, DH again picked him up and offered him a bottle with only 1oz pf milk, which he again rejected, and then he gave him a paci and he went to sleep after only 20 min! At 3 am Hunter woke and I nursed him and he did a big feed.

Night three, DH again slept in Hunter''s room, and when he started making waking noises woke at 1:30, DH did not pick him up and instead popped a binky in his mouth and Hunter went back to sleep after 5-10 minutes! Hunter then woke at 4am for a big feed, which I did.

On all thee days Hunter woke at 7:30am

So we are happy campers and hopefully in another couple nights Hunter won''t wake up at all for that first feed!

*************

All is very quiet around here! How is everyone? Blen, Mela, EBree, Mrs., Neatfreak? Haven''t heard from you guys in a while!

 

[Mrs]

hi mamas!
Ebree, Fiery, and Robbie, How are you new moms doin? we''re thinking of you!
nyc, how''s Jackie''s vomiting? I hope it has subsided! I''m glad Jon had such a good night of sleep the other day!
mgal, your new pics are sooo cute! Kyle is just adorable! That''s exciting that he''s sitting now! That''s kind of cool that you had the opportunity to compare Kyle to that other baby at the BBQ - doesn''t it feel good when you get the chance to see how your parenting skills have been so well honed in just a few short months?!
pave, That is exciting that you''re going to look for a house soon and I''m so glad you''re looking forward to working part time - lots of changes!
Blen, how was Chicago? Did George join you guys? I hope you had fun!
cdt, how''s Lex doing? no more choking I hope!!
Courtney, I''m glad you feel good about deciding to stay home! I hope you feel more at ease now!
mela, how did the baptism go?
DD, I''m so glad you''re having success phasing out that one night feed! That''s so great!
Pandora, congrats on your success re: naps!!! that''s exciting!
TDM, sorry to hear last night was rough! when was your LO born? Just curious how close in age our babies are since mine is also 3.5 mos - she was born on 3/16. I''m sorry you''re struggling with naps too. We have trouble getting Sage to nap regularly as well. In my experience, when she''s tired but appears to be wide awake when I put her down for a nap, she is OVER tired so we''ve kind of missed the window. Sometimes, like you said, she''ll go down for 20 minutes and wake up crying. In those cases, I find that holding her close and bouncing on my exercise ball with her calms her down so that I can get her to sleep. Or sometimes I put her in her swing and hold the pacifier in her mouth. She needs to suck to calm down but often keeps spitting out the paci if i don''t hold it in her mouth. I hope this helps a little. good luck!

We''re doing okay. Sage and I both finished our antibiotics this weekend but our coughs are still lingering. She still has labored breathing due to the congestion in her chest. She seems in god spirits though so hopefully it''ll clear soon.

Re: sleeping - I''ve found that she hasn''t been sleeping great in the afternoon so I''ve been putting her down a little earlier at night (6:30ish) which seems to be going okay but I find that she wakes up earlier. Last night she was up at 10PM and then again at 3AM and she would NOT settle down again after the 3AM feed. I had to go in her room every 10-15 minutes to put her paci back in her mouth... I finally just got up with her at 5:45.... I was hoping the earlier bed time would extend her sleep in the morning since Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child suggests as much but I guess not in my case.... bummer. She’s still struggling to nap in her crib too. They were able to get her to go down for 30 minutes in the crib at DC last Thursday though so that''s good.

She''s getting much better at grabbing things with her hands and she''s rolling from side to side more. I''m not sure when she''ll be able to roll over though since she doesn''t like tummy time that much and I understand tummy time is key to being able to roll over. She usually only lasts a few minutes before she starts complaining about being on her tummy.

Question for you mommies about friendships: Do you find that your friends without kids just don''t understand how difficult it is to get together/travel with a little one? We were supposed to go visit friends (a couple that met through DH and me) this weekend about 5 hours away but decided not to since S was still recovering. There were 2 other couples (without kids) going as well and DH and I are the common link between them all - meaning these people all met and have become good friends through me and DH. Anyway we were sad not to go but knew that it was best and we kind of figured it was just as well since they might have more fun without a baby in tow. Anyway when we spoke to them later, our friends said something like, "don''t worry, we''ve no hard feelings!" As if to say that we should have asked their forgiveness for not being able to make the trip this weekend. Is that weird, or am I just being sensitive?
Hope you''re all having a good Monday!

Mrs

 

[gailrmv]

Hey there!

I wish I could figure out how to bold people's names. Highlighting and using the "b" button above the posting spot doesn't seem to do it. Will experiment a little in this post. Ooh, think I got it!Kind of a pain though.

Anyway...

