The Mom Thread

[Cheer Bear]

I got a crib from my brother-in-law and his wife, which is like top of the top, most expensive blah blah blah... (they are quite well-off). I haven't put it together and I doubt that I will do it anytime soon. They came over to my place the other day and noticed I haven't built the crib and asked how come, I said: well, I plan to cosleep. Of course, I got the: wow, that is so weird, sleep with your baby... blah blah comments. It's okay, the only thing is that I feel bad she gave me the crib that I probably will never use, although it does turn into a toddler bed.

When did she start to become a mover, at what age?

And echo, when did your baby grow out of the co-sleeper? Many that have used it say that happens around the 5-6 month marker, although some say even sooner.

My family said the same thing. But I figured since I was a single Mum I needed to maximize sleep - and getting up to go to the crib didn't really help since I was the only one getting up during the night.

It's hard to remember when exactly Cae starting "moving" per se (it's been 8 years now) but she's always been an active kid and still to this day ends up on the other side of her bed when she wakes up in the morning. I remember when she was about 6 months old? she rolled right off the bed. Luckily my bed was on the floor and she was giggling away and thought it was hilarious.

 

[Cheer Bear]

In other news, I almost lost a nipple yesterday. Teething + congested baby + 2 bottom teeth = nipplebitingnightmare!!

Oh dude, I remember those days vividly. I wish I could remember the cream my doctor prescribed for my poor chewed up boobs. It was AMAZING. The scars I have on my nipples are a mark of pride now.

 

[kuba]

Late response, sorry, nut wanted to emphasize how much i appreciated everyones insights into eating tips. We eliminated ipad mostly at dinner not bfast or lunch yet, but drew back there. No real tantrum i think he is too early to ask for it so thats good. Rest of the tips here we are going to try including onthego snacking and the other phrase you serve they decide or something like that. Finally i agree its way too much milk so am gonna champion that cause with wifey.

So, thatnks to everyone including kevin of course!!

 

[echo]

I tend to agree on the need for parents to have alone time at bedtime. Can be very helpful to the relationship.

While I agree that alone time is important, not being a sleep-deprived zombie is also helpful to the relationship

When did she start to become a mover, at what age?

And echo, when did your baby grow out of the co-sleeper? Many that have used it say that happens around the 5-6 month marker, although some say even sooner.

Well Lilah started rolling at 3.5 months - and the cosleeper we have is actually the mini version, so she'd roll and bump into the side and wake herself up. That was when we essentially gave up on the co-sleeper. When she's sleeping, she rolls from her side to her back while in bed with us, but thats about it. And at 6 months she can inchworm along the bed pretty well, but not in her sleep or anything, so we haven't had to worry about her falling off the bed (yet).

But our friend's little girl used the same cosleeper until about 6 months, so I think that is the average!

Oh dude, I remember those days vividly. I wish I could remember the cream my doctor prescribed for my poor chewed up boobs. It was AMAZING. The scars I have on my nipples are a mark of pride now.

Hmmmm, is it one created by Jack Newman? If so I have some of that stuff hanging around - maybe I should go dig it up!!

 

[geminigirl]

Echo..good point about not being a sleep deprived zombie! You gotta do what works for you indeed! It's ALLLL about the most sleep possible!

Yesterday Presley had her 6 month shots, missed a nap, got more formula in her than usual..and she slept 8.5 hours(asleep by 8:30pm) until 5am. Then quick feed and back down until 7:15am.

Now I don't know which thing did the trick, perhaps a combo?, but I will take it! She hasn't slept like that since around 2 months old. I actually slept 6 hours in a row, then kept checking if she was ok from 4:30am on.lol

The big question is...will she do more of this??

 

[rubytuesday]

I don't want to burst your bubble geminigirl but I've read that vaccines knock babies out the night they get them as part of the vaccine response, in fact I am on purposely scheduling L's next shots in the afternoon in the hopes of the same thing happening to him, otherwise he just has a giant afternoon nap instead! It's a nice reminder of what I'm sure is to come though!

