***December Snowflakes 2012 Parenting***

[Kelly M]

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

We are doing a loose version of The Sleep Lady Shuffle. It's a good fit for us since I can't deal with cc or cio (causes me anxiety). It's more of a gentle approach but still teaches sleep independence. He cried for about an hour the first night but I was there with him the whole time and reassured him from his crib side. Now, he goes down with minimal fussing. I was recommended the book by a friend and she gave it to me to check out from the library a couple weeks ago. He's learning to self settle so it's great. Hasn't really cut down the night wakings yet (although last night was good so maybe it's working). It can take a few weeks and it's tough teaching them but he needs better sleep for his health and so do I! Message me if you want more details on how to do it or just need some support.

Oh, and yeah for only two weeks on day harness! That's great. Bet you all can't wait to burn that darn harness. Glad Cait is making good progress though!

 

[Honey.Bee]

Hi ladies! Sorry - went a bit AWOL for a few days. Loads going on here.

Welcome back Baby Bell!

Tooth - I (belatedly) second Lolly's suggestion of adding some fruit purée to the cereal. For breakfast now, I give Ava baby porridge with different purée and she loves it. To be honest though, she has eaten everything I've given her (!) but she definitely shows more enthusiasm for some foods over others. Ella's do a nice one with mango and apple which she LOVES. I think we've got the eating sussed now. She has 3 meals a day and really enjoys her food.

Sleeping - ah yes. This is us too......I read that it's quite common at this age for everything to go crazy - lots going on developmentally and sleep changing too. It was getting unbearable here. Instead of quietly going to sleep on the breast we went to rocking for 30+ mins, tears, multiple night awakenings, awake periods during the night and fighting napping. But...we have actually made some progress! Ava now goes to sleep by herself, in her cot, with me there and with a little half-hearted protest and will now go 5 hours before her next feed and 3 hours thereafter (which was my goal). I followed Elizabeth Pantley's gentle removal plan (sounds like it might suit you Ocean, when you are ready) and then gradually reduced my input into getting her to sleep - rocking to gentle bobbing, to cuddling, to laying her next to me with cuddles, to laying her in her cot with cuddles to laying her in her cot with my hand on her chest. Don't get me wrong - it's not a quick process but I couldn't bear the idea of CIO. She was also starting to pull at my hair and grab my face in frustration - not nice. I've also had her in a gentle routine and increased her awake time between naps to 2 hours and moved from 3 to 2 naps. This means that I feed her 3 hourly (less frequently than before) but she takes long good feeds instead of snacking. Every baby is different of course, but I read that if baby feeds 1-2 hourly during the day, they will expect it at night too. I think it was the case for us.

Ava sat by herself for about 5 mins yesterday and the little minx has just rolled over front to back as I typed this and wasn't looking! Her two teeth are coming through nicely (no ear rubbing beforehand, just chewing in that area, drooling even more, flushed cheeks and a runny nose.)

Oh, and Ocean, I've moved to disposable liners to catch the poo of the day. Weaning poos are a different ball game to BF poos and Im glad to flush them away!! Fortunately they arrive like clockwork so I can usually get away with only using a couple of liners in the day.

 

[Honey.Bee]

Oh, and Expat - I think you are totally right about 'just being there'. Ava is definitely needing that reassurance. She falls asleep either holding my hand or with her hand on my face. It's so cute. I also whisper or sing gently to her which helps. I guess we shoukd appreciate these times before they become irritable teenagers who want nothing to do with us I also make sure I act promptly if Ava wakes and cries - sometimes she will be reassured with me holding her hand and goes straight back to sleep. I should say I haven't had the stength to work on naps yet - that's next!

And Ocean - I don't think there is a problem with BF to sleep - it's the most natural and cosy way to drift off I can imagine UNLESS it becomes a problem and LO needs it to back to sleep, hence multiple night awakenings. Each Mum has to make her own decision, I guess.

 

[ocean_pearl]

Thanks girls, I've definitely made my peace with bf to sleep, it's easy and he loves
It so not a problem for now, I have to keep reminding myself how little he still is!

 

[ImSoTired]

Thanks, Kelly. It sounds like we are all having sleep issues. It must be the age then... Kelly I am interested in the lady sleep shuffle. I will message you for more info. Also I'm not sure what cc or cio means but I'm assuming it has to do with crying and I can't handle her crying for too long so we won't be going that route either. It also causes me a lot of anxiety and I need to avoid that at all costs.

