***December Snowflakes 2012 Parenting***

[ImSoTired]

expatt, sigh, kelly- I know what you mean about the sleep troubles. Cait has gotten in the habit of waking numerous times a night. I'm exhausted.

Scooby you could try holding the spoon at Camden's lips just a few seconds extra after putting the cereal into her mouth. She may try to suck on it and therefore swallow the cereal. After a day or two of this, they generally learn how to use the spoon. That's not to say that it won't still be messy from time to time. I am surprised Camden is so big! She looks like a little peanut on the video. She is a tiny bit bigger than Cait, even. It means she is growing so well though, congrats!

Tooth rice is sort of bland but it's ok. Joseph will probably like it after he tries it a few times. Good luck.

Cait is doing well with baby foods and purees. So far no allergies or reactions and she is rather likes eating. Over all she is doing well I just wish she'd sleep through the night again. I feel so groggy and cranky all of the time.

I hope you're all well.

 

[Kelly M]

Expat and I feel for you. Hope good sleep comes soon.

Tooth, I made my own rice cereal for Carter and he didn't care for it either. He's not too keen on solids yet so I only try them when I feel like it. He had applesauce today and seemed to like it but only had a few bites and then pushed me away.

Scooby, well done on Cam's growing! What a good girl. Carter was 18lbs 5 oz at his appt last week and 27 long (which I feel has to be a mis-measure because he def got taller since his last appt and they said he was 27" last month but he's growing out of his clothes since then.

Well, we are on day 4 of sleep training and so far it's going really well. He's still waking several times a night but has been napping decent at least once a day. It's getting easier and easier to put him down and he can fall asleep on his own in the crib. We introduced a security blankie called a taggie and he chews on the tags and rubs it on his face and passes out (after some fussing sometimes). My back is happy to not have to stand up and rock him about for hours on end.

How many times a night does your lo eat? Carter wants to nurse (and I think for comfort) several times per night and I am trying to get it down to only once but sometimes he refuses to settle until he nurses. I'm trying to push his first feed to 1 am but usually break down and feed him about 12:45-12:50. He's so big and I've read from many sources that at his size/age he should be able to go 10 hours at night. He barely makes it six hours mostly because he loves nursing for comfort and I feel bad and break down anyway because my chest is exploding after going that long. lol

 

[scoobydrlp]

Tried rice cereal againt today but made it thicker, half an oz breastmilk with heaping tablespoon cereal, and Camden gobbled it up! I even made her a second helping (a little thicker even) and she ate that too. How much do you guys offer your LO's? And how long after starting cereal did you wait to introduce other baby foods, like fruits and veggies?

Kelly - Camden rarely wakes to eat overnight. She goes to bed between 9:30-10, and then I usually wake her up at 5:30 to feed her before I go to work. On occasion she will wake around 4. Sometimes a pacifier is enough to get her back to sleep, sometimes I have to feed her.

 

[bbygurl719]

I wrote u guys a lomg update but bnb ate it. So here's the short version we have all been sick and it's been a rough few weeks.

 

[ocean_pearl]

Can I ask how all your babies are put to sleep at night?

Oli always needs the boob now. I can take it away once he's asleep and lay him down, usually no problem. But I would like him to go to sleep on his dad or on his own soon. Any ideas?

Also he has to be dead asleep before being put in his cot otherwise he'll stir and wake up and either cry or chatter away until he gets bored and cries.

Also, breastfeeding is still not great, he is very impatient now and basically wants the milk there right away. My letdown is strong and. It takes a few good sucks to get it and he hates this and will kick and wail

On plus side, we've been to yoga, cinema and he's a very happy boy

 

[Chloe597]

Kelly - At most, Gabby will wake up once in the night to eat. About 50% of the time she doesn't wake at all, and the other 50% its sometime between 330 and 430 to eat.

