Life with a baby week of 10/15 - Page 2

[VBMama]

maybe she needs to go into "night" sleep earlier? she does wake up at 7 or 8 in the morning and has an hour or 2 of awake time so i know little babies are "supposed" to sleep about 13 hours or so at "night".

Does she take a nap in the early evening at all? If she does, maybe you could start making that "bedtime", even if it's around 6pm. I don't have any good advice - the only thing I can share is that when Connor is being cranky about going to sleep, I try one method at a time for ten minutes before switching to something else so I'm not frantically jumping from the rocking chair to pacing to bouncing up & down.

[crazyeight]

no she usually wakes up at around 7ish or when the sun goes down : its all very confusing. she wakes up at 2 when my ds goes down for a nap (just my luck) and then MAYBE falls asleep at around 3:30 if i am lucky and then if i am not napping with her she is kinda up and down and sleeping and nursing until about 7ish and then she enters fussy stage, she is rarely content to be put down, nursing every hourish and just generally "needy". either this is just part of her clock and she has this time cause i don't hold her enough OR i am misconstruing her signals of awakeness as really needing to be put to bed for "good".

[mum2be]

Originally Posted by dhinderliter

shoot. me. please. i think it would be better. i just can't figure out what dd wants to be put to sleep. i don't know if i confuse her by not putting her to sleep the same way all the time...sometimes its the carseat, sometimes she falls asleep in the swing, sometimes its nursing. the last 4 days she hasn't gone to bed at night well AND hasn't slept "on her own" (i.e. no one/thing soothing her) for quite some time. yes i know she doesn't have anything to soothe herself but she HAS been able to STAY asleep after being put down before.

so my question when your babies fall asleep is it the same way each time? i literally can't deal with this much longer. with ds being a morning person now and dh going to bed at 9:30 or 10 and ayla not going to bed until 11 or later i am getting nowhere fast (except crazy). she doesn't like the bath routine anymore. i am going to try the stroller tomorrow about a half hour after dark and then when she wakes up to feed i will do it like i do in the middle of the night. maybe she needs to go into "night" sleep earlier? she does wake up at 7 or 8 in the morning and has an hour or 2 of awake time so i know little babies are "supposed" to sleep about 13 hours or so at "night".

i would be really interested in what routines your little ones are on.

This is Elisabeth almost exactly! I am so tired. The only thing I've noticed that makes night time bad for us, is her gas. She seems to get really gassy at night and it keeps her up. However, getting her to sleep is different each night. I never know what to expect and some nights I just want to give up and go to sleep.
Last night she was up almost all night. I finally had to call dh in to take her because I thought if I got up with her, I would fall over or drop her from my extreme exhaustion.

NO ONE can prepare you for sleep deprivation. It's been so rough and I don't know how much longer I can take it.

I hope your little one starts sleeping soon

[orangefoot]

Thank you so much for the links about let down and so on. Frida has been gulping choking coughing then needing to burp before feeding any more then feeding more then bringing up all the foremilk through her nose then her mouth at least once a day. I haven't been to our usual toddler group or really to visit anyone's house partly because we have been without the car but aso becuase I know that when I feeed her its going to be a drama. We don't have carpet thank goodness so we just wipe up but throwing up on a friend's carpet is a bit much really.

I started block feeding from yesterday lunchtime when I read the post and links and now she is really cross that when she's feeding on the same side the milk is coming quite slowly. I tell her that its better than choking and sick but she obviously doesn't believe me - yet. Her latch is so much better and there's now no clicking or slurping going on. She has still been a bit sick but her poo was a much better consistency and I realise that her poo has been very watery up to now. That's another plus with ECing: you see everything and look at it becuase it feels like such an achievement catching it

We've had a few difficult nights with a cold; more chocking and coughing as she wants to breathe through her nose and can't. I've put Olbas Oil on her clothes to help clear her nose and its working a bit. We've also hit the evening sadness and being inconsolable thank goodness for slings. If the pouch stops working I get the didymos on and vice versa.

Fortunately I know this will pass but I'm starting to get deja vu...... as is dh. He says 'what worked for Amelia? What did we do before? HOw long did this go on for? and my favourite 'Mmm I think this stopped and teething started....'

She's started smiling really broadly at the boys now and they are engaging with her more which is good. Cooing at babies is sort of cool at 13 and 9 but sort of not.

[noteworthy]

Originally Posted by mum2be

T
NO ONE can prepare you for sleep deprivation. It's been so rough and I don't know how much longer I can take it.

Totally true. There is no preparation!

