June 2020 Babies-Six months on: mobile babies, feeding adventures, and still sleepless nights! 3rd thread

[UKtoSK]

Hi everyone! I made a new thread as we were at the end of the last one. A new thread for the new year! I changed the title as we don’t have newborns anymore!

Hi @Oregano20 I feel the same, I think my LO must be getting bored doing the same things daily. I've been googling messy play ideas which look fun so I'm going to start some of those. Today I put a long mirror on the floor and we had some fun looking at ourselves do different things.
@MrsMarrio I also wanted to start baby classes now too as I think it's a great age for them. It's definitely not the maternity leave that was expected.

For those struggling with sleep, I have found this Instagram page really lovely instagram.com/lyndsey_hookway?igshid=1hhftvgpsjkqd I have just bought her book after reading this page from the preview. Reading it feels very therapeutic. Very validating!

Well I think we have finally got out of the co sleeping habit. Having the cot next to the bed helps. Hasn’t helped with sleeping or night feeding last night we were asleep for 9pm &woke 12 times from then to 6am😬. Another one who is accepting it’s just how it is , Sleep has been shocking since around 12weeks old now . On the bright side we are more than half way to a year now .it must improve by then surely 🙆🏻‍♀️

@Oregano20 on our play mat the sides go up and turns into a ball pit type thing , baby is loving it atm ! We also have a learn to crawl ball but he’s still happiest with anything that crinkles

Thanks @UKtoSK looks good, going to have a proper look tonight and watch some of her IGTV bits

@Mj2196 please could you link the play mat / ball pool x

Hey ladies,
It's been a while. Missed you all. Hope all is well xx

Just reading the messages about sleep. We struggled for, well, god knows how long, maybe two months, of the notorious four month sleep regression plus bad teething. The worst nights he literally woke every single hour and that was when we were co-sleeping !So we decided for gentle sleep training and moved him to his own room at the same time. It took a couple of weeks for him to get used to it. And we never looked back! I only wish that we did it earlier.
I know sleep training isn't for everyone because the gentlest methods still involve some tears but he now sleeps 8-7 without needing our help and gets the quality sleep that he needs. He still wakes but just quietly settling himself to sleep again. Naps are a bit sporadic as there are longer and shorter naps, but he always goes down easily on his own and gets some shuteye. He moved out (funny to say this) more than a month ago now and that's when my PND got better because I finally started to sleep better.
Hope this helps. Xxx

Hey @umabb great to hear from you! I’ve been wondering how you’re getting on. Glad to hear that sleep training worked so well for you. What method did you use, if you don’t mind me asking? We have been dealing with bad sleep for 3 months now and just preparing to move Jia into her own room in the hopes that helps me sleep better at least! Sorry to hear you had PND but good that getting more sleep is helping you. It’s impossible not to feel depressed when you’re severely sleep deprived. Xx

@umabb it's always great to hear a successful sleep story. Glad it's helping you as well. We are going to try sleeping training next week, currently co sleeping also so it feels like it's going to be a massive jump!

How's everyone going with weaning? A month in and my LO will still only accept 1-2 spoons max and hit or miss what he'll feed to himself!

@umabb it makes such a difference doesn't it we started gentle sleep training about a week ago and last night she went to sleep at 7.30, woke at 10 and needed a quick resettling then woke at 4.35 for a feed and 7.30 I woke her up for the day!

@umabb good to hear from you. That's an amazing sleep success story. Which method did you use? I was going to look into the chill mama one that some of the ladies had mentioned.

@mrso5 weaning is quite the job. Just added breakfast to the routine in the last few days. We were only doing lunch and dinner initially. The eating has gradually improved. For each meal (except breakfast), he can usually eat between half and a full pouch. The breakfast porridge is more like 2 to 3 spoons max. But it's been such a gradual process. I don't know what gave me the impression that babies love food right from the beginning.