Ocean - i still use the boob to put gabby down. Once in a blue moon she is awake when I put her down and she just talks herself to sleep, but usually she falls asleep on the boob and then i just transfer to crib. She has been extra fidgety on the boob lately tho. Constantly kicking and punching while eating, and then when she finishes she is still awake and wants to play, not go to sleep, so we play for a bit, and then I give her the boob once again and then she will usually fall asleep that time.

Did anyone's LO pull at their ears when teething? Gabby was doing a lot of that yesterday, so I'm wondering ear infection or teething? She was also more fussy than normal, but still slept ok at night.

 

[ocean_pearl]

Thanks Chloe that sounds just like Oli with the not sleeping after eating too!

 

[ImSoTired]

Kelly- Cait wakes up a lot lately but I'm not sure it's always to eat as she usually doesn't eat much before she falls back to sleep. I'm not sure what her problem is but she's been waking 2-5 times a night for about 2 weeks maybe? I'm going crazy and I hope it stops soon. I can't figure it out.

I used to either feed Cait to sleep or she would put herself to sleep and lately I've been having to rock her for 20+ minutes and put her down gently. Even still she sometimes wakes and cries. Then she wakes or fusses in her sleep time after time. I'm losing my mind due to lack of sleep!

bbygrl I hope that you are all feeling better.

Scooby glad to hear Camden has started to like her cereal. It sometimes takes a few times. Even at the daycare where I worked we were told to always offer food numerous times before concluding that the child didn't like it because their tastes and perceptions are changing as quickly as they are growing. So glad to hear you are doing well.

Hope everyone is well.

 

[sigh]

Ellie up 8 times last night, including being wide awake from 3-5... during that time I fed her twice rocked her bounced her... nothing. I don't think she's sick anymore but she isn't able to sleep more than 1.25 hrs straight. The minute you pick her up she stops crying and sleeps (except for from 3 to 5) but if you put her down shes up within an hour, usually less. Losing my mind over here... want to sleep train her but I'm scared she might have an ear infection again, despite not having symptoms.

I'm still nursing her to sleep. My husband and I are photographing a wedding on Saturday so my mom is going to have to figure out how to get her down for the night without being nursed. I'm scared! We want to sleep train so that she can go to sleep without being nursed and hopefully only wake up once or twice a night... like she used to. The good old days, when she slept 7-9 hrs straight. I don't know how it could suddenly go so wrong.

 

[Baby Bell]

Hi everyone, you may not remember me, I was more active in the pregnancy group, but kinda tailed off when LO was born cause i struggled to keep up lol
Anyway my wee boy is now 5 half months old. Still breast feeding, going to start weaning in a week or so I think. I try to give him a formula feed at night, but he refuses bottle and so only takes from his nuby cup, prob only half an ounce at most but I persevere as I want to stop breast feeding by 8 months when I go back to work.
I really hope I can catch up with you ladies again, as I loved being a member of the snowflakes when I was pregnant.
Love o you all and your snowflakes xxxx

 

[bbygurl719]

Hi ladies.say night I gave u the short version as I didn't want to type anymore lol. Well let's start with my December snowflake. She my only healthy baby right now lol.. she still has the wheezing but doc said that's normal after getting it and that it can stick around. She went for her four month check up April 24th she was 11lbs 15ozs. She's out grown her 0-3 month sleeper and is now in 3-6 month one. Now on to my November sparkler 2011. May 4th and may 8th took her to doctors she had a viral infection and fluids on her ears. So we got a referral to go see the ent doctor as we have been having lots of trouble with her ears. Well Thursday night she woke up at two am with a high fever. So gave her tylonel and put her in her crib (she was in her big girl bed). Well she kept running fever on Friday but was able to keep getting it to break. Well that night we put her down to bed @ 9. And by 10:30 she was awake again. We finally got her settled again and we all went to bed. Well than @ 1:30 am my husband came n woke me up. He couldn't get her to calm down.so I took her and she was up all night. Angel woke up a 3am and i couldnt get her back to sleep due to ella crying. Finally @ 5am I woke my seven year old up n had her go to sleep on couch. And went on there bedroom and laid in savannahs bed. Got angel back to sleep and finally Ella fell asleep on the other side of me. Well @ 10:30am Ella woke me up by jumping on me and she was burning up. Her temp was 103.3. So we took her to an emergency doctors visit. She has bronchitis and a sore throat. So she's on a 10 day course of antibiotics. Now on to Savannah had to take her to doctors on Wednesday she had a fever and sores in her mouth. She has a viral infection in her mouth. And is in a lot of pain. And than me I've been sick since Wednesday with a cold. But we are now on the mend. Ella is acting like she feels better. And savannahs sores r healing and I'm finally starting feel better.

