Sleep Sense Support Group!

[Cattia]

I DID IT!!!!!! OH was working this afternoon so I put Abigail down for her last nap of the day at 4pm (a bit earlier than normal). It's the nap she never takes, we always end up going out but we couldn't today as I had the yummy mumies over. True to form she started screaming, anyway I went in and did the 'sleep time now Abigail, night night' bit. She carried on, then I went in again, one of the other mums told me not to make eye contact, so I didn't. The crying got less, so then I went in a third time, did the same, and she went to sleep! So chuffed! She slept for half an hour which is OK for the last nap. She still has her upset tummy too and has been crying with tummy ache every time shehas a poo So proud of her

 

[polaris]

I DID IT!!!!!! OH was working this afternoon so I put Abigail down for her last nap of the day at 4pm (a bit earlier than normal). It's the nap she never takes, we always end up going out but we couldn't today as I had the yummy mumies over. True to form she started screaming, anyway I went in and did the 'sleep time now Abigail, night night' bit. She carried on, then I went in again, one of the other mums told me not to make eye contact, so I didn't. The crying got less, so then I went in a third time, did the same, and she went to sleep! So chuffed! She slept for half an hour which is OK for the last nap. She still has her upset tummy too and has been crying with tummy ache every time shehas a poo So proud of her

Yay! Well done to you and Abigail! I find that I can't make eye contact with Thomas either as it definitely keeps him awake.

How is everyone else doing?

TennisGal - really hope your heart to heart with DD paid off and she's finally cutting down the night feeds to a more reasonable amount.

Re naps: that's interesting that some of your LO's seem to be phasing out the afternoon nap. Thomas definitely isn't yet - he still needs four naps a day sometimes if they are all short naps. I thought that babies dropped their afternoon nap sometime around about the six month mark but I guess as with everything else they are all different. I have read that they transition to one nap sometime around about the year mark maybe (? I forget exactly) and I have read that this transition can be a bit tricky to manage as there is often a cross-over period where they have moved to one nap but it's not really enough and they are totally cranky and exhausted by the evening. Or sometimes they drop the wrong nap (taking a good morning nap but not taking an afternoon nap) and again this leads to cranky exhausted baby by evening time. So nice to know that we have that to look forward to, LOL!

 

[history_girls]

Hello everyone! Gosh I miss BnB during the day at work. We are a little exhausted here! Yesterday was big tears from me as LO had a bit of a rough day (slept more but a bit moany). She was so tired didn't hear from her all night and had to wake her up at 7am to be able to leave by 7.45! Today she was better and managed two and a half hours worth of naps so slowly going up. I keep hoping it will get better!

Cattia - when I was doing naps I would never look at her I used to sit on the opposite side of the room so she could see me but not my face. Strange but it worked! as for the teaching yesterday I wanted to be a SAHM so much it hurt! I think I would like to do 3 days next term but if OH gets this job next week I would have to do 4 days. I'm trying not to make my mind up on day 3! Just in case it all clicks and I'm happy to keep working.

Shampian Welcome!

So much to catch up on!

 

[TennisGal]

HG hope you have a good night tonight - and got everything crossed that the job situ for you and Mr HG works out perfectly for the whole family. I guess the first week is the hardest? HOW well is Phoebe doing with her naps? What a little bunny! I bet Maxy has been missing you, too?

Cattia: FAB news on the naps. I may have to try limiting eye contact, as DD has a worked out if she catches my eye and gives me a disarming smile, I have about as much will power to persist as I would running a marathon, lol.

Polaris: Looking forward to the nap transition, lol! DD had four feeds again last night! I spoke to HV, who was useless and was basically trying to say she wasn't feeding, just comforting. When I kept labouring the point I could hear her drinking, and the milk in her tummy...I got no proper thoughts at all. Well, it's all fine, really...I feel comfortable knowing she's getting enough A bit more sleep would be quite nice...I woke up in the wee hours bleating on about needing to go to the polling station (?!?!) so must have been dreaming about the election. What a weirdo.