[qjraven8]

hands are full but ... any of you mamas with fussy babies read the Happiest Baby On the Block? there's also a video. i HIGHLY recommend it!!!!!! and to you

been wanting to post but haven't had much time, hopefully more later!

[Becken]

nak

The thing that really helped us last night with the colic was Dh and I both getting into the shower with her. She was mesmerized! We've got quite a water baby on our hands! After the shower, she was calm enough to nurse for a bit and doze for a couple hours (with some screaming in between) before she went out for the night.

hth someone!

[dakotamidnight]

out of curiousity - is anyone else's babe fighting sleep?

Trinity simply doesn't want to sleep during the day at all unless I am sleeping with her or holding her skin to skin. SHe is oviously tired {rubbing eyes and yawning}, but will not let herself fall asleep!

any tips? I'm getting really tired of her being cranky & fussy because she won't sleep.

[noteworthy]

Did you try nursing her in a dark room with a blanket covering her up? I found that helps block out distractions and quiets little J down a bit. Also, we have a humidifer that makes a great white noise sound. The first night we used it, she slept 4 hours straight. Good luck and hope you can fit a nap in there for you somewhere.

[myhoneyswife]

Yeah, sometimes Hannah will fight sleep during the day in the morning at least. In the afternoon she takes a long nap. White noise helps. I'm guilty of turing on the dryer (I put clothes in it first, lol) so I can take a bath... washer/dryer are in the same room as the tub. Good idea about the humidifier, I'm going to get it out before she's ready to go down again this morning...

I don't want to get her dependent on white noise, that's why I feel guilty about the dryer, but I dunno.

Oh, if she had it her way, she'd sleep during the day with my nip right in her mouth, but not suctioning on it. 'I just wanna know it's there in case I need it later, mom'

Cara

[orangefoot]

My Dh was a preemie back in '73 and he is a big fan of humming noises to get to sleep as a result I have to negotiate a date when we are going to put the fan back in the cupboard in the autumn as I start waking up with a sore throat and a chill from having it on all night.

It off and put away now already though because its too cold for Frida and I can't sit up and feed her in the night with the fan or or I'll freeze myself!!

Frida likes to hang out and stay awake til about 1am which is ok sort of if I can sleep in the morning. Last night I had to holod her tight in the crook of my arm to get her to sleep after being on and off the boob for about an hour and generally complaining. I think this is the kind of fighting sleep you others are talking about. She grumbled for about 30 seconds and slept til 8am!!!! By which time I had made a milky puddlein the bed from not having fed her for so long. That led to a fierce let down first thing in the morning and then we ended up in our crazy cycle of feeding choking burping sicking......

On a positive note a good friend came over today and did some things around the house, her dd and mine played well together, we prepared lunch between us and had a good chat. I realise now that if Dh didn't work from home and I didn't go to school to collect ds I could be very lonely at home as I haven't really had enough energy to get out to visit people and no-one has come to me as they are all busy (or think I might have a lot on my late I suppose)

My sleep debt is catching up with me now and I think I might be starting to look like the mother of a newborn! Just in time for my neice's christening on Sunday. Oh well. She is just lovely though I can't say it enough

[noteworthy]

I am a white noise addict too. Neither hubby or I can sleep without it. The other dcs have humidifier/fans in their rooms too. They don't create a draft and in the summer when the heat is off, we run them dry. We also have a sleepy time cd that they listen to every night. The same one since they were infants. I think that consistent sounds send a message to the brain... oh yeah, time to sleep now.
J slept a 4 hour stretch again last night. This is a good thing. I had such an awful day yesterday, complete with weeping and me cruising the ppd board wondering if I should go on prozac.
Today is better though. Must be that sleep need. Also, I start school tomorrow again. half dreading it, half looking forward to it. I have an exam today too on line, that I did not study for. Finding it hard to gain my focus! So, there is a lot of other stress going on too. Trying hard to let the little things go and just enjoy J.
Haven't tried the washer/dryer thing yet. How convenient that the bath is in the same room Cara! I would love that. Out of the tub and throw the laundry in the wash and pull the clothes to wear right out of the dryer. That would save so much time!

[crazyeight]

Had my pp checkup. Nothing to bad! DIdn't even have to have a pap or anything. She asked me if i was eating enough since i had lost a little over 20 lbs. I looked at her kinda funny! I still want to loose another 10-15() and she said well don' go any more than that! i know its going to be really hard for me to drop that weight so i am not worried!

