Cannot believe they called my LO "weird"

[iwanababybump]

Ok so I have two friends with children a couple of weeks older than mine however after there recent comments no sure I would call them friends anymore one I have known since school the other I meet trou antenatal classes

We met up today and were discussing our LO's which I dread with these two as everything seems to be a competition however I carried on And we got talking about naps and sleeping I explAined DS doesn't have set nap times as he is not a great napper to which I got the response that I was crazy for not setting a regular nap time and that my DS was weird as her child and every other child she knew slept fine throughout the day when asked about him STTN I explained he doesn't and that he wakes sometimes once a night but sometimes twice a night and because he doesn't have set times that he wakes in the night the other friend replied god he really is a little freak isn't he they both found this hilarious yet I felt so upset my DS is not a freak or weird

I guess I'm posting this to get reassurance that his behaviour is normal I know some children have routines for when they sleep but surely not every child and does it really matter that sometimes he wakes at 11:30 for his first night feed and other days he wakes at 1:30????

 

[Bex84]

Your LO is not weird. I dont set nap times and let my LO sleep when she is ready and she wakes up once or twice in the night (its normal since they only have little tummies). My LO has fallen into her own routine, I never quite got the concept of putting baby down for a nap and telling them its time for sleep. They sleep when they are tiered. We put LO to bed same time every night after she has a bath and feed but it is the natural bedtime she has fallen into. My LO is tiereder some days than others because it depends what we have been doing. I cant believe your friends said this, you DS is completly normal and I dont you get many babies that go right through the night

 

[FEDup1981]

How old is ur LO?

No baby is a freak or weird, and thats childish and dreadful of them to say. Each baby is different, some sleep like a dream, others sleep for shorter periods. I know my son didnt STTN til he was 2, and even now, nearly 6, he sometimes gets up in the night.

I think id ditch them, they dont sound like friends x

 

[sapphire1]

Aw, that sounds a bit mean Your LO doesn't sound weird to me, it's normal for babies to have trouble napping. Holly never had set nap times until quite recently, even then they're not set in stone. I hate competitive mums, there's no need!

 

[nicole_]

i call my LO/OH/friends/family wierd when they do something out of the ordinary, i dont think its overly offensive at all lol

 

[iwanababybump]

He is only 16 weeks old I don't think I will be meeting up with them again it's really hurt my feelings

He doesn't nap well think it's because he is so nosey lol he sleeps for 30 minutes at atime and has about 3/4 of these he usually wakes up a little grumpy but after a quick cuddle he is usually really happy so I don't really see a problem and as for STTN I would rather him wake if he was hungry

 

[XJessicaX]

Women ARE competitive! Mothers especially. I think sometimes its good to have a relaxed routine as babies like to know what to expect out of a day, and if your son is a poor napper then actually introducing a very gentle routine during the day could help...BUT, in no way is your son 'weird' or a 'freak' and I think that their comments are rude and unnecessary. Just plain bitchiness. The majority of mothers I know have no real set routine and they let their children sleep when they want to sleep.

If you look on here you will see whole threaded dedicated to babies who don't STTN, and some of the mothers have 2 year olds!

I'd ignore and stop hanging around friends who are so negative and judgemental.

 

[k4th]

Aaaah, they're mean friends! Even if they were joking, they should have noticed that their comments have hurt your feelings!

You're baby isn't wierd - lots of babies have trouble napping. I do follow a routine to help lo nap, it works for us. Just coz I do it doesn't mean I'd call anyone wierd for not doing it!

Ignore their stupid comments

 

[numum]

Oh for gods sake thats totally normal! And probably doing him a world of good setting his own pace-like sapphire my lo has only recently gotten into a loose schedule napwise. Is there any way you might be taking them up wrong and they were just messing? They might be horrified to hear they hurt your feelings maybe you should talk to them about it.
I'm just saying coz its great to have friends with babies the same age. Obviously not worth it if they really are bitches tho.

 

[Kittifer]

.

 

[FEDup1981]

16weeks! OMG i thought they were/ you were talking about a 16 month old!! At 16 weeks its completely normal to still wake in the night, and to not have an established routine during the day. What planet are they on!

 

[Lilly12]

We don't have nap times, she naps when she shows her tired signs.
And sttn?? haha nope! And my DD is 7 months!

don't worry your baby is completely normal!

 

[iwanababybump]

He is 16 weeks old what routines do u ladies do for naps maybe I could at least try it with a go I suppose x x

 

[NewMummyx]

In that case they would think my LO was the Devil Incarnate Ditch them, pair ofidiots!

 

[saitiffeh]

You friends have no clue!

My son didn't sleep through the night til he was 2 and a half. No kidding! And it was at completely random hours. And naptimes, oh boy, you never knew when those were going to happen. But he was happy and has always been well cared for.

At 16 weeks old a baby still has no sense of time anyways.

 

[cat81]

In that case, my baby must be a weird little freak too then.
My LO has never really had a set nap pattern and didn't consistently sleep through the night for ages. I don't think it is weird, it's just the way he is and plenty of other babies are exactly the same.
In my opinion, those babies who do have rigid naps and sttn early have often been put into these routines by their parents for their own convenience. I always favoured the more baby led route myself and tried to fit my life around my baby.
It wasn't a very nice thing for them to say to you, although it sounds like they were probably joking. Don't let it worry you. x

 

[hattiehippo]

Don't worry your LO is perfectly normal for 16 weeks old. Tom was a short napper and would have 4 30 min naps a day until he was about 6 months old. Nothing I did made any difference to this and he would wake at least 2x a night until he was about 9 months old. I did have a stage of trying to teach him to nap at certain times but gave up after about a week because it didn't work and was just making lots of stress for us both.

He is nearly 2 now and will have 1 nap for up to 2 hours which he gradually learnt to do by about 16 months. And he didn't start sleeping through the night till 19 months.

They don't sound like people I'd bother keeping in touch with.

 

[Farie]

Ignore them, your LO is totally normal.
God knows what they'd think if my LO, 11 months, no real routine and definitely not sttn?!

 

[tommyg]

I assume they were joking.

Are you bfing and them ffing? Ff babies seem to get into a routine quicker the bfed babies.

Random routine suits both me and LO.

 

[CharlieKeys]

Your little one is def not weird!! Stephen didn't have set naps until about 4/5 months - before that he'd sleep on demand. Henry's the same he just sleeps when he wants! Both sttn but a lot of friend's baby's I know wake up so it's just down to the baby! Ignore their pathetic comments