 

[Metal Morphosis]

we'll see what tonight brings.
no boobs no boobs no boobs :O

night 3 - much better than night 2.
i managed to not nurse him the whole night (yay!). he was content with some water. however, i brought him into bed with us to give him the water.
i think i'll master the no nursing thing first and then deal with getting him to sleep in his crib all night in due time.

and just to weigh in on the co-sleeping discussion, we've done a combo with both of our kids, meaning that after those first 6-8 weeks we put them in the crib to start the night but at first waking they would come into our bed. we used a moses basket for the first 6-8 weeks in both cases.

elliot was sleep trained at 2 years of age, when he was moved into a toddler bed. he would still continue to get out of bed most nights and come into our room to spend the rest of the night with us. once thomas came along we told him that for safety reasons he couldn't sleep with us but he could call out for us and one of us (usually simon) would go sleep with him. he rarely calls out anymore and if he does it's for a drink or to go pee, but he goes back to sleep on his own. like Jane / Emmet, we do sleepovers on occasion for a special treat.

 

[mcbee]

I agree with Ruby....anecdotally, I know of alot of moms who love the post-vaccine mega sleep! Brooklyn slept through the night (12 hrs) for the first time at 4 months and this was on the day of her vaccines. She didn't do it again until 7 months.

We have a weird sleep thing going on right now....for MONTHS the bedtime routine has been rock solid, and by the end of the bottle/singing while cuddling in the glider, Brooklyn has been DONE for. Then you simply put her in her crib, and she usually rubs her blankie in her face and rolls onto her side to go to sleep as you walk out of the room. Over the last 3 weeks, as the end of the song approaches, she knows is almost official bedtime and she'll start to get upset. By the time you put her in the crib she's screaming. And lots of times, by the time you are walking out of the room, she's standing in the crib, holding her blankie and wailing But then by the time you've walked down the upstairs hall and are heading downstairs she's stopped screaming and is silent.

Totally weird. I'm chalking it up to where she's at developmentally...she's having such a blast in the world, that going to bed and being left alone is way less fun hence the protesting. Combine that with some separation anxiety and you have screaming Brooklyn when we leave her to sleep. Thank goodness, she's a champion sleeper and can calm herself down once we leave and put herself to sleep.

sarah

 

[peko]

She eats pretty much everything else. The only thing she's picky about is drinks. It's still mostly water but she does also like juice mixed with perrier LOL.

So - cheese, cream cheese, yogurt, broccoli, almonds, almond butter, salmon, oatmeal... lots of choices. She LOVES salmon and cheese so we weren't too worried.

I don't eat dairy so I was already pretty adept at getting nutrition into people from alternate sources. She's pretty easy, I can't eat most of that list up there LOL so I actually worry more about myself than her.

Thanks! This is the information I was looking for!

Great discussions up in this thread! After reading Kuba's question, my baby girl is now refusing to eat her cereals and will only eat finger foods. She LOVES her sippy cup of formula, but I think we were giving her too much too (almost 800ml per day).

OC was eating: 2 heaping tablespoons of cereal, a cup of fruit & vegetables plus a cup of formula for each meal - plus, meats, pasta and cheeses. It's available to her but she doesn't have to eat everything given to her.

Plus, I do the snackables like McBee and RubyTuesday (ie. bowl of fruit, etc) for OC and she eats floor food, food on her highchair or tray like a Hoover vacuum. OC loves to grab up on the table or her highchair tray and will swip anything she can get her little fingers on.

OC was eating 1-2 mum mum crackers before each meal ( or to tide her over when out for a walk), but I cut back on the rice crackers and ramped up fruit, vegetables and cheese snackables.

The iPad - sigh - I can't be online while OC is awake because she will freak out if she can't play with the iPad. She took her first step.... To get to the iPad.

As for her refusing to eat her cereal, it's a power struggle not worth fighting.

 

[geminigirl]

I agree with Ruby....anecdotally, I know of alot of moms who love the post-vaccine mega sleep! Brooklyn slept through the night (12 hrs) for the first time at 4 months and this was on the day of her vaccines. She didn't do it again until 7 months.



sarah

I absolutely agree about the vaccines for sure helping with sleep. That's not a surprise to me at all.

I do however think last night had *something* to do with yesterday me starting *operation less solids, more bottle*. I have sabotaging her bottles by too much solids. So she was only taking 3-4oz bottles and one good 7-8oz bottle before bed. The total has only been approx 20oz during the day and I know she wakes for food. So yesterday, I got closer to 24 ounces in her for the first time(plus 4oz at 5am). And this morning at 9am before nap, I was able to get her first 6oz morning bottle in her. I by no means think I have this in the bag. I know all too well these things are often 'one offs'. But it's a start! I will take my 6 hour sleep!