Luckily the birth center had the happiest baby on the block dvd and they let me watch it! I knew most of it but i think the tummy/side laying and the jiggleing the head will really really help when i can get it mastered. i hope her on/off switch works as well!! I know feel ok if i let her stay in the swing for the entire night or day since she wants/needs that motion and i am not going to be a bad mother for using what i have! no family around and no friends!

i like the white noise but didn't have a dependency on it until 2ish years ago. for some reason men have a huge dependency on the fan!! its not that horrible to be dependent on it though. could be dependent on worse!! but with this subject i am kinda feeling like i might come down with soemthing. my right ear and back of my throat hurts and my right eye was scratchy/blurry a few days ago. going to drink some tea and stay warm and hope that nothing comes of it!

[maciascl]

I haven't read all the post, but for the mama's with babies having sleep issues/fighting sleep have you tried wearing the baby to sleep. Gavin was a horrible sleeper so I really feel for you. Fortunatly Rhys isn't too bad, but when he is fighting it I pop him in the sling & bounce around the house for awhile & that always does the trick. Also swaddeling helps at night too. GL!!

[myhoneyswife]

Is this a joke?

Okay, I started pumping 2 days ago so I could have a little stash just in case and something to give her in the truck (been taking her out of her seat when we can't pull over : ) and now I'm in major oversupply mode! And breastpads are a joke! I thought I'd be all smart last night and I used a bra with breast pads (normally sleep topless). Yeah. Well, after the 11 o'clock nursing I didn't refasten my bra or put my pad back (fell asleep) and on the other side it just totally soaked through anyway and soaked my pad, bra, shirt, and sheets. Oh, and my baby. Her collar was all covered in dry milk today. So, basically I just added a breast pad and bra to my laundry pile..

Oh well, I'm sure my body will work itself out. Just thought I'd share that I think breast pads are a total joke, for night time at least.

Cara

[orangefoot]

I woke up wet too (again) and it took me a moment to realise it wasn't wee! In the past I have found sleeping on a towel to be a better solution than pads. i just need to be able to recall that by the time I get to bed and take one out of the cupboard

[mum2be]

Poor Elisabeth...she's had such a rough week. She didn't take ANY naps during the day for a whole week, slept horribly at night and was in so much pain everyday and night that she was screaming her head off and we couldn't console her. It was horrible and we were so exhausted and emotionally drained.

Turns out she has a really sensitive tummy and is senstive to lots of foods. I was eating turkey burgers for dinner and she was reacting really badly to those. We saw a kinesiologist today and she told us all the things that Elisabeth will react to. There are a lot. I'm basically limited to a handful of veggies, fruit, rice, potatoes and plain meats. Poor girl!

I can't remember if I brought this up yet, but does anyone else's babe hate the car? Elisabeth SCREAMS her head off. We live about an hour from everywhere we go, so it's not fun. We pulled over 3 times in 3 miles to comfort her. She was crying so hard she was gagging and hardly breathing.
So I feel like I am stuck in the middle of nowhere in the house without anything to do. Bummer...

My mother is coming up tomorrow to help out, so I am excited to finally get some things done around the house

[crazyeight]

my goodness!! i would have broken down with no naps! i hope you are able to introduce the foods you love soon!

my dd hated the carseat for quite a while. first off either the "level" thing on it is messed up or the carseat is supposed to be sitting " up" quite a bit so we shoved a folded up towel under the back and made it recline a bit more and that helped her a little bit. she still cried for a while longer when she was awake cause she couldn't see much. i got a rear view mirror/light/pretty object for her ( i can see her in my rearview but it also plays music and has lights if needed) which i think helped. though my ds HATES the music : (he cries). shes 6 1/2 weeks now and is doing much better. still fusses a bit but i also bought a swaddling wrap that goes in the carseat safely and i can swaddle her while in the carseat which also helps her be calm. so a combo of all that stuff makes driving bearable and i live in the city!

[bohemama]

We had Elaina weighed this week! Up to 9lb3oz from 7lb 8oz at birth. Yay breastmilk!!!!

We're having a bit of sleep trouble at night. Lots of fussing and fidgeting and gas. I'm not really sure what to do about it and it's pretty random. We have thrush, but I don't really have any symptoms the only reason I know is that Lainey has a white tounge. She seems to be really fussy at times when she eats too, but I'm not sure if it's because of the thrush or not. A friend consulted her essetial oils handbook and said that peppermint oil is supposed to get rid of yeast so we've been trying that. If it doesn't go away in the next day or two we're going to be using Gentian Violet. I'm just not looking forward to the purple nipples and baby mouth!

[noteworthy]

I had to use the gentian violet with dd #2. Oh, what fun, but it does work, very quickly. Man, that stuff stains though, so be careful. Not even bleach will conquer it. My dh used to giggle quite a bit over the purple nipples. I told him to be quiet or we would use it on his "nether-regions"
So far we have been lucky this time and haven't had any issues.