HELP! EC and naps

501 Views 10 Replies 8 Participants Last post by ktmama, Apr 7, 2006

neveryoumindthere

Discussion Starter · Apr 4, 2006

Hey everyone.
we've been ec'ing since a week old and have had some periods where i'd ignore the signals ( i know i know) cuz of being so exhausted, unmotivated etc..
anyway she continues to signal and we're doing pretty good, catching most and 95% of the tiem even if i dont catch them i do know she had to go so i still consider that a 'catch'.lol

anyway having trouble with nursing to sleep for naps and EC'ing.
it's really making me

s:
she has to pee about 10-15 min. after unlatching...so that means sometimes i'm nursing for 1/2 an hour and then she unlatches and wakes up to pee, itake her (or sometimes dont) and she's out of the deep sleep and wont fall back asleep!!!! how do u handle this??
she's cranky ALL day because of this not getting proper sleep

HELP
ideas? what do u do ?

p.s. she's 4 months old now

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Lucy VanPelt

· #2 · Apr 4, 2006

Um...I put my dd in diapers when she went through this. She slept much better.

DD recently went through another phase where having to hold her pee during the night caused her to not sleep well (b/c she's concentrating through her sleep) and I put her in diapers for 2 nights (after she peed in the bed 4 nights in a row and I finally understood why...she was growing), and the second night, she didn't wet the diaper, so we're back to not putting them on at night and she's back to sleeping well.

So, that's how we got through those times. They always seemed to occur during a growth phase of some sort.

btw, dd is 2yo (in 8 days) and was ECed from birth.

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neveryoumindthere

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 4, 2006

she is in diapers. she is just very aware of when she needs to go...so whether i take her or not her urge to pee wakes her out of her sleep

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sunnymommy

· #4 · Apr 4, 2006

is there any way that you can pick her up and nurse her, sit on the edge of a tub and let her pee that way? then nursing can help her stay in that sleepy disposition? or will that just perpetuate the cycle? or you could do a preemptive pee when you sense she's getting close to the end of the nurse? she's probably of the age where you could keep a baby potty (like the baby bjorn) near the bed and then prop her on that while you nurse her and cue her also.
if the problem is, however, that you're trying to get some sleep while she naps, and getting up to do all this breaks your nap, then just relax a bit and put her in diapers. your sleep is paramount for good mothering, and making small compromises like that are worth it in the big picture!

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Lucy VanPelt

· #5 · Apr 4, 2006

Ok, so your concern is about her waking her own self up, not the peeing. I think I understand.

If that's the case, just know that she will outgrow that. Eventually, she will learn to not respond so strongly to the urge to pee. That's something she has to work out for herself. She has to teach herself to be able to hold her pee while sleeping while remaining relatively undisturbed. That's a major feat and she'll get it down rather quickly.

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ktmama

· #6 · Apr 5, 2006

I would suggest two things that have helped us. First, make going to the potty part of the pre-bedtime routine. Second, I always put dd into diapers for sleeping (we've been ECing for five months). For naps, I don't use a cover, but wrap her in a fleece swaddle or lay her on a big piece of fleece tucked into the mattress - she wakes up wet about half the time. For nighttime, I put her in a AIO or diaper with cover and usually change her and offer the potty at the second waking (about 4:00 am). Sleep is the priority in my house (especially these days) and it's helped me to realize that EC is a process and my dd will most likely be out of diapers in the day before she's out of diapers for sleeping, just like potty trained kids. HTH.

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3littlebirds

· #7 · Apr 6, 2006

i also think that she'll outgrow it. my 8-month-old has had a dry diaper after naps for a couple months now -- and we started EC later than you did.

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LeAnnie

· #8 · Apr 6, 2006

Just wanted to say I have a 4 month old and go through the same thing during the day. The sleep disruption (for baby) seems to be the only potential downside of Ec for us. I keep wondering- do all the diaper trained babies just pee and ignore it or not notice and therefore sleep longer? Not fair-if true!
I also like the others mentioned try to get a good pee in before ds actually falls asleep. That makes a big difference and he doesn't seem to mind being pottied in the pre-sleep or almost asleep state as much as the 'right in the middle of sleep state'. I also use a potty on the bed and nurse him or hold him next to the breast while he is on it-seems to keep him drowsy a little better. I do believe that sleep consolidation and bladder tone (how much it can hold) improve with age, so I'm looking at this as a temporary issue.
ktmama, what kind of fleece do you put under baby on the mattress? Would a fleece blanket work? I have a bunch of those and wanted to try it, but wasn't sure it would keep the wetness off the bed-do you put a waterproof layer under it?

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AidynnRoosMama

· #9 · Apr 6, 2006

I am having the same problem with my Aidynn. She was waking from naps SO early, and now she is waking in the middle of the night. So instead of fighting it, I'm just taking her to the potty. The main problem with this is that she wakes up *screaming!* Ugh! And she screams all the way to the potty until she lets out a BIG poop and pee. She sleeps in a crib, so it's a walk to get to her, then get her to the potty. But I'm wondering if her screaming fits are because she needs to potty or because of something else/sickness? Her naps have also become progressively shorter

so I'm very tired because I don't get much nap, and she's cranky because of it too. I will try all the suggestions, but has anyone had the middle of the night problem that I have?
Also, I keep her in a diaper all the time, but as soon as it's wet or (rarely) poopy, she let's me know! My little Roo-Roo is six months now, and we have been EC'ing since about 5 weeks old.

Also, any suggestions on where to buy some EC friendly clothing/undergarments? Thanks for any response!
-Aidynn Roo's Mama

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rubelin

· #10 · Apr 6, 2006

when my boys have started waking from naps needing to pee (they'd awaken with a squealy cry and not be able to nurse back to sleep easily), I started keeping a potty at the foot of the bed. Then I can sit them on it quickly, and nurse them and then lie back down with them.

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ktmama

· #11 · Apr 7, 2006

ktmama, what kind of fleece do you put under baby on the mattress? Would a fleece blanket work? I have a bunch of those and wanted to try it, but wasn't sure it would keep the wetness off the bed-do you put a waterproof layer under it?

I just use a "regular" polyester fleece remnant that I bought to sew up some winter baby legs. I don't use any kind of pad underneath. It really keeps the bed dry - never had anything soak through. I've also used these remnants in my sling in the early days of ECing. Baby wasn't signalling in the sling and I needed an "extra" layer of protection.

I just wanted to add that sometimes dd will wake up just a little wet and if I take her to the potty immediately she'll have a big pee. Interesting that she has learned not only to hold it, but to pee and bit and then stop.

Also, any suggestions on where to buy some EC friendly clothing/undergarments? Thanks for any response!

Have you looked at www.theecstore.com? Stuff here is too expensive for me. We spent the winter in long sleeve t-shirts, diaper, socks and fleece baby legs. I just got a sewing machine and my first project will be waterproof trainers. There's also an EC swap yahoo group that you can check out. Some of the mamas get stuff from Asia where EC is more common and sell it and some have stuff that their dcs have outgrown.

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