Dreamer - thanks for your tip about feeding again before the nap. I think that may be the ticket for us. I was trying so hard for eat-play-sleep (or EASY) but I think for my guy, the nursing helps him get ready to sleep. Between your suggestions and Pandora's, (hope I am not jinxing myself) but he is napping RIGHT NOW!!! I am a little paranoid about names or too much personal info on the internet just because it is so open, so I'm just calling my guy by his first initial which is A. Sorry, hope that is not too confusing! I agree if I don't drink enough water my supply is low. Maybe that was the problem yesterday.

Mrs - Our kiddos are very close in age! My guy was born 3/21. I hope you all feel better soon. I'm glad to hear things are going well with your return to work! We have the EXACT same thing with friends w/o kids. It's hard to explain that when they change plans at the last minute, it screws up our feeding/napping plans, or that we want to be home by bedtime. Yet, I am really appreciative of the friends who are more flexible with us if we need to change up the time of meeting up due to naps or whatever.

NYCBKgirl no worries, I'm usually reading and posting fast too!


Moms who are at home for now do you feel like you don't have as much to talk about as you used to (aside from baby stuff), either with your DH or friends? I feel like I have become boring, since I am working only part time (and it is not very interesting), and don't have time to pursue interests outside of being a mom right now. I do try to listen to NPR and read the newspaper so I can at least keep up somewhat with current events, but my attention span and memory are kind of shot from lack of sleep. I am really glad that I am home with my son, I'm not complaining, but this is a sort of bad side effect.

I better get some work done while this nap lasts!

 

[Dreamer_D]

TDM Maybe we should call him "Tan Dog" since you are his mom

I totally get the anonymity thing, A it is! And yes, I am very boring. Luckily for me, all my freinds are parents so we talk about kids a lot, and I also have the househunt as a hobby to try and keep myself a little interesting

I figure I am going back to work in 6 months and will be so fabulously interesting again that it won''t matter! LOL!

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 7/6/2009 1:39:43 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
TDM Maybe we should call him ''Tan Dog'' since you are his mom

I totally get the anonymity thing, A it is! And yes, I am very boring. Luckily for me, all my freinds are parents so we talk about kids a lot, and I also have the househunt as a hobby to try and keep myself a little interesting

I figure I am going back to work in 6 months and will be so fabulously interesting again that it won''t matter! LOL!

That would be funny! I chose my PS name looong before he was even a thought! I have two kinda crazy tan dogs that were my first babies Good luck with the house hunt. That is always exciting but stressful too! Do you worry about being rusty when you get back to work? I''m working part time but just doing the boring part of my old job, and will be transitioning to SAHM for a while. I feel like I am already so rusty in just a few months of not working full time

I fear I will have to start all over when I return, which just sucks, but I really want to be home with him while he is so little.

 

[TravelingGal]

Mrs, Amelia did wake up a bit earlier when put her down earlier (this happened during time changes too). It happens for a couple of mornings, then went back for us. The key was that if she wasn''t in distress, we didn''t go in there right when she woke up. We went in there at the normal time. She learned to either just play in the crib alone (which has been a lifesaver) or conk back out. Establishing the wake up is as important as establishing the bedtime, IMHO. HSHHC does talk about wake up as well.

TDM, I think it''s fine to talk about your kids...just be aware of who you talk about it to...non parents just aren''t interested unless they are thinking of becoming parents themselves. But you knew that.

When I was on maternity leave for 4.5 months, I used PS to talk about kids and talked about other things in my daily life to my friends. If anything, I just listened to them talk about what''s going on in their life. And as you said, current events is always a good one...so much going on to talk about. But don''t feel bad or think you''re boring. Lack of sleep definitely doesn''t make anyone the best conversationalist!

 

[Mrs]

Date: 7/6/2009 1:55:42 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Mrs, Amelia did wake up a bit earlier when put her down earlier (this happened during time changes too). It happens for a couple of mornings, then went back for us. The key was that if she wasn''t in distress, we didn''t go in there right when she woke up. We went in there at the normal time. She learned to either just play in the crib alone (which has been a lifesaver) or conk back out. Establishing the wake up is as important as establishing the bedtime, IMHO. HSHHC does talk about wake up as well.

Thanks Tgal - I know you''re right! I think she was fine this morning just hanging out in her crib kind of talking to herself, kicking her legs, and staring up at the wall... My problem is tuning her out. We live in a small 2 bedroom apt and her room is right next to ours. Instead of using a monitor, I just leave both of our doors open a little bit so that I can hear her at night. As such, when she''s awake talking to herself in the morning, I can hear her then as well. Now that she''s starting to babble more, I need to get better about distinguishing between her just talking to herself and expressing distress. Perhaps I should close the doors more and trust that she will let me know (read: make louder noises) if she needs me. It may be that she doesn''t really *need* me at points during the night as well and I''m just jumping at any noise she makes that I can hear which is reinforcing her waking up to eat instead of helping her learn to sleep through the night.... I think I''m ultra sensitive to her noises now since she was sick and coughing so much the last two weeks.... thoughts?

