October 2014 // thread 4 // a lot of night feed chatting!

[sazzlehopes]

Welcome everyone. You're doing a good job by the way. Remember that.

Oh, and then she puked it all up down my front. Gooood morning!

jeanne we got a series of huge farts at 7am and then DH called down to me to bring a complete change of clothes for M as he'd done such a massive poo it had ruined his sleep suit etc and soaked part of our duvet. Nice.

I know M is going through the 8 week wonder week at the moment (super grumpy, fussy) but it's taken me until this morning to realise he was overstimulated and that may be a reason for some of the crying ( I was convinced it was gas). He used to have a bit of a routine in the morning (awake 630/7 then happy and with me in kitchen with radio on, me washing up etc till abut 9 when he got hungry) but the past few days his happy period in the mourning has got shorter and shorter. This morning he had 30 mins of happy and play/games after his feed but as soon as I put the overhead light on and the radio on the ipad he screwed up his eyes and bawled. Too him down to the dark hall and it stopped immediately. He's now been asleep in his bouncer for the past 40 mins in the dark sitting room. It's funny how because I got used to him doing one pattern/routine of things I couldn't really think that there was a reason for him changing and becoming more cry/grumpy beyond something physical like gas/wind. I googled and babies during the wonder weeks can get more overstimulated. Silly me!

goats we had the huge eating then puking at the weekend and again last night. But so far so good this morning.

Ps does anyone rate the Tracy Hogg books? Baby whisperer etc? I want to read something sensible about daytime sleep - M sleeps fine at night (hope haven't cursed self) but I want an understanding of how much he should be getting in the day. Oddly for the nappy valley where I live the library doesn't have it so might have to buy a copy.

My plan for daytime napping is that no baby under 3 months should be awake for more than 2 hours. Since I started following that, we've had w mostly more contented baby.

Yes I've heard that goats. Unfortunately M doesn't believe it to be true! So I need to get better and methods to get him to sleep, even if it means getting the bloody swaddle out.

pony totally agree, baby moose just doesnt believe in daytime sleep
Anyone have any good methods to try?

I discovered by accident that holding her facing outwards and doing squats and lunges makes her go to sleep. Boyfriend holds her across his body, her face in his armpit and her arms held by her side - she burrows in further. I liewwith my face touching hers and on jy out breath do a gentle sshhhh. Over the shoulder, ignoring her and getting on with jobs one handed. Over shoulder rubbing her back quite hard upwards. Boyfriend sits with his knees up, lies her on them so her arms and head hang over the top, and rubs her back - her little face with this one is so cute.

Then obviously I've got the feed to sleep option.

We've got a silver cross wayfarer which I love once I'm out and about with it, but the different components are very heavy! I can barely lift the car seat once DS is in it and the carrycot is not much better.
What age do they move out of carrycots and into proper pushchairs? DS is not a huge fan of being flat on his back and he loves to see what's going on but I'm sure 8 weeks is too early to move him out of the carrycot.
In terms of sleep we get 5 hours tops at night, then a shorter stretch of about 3 hours. Still quite variable though. In the day he tends to go down for half an hour every couple of hours.
We are off to the inlaws on Friday which means a 5 hour car journey. Am hoping he will sleep for a couple of hours, then stop for a feed/stretch, then back to sleep in the car and repeat! Or is that massively wishful thinking??

Mine only really feeds to sleep although yesterday I got him off with white noise and a dummy in his crib. I was mega excited but then his eyes longer open 3 mins later. My dad once managed to rock him to sleep but it took like 2 hours.

Ds1 only slept with vigorous swinging in the car seat!!

Agreed though if R is awake for more than 1.5 hours it all goes a bit downhill!! And he's three months old today. Can't believe it! Although only 2 if you adjust it...