Last night Cait woke up 3-4 times (I'm not sure which because my brain is all over the place and I can't remember which night is which sometimes) and this time she woke to eat instead of being rocked/ cuddled to sleep. I don't know why she was so hungry. Maybe a growth spurt on the way? I'm going to try to fit in an extra bottle or some cereal tonight before bed to see if that helps.

I can't wait until we're done with this harness! I'm keeping my fx'd that Cait's x-ray in July shows she won't need it anymore! We've had it on her since she was 7 weeks old. Now she's about 23 weeks old? Wow. Feels like forever!

I hope everyone is doing well.

 

[Baby Bell]

ImsoTired I was having terrible time with Lewis waking every hour or two and refusing to go back down, would scream as soon as I put him in his or, but two weeks ago I decided I couldn't go on. I went to GP because everytime he woke up I'd immediately panic hat he was gonna be up for hours and get myself In a state, making Lewis worse. So my GP prescribed me rescue remedy and now no more stress anyway what I did with Lewis once I was no longer as stressed was gave him a cuddle when he woke up, seen to his needs (feed or change or pain relief for teething) then I told hm I love him, put him in his cot, rubbed/tapped his belly and read him Harry Potter, he cried for a little but after 5 mins was asleep. Ever since he's only had one episode of being awake for over 30 mins duriing the night and that because his teething was really sore. Every other time once fed etc he self settles. Dunno if that helps you at all. But I never left him, stayed with him, touching him and he could hear my voice. Xxx

 

[ImSoTired]

Thanks, bell! We really need to work on getting Cait to sleep on a better schedule. We basically have no schedule for anything and it's driving me crazy because I always lived by a schedule and it's making me really anxious and stressed not to. I'd love to get back on track because I know we'd all be happier but I've mistakenly let Cait take over and now there is no set time for anything. We are going to work on it though. Hopefully it will straighten itself all out.

 

[sigh]

https://community.babycenter.com/post/a5417415/how_to_successfully_teach_a_baby_to_sleep_-_3rd_ed

That link has some good info on sleep and sleep training. I'm not sure what we're going to do yet... I keep going back and forth. I sometimes feel like me sitting in the room will make Ellie flip out even more than if I just checked in on her every few minutes. DH and I need to sit down and review our plan before we start this.

 

[Honey.Bee]

IST - cc = controlled crying, CIO = cry it out. There are also some good free resources on
https://www.babysleepsite.com/

Big to you all. Here's hoping for progress x

 

[scoobydrlp]

Hi ladies, I haven't been on for a few days and there's so much to catch up on!

I put Camden to bed by rocking her and BF. She isn't always asleep when I put her in her crib, but she always has a full belly. I think this helps with her sleeping through the night. Personally I love our bedtime routine and wouldn't change it. We usually read a book, then I turn on her lullaby cd and her dreamlite and shut the other lights off in her room. Then rock and nurse, then some cuddles and off to dreamland. It's the only time of day I can count on to have uninterrupted time with her, no distractions.

IST - yay for going down to nights only harness soon! I can't imagine how excited you are!

Yay for those whose LOs are sitting up, or getting close! Camden does pretty well sitting on my lap without other support, but if I put her on the floor she falls in one direction or another pretty quickly.

Anyone elses LO finding their pets hilarious? Camden laughs every time she sees our dog and is reaching out to grab whatever fur is available. She loves the cats too. Luckily my pets don't seem to mind her at all. Here's a silly picture of my cat Crash cleaning up the high chair tray after our rice cereal today.

https://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/o725/scoobydrlp/null_zps52375472.jpg

 

[cococobain]

Just a quick update here. I can't believe how much everyone's babies have changed developmentally since I was last on here! Sitting up, rolling everywhere, eating solids! I love hearing about how your babies are changing in character too, becoming more expressive and curious of the world around them

We're not anywhere near sitting here. When I prop her up she just slouches and is not interested whatsoever. I think the next development might be rolling from back to front. She managed to do so yesterday with a smidge of help from my sister (we placed her toy just out of reach so she rolled to her side to grab it, then we did a little tug to coax her the rest of the way, haha) and she moves objects from hand to hand and has to inspect everything now.

She's still just BF for the moment. I don't feel she's ready for solids just yet since she isn't sitting like most of your LOs and doesn't seem keen on it anyway. I'm going to attempt reintroducing the bottle over the next few weeks though so wish me luck! I hate wasting pumped milk every-time she rejects the bottle :/

Good luck mummies on sleep training xx Glad to hear everything is alright with your babes!