@mrssunshinexxx foryourlittleone.com/kinderkraft-smartplay-educational-gym-p31858/s114623?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=kinderkraft-smartplay-educational-gym-kkzsmart000000&utm_campaign=product%2Blisting%2Bads&cid=GBP&gclid=CjwKCAiAuoqABhAsEiwAdSkVVNRFFYZu2VYQa_7Xm1aVU_WG5L7Eay3I90rvDp5yXLKZvA25ngmzgBoCdnkQAvD_BwE. X

@UKtoSK hey how are you ? Xx i thought of you guys a lot and the little ones just couldn't gather the energy to logon. it's been a few really challenging months for me. Hardest time of my life. I'm glad that now I'm on the other side (I'd like to think that at least hehe).
With sleep training we did it very gently. To start with we put him down drowsy and slowly more and more awake until eventually wide awake and he could just fall sleep with us next to his crib shushing or humming. Once that's stable we then put him down wide awake, say good night and then walk out the room. He would protest (cry) of course, we go in and sit next to him shushing until he's asleep then leave. Slowly he learnt to settle himself all on his own - we don't need to go back in anymore. The whole process probably took 3-4 weeks. We moved him to his room when he's happy to fall asleep when we sit next to him. During the training getting the Wake window right is key - he should be tired, not over or under tired. Otherwise he'd protest longer. Now he's confident with his self settle skills, putting down a bit earlier or later isn't a big issue anymore. :)

@mrssunshinexxx we got that when he was new born cause I liked the black and white , but red kite do a similar thing in colour for only £20 x

@Missgemini @mrssunshinexxx @MRSO5 hey ladies how are you ? just posted my methods before I saw your messages xx I think they call the method we used for the first stage as chair method, as in we sitting in a chair and not to engage with the baby too much. We were supposed to move further away from his crib and etc with chair method but we didn't do that. However we were quite nervous with moving room so hired a sleep consultant to help to get through the 2nd stage. There were times that Zach cried on and on for about 7-8 mins and I wanted to rush in but the sleep trainer stopped me and he then slept in the minute or two (we were asked to wait for 10mins). Challenging for a new mum but it was worth it. Xx

@MRSO5 Jamie loves his food ! I’ve started leaving it slightly lumpy. he is getting very snatchy with the spoon now he knows how to get it in his mouth . All very messy tbh . we’re going to introduce lunch next week . He prefers fruit to veg but who doesn’t 😃

Are any of you ladies using cows milk for cereal ? It’s a pain expressing for his weatabix but not sure if he’s too young . He’s had yogurts no problem

@Picklesbaby thanks but the link doesn't work ? X

@Picklesbaby they can have whole milk in cooking from 6 months x that includes cereals x

Just started Rowan on 3 meals a day at the start of the week and now sleeping right through has gone out the window! Throughout the day he fights me with his milk feeds during the day and now wakes up screaming at 2am for a feed!?!
I thought only when you had a teenager do they argue about mum knowing best 😅

@mrssunshinexxx well done that's a good result from the training, hope you managed to sleep & get some rest yourself too!
@umabb thanks for sharing your story. Did ye find it hard to get the wake windows right, my LO isn't always great at showing sleepy cues. I'm thinking of tinkering around with day naps a bit more again to see if that helps.

@Picklesbaby what a wee cutie! 😍 Yes def fruit over veg in this house too.
@Missgemini I thought the same, it was a shock when he didn't start gobbling up all the food. We just need to preserve tho x

Random question...has anyone added blackout blinds to existing eyelet curtains? Or got something like this?
www.argos.co.uk/product/9209462

@MRSO5 you can get the blackout lining which is like a curtain you add behind your existing ones in dunelm, I've just purchased some for Rowans room as I couldn't find nursery curtains big enough for his window, they haven't arrived yet.

www.dunelm.com/product/thermal-eyelet-curtain-linings-1000015875?defaultSkuId=30083439

@MrsMarrio thank you, great minds think alike, they are the other ones I was looking at!!! I was wondering would the light still come in via the eyelets

@MRSO5 I think as the curtain pole is higher than the windows itself I think the light would be minimal but sometimes Rowan gets distracted going to sleep by the tiniest crack of light 😂 just stares in wonder 😂

@MRSO5 same with Zach I think babies of this age are really good at hiding the cues now. I found the app huckleberry really helpful with suggested wake windows but it's always just a reference. It is a bit of trial and error to get it right and have to adjust as they grow too. Xx