Gina mums - How to get baby to sleep thru' the nite?

[pena]

Dear Gina Ford mums,

After persevering for the last 10 weeks, Zach is finally settling into CLB routine. Hooray! However I can't seem to eliminate the 3-4am feed. Have tried a number of things GF suggested. E.g. a) increase feed volume during 7am to 11pm, b) give water & half of 7am feed if he wakes in the night.

It may partially be a HABIT to wake at 3am but he does seem quite hungry when I feed him. As for increasing the daytime feeds, have already raised it as much as possible (don't think I can keep increasing volume as he is already chucking up a bit of what I currently give him). Still each night I go to bed, I keep fingers crossed that he sleeps thru...but alas no!

Would really appreciate any suggestions as I am very tired & exhausted esp. as I have returned to work full time. Should I get the Richard Ferber book?

pena - how's it going? haven't heard from you for a few days. Hows ds?

Manna - I agree with Pupuce/SueDomin et al - don't assume solids are the answer before 6 months, but also in the words of whichever childcare expert used to drive me mad, "be led by your baby..."
I also had a 10lb 3oz baby (but am only 5'6" and normally 130lb so no 'giant' genes to speak of) but my son would probably have chewed (or gummed!) my nipple off had I not started him on solids (just simple fruit puree & rice etc) at 4-5 months...he was showing all the signs - couldn't keep his eyes off my toast & breakfast cereal in the mornings...
Like you, I'm looking forward to the 'benefits & privileges' of him being part of this 'master race'(he's blonde too - even better ! ) So far he's the height/weight of an average 3 yr 3 month year old at one year younger, so the only 'privilege' he gets is people expecting him to behave better than a two-year old does!
BTW IMO I don't believe anyone has much success "trying to stuff food into kids who are not interested" unless you are physically force-feeding them, they just won't eat it!

on the age of weaning thing, my ddd was on solids at 10 weeks, as prior to that she was taking 9, 9oz bottles of extra thick formula. She is quite tall but was average weight at birth. God knows what would have happened if I'd held off until 6 months. Friend had a similar expeience with her breast-fed ds.

By the way dd is allergy free, and thriving so no ill effects.

Hi all,
Just got back from my first A.Z. (after Zach)trip. What a wrench to be away from him! I could barely concentrate on work since I just kept staring at his picture on my computer. This is not fun - I really don't know how long I will last.

THe positive side to all this is that dh got to bond better w/ ds since I wasn't around to boss him on how to feed/burp & change ds "properly". DS is also now sleeping thru' to 6 regularly (he did it 5 nites in row, but last nite got up at 5 again-oh well). Probably another growth spurt coming as he's been guzzling down his feeds.

Need to sleep as I'm exhausted.

Glad to hear your son is starting to sleep longer. I know how you feel about business trips away from babies.I have had a few of those with DS.... hence I will be so happy when I leave the corporate life. Do give it some serious thought.

hwr - bloody hell!!!! 9 x 9oz bottles - she must of been a super baby. That's double every estimate for large babies before they go onto solids. I think you definitely did the right thing, and good to here there are no ill effects
I Don't mean to be rude, but have to ask: was she on the porky side or did she just have an amazing metabolism?

Don't worry, all, I haven't started ds on solids yet, just wondering, that's all. I plan to start him next week (16 weeks) as he's now over a bad cold and raring to go again. Going to follow the gf weaning plan, but am happy to give up if he shows any lack of interest. However, have been advised by maternity nurse and hv to start him then, due to his size. I can just see me stewing organic pears all this weekend while dh is away on business - what a picture of domestic bliss.....! Also looking forward to cutting out the 10pm feed in a few weeks - scary but can't wait! I'll give him a couple of weeks on the solids first and see how he goes.

Pena - great to here that ds is sleeping longer. The funny thing is, now when mine wakes before about 6.30am I grumble away to myself. How soon we forget

My baby is now 19 weeks and 1 day and is still only having 4 x bottles of 7 oz. She is sleeping through the night so am not in any rush to start weaning her. My first-born dd was weaned at 6 months and that was only because my HV advised it because, if you leave it too much longer than that to start weaning them, sometimes it is harder as they are less willing to try it.