DD enjoyed her food today - I've got some good photos building up of her various facial expressions Very funny and cute

 

[TennisGal]

Cattia - am with you on the Nesquik, hehehe

 

[nenee]

Hi there

Would it be ok to join this thread for support? Im thinking of starting the sleepsense programme etc

my little girl is 4 wks on sat and been having trouble with her getting of to sleep where she can fuss for an hr which is taking its toll on me espcially at 4 am in the morning ;0(

she is swaddled and has a dummy when fussing then she spits it out when shes nodded of, i would like to go dummy free but not sure if shes too young just yet especially as she takes an hr to nodd of as it it.

anyone else have a young baby who had a dummy and u stopped it? how did it go with the sitting by them, picking them up if crying a lot and putting them back down until they nodd of?

im struggling at the mo with PND and the crying does not help i end up crying myself most days with frustration and exhaustion ;0(

nenee

 

[polaris]

HG hope you have a good night tonight - and got everything crossed that the job situ for you and Mr HG works out perfectly for the whole family. I guess the first week is the hardest? HOW well is Phoebe doing with her naps? What a little bunny! I bet Maxy has been missing you, too?

Cattia: FAB news on the naps. I may have to try limiting eye contact, as DD has a worked out if she catches my eye and gives me a disarming smile, I have about as much will power to persist as I would running a marathon, lol.

Polaris: Looking forward to the nap transition, lol! DD had four feeds again last night! I spoke to HV, who was useless and was basically trying to say she wasn't feeding, just comforting. When I kept labouring the point I could hear her drinking, and the milk in her tummy...I got no proper thoughts at all. Well, it's all fine, really...I feel comfortable knowing she's getting enough A bit more sleep would be quite nice...I woke up in the wee hours bleating on about needing to go to the polling station (?!?!) so must have been dreaming about the election. What a weirdo.

DD enjoyed her food today - I've got some good photos building up of her various facial expressions Very funny and cute

You must be just totally exhausted at this stage. How does she even fit four feeds in to one night?!? I really felt tired when Thomas was waking up every two hours when we were away for two nights so I can't imagine how you are feeling after several weeks of this. HV sounds pretty useless (surprise, LOL!), I would imagine that you can tell the difference at this stage after six months breast-feeding between a comfort suck and a proper feed. I wonder though whether she has got into a bit of a habit of large meals at night-time and smaller feeds during the day? I have read somewhere that if babies are used to feeding during the night, then they will feel hungry at that time even if they COULD be taking in those calories during the day instead, and that babies of this age often feed better at night because there are fewer distractions. I've no idea how you would go about breaking that habit though (if that's what it is). Do you think she's still growth spurting - or were you saying that she's settled back to normal now during the day?

 

[polaris]

Hi there

Would it be ok to join this thread for support? Im thinking of starting the sleepsense programme etc

my little girl is 4 wks on sat and been having trouble with her getting of to sleep where she can fuss for an hr which is taking its toll on me espcially at 4 am in the morning ;0(

she is swaddled and has a dummy when fussing then she spits it out when shes nodded of, i would like to go dummy free but not sure if shes too young just yet especially as she takes an hr to nodd of as it it.

anyone else have a young baby who had a dummy and u stopped it? how did it go with the sitting by them, picking them up if crying a lot and putting them back down until they nodd of?

im struggling at the mo with PND and the crying does not help i end up crying myself most days with frustration and exhaustion ;0(

nenee

Hi nenee, you are very welcome to join for a bit of support.
Big hugs, it sounds like things are pretty difficult for you at the moment, especially with the PND which will be making everything much harder to cope with. I found the first couple of months were a bit of a blur and I have to admit that I just did whatever worked to try and settle LO at that age. We had lots of long walks because the pram would always get him off to sleep (got me out of the house too which stopped me going completely insane!) and I let him sleep on my chest most of the time because when I tried to move him to the Moses basket he would wake up straight away and scream and scream. My LO suffered quite badly with wind and I didn't really feel comfortable to start any sort of sleep training until that eased for him at about three to four months. The first couple of months are tough going with a new baby and I found it easier not to worry too much about getting into a routine because it was only stressing me out even more when it didn't work. So I don't really have any experience of using sleepsense with a younger baby I'm afraid. But nevertheless will be happy to try to help in any way I can.