 

[peko]

night 3 - much better than night 2.
i managed to not nurse him the whole night (yay!). he was content with some water. however, i brought him into bed with us to give him the water.
i think i'll master the no nursing thing first and then deal with getting him to sleep in his crib all night in due time.

and just to weigh in on the co-sleeping discussion, we've done a combo with both of our kids, meaning that after those first 6-8 weeks we put them in the crib to start the night but at first waking they would come into our bed. we used a moses basket for the first 6-8 weeks in both cases.

elliot was sleep trained at 2 years of age, when he was moved into a toddler bed. he would still continue to get out of bed most nights and come into our room to spend the rest of the night with us. once thomas came along we told him that for safety reasons he couldn't sleep with us but he could call out for us and one of us (usually simon) would go sleep with him. he rarely calls out anymore and if he does it's for a drink or to go pee, but he goes back to sleep on his own. like Jane / Emmet, we do sleepovers on occasion for a special treat.

Yeah Thomas!

Weaning was the hardest part (so far). Probably harder for me then OC - unbelievable hormone surges, guilt for not making it to a year, etc. But, my outlook is to celebrate being able to BF over 6 months.

OC started out in her crib from day one, but I too kept her on top of me in bed during the first few weeks to feed during the night and I couldn't sleep for fear of dropping her. So, I began feed her at night in her rocking chair in her room. I still rock her once or twice a night, hee.

Anyone have any tips in dropping the soother? OC has three Wabbanubs (soothers attached to a giraffe, elephant and monkey dolls), which are falling apart (soother is coming off the doll). I leave them in her crib and only bring them out when we go out.

How do you cut out the soothers? My neighbour warned me that it's tough to break the soother habit..... She found it tougher then sleep training.

 

[peko]

WubbaNub Baby Giraffe Pacifier

^ Got them at Qi Natural Foods and it's sister store Herbs & Nutrition.

 

[peko]

I absolutely agree about the vaccines for sure helping with sleep. That's not a surprise to me at all.

I do however think last night had *something* to do with yesterday me starting *operation less solids, more bottle*. I have sabotaging her bottles by too much solids. So she was only taking 3-4oz bottles and one good 7-8oz bottle before bed. The total has only been approx 20oz during the day and I know she wakes for food. So yesterday, I got closer to 24 ounces in her for the first time(plus 4oz at 5am). And this morning at 9am before nap, I was able to get her first 6oz morning bottle in her. I by no means think I have this in the bag. I know all too well these things are often 'one offs'. But it's a start! I will take my 6 hour sleep!

Good stuff! Getting larger blocks of uninterrupted sleep is so good. I like your definition of "one offs".

 

[geminigirl]

Good stuff! Getting larger blocks of uninterrupted sleep is so good. I like your definition of "one offs".

It sure felt weird when I woke at 4:30am to got to the bathroom. I am sure if the door didn't open and my dog didn't go in and out of the room, she would have gone longer. I'm sooo not used to 6 hours in a row. I think I may feel more tired somehow! Not complaining though.

As for soother bizz..

The only way I think you can get rid of soother at this age is.....sleep training.

But is it a real problem? Is she waking in the night over and over for it? I'm not even attempting to try to get rid of soothers until 3 or so. Soothers are my friend! Can you try soothers without giraffe thing? Putting a bunch in the crib so that she can find them and put them in? I forget how old she is.

 

[rubytuesday]

night 3 - much better than night 2.
i managed to not nurse him the whole night (yay!). he was content with some water. however, i brought him into bed with us to give him the water.
i think i'll master the no nursing thing first and then deal with getting him to sleep in his crib all night in due time.

and just to weigh in on the co-sleeping discussion, we've done a combo with both of our kids, meaning that after those first 6-8 weeks we put them in the crib to start the night but at first waking they would come into our bed. we used a moses basket for the first 6-8 weeks in both cases.

elliot was sleep trained at 2 years of age, when he was moved into a toddler bed. he would still continue to get out of bed most nights and come into our room to spend the rest of the night with us. once thomas came along we told him that for safety reasons he couldn't sleep with us but he could call out for us and one of us (usually simon) would go sleep with him. he rarely calls out anymore and if he does it's for a drink or to go pee, but he goes back to sleep on his own. like Jane / Emmet, we do sleepovers on occasion for a special treat.