My second-born ds was weaned at 5 months but that was because he needed it, having been on the hungry baby formula since I stopped bfing.

My baby dd doesn't seem to be in such a rush to be weaned - she is not hungry - doesn't always finish the 7 oz bottle of milk at every feed and is not waking at night (sleeps about 11.5 hours every night).

I do know that I will start her on the baby rice in a few weeks only to get her used to the idea.

Manna - did you decide to start ds on solids this week? Just realised that my ds is also entering week 16 - he was born on Nov 24th - so probably exactly same age as yours ???

DS has been sleeping thru' now for the past week. But for the past 3 days, he has been off his feed. So I changed his nipples. Still not happy. He seems hungry but then starts chewing off the nipple after a few sucks. Any idea what's happening here? Am anxious obviously, but hoping that this is just a momentary blip.

When should I start cutting out the late night feed? Obviously worried that if I do it too soon it will mess up his feed structure. Should I give it another week before I reduce the amounts down gradually?

Help!!!! Panic attack!!!
Ds is definitely off his feed in a big way. He does not appear unwell, smiling a lot, no temperature. He also looks hungry but everytime the teat goes into his mouth, he gets very agitated & annoyed as if something is hurting.

Lower gums look a bit swollen - could it be teething? but how is that possible??? he's only fully 15 weeks old. He's sucking his hand a bit, I tried a bit of baby rice on him to check his tongue reflexes & he seems to be able to take it in. His naps & sleeping are still proceeding like clockwork (great but scary how precise his timing are now to when he needs his naps, bed time & waking up - almost better than the trains)

I'm worried sick as he has hardly had much milk today (nor yesterday), and it is so unlike him to be so agitated . Am taking him to see the doctor tomorrow.

Hi Pena
When you say you changed his nipple - to what ? Did you get a "bigger" size ?
Also have you modified his formula ?
It's strange but again it doesn't appear to be a sign of wanting more food. When they start solids they still drink as much milk - not less.

thanks for replying quickly pupuce.

Yes - I changed to faster flow as he was unhappy with the existing one. No change to formula. Spent the day changing around the nipples but all in all - he was unhappy with everything.

He may be teething - it's on the early side but it does happen. Have you put your fingers on his gums, can you not feel anything ?
Have you asked someone else to feed him ?
It is strange- is he pooing all right ?

tried to get somebody else to feed him but didn't work. What should I be feeling for - just tried it & hard to say - but seems like some bumps but really hard to say if they are.
Sigh - I guess I'll just have to hang in there until tomorrow morning. Forgot to ask his sitter about poo but she didn't mention anything out of ordinary so I assume that's ok (she's very vigilant & has been observing him that entire day to identify the problem). This is nuts, I was just enjoying a sigh of relief sorting out his nights, now a world of worries???

Relax Pena...... really try to relax. He will be fine. Could he be constipated ?
As for the teeth, if you touch his gums and it didn't feel sharp, well then they're notout bit did he seem to enjoy your finger on his gums ?
Go to the doctors tomorrow... if he is happy otherwise it is unlikely to be serious.

thanks Pupuce. Its nerve wracking when you can't figure out what's wrong.

pena - my ds was born on 18th november, so is a week older than yours. He started baby rice today and LOVED it - took a whole 7oz feed and woofed down the rice so quickly. I was expecting mess and fuss, but after 3 or 4 mouthfuls he was away! SO sweet. NOW LISTEN (serious voice) you must try and relax. DS was off his food a week or two ago and it made me frantic. He wasn't unwell, sleeping and playing ok but just didn't fancy very much formula at each feed. Then he got a cold later so maybe ds will develop one. Also he was a bit constipated. The most important thing was that it didn't matter if he didn't eat loads for a couple of days. If your ds is sleeping well day and night and generally ok except before feeds, then it's fine. My doctor told me that she'd never met a baby yet who'd died of malnutrition. Get him checked out, to put your mind at rest, by all means. I reckon with ds it was just a blip and he's making up for it now. Is he ok on the fast flow teats? They ended up being too fast for ds when he had his cold, as the congestion made it hard for him to swallow so he was gagging. Anyway, I changed back to medium and he's fine. It's spooky how similar our two are. I would say try and get him to drink a little water mid way between feeds if he's constipated, hold off the weaning until he's hungry again, at least until he's a full 16 weeks anyway. Also, my nephew got 2 teeth at 8 weeks, so you never know, it could be teeth. The main thing is relax. If it's not interfering with his sleeping and general well being, a few days of less food wont hurt him.