 

[neatfreak]

Hi DD! We''re here just busy busy. Reading and not posting much...just trying to get everything sorted out for the move, the house, my DH''s new job, me working from afar on my PhD...you know the drill!

Boys are good-sadly they have regressed the past week or so to waking a time or two at night again but it looks like we are working our way back to STTN. These regressions SUCK even if it is only for a few days. Blah.

Hope everyone is doing well! I''ll be back and posting more often in a few weeks after we have moved.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 7/6/2009 2:30:34 PM
Author: Mrs

Date: 7/6/2009 1:55:42 PM

Author: TravelingGal

Mrs, Amelia did wake up a bit earlier when put her down earlier (this happened during time changes too). It happens for a couple of mornings, then went back for us. The key was that if she wasn''t in distress, we didn''t go in there right when she woke up. We went in there at the normal time. She learned to either just play in the crib alone (which has been a lifesaver) or conk back out. Establishing the wake up is as important as establishing the bedtime, IMHO. HSHHC does talk about wake up as well.

Thanks Tgal - I know you''re right! I think she was fine this morning just hanging out in her crib kind of talking to herself, kicking her legs, and staring up at the wall... My problem is tuning her out. We live in a small 2 bedroom apt and her room is right next to ours. Instead of using a monitor, I just leave both of our doors open a little bit so that I can hear her at night. As such, when she''s awake talking to herself in the morning, I can hear her then as well. Now that she''s starting to babble more, I need to get better about distinguishing between her just talking to herself and expressing distress. Perhaps I should close the doors more and trust that she will let me know (read: make louder noises) if she needs me. It may be that she doesn''t really *need* me at points during the night as well and I''m just jumping at any noise she makes that I can hear which is reinforcing her waking up to eat instead of helping her learn to sleep through the night.... I think I''m ultra sensitive to her noises now since she was sick and coughing so much the last two weeks.... thoughts?

Believe me-she''ll let you know if she needs you. We have the same situation as you (2 room apt-their room right next to ours) and we use a monitor so we can turn it down as low as possible and only hear their actual screams rather than their happy jabber. Works like a charm.

 

[Pandora II]

Crazy mad weekend: wedding on Saturday, DH's mother's ordination on Sunday (DH is in trouble for calling her Reverend Mother and Reverend Grand Mother

) and then my mother visiting today... will do a catch up tomorrow, in the meantime here's a pic of Daisy - now SEVEN weeks... how time flies

 

[gailrmv]

Pandora, she is so cute!

I;ve found another benefit to early bedtimes - I can go out and have a little alone time after A goes to bed (DH is home of course). Did this tonight and it was delightful! Crossing fingers for a good night sleep.

 

[sunkist]

Pandora, Daisy is a doll! It''s amazing how 7 weeks can start to put rolls on these little people

So adorable!

 

[nycbkgirl]

Hi Mrs!- thanks for asking, jackie is still vomiting once in a while, today she was in boppy and MIL was standing and feeding her the bottle and she vomited (projectile) at her...MIL was covered and couch and floor, ugh what a mess. i think she ate too fast, had gas buildup and mil didnt burp her and thats what caused it. so i cleaned MIL and her up and gave her a new bottle of milk...she ate and was calm after that. i guess its just this thing she has and will go away soon as pedi described. still scary tho when it happens (its like smthg out of a movie!..never seen anyone projectile vomit like that

i totally understand about the whole friends with no kids situation!...i have twins mind you so i relate lol. i sometimes remember the times when i could get up and go out with the girls for food n drinks..aahhhhh...oh well back to reality. but that comment was a tad insensitive!
i hope u both feel totally better sooooon!! its been a long sick time no?

 

[nycbkgirl]

Date: 7/6/2009 2:46:32 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 7/6/2009 2:30:34 PM
Author: Mrs

Date: 7/6/2009 1:55:42 PM

Author: TravelingGal

Mrs, Amelia did wake up a bit earlier when put her down earlier (this happened during time changes too). It happens for a couple of mornings, then went back for us. The key was that if she wasn''t in distress, we didn''t go in there right when she woke up. We went in there at the normal time. She learned to either just play in the crib alone (which has been a lifesaver) or conk back out. Establishing the wake up is as important as establishing the bedtime, IMHO. HSHHC does talk about wake up as well.