It is so much harder to manage nights with two, that's good that Elliot is mostly in his bed now!

And you are strong with the night weaning, we just go with the path of least resistance until we are really ready for a change, so I am psyching myself up to try to cut off the night bottles. I feel like once these back teeth are in he should be able to get way more into solids and then there will be absolutely no need for extra formula, especially at night.

I agree with Ruby....anecdotally, I know of alot of moms who love the post-vaccine mega sleep! Brooklyn slept through the night (12 hrs) for the first time at 4 months and this was on the day of her vaccines. She didn't do it again until 7 months.

We have a weird sleep thing going on right now....for MONTHS the bedtime routine has been rock solid, and by the end of the bottle/singing while cuddling in the glider, Brooklyn has been DONE for. Then you simply put her in her crib, and she usually rubs her blankie in her face and rolls onto her side to go to sleep as you walk out of the room. Over the last 3 weeks, as the end of the song approaches, she knows is almost official bedtime and she'll start to get upset. By the time you put her in the crib she's screaming. And lots of times, by the time you are walking out of the room, she's standing in the crib, holding her blankie and wailing But then by the time you've walked down the upstairs hall and are heading downstairs she's stopped screaming and is silent.

Totally weird. I'm chalking it up to where she's at developmentally...she's having such a blast in the world, that going to bed and being left alone is way less fun hence the protesting. Combine that with some separation anxiety and you have screaming Brooklyn when we leave her to sleep. Thank goodness, she's a champion sleeper and can calm herself down once we leave and put herself to sleep.

sarah

L started protesting bedtime for a little while, it's totally because they realize it means the end of the day/fun. I found L would never protest for more than a few minutes and he'd be yawning the whole time so I knew it was truly bedtime.

He also finally stopped protesting his diaper changes, meaning if I tell him I'm changing his diaper and give him something to play with he just lies there until I'm done! It's amazing after months of him whining during changes and having to pin him down.

I absolutely agree about the vaccines for sure helping with sleep. That's not a surprise to me at all.

I do however think last night had *something* to do with yesterday me starting *operation less solids, more bottle*. I have sabotaging her bottles by too much solids. So she was only taking 3-4oz bottles and one good 7-8oz bottle before bed. The total has only been approx 20oz during the day and I know she wakes for food. So yesterday, I got closer to 24 ounces in her for the first time(plus 4oz at 5am). And this morning at 9am before nap, I was able to get her first 6oz morning bottle in her. I by no means think I have this in the bag. I know all too well these things are often 'one offs'. But it's a start! I will take my 6 hour sleep!

Ah sorry I didn't catch that part. Yes formula is much more dense than solids, funny because I remember my in-laws trying to fill L up with solids before a year and then getting disappointed that he was still hungry for a bottle, they really didn't believe me when I said babies under a year don't NEED solids haha.

Hopefully your plan works, a 6 hour block is really all I need to feel pretty good.

 

[geminigirl]

I totally didn't clue in that I was giving her too much solids. It seems pretty simple to figure out. But hey I'm sleep deprived!

 

[Metal Morphosis]

It is so much harder to manage nights with two, that's good that Elliot is mostly in his bed now!

yeah - it's usually, divide & conquer at bedtime, thank god we only have two!

And you are strong with the night weaning, we just go with the path of least resistance until we are really ready for a change, so I am psyching myself up to try to cut off the night bottles. I feel like once these back teeth are in he should be able to get way more into solids and then there will be absolutely no need for extra formula, especially at night.

with regards to the night weaning i KNOW that he doesn't need the milk and that he can make it a full 12 hours without so why not right? that and the fact that we're going away for 3 nights in Sept and i would really love for my mom to NOT have to give him milk in the night, but who knows what will happen, he might totally lose his shit on her regardless of the 'training' that we accomplish ahead of time.

 

[Cheer Bear]

WubbaNub Baby Giraffe Pacifier

^ Got them at Qi Natural Foods and it's sister store Herbs & Nutrition.

I didn't use pacifiers but damn, those are cute.

 

[Metal Morphosis]

i just looked back and it would seem that almost all of co-sleep or have co-slept at some point! It's crazy how times have changed... i think if we surveyed our parents, it would be the total opposite!