 

[nenee]

Hi there

Would it be ok to join this thread for support? Im thinking of starting the sleepsense programme etc

my little girl is 4 wks on sat and been having trouble with her getting of to sleep where she can fuss for an hr which is taking its toll on me espcially at 4 am in the morning ;0(

she is swaddled and has a dummy when fussing then she spits it out when shes nodded of, i would like to go dummy free but not sure if shes too young just yet especially as she takes an hr to nodd of as it it.

anyone else have a young baby who had a dummy and u stopped it? how did it go with the sitting by them, picking them up if crying a lot and putting them back down until they nodd of?

im struggling at the mo with PND and the crying does not help i end up crying myself most days with frustration and exhaustion ;0(

nenee

Hi nenee, you are very welcome to join for a bit of support.
Big hugs, it sounds like things are pretty difficult for you at the moment, especially with the PND which will be making everything much harder to cope with. I found the first couple of months were a bit of a blur and I have to admit that I just did whatever worked to try and settle LO at that age. We had lots of long walks because the pram would always get him off to sleep (got me out of the house too which stopped me going completely insane!) and I let him sleep on my chest most of the time because when I tried to move him to the Moses basket he would wake up straight away and scream and scream. My LO suffered quite badly with wind and I didn't really feel comfortable to start any sort of sleep training until that eased for him at about three to four months. The first couple of months are tough going with a new baby and I found it easier not to worry too much about getting into a routine because it was only stressing me out even more when it didn't work. So I don't really have any experience of using sleepsense with a younger baby I'm afraid. But nevertheless will be happy to try to help in any way I can.

Thank you for your reply hun

I think im putting to much pressure on myself and the pnd is not helping me think straight either.

This website and the other mums on here are fab glad i found it as need advice i think to get me though the next few months its such a difficult time i feel like im in a blur all the time to and cant think straight.

but glad i can come here for advice as i struggle on

thank you
nenee

 

[TennisGal]

Nenee, welcome to the thread I'd agree with what Polaris says...for the first few months, we let DD lead the way...and rested when she did, and stuffed housework etc! Don't put too much pressure on yourself, have you got someone who could keep a watchful eye on your LO while you get a good sleep? It will make you feel a lot more human.

We didn't start SS until DD was five months, but there are some mums on here who started earlier...also some who have worked with the dummy (DD is a thumb gal)

Come here with any questions or if you need any support, it's a great thread

 

[nenee]

Hi ya

Thank you so much for your warm welcome, both your advice has made me realise im stressing too much about routine and the dummy i guess my pnd is making me anxious and focusing too much on my little girls routine rather than getting threw the next few months and then try the sleep sense programme cause it looks like a fab programme to follow.

Has anyone had any experience with babies being sick after feeding?

when my lo has her bottle she tends to choke each time has hiccups and projectile vomits about once twice a day and then has spit ups occasionaly? just wondering if this is normal or could it be a reason shes fussing for hr lying flat for naps?

just a thought

nenee

 

[TennisGal]

P - yes, I was wondering if it was starting to become a habit...but, she's feeding lots during the day, too (I thought it was back to normal...!) Her routine is as such during the day:

6am (ish) BF

8:30 BF and brekkie

11:30 BF

12:00 lunch

2:30 BF

17:30 dinner, water...BF!

19:20 (ish) BF

Her feeds are all about five minutes now, she's become a speed feeder(!) I tried offering her more during the day, but she's not that interested. Pretty much every three hours...and at night, can be every two hrs or three. I've also been feeding her in our bed during the day, dimmed light, very calm, little distractions. I expressed about 3oz from one side this evening, worried that wasn't enough...but bit of research showed that's good. So think supply is ok.

Just not sure! DH and I said we'd give it a bit longer, until three solids are fully established...and then work out if it's a habit or whether she's the hungriest baby around

We currently think it could be linked with all the big diet changes, and it's comforting for her to BF lots. If she needs that until she's happy with the routine, that's all fine.

And yes, HV team as helpful as ever *rolls eyes*. After the last vitamin debacle, I wasn't expecting great things, lol.

Am tiiiiired, though!

 

[TennisGal]

Nenee, DD is BF - but when she was younger, she could bring up an entire feed if the winding wasn't right! I'd mention it to your doc, just in case they want to check for reflux. When they are little, their digestive systems are very immature...and so wind can cause all sorts of issues.

If wind and/or reflux, your doc will be able to give something to help

 

[aimee-lou]

Morning ladies, I hope we had a good night.