Thanks Tgal - I know you''re right! I think she was fine this morning just hanging out in her crib kind of talking to herself, kicking her legs, and staring up at the wall... My problem is tuning her out. We live in a small 2 bedroom apt and her room is right next to ours. Instead of using a monitor, I just leave both of our doors open a little bit so that I can hear her at night. As such, when she''s awake talking to herself in the morning, I can hear her then as well. Now that she''s starting to babble more, I need to get better about distinguishing between her just talking to herself and expressing distress. Perhaps I should close the doors more and trust that she will let me know (read: make louder noises) if she needs me. It may be that she doesn''t really *need* me at points during the night as well and I''m just jumping at any noise she makes that I can hear which is reinforcing her waking up to eat instead of helping her learn to sleep through the night.... I think I''m ultra sensitive to her noises now since she was sick and coughing so much the last two weeks.... thoughts?

Believe me-she''ll let you know if she needs you. We have the same situation as you (2 room apt-their room right next to ours) and we use a monitor so we can turn it down as low as possible and only hear their actual screams rather than their happy jabber. Works like a charm.

DITTTO. we do the same exact thing.

 

[nycbkgirl]

hehehe Daisy

 

[mela lu]

Gosh. I have so much to catch up on...I want to be a better PS poster than I am currently, and I will, once I get some sleep! hah.

Mrs. How do you manage to go to work (rested) when you''re up so often at night? I''m terrible on no sleep, so I wonder how you''re coping.

NYC - the projectile sounds terrible, but you sound like you''re managing it (physically and emotionally) really well. Good for you!

Neat - good luck with all the upheaval! "See" you when you''re settled!

DD - hiya! Loved the night-by-night recap. Hunter seems to be taking well to your trickery! Glad it''s working for you...

Pandorsy - Daisy is a DOLL!!!!!

__
Baptism went so well. Romeo was an angel (didn''t say a peep) and the picnic we had afterwards for 60 people went well. Mom, SIL and I made all the food. YUM!

The bad thing was that I was suffering from a blocked milk duct that day and yesterday. OMG DID IT HURT! I got in the jaccuzzi tub, put the jet right on the blockage and let the jet to the work. Then I nursed in every position from that breast only (pumped the other) and wore cabbage leaves between feedings. I did this routine all yesterday and yesterday evening.
Hallelujah it worked. The duct unclogged last night at our midnight feeding.

What a relief. I was bawling like a baby (between the pain and the exhaustion). I''m feeling SO much better now.

Check out Romy post-baptism, in his Gingham "picnic" outfit. DH had a matching shirt oh - it was too cute!

 

[nycbkgirl]

O MELA- he is tooo cute! So glad u had a nice baptism....eh about the milk duct...but jacuzzi sounds good ....I also use cabbage leaves on a lot of ailments.
Yeh im dealin with the vomiting and more calm about bc doc ruled out any actual issues...so I figure its just smthg that will go away.


Upset that jon got off schedule last night...he didn''t sleep good from 5pm til midnite then slept only til 4 then til 830....urgh I was sure hed sleep thru nite once he fell asleep at midnight...dh was pretty pissed lol.

 

[MustangGal]

Mela & Pandora, you''re LO''s are too cute! My guy''s getting so big it''s nice to see the ity bity ones again

Nyc - sorry about no sleep, just keep trying, he''ll get it eventually. How does Jackie do with your sis at night? Does she STTN?

Kyle did great last night! He was acting tired a little earlier than usual, so I put him down at 7:45pm after reading a few books. He was out within 5 minutes, and didn''t make a peep until about 4:15am when he woke up and was just talking to himself. DH popped his paci back in when he got up at 4:30am to go to work, and Kyle went back to sleep until 6am

. He''s gettig really good with sitting on his own, and can push himself up to sitting if he''s in the boppy. I''m afraid teething is coming soon thoruhg, he keeps grabbing anything fabric and shoving it in his mought and knaws on it.

I was talking with my sitter this morning, and she''s going to be induced in about 5 weeks, so I''ll have to get some pics of Kyle with her little guy, her 3 previous babies were tiny so Kyle''s going to look like a monster!

 

[Pandora II]

OMG... I just got a call from the Chief Whip of my political group to say that they desperately need my vote tomorrow night so could I attend even though I''m officially on leave till September.

DH is working tomorrow evening so Daisy has to come too. They said they''ve checked the rules and there is nothing that forbids babies in the Chamber, so they are giving me use of the Mayor''s Parlour if I need to change her, and otherwise feel free to breastfeed from the benches...

The Press will have a field day

and DH is sulking because she''ll get to sit on the benches before him! I''ll try and get some photos!