There's no pattern to nap times here yet, although having the mattress tilted has helped.
Can I ask a FTM question: How do you cut baby's nails? I've been filing them when she's asleep. I'm not confident enough to use scissors

Munday I get DH to do it, and have done ever since The Incident We Don't Talk About (With The Blood And The Screaming). We've tried special scissors and little clippers, but they're both terrifying. FWIW, DH prefers the scissors. And I'm not going near DS's hands again until he's 18.

I bite them off when he is sleeping still do it with 15 month old after a bath. Only after a bath with the older one as he is a total muck pot and god knows what will be under those nails! Not anything I want in my mouth that's for sure

Jeanne is that like The Incident -with mummy's finger and baby's face and the tears-- ?
I don't know how you're meant to keep their hands still

Oops score through fail

fatpony I've just consulted The No-Cry Sleep Solution and the averages for a 3 mth old are 3 naps totalling 5-6 hours, plus 10-11 hours nighttime sleep, equalling total sleep time of 15 hours (whoever compiled the table has a hazy idea of maths ).

Hi all, I'm having the daytime sleep trauma too. Also had it with DD. I did baby whisperer (I think) pick up/put down method around 5 months. It took a gruelling 3 weeks of hardly going out & just working on sleep training & then she got it. The only issue was that she had to be in a darkened room/snooze shade over the buggy/sling or car seat to sleep. She was a Duracell bunny baby -
www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/search/label/Duracell%20Bunny%20Baby?m=0
I think I've got another one!

Sleep requirements chart

Moose she's 10+3 and sleeps an average of 7 hours in her first chunk then takes a feed (as soon as I hear her grunting, so she's not 100% awake, and I try to get her to have both sides but she doesn't always!) then another 3ish hours.
That's a good tip about naps before baby has been up for 3 hours Goats, I might try that!

I'm working on a similar timetable to goats. Basically she wakes up about eight thirty and is nice and often has a bit of a snooze after an hour or so but by eleven is getting progressively more horrible, so that's when I've been trying to get her to nap. A combination of feeding/rocking/some really incredibly sleepy music her dad found on a computer game seems to do the trick eventually. I really don't want to be in a situation where she has to nap at a specific time/in a specific place, though, as I'd find that really limiting, and also we're just not that organised, particularly with both of us working from home meaning there's not even a particular time we get out of bed in the morning. I'd be forever buggering it up.

My mum just popped up unannounced and place is a tip then made a comment " i dont know how you can live like this" what makes me mad is i spend every spare minute i get tidying but by the time im finished its back to square one, she is a OCD clean freak and it makes me paranoid that she thinks im a lazy bitch who does nothing all day, but at the same time she didnt offer to sit with kids and give me a chance to clean up, basically "hi & bye, your place is shit hole" then had the cheek to say " i washed all my blinds & got all my bedding done" she is meant to have my first dd on a monday & tuesday which i pay her for as she dropped two days work and it was cheaper for us than a nursery, but i have had the two kids yesterday & today as i know she hasnt been feeling great and thought i would give her time to herself, im so hurt by her comment when I'm trying to help her out by giving her time to herself

Thanks for the sleep charts. Ok M gets about 9 at night, then had about 2.5 this morning, one ish this afternoon...so needs more. Will try hard to get him down for an hr at 5...

Stigz, that's very annoying what your mum said. Can you just be blunt and ask her to watch them for an hour so you can get some cleaning up done!

We are almost at the 3 months sleep pattern suggested in that chart. Possibly slightly more at night. He has a morning sleep Abojt 9 to 10, a 2 to 3 hour sleep at lunch time and another 45 min one about 4pm. Then I wrestle with a tired baby at bedtime but I can't work another day with my older son about.
Does depend what we are doing though as on the move he would sleep more I think

I have been trying literally all afternoon to get my son to sleep. It's crazy. He hates sleeping in the day, just won't! I think he must be hungry all the time. My stupid inadequate milk I reckon. Would it be crazy to give a bottle at lunchtime? Am I going to totally screw my supply doing so?