 

[expatttc]

Hi all!

Ocean, Rosa's always boob to sleep, even for naps, and at night. The only time she'll go back to sleep without feeding is if she wakes up at night for a cuddle (sounds familiar Sigh?!?). Still not sure why, if she's hot/cold/scared/uncomfy/teething, all I know is she needs me so I'm there. I'm hoping it will pass in time... This is still every 1.5 hours...so basically it's one time up to hold her and one time up to feed her (boob) and back to sleep, over 3 hours.

So kelly, that means if she goes down at 8-9 and is up at 6-7, she will feed around 5 times at night including when we put her down and pick her up. Only 2 big feeds though at the start and when she wakes, and then little ones just from one breast in the middle...

Sigh I am with you on wondering what in the world has changed?!? Good luck with the wedding!

bbygurl, sorry to hear about your sick lo's...hang in there and big to hope that they get well soooooon.....

Babybell huge !!! Missed you and happy to see you back!!!!!!!!! xx

Chloe, Rosa rubs her cheek, eyebrow and ear ALWAYS on one side, and at her 4 month check up the dr said this is a standard sign of teething. She said it's not really a sign of an ear infection at this age since babies really can't 'localize' the pain of that, but if it's across one side of their face that they are rubbing it's almost always teething. Apparently it can go on for months.

Rosa has learned how to blow raspberries!! So cute but good grief if there was alot of drool from munching everything before, now she's always got her own little swimming pool!!!

 

[Kelly M]

Babygirl, sorry you are all so sick! Hope you and your fam get well soon. That sounds like hell.

Babybell, nice to meet you!

Expat, that's a lot of feeding! I'm with you. This describes Carter to a T: https://www.mannlymama.com/2012/12/wonder-week-19-aka-4-month-sleep-regression/

Yesterday he napped horribly, 20 mins in the morn, 40 mins in the afternoon and a couple 5-10 mins in the car. BUT, last night he did amazing. He woke a few times an hour after going to sleep but I was still up so no biggie. Then....he didn't wake until 1:45 am! That's unheard of for him lately. Then he woke again at 5:15 and was up for an hour, then up for the day at 7:30 am. This is huge for us and I'm hoping it continues. I'm surprised since he napped so poorly so not sure if it's a fluke or not.

Also, when he woke at 5:15 this morning he had rolled onto his tummy and was crying. It kind of worried me but not much I can do and he knows how to roll both ways so he could roll back if he wanted I guess. Just worried he will roll on his tummy and smoosh his face into the bed in his sleep.

 

[Baby Bell]

Bbygurl sorry to hear your having a hard time, hope everyone feels better soon

Expatttc thank you, I missed everyone here too xx my Lewis used to be the same and would only nap from the boobie, now he hardly does even that and it feels like a battle for every nap. That him just gone for his first proper nap today(fingers crossed) and it 15.45........his bath times at 18.00 lol

Kelly lovely to meet you too x

 

[daydream]

bbygurl - big hugs to you

Expat - wow you are amazing just still being alive after all those wakeups!

Kelly - I read that if they can roll to get onto their belly then we shouldn't worry about rolling them back over to their back. But we have a motion monitor, which gives me peace of mind when he does roll.

Also very interesting about the ear rubbing! H has been doing that the past few days, and when I feel his gums it's clear that the teeth are right under there. Now just have to wait for them to break through.

