Summer Sensations! (due May/June 2013)

[No Doubt]

What are you doing Rae, lol. I wish Virtue would sleep through the night, but to be honest I don't think he is cause he's so hungry all the time. I read that sleeping through the night is considered between midnight and 5 am. Virtue's done that but just at the wrong time, lol. His first stretch of the night is his long stretch then he's back to the three hours.

 

[raelynn]

I've been sticking to the same bedtime routine for the past couple weeks. At 10pm I take her up for a bath, I keep a warm washcloth on her tummy the whole time and the bath faucet running to soothe her. Then I dress her for bed and feed her. I make sure she eats really well right before bed. I hold her off feeding before bed if I can so I know she'll eat well. If I can't hold her off, I give her a bottle of expressed milk so I know she gets enough. Full tummy = sleepy baby. I burp her and then lay her down with a pacifier. I get ready for bed while she's settling down since she'll spit the pacifier out a couple times before falling asleep so I just stick it back in after she fusses for a while (I don't go running to her as soon as she spits it out). I also change her diaper if she needs it before she falls asleep.

I think sticking to the same routine helps a lot. Also, I keep the lights in the room low while feeding, burping, and diaper change. She's been sleeping about 5 hours every night but last night was lucky 7. I also attach a swaddled blanket (the kind that Velcros) around her waist. She likes her hands free so I leave them out.

 

[No Doubt]

We pretty much have the same bedtime routine except true paci...Virtue won't take one at all, but we didn't want to give him one anyway so we were ok with that. Only we start earlier so maybe we should try starting later. We probably will anyway when I go back to work so that might be a good idea for us to try mater now. Virtue normally gives us the long stretch from 9- 1 or 2, so maybe if we stick with it we'll get a lucky 7.

 

[raelynn]

Didn't get 7 last night but she did sleep for 6. I'm still happy with that. She's also been a little gassy the past couple days so I think that is what woke her.

No Doubt - My mom said neither me or my sister would take a pacifier so some babies just don't like it. Haylee is definitely a comfort sucker. She was sucking on her fingers in pretty much every ultrasound picture and if she doesn't have a pacifier she sucks on her hand. The downside is that she fusses when she loses the pacifier. Starting the routine later May help. We only get a couple hour naps in the early evening but she sleeps through later. Maybe because it has been dark for a while and the neighborhood quiets down. Good luck!

 

[MissAnnabelle]

Rae how about a wubanub? I bought one on amazon it's a stuffed animal with a paci on it so its easier for them to hold into. I have one but Allie won't take a paci either.

 

[TwoRdue]

Jasper is not to fussed on a dummy except at 2am when he decides he want to stay awake. It works out perfect as I can put him in the bassinet and he will suck away to he falls asleep but in the day he don't like it at all.. I do prefer him to be a timber sucker but I guess that is hard when you are been swaddled.

 

[raelynn]

Miss A - We have a wubanub too but she can still manage to spit it out or she grabs or smacks the stuffed animal away and so the pacifier gets pulled out too. I figure eventually she'll figure out how to put it back in on her own. She already gets the idea of putting her hand over the pacifier to hold it in.

 

[Christie2011]

Nicholas never wanted a pacifier. I thought he was going to be a thumb sucker, but he doesn't do that either. If he gets a bottle when he goes down for a nap or bed, then he'll just roll over and put himself to sleep. Some times he'll even just play/talk to himself for a half hour in bed before putting himself to sleep. He was the easy baby.

Leo takes a pacifier. He doesn't have the hand over the pacifier down to keep it in yet though. I woke him to change him and give him 3 oz bottle before bed last night and he gave me 4 hours. I think he may have taken more if I had given him more, so maybe we'll try that tonight. I like the bottle before bed so I know how much he is getting and it's with a slow nipple, so he doesn't get as gassy which makes it easier for him to sleep longer.

It has taken a day or so for Nicholas to adjust after traveling but he seems a lot happier today than he was when we first got to my parent's house. He was very clingy to me and wouldn't go to my dad, though it was my dad who watched him for a week after my c-sect.