Quickie question - Earl's sleep cycle has definitely extended to 2.5 hours awake between naps. Sometimes it's less but the last 3 nights we go up to bed at normal time and half an hour later we're both still staring at one another waiting for him to get tired. I don't really know what to do. I tried yesterday to do 2.5 hours between naps, but he had some tummy issues and woke up way too early from his 3rd nap (should have been from 3-4pm, work up at 3.20) and wouldn't go back down so I had to resort to cuddles and snoozing on the sofa. He caught 15 mins at 5pm, so consequently was not tired at 7pm when we started his bottle and bed routine. He eventually fell asleep at 7.45, precisely 2.5 hours after his catnap!

I'm not sure whether my plan is ok though. I'm going to try again today with the 2 hours between naps. He should be ok with his naps today as the tummy upset seems to have dissipated (had a bit of a blockage not any more lol) so if all goes to plan I should be able to start his bedtime routine at normal time. If not, then I'll wait a bit of extra time and just let him grizzle it out down here lol - he hates to be kept waiting for his bath lol.

One other thing though....I have scratches all over my face. Earl has taken to, while having his milk feeds, stroking my face, grabbing my nose, lips, glasses, basically giving me a good bashing lol. Not sure how to stop that....all I know is he needs his nails trimming lol

 

[polaris]

Morning ladies.
We have been awake since quarter to six - too early! I didn't get him up until ten past when it became clear that he wasn't going back to sleep - turned out he had a pooey nappy, I had thought it would be as that normally seems to be what causes the early wake ups. No magic solution to that one I guess?

TennisGal - that sounds like a good plan to see how she settles down once solids are fully established. She sounds like one hungry girl between all the meals and the breast feeds! Hopefully as you say the night feeds will sort themselves out with a little bit of time. A few people have said to me that the first month starting solids is a bit mad so hopefully it's that.

Nenee - could definitely be connected so as TG says maybe mention it to your GP, could be a touch of reflux. My LO hated lying flat because of his wind - I let him nap in the bouncy chair a lot during the day and often brought him into bed with me at night. If it is wind/reflux that makes it uncomfortable for her to lie flat then it should improve as she gets older and her digestive system matures a bit - so I wouldn't worry too much if you can't get her to settle in her cot/crib for the moment.

Aimee-Lou - I have noticed with Thomas that he seems to be able to go longer between naps as the day progresses. So in the morning, he can only manage maybe an hour and three quarters or two hours, but before bedtime he is often up for two and a half or even three hours. He quite often gets up from his last nap at about 4ish and still doesn't go to bed until 7. Following more research (yes I am obsessed!) I have found that this is quite normal for babies to go longer stretches in the afternoons and that most will eventually settle into roughly a 2-3-4 pattern, where they go down for their first nap two hours after getting up, go down for second nap three hours after getting up from first nap, and go to bed four hours after getting up from second nap. (this is after they drop the third nap).

 

[history_girls]

Morning - a quick post before back to the mad house!

LO slept like a log again last night with only a squeal at 1.30 and with an extra blanket over her sleeping bag she went back to sleep! I let her have 35 mins in the car last night on the way home (went via in-laws) so she was a lot happier in the evening.

TG - Thanks for the Hugs and wishes for OH. I'm constantly asking him interview questions the poor boy! The dog is fine, sulking a bit but my FIL has him four days a week so that helps (dosen't help my manic mornings dropping him off though!). Phoebe is settling a bit better now and I'm hopeful that she will sleep more each day. As this is only the temporary childminder it will prob change when she moves. But this morning they are going to coffee with my sister who DD adores! Is yours still marathon eating?

Nenee - welcome! Like the others I went with LO and started sleepsense at about 5 months I think (could have been just under). My LO was a rat at sleeping at that age and I would put her in her carrier all day just for some peace and then pace at night. It will get better, they just are so bewildered by the whole world! I used to play white noise at that age to help get her off - the hairdryer or then my mp3 player when i discovered a free site with the mp3 of white noise. Not perfect but it gave me a break. I think I cried everyday until she was 8 weeks old (oh and now I'm back at work it starts again!!!) so know how you feel.

right gowh the time has flown should have left two mins ago!!!1

bye!