We are officially breaking the swaddle. H has been able to roll both ways for quite some time, but never did so while swaddled.... until yesterday morning (he had been awake and I was watching him on the monitor as he did it). So last night we went cold turkey without the swaddle and just put him in his sleepsack. He slept great! Did a few hours on his back last night, and then rolled over to his belly and slept wonderfully, only woke up once. I'm not nervous about him sleeping on his belly since he has great head control and can roll so well. Plus we have the angelcare movement monitor, so in the event something does happen we will know. I am just so relieved the swaddlefree night went so well. Now let's hope this continues!

We have been watching H to see if he seems interested in the food we are eating, but still isn't, which is a relief because I really wanted to wait until six months before we started solids since we have such a family history of allergies. I've been looking and looking at high chairs because I really want a tray so that he can play around and try to feed himself when the time comes. I think we are going to go with the oxo sprout chair, this is after reading hundreds of reviews, lol.

 

[sigh]

Nice to meet you babybell!!

bbgurl - hope you all feel better soon!!

daydream - yay for no swaddle!!!

Kelly - yay for night sleep! We are not having any luck here. She is napping like a champ during the day but sleeping like crap at night! We're taking her to the doctor tomorrow to make sure nothing is wrong and if we get the all clear, it's time for sleep training!

Ellie figured out how to sit up on her own on Sunday and since then i think shes made a huge developmental leap. I'm not sure how to explain it fully but it's like she's lost her newborn stare... her face is more expressive like a child and she seems more aware of things. I feel like she grew suddenly... so weird!

Ear pulling - Ellie was doing this a lot at 3 months and I thought she had an ear infection (she didn't). My doc said babies do it when they're in pain or something is bothering them (like teething), or sometimes they just discover their ears and play with them. When Ellie had the ear infection, she stopped pulling on them and tried to put her fingers in her ear.

 

[ImSoTired]

As bad as it is, I'm relieved I'm not the only one with sleep issues. It makes me feel like I'm not crazy and not necessarily doing anything wrong. Cait woke 4 times last night and only seemed to want to be held. Just as many of you said. I'm just dying to get a bit of sleep.

welcome back bell!

bbygrl hope you are all feeling better. I can't imagine having the whole family sick at once!

Hope everyone is well

 

[bbygurl719]

Ty u all. We r now all on the mend. Savannahs mouth sores are starting to diminish. Ella's getting better since the antibiotics. And yay I feel better. Just my nose is raw and upper lip due to having to blow my nose so much.

 

[Kelly M]

Daydream, thanks. I know I shouldn't worry about it but you know how it goes....mommy brain does what it wants. lol

Sigh, wow that's so great that Ellie learned to sit up! Carter is getting there, still wobbly. He has officially mastered the tummy to back roll though and does it ALL THE TIME now. I think that is a huge part of his sleep issues so hopefully it gets better for us now.

IST, I know what you mean. Last night I finally came to the conclusion that it's nothing I'm doing or not doing so I feel better knowing it's out of my control and he'll sleep better in his own due time. Sleep training has helped though as it's easier to put him down now without having to nurse and rock him for hours only to have him wake up as soon as he's put in the crib.

bbygurl, glad everyone is on the mend!

 

[ImSoTired]

So how are you sleep training Carter, Kelly? Is it from a book you read? I've got nothing to lose as Cait doesn't sleep well anyway so I may as well give it a shot and see if things improve.

Sigh I have noticed a big change in Cait also. I think as their eye sight continues to improve they get smarter everyday. We are still working on sitting up though. Cait seems to be too busy to sit as she keeps diving for her toys but I've gotten her to sit for very short periods of time. That'll be our next milestone most likely. It'll probably be a few weeks before she does it on her own.

Only 2 more weeks of 16 hour harness wearing and then we can go down to 8-10 hours (nights only). I'll be so excited to get rid of this thing! I have to say that we've gotten quite used to it but I still don't like it.

I hope you're all well. And I hope all of the lo's sleep tonight