 

[skyparty]

Hi guys. I haven't been around in awhile! I need to catch up on what's going on!

last I wrote I was complaining about my kid and his refusal of everything? mr grumpy was driving me bananas! things are smoother now and we have things down pat! he is on a every-3-hour schedule starting with nap at 1130, then nap 3 hours after wake up, bedtime 3 hours after 2nd nap... bottles follow that routine. turns out all his grumbling means he was cutting another tooth! it hasn't cut yet but it's pushing. he is screamy at times! but life she's good right now, i tell ya!

i'll lurk, and get on with some reading.

 

[rubytuesday]

yeah - it's usually, divide & conquer at bedtime, thank god we only have two!



with regards to the night weaning i KNOW that he doesn't need the milk and that he can make it a full 12 hours without so why not right? that and the fact that we're going away for 3 nights in Sept and i would really love for my mom to NOT have to give him milk in the night, but who knows what will happen, he might totally lose his shit on her regardless of the 'training' that we accomplish ahead of time.

L sleeps better with my in-laws usually, it's the worst because they think we're just making up the sleep issues or are big wimps, but I remind them that one night of disrupted sleep is not the same as 14 months of disrupted sleep. He'll sleep in later too, it kills me. So hopefully your mom will have an easy time.

i just looked back and it would seem that almost all of co-sleep or have co-slept at some point! It's crazy how times have changed... i think if we surveyed our parents, it would be the total opposite!

My bf was in a crib but my parents coslept with me and my sister, mainly because they didn't have a crib, and by the time they got one I wouldn't have it.

Glad to hear things are better skyparty. Bad phases are usually only a few weeks long and then it changes again.

 

[echo]

So you've all heard me complain about Lilah's crappy napping "skills" but lately they've really taken a turn for the worse. It's always been a bit tricky to get her to settle down so she can be soothed to sleep, but lately it's been absolutely ridiculous!

She FIGHTS napping with every part of her being. Grabs her feet, kicks her feet, pulls my clothing, pulls her hair, pulls my hair, hits her head, stares around, arches her back, reaches for my face, giggles, blows raspberries, squeals, screams, cries....you get the idea. And I know she's tired because she comes sooooooo close to falling asleep. Closes her eyes, slows her breathing, stops fidgeting....ahhhhh finally.....and then her little eyes eyes pop open and she'll start the fidgeting cycle all over again. FOR THE LOVE OF DOG CHILD - GO THE F TO SLEEP!!

We have been dealing with a congested baby this past week, so I'm sure that's not helping, but I don't think that's the only reason. I'm tempted to just let her stay awake, but then she gets overtired, and then she really can't fall asleep.

It just took me from 12:45 to 2:30 to get her to sleep - WTH?!? She woke up at 8:00 - went down for her first nap from 9:30 to 10:30 (with a bit of a fight) and then the shit show that was trying to get her down for her 2nd nap. The room is quiet (white noise is on) and dark (could be darker though) and we make sure not to do anything to stimulating for the half hour before nap time.

Why oh why is she such a self sabotager of her own damn naps? Please tell me this insane "must keep myself awake at all costs" fidgeting is just a phase!!

 

[mariazmess]

dude, do you own a rocking chair?? if so, pop in Caillou or some TAME kids video that doesn't have too much music or action and rock rock rock rock z z z zz...

I'm not saying "do this forever" and you should definitely start with trying to get her to go down without the video and the chair, but if after 30-45 minutes, she WON'T go down, I'd head straight for the chair.

Personally, I wouldn't even wait 30 minutes because I can't STAND when the kid doesn't go down. Also, when he doesn't go down within 15-30 minutes of his nap time, it takes him forever to go down at night.

Kids. wtf!

 

[KillaLadY]

Ordered the co-sleeper, I got the original one. The funny thing is, I took measurements where I am going to put it and it fits like a glove in the area where it's going to go, like it was meant to put it there.

Pretty excited to get it.

 

[geminigirl]

^Buying baby equipment, furniture, clothes etc while pregnant is VERY exciting indeed! I looove it!


Wedding on saturday + my nephew's 3rd birthday party yesterday = Presley and I sleeping in until 9:30am today. Most sleep I have had in 6+ months! She fed at 3:15am. Awesome night!