I'll remember to tell you to relax mann
All this stress - It's too funny I must admit (sorry Pena!)
When you'll have baby number 2 you will wonder what the fuss was about !

I'll remember to tell you to relax mana
All this stress - It's too funny I must admit (sorry Pena!)
When you'll have baby number 2 you will wonder what the fuss was about !

Ok -Ok I have to admit that I simply freaked & lost all sense yesterday - and as some of u smartypants been-there-done-that (of course said in jest & affection probably expected - I came home from doc w/ tail between legs. Pls. go ahead & smirk as I am also laughing at how crazy my notes were from yesterday.

DS is doing fab according to doc. And yes - SueW & Manna - prob'ly early teething i.e. white bumps on gums.

I'm not exactly ecstatic about this - sigh as I feel like motherhood is a continual process of sink/swim to the next big stage. I barely had time to revel in ds sleeping thru' nites, now teething?? AAARRGHH!! What's next? Puberty at 6 yrs old!!!

Because he didn't feed properly during the day - he woke at 5:30 this am & woofed down his bottle. Thanks for advice Manna, will keep him hydrated. And will hold out weaning until fully 16 weeks or more.

Glad you feel better... it's much easier to be behind your computer and give free advice- trust me
Teething may not be difficult.... keep positive ! And anyway before puberty is potty training... now that's a joy

pena - teething may not be that bad. It's on and off, the pain, isn't it? I remember reading that some babies hardly feel it(ha, ha). And see, he'll probably be eating you out of house and home today to make up for yesterday. I think ds has got worms, he eats so much at the moment.

Oh yes pupuce - as you can tell - yesterday was a good day. Full of competance and confidence I dish out my words of wisdom...... Lets just wait until the next time I have a wobbly, ehh??

Now for the silly question - how much is a scoop of baby rice? (see cllb weaning chart)

Manna- i'dsay a big table spoon.... anyway... go with your son's appetite. She gives it as an example not a law ! DD eats less than that DS ate 4 times that... every child is different. Don't force feed him and make sure he doesn't want anymore before you stop.... I have noticed that DD will "say" no but 2 minutes later she'll open her mouth again.

Manna, none of my babies had problems teething, apart from No1 son who had a couple of sore molars. So there is such a thing as painfree teething! Mind you, No2 son complained something rotten when his wisdom teeth came through.

Hi all,

How things have changed from my first posting in early Feb. Over a month has gone by, ds is sleeping thru' the nights now. Whew! Never thought I'd get there. (For all who are still soldiering on - there is def. light at the end.) Another personal victory today - DH finally acknowledged that all the "crazy" GF routines must be working since DS is a smiley & content baby who hardly ever cries (ha! I even remember reading GF's smug claim "my babies never cry more than 2 hours each day" & then wishing I could whack her w/ the book when ds was howling away at 4 weeks. - But now - its true, he has little to cry about).

That being said, now I have problems with his feeding. After my bit of panic last week, ds is still going thru' ups/downs in his feed habits. I'm trying to be more relaxed since the doctor says that babies have their off days. However, he does appear fussier & will take a long time to finish- often halfway thru' a bottle, he'll start biting & chewing the nipple. I attribute this to teething. Could it be also growth spurt related - anyone with same exprience & what to do? Teething gel appears to do the trick but does this mean that I have to now buy truckloads of it & apply it to his teeth before he feeds just to get him to feed properly.

He hasn't been finishing his bottles (leaver 2-3 ozs.) & even skips an entire bottles & is taking in less than the 7oz x 5times that he should be on. (He's not ill). Gave him some baby rice which he liked but I'm not convinced that he's ready for it, esp. when he doesn't even finish his milk. Help, I'm getting confused now about GF - do I wean & start dropping the night feed? Or keep persisting with the milk? Will ds grow out of teething or shold I expect worst & start buying stock in teething gel company?