3.10.2010

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Thank yall so much for all of your suggestions. Last night was another sleepless night. As a mother, you just wonder "WHAT AM I DOING WRONG???"
He went right to bed as usual but after his first feeding he decided that he wanted to stay up All. Night. Long. First thing this morning we went to the library to look for reading material. My local library didnt have Baby Wise but they did have the Baby Whisperer.
(You know Im desperate when I actually registered for a library card to get this book.... my last one was from elementary school! how sad!)
From what I gather they are pretty similar and are about getting them on some sort of eating schedule. We started a little late in the day, but we are going to try the E.A.S.Y. method (eat, activity, sleep, you time)
Tonight we are going to establish a bedtime routine. We're also going to "tank up" before bed. Which means feeding him at 6 and 8 and a "dream feeding" at 11. This is to hopefully fill him up to attempt to sleep through the night. Brad is also going to start giving him a bottle for one of those feedings when he isnt working late. That way I get a break, Keating gets to eat, and Brad gets bonding time. I have been pumping once a day so he can have that and not formula.
We are also going to try putting him in his crib tonight. Pray for us! =)
I see a few problems with this such as... what do you do around bedtime if you arent home, or do naps in the car count?? We are on the go a lot so I hope we can make it work. If yall have any schedule pointers or advice, this new mom would greatly appreciate it!

8 comments:

  1. Tanking up worked wonders for my little guy! I did a "dream feed" until he was 1 year old, but I had him sleeping through the night at 6 weeks. I followed the 3 day plan she had and it worked for us. I just tried to adjust my schedule as much as possible to be home for naps. It is harder with my second one because we have to get to pre-school, etc... but afternoon naps I will commit to being home. Hope tonight goes well and hang in there. My second one is two weeks old so I totally understand the tired thing. I am just trying to nap during their afternoon nap and it is helping.

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  2. I have just found you so I am not too familiar with how old the baby is, is it possible he still has his days and nights mixed up? My ped had told me that typically, as long as the baby can go during the day without food, they should be able to go just as long at night, and may just be eating out of habit rather than hunger. Looks like you had TON of great advice!

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  3. he is still young--give him a little time!! i never read any of the baby wise or baby whisperer books--but I do have friends who SWEAR by them!! good luck!

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  4. I hope you were successful last night! It may take a few days, but you'll get there in no time, I'm sure. Way to be proactive!

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  5. I kind of agree with the previous poster that he might have his days and nights mixed up. So just make sure during the day that he knows it's day time; lots of light, activity, etc. Also, if you can, try to stay home when you are trying to set a sleep schedule. I know it's hard because it feels great to get out, but a nap in the car is not the same as a nap at home. If you are not at home at bedtime just try to be consistent; if we are at my parents' house we still try to do bathtime, story, feeding, bed. Good luck - it will get easier and the most important thing is to follow your instincts, you're his Mom and you will figure out what works best for you!

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  6. I also remembered the website forum for the Baby Whisperer - it was a great resource for me. http://www.babywhispererforums.com/

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  7. Good luck; we are trying to get Brayden to STTN so I have not advise really but I will keep my fingers crossed for you!!

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  8. You know I don't have much advice, because I'm going through the same thing...we are doing the sleep, awake, nap thing too, and it's been going well, but he doesn't always follow the schedule. Sometimes he is just exhausted and can't keep his little eyes open after eating, and he'll sleep almost right up until his next feeding. But he still sleeps at night, so I guess it's okay sometimes if he does that, since he is still young. I think I'm lucky that he will go to sleep at night with no problems. He doesn't like to nap though, but I'm kind of excited that the daycare lady is going to help get him on a schedule of napping, so I think that will be good. I'll keep you posted and you do the same!

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