Leo didn't let traveling interrupt his schedule. Which is good, but I'm exhausted. I'm getting less sleep since I"m not going to bed when Leo does, the family is staying up later, but I still have to get up early with the boys. I want to keep them on my work schedule hours since I'll be going back in a week.

 

[No Doubt]

I think the later time and a full belly is key....thanks Rae. He slept from 10-3 last night, ate then back down til 6! So we are rejuvenated after a restless night and day before. Virtue is a thumb sucker, but not often.

 

[raelynn]

Isn't it amazing how great a little sleep feels after so long of going without? Haylee has settled into a 6 hours a night routine. I think I'm going to try and move bath time about 30 min earlier so that if she continues this schedule when I'm back at work, I can go back to sleep for an hour or two after feeding her so I don't have to get through the work day on only 6 hours or less. I definitely can't wait for the 12 hour sleep schedule so I can get some things done after she falls asleep without worrying about losing precious sleep.

 

[Christie2011]

Leo must be going through a growth spurt. He slept 7 hours straight last night! And that's right after a 3 hour nap. Though that did not mean mommy got 7 hours. Leo went to sleep at 8:30, I went to bed at 9:30 and Nick got up at 10:30, but then I got to sleep until 3. Still a good night over all.

Leo has also been sleeping most of the day. I think Nick is going through a spurt too. His appetite has increased. He wants more food than bottles. He has also just figured out how to sit up on his own today and has finally started taking some crawling steps.

 

[No Doubt]

I think Virtue is going through a growth spurt right now too. He's doing the whole eating and sleeping a lot thing right now. They say around 6 weeks is a growth spurt then not again until 3 months. Another long stretch again last night and guess who was not asleep...me! I woke up at 1 and couldn't get back til 5. Needless to say I took a nap today.

 

[raelynn]

Haylee slept 7 hours last night too. She seems to wake at 6 every day, probably because our room has skylights and the sun comes in. I moved up her bath and feeding last night since I was exhausted and she slept until 6 again so hoping that will continue and I'll keep the bath time earlier.

I think Haylee May be going through a growth spurt too or her gas has gotten worse this week. She's been cranky and straining to pass gas or poop constantly and then starts screaming about it, then since she's screaming she wants to nurse even if it's only been an hour since she last ate. I hope we get back to the old routine soon.

 

[GettingBroody]

Decided to do some baking while Fia is asleep and have just realised I've no cocoa God I miss just being able to hop in the car and fly to the shop!! (It's literally just around the corner, do ye think I've time to get there and back before she wakes up?!!)

 

[raelynn]

Getting - I know what you mean! Hubby and I have been taking turns grocery shopping just so it isn't a whole production.

 

[No Doubt]

Same here...except its just me doing the shopping, lol.

 

[raelynn]

We had bad thunderstorms here last night that interrupted both my and baby's sleep. Apparently a little interruption in the night sleep means she sleeps all day. She woke long enough for a diaper change and feed and then went right back to sleep while I was burping her. She's still sleeping away.

 

[Christie2011]

We had a good thunderstorm when we were in NY to the point where 2 of the thunders shook the house. Both my boys slept right threw it. I was prepared to have to comfort Nick, but he never woke up.

My last week at home with the boys. While I am ready to start working again, I miss being a part of the working world, I am dreading leaving my boys in daycare. I've begun to make a cheat sheet for the daycare provider letting her know about each boy. I'm really worried Leo is going to frustrate her with his bouts of seemingly random fussiness. He will eat during these fussy periods and it will calm him down, but he ends up just spitting it all back up, or so it seems.

 

[No Doubt]

I'm sure they won't be bothered by his fussy moments, they're used to it. The cheat sheet is a good idea. I will have to do that when I go back to work. I can't wait to see what Virtue will be like at 12 weeks! Then I really won't want to go back to work.

 

[TwoRdue]

Have taken on board what you have been doing to get your lo into a nice routine. Jaspers last feed last night ended been 10 and he went down at 10.30 till 5am then fed and slept again will just after 8am, was great to get the extra sleep in. He was normally doing feed at 8.30 and wouldnt go down till 10.30 and awake between 1 and 2. Hopefully I can keep it up this way