 

[juless]

So lovely to read and catch up on everyone's LO's! We're starting some solids here, going to do some BLW, but I'm still giving her rice cereal (mixed with fruit, applesauce, etc) here and there! To be honest, I'm a bit nervous about her choking with BLW, any tips on not freaking out constantly about it? Tess is sitting up great when I hold her but still not on her own. Is now able to roll (but doesn't like to much as she hates being on her belly!) and is SO curious! She looooves the remote controls and will reach for them constantly! Of course the TOY remote she has just isn't the same, lol! For sleeping, she still ends up in bed with us when she wakes up. Not really intentional, I just lay her there so I can feed her but I fall asleep too. Oh well, it's working for now! I do need to stop soon though, as before I know it, it will be time for her to move to share a room with her sister, which in itself is going to be a hard switch I imagine! Not looking forward to that at all!
Anyone else's LO's going through some crazy screaming fits? I think it's her teeth, but not sure as her stomach is also really gurgling. Tessa now wakes up shrieking from naps or in the evenings she just starts up. When she is alone with my husband he ends up calling me to come home as she won't eat, won't settle and he doesn't know what to do. It's not just a cry, it's like a shriek! I got some freezing gel for her gums to try this evening when I go to derby practice so we'll see if she settles better....

 

[sigh]

Jules - Ellie does this. I think it is a combination of the discomfort of teething etc and the fact that she's figured out how to control the volume of her "oohs" and "aahs"... so she's practicing

Coco - yay for rolling! Ellie is nowhere close to rolling back to front. She tries it in her sleep but when she's awake she has no interest in it. We've tried everything and no luck so far!

Scooby - Yes! Ellie loves our dog! She just stares at him and babbles/giggles. She is very interested in his tail and grabs for it (she missed once and grabbed his his butt..gross lol)

IST - yay for no harness soon!


She went to bed at 830, up at 835, back down at 845, up at 9, back down at 920, up at 945 then went down from 10-1145. I fed her at 11:45 and put her back down at 1245. Ellie slept from 1245 to 730!!!!!!!!!!! She did wake at 430 and 530 and cried but by the time I got up and went to the bathroom she had settled herself back to sleep. This is HUGE for us... hopefully it sticks! I blacked out her windows with black bath towels so the sun doesn't disturb her in the morning.

To clarify, she can't sit herself up all by herself. She can pull herself up with my hands and then is able to sit by herself (She occassionally falls over but she sat for almost 5 minutes a few days ago!). Here's a pic from this morning. She's also obsessed with the pj pants I'm wearing... she talks to themm lol

 

[cococobain]

Aww! Her smile! Well done Eliana! I think while she doesn't know how to get herself into a sitting position you are fine.... the nightmare starts when she can sit herself up but can't get back down!

 

[ImSoTired]

Thanks honey bee. I'm not sure I can listen to Cait cry for any extended period of time. I'd go crazy.

Scooby our dog is mostly an outside dog but comes in at night to sleep. The dog is very interested in Cait and makes anxious noises and wags her tail and wiggles her whole body and lies on the floor. The dog is old and has sinus problems so she often makes a 'dryer buzzer' noise and Cait thinks that's the funniest noise ever. Otherwise she just listens and watches the dog walk around. It's so funny how curious the lo's are of their pets and vise versa. Adorable pic also!

coco good luck introducing the bottle! I hope she takes it!

jules I'm also afraid of choking which is why I'm doing the purees and baby food. She may be ready but mommy is not.

Sigh that is great that Ellie slept! Cait didn't sleep well again last night and I am exhausted. I hope that Ellie continues to sleep for you and I hope all of our lo's begin sleeping through the night. Btw Ellie's pic of her sitting up is beautiful! Look at that proud smile! Cait isn't there yet. SHe sits sort of slumped and falls pretty quickly. Soon enough she'll be sitting. I don't really want to rush it. I can't believe our little ones are coming up on the 6 month mark!

I have begun to read the book that Kelly suggested and so far it is making sense. It's just going to take some time and patience. I also need to get DH on the same page as I because right now he thinks our schedule and routine is fine but it is truly non-existent! He is just imagining we have some sort of schedule and he really isn't the one getting up in the middle of the night so he doesn't realize that there is an issue. Don't get me wrong, he is a great dad and usually very helpful and supportive, but I made the mistake of letting him sleep because he works a lot. Now I'm stuck with the lack of sleep and he doesn't even know there is a problem. I'm going to have to begin a strict schedule and we will all have to live with it. I just hope I can get her to sleep!