 

[polaris]

One other thing though....I have scratches all over my face. Earl has taken to, while having his milk feeds, stroking my face, grabbing my nose, lips, glasses, basically giving me a good bashing lol. Not sure how to stop that....all I know is he needs his nails trimming lol

LOL, I am the same! Thomas likes to put his hands in my mouth and will then yank my bottom lip hard, ouchy, he also like grabbing my nose. You can get nursing necklaces to distract them and give them something to do with their hands while feeding, they are designed for breast fed babies so I actually didn't realize you would have this problem with a bottle fed baby but I don't see why you couldn't try something similar? If you google nursing necklaces there are lots of sites but you would probably be able to make your own for a lot cheaper (I think TG did for example).

 

[polaris]

Morning - a quick post before back to the mad house!

LO slept like a log again last night with only a squeal at 1.30 and with an extra blanket over her sleeping bag she went back to sleep! I let her have 35 mins in the car last night on the way home (went via in-laws) so she was a lot happier in the evening.

TG - Thanks for the Hugs and wishes for OH. I'm constantly asking him interview questions the poor boy! The dog is fine, sulking a bit but my FIL has him four days a week so that helps (dosen't help my manic mornings dropping him off though!). Phoebe is settling a bit better now and I'm hopeful that she will sleep more each day. As this is only the temporary childminder it will prob change when she moves. But this morning they are going to coffee with my sister who DD adores! Is yours still marathon eating?

Nenee - welcome! Like the others I went with LO and started sleepsense at about 5 months I think (could have been just under). My LO was a rat at sleeping at that age and I would put her in her carrier all day just for some peace and then pace at night. It will get better, they just are so bewildered by the whole world! I used to play white noise at that age to help get her off - the hairdryer or then my mp3 player when i discovered a free site with the mp3 of white noise. Not perfect but it gave me a break. I think I cried everyday until she was 8 weeks old (oh and now I'm back at work it starts again!!!) so know how you feel.

right gowh the time has flown should have left two mins ago!!!1

bye!

Hi HG - good to see you still finding time to drop in and update us. Sounds like Phoebe is starting to settle down, it's a shame that it is only a temporary arrangement and has to change again but can't be helped. Are you starting to settle into it a bit more yet? I am really dreading going back - I was just chatting to a friend about it the other day (she doesn't have kids) and she was shocked and said that she thought I would be dying to get back to work after almost a year at home. I would probably have thought so too before I had my LO though. Fingers crossed for your OH's interview too, hope it all works out well, it does sound like a much better option for him, but at least if he doesn't get the job then you might be able to think about going to three days if you still feel you need to so it's not all bad. (hope I understood that right, feeling a bit muddled, LOL!)

 

[jacs]

Hi nenee!

Great to have you! Evan is bottle fed, and at that age he often used to have little pools of milk on his mattress, which would wake him up. However, he has only been 'properly' sick a couple of times, so I would mention it definitely.
There's a member called hivechild who was using SS with a young baby. I think it's going quite well for her, you could look back at her posts on here?

Keep coming on here, lots of great ideas and support!

 

[jacs]

One other thing though....I have scratches all over my face. Earl has taken to, while having his milk feeds, stroking my face, grabbing my nose, lips, glasses, basically giving me a good bashing lol. Not sure how to stop that....all I know is he needs his nails trimming lol

Aagh Evan is doing this! He tugs my hair really hard as well! I've noticed he gets very distracted generally during feeds at the minute. The slightest noise or movement, and he loses interest and it's game over. Because of this, I'm letting him 'play' with me, hoping it'll keep him interested!
Interesting about the increased awake time, we're still on 2 hours, but sometimes he manages 2.5. It's great that we can spot things like this - before SS I wouldn't have had a clue how long Evan stayed up for!
We sometimes have problems with the last nap interfering with bed time. All we manage to do is try an earlier bed time, or really zip through bed time routine!

HG - sounds like you are doing such a brilliant job with everything going at once! You must be so organised. Hope DD enjoys her day - Evan loves seeing his aunty too!

Polaris - We're still plodding along with 6am wake-ups, I share your pain (and the bags under the eyes) today!

TG - you poor thing, HV can be so vague and crappy at times. When I told mine I was concerned about painful sounding noises that Evan was making all night she said 'well put him in another room and you won't hear it' (he was about 4 weeks old!). How was last night?