I hope you're all having a good day!

 

[ttc_lolly]

Hi ladies I've been AWOL again, just not enough hours in the day at the moment! Millie will be 6 months old (ALREADY in just 4 days time and she has majorly hit the 6 month growth spurt and the 26week wonder week, both at the same time I think. She's just been cranky all day long and then a nightmare come bedtime last night was a little better, so hopefully we are coming out the other end and I can try and regain some of my sanity back!

It's great seeing all the pics and reading the updates, although I did skim read admittedly. Honey, fantastic about Av, a sitting and rolling Millie hasn't rolled since she was 4 months I think I don't think Amber was much of a roller either though so not concerned although it would be nice if she could learn so to help herself get places and toys giving me a a break haha!

Ocean, Millie still feeds to sleep too. It's not a problem for us though as it's just the initial putting down first thing at bedtime. No advice I'm afraid does Oliver use a comforter or anything? Maybe try introduce one, but I'm sure it'll be something he grows out of. It's hard, I always forget how little Millie still is! I do sometimes wish she'd start STTN (still feeds once or twice) but she's only 6 months old... not even 2/3rds the length of time she spent growing inside of me being constantly comforted and not alone! So I'm just fully embracing her baby-ness she'll do what she needs to do when she's ready I figure.

Sorry to all posts/questions I've missed, I had a little break whilst Millie napped but she's now yelling down the monitor for me so I better go answer her royal highness xx

 

[Chloe597]

Scooby, love the pic! We have a black and white cat who looks similarly. Gabby tries to grab her, and she loves it, but unfortunately it's cat shedding time, so her fur gets EVERYWHERE, and i am constantly wiping it off of gabby.

Sigh, cute pictures! and i'm so happy she slept for so long last night!!

G has started sitting unassisted, but not for long periods of time. And when she falls backwards, she can't quite catch herself yet to prevent the falling, but she can prevent falling sideways and forwards (sometimes). Here is a pic of her sitting

 

[Kelly M]

Jules, Carter wakes up crying a lot these days for no apparent reason. I think it's developmental somehow as he never used to cry when he woke or before going to sleep.

Sigh, yay for sleep! Hope that continues. Carter did the usual last night so no luck here. Those pics are so adorable btw! What a big girl!

Coco, it won't be long before she rolls on her own. Carter was doing it with a gentle tug on a toy from us too and a couple weeks later.... Boom!

Ist, hope it helps. Keep me posted on your progress. It's tough getting dh on board for me too. He doesn't have a clue what's going on but he is a great dad as well. Just works all the time so doesn't know what to do when it comes to routine as I'm the main parent here most the time.

Sooby, adorable picture! Carter laughs at the dog a lot now and watches him constantly. Luckily our dog is super tolerant and lets him tug on his ears and fur when I can't stop him in time.

Chloe, so cute! Go Gabby!

Sorry if I missed anyone. Lot's to read up on here.

Carter sleeps with the blanket over his face. This is how he has learned to soothe himself to sleep in his crib. I'm happy he can fall asleep in his crib now but paranoid about the blanket. It's a light, thin one but I try to use blanket sleepers when I can. He just loves the blanket though. He has a small taggie blanket that puts over his head too. It scares me!

https://i40.tinypic.com/df9c36.jpg

 

[ttc_lolly]

Kelly, that is so cute! Millie does the same thing with her muslin cloths (or spit up cloths to you!?). They are really thin too but I always tuck 2/3rds of it under her body so only a small bit can cover her face. These odd little babes

 

[ImSoTired]

Chloe yay for Gabby! She looks like such a big girl sitting there! What a sweetie!

Thank's kelly. We haven't begun the sleep training yet as I want to wait until I finish the book and have more an idea of a schedule I'd like to follow. I know what you mean about getting DH on board, mine has no idea what I mean and it frustrates me so that + lack of sleep =fights. He just doesn't know any better though, I need to find a way to explain the importance of a regular routine.

lolly, kelly, Cait does the same thing! I'm forever pulling the blanket from off of her face. It scares me too but I'm not sure what to do about it. So odd that they each do it!?

Anyway back to schedules and routines...does anyone have a set schedule that works for them? Cait and I have NO schedule at all. I'm hoping to get her on an eat and sleep routine. I keep wracking my brain trying to account for 13-15 hrs of sleep and 24-30 oz of formula but it seems almost impossible with Cait. I'm thinking I need to lower my expectations...?