Babies Born February 2008 #4

[ania]

WOW esme thats fantastic - what a great mothers day gift for sleeping so long At least u got to rest..... Joshua was the same at the beginning (dont want to frighten u) and than he changed and didnt slep at night - but i think it had a lot to do with wat the paediatrician said to me (poor weight gain at 6 weeks) and made me stress out - hence i think passing it onto him.... but yesterday he was such a good boy - he feel alseep by himself...although at the start i do have to lull him to sleep (hubby's fault) and at night he was just a gem sleep now for 5 hours as opposed to 2 hrs (which has been going on for the last 2 weeks). My hubby and i got some rest

It exciting when they start communicating with you... tummy time with me is also a bit of a burden - he has to be in a good mood...otherwise he will cry.... usually if he wakes up in a good mood i will do a bit of tummy time and sometimes after a feed - but not straight away.... when they want to put their head up they will dont fret. Joshua actaully rolled 2 weeks ago... it was so exciting... but i have to tell hubby not to leave him alone....

JJ - i know what u mean about about daddy situation - at night i cant get him to fall asleep with me... its all about daddy and his time with him.... as soon as i hand him over to dad he is fast asleep in less than a minute - i reckon its b/c he can smell the milk...hahahaha my sister in law was the same - but as they get bigger it will be all mummy mummy and than u wish they there will be some daddy time in there.

[prama]

esme - a quick one..
poopy doesnt like his tummy time on the floor. i put him on the sofa and he's much happier and actually lifts his head up. i sit on the floor so we're eye to eye and make sure he doesnt fall. i put him close to the edge, so him body is on the sofa and sort of over the edge so it forces him to lift his head. i also tried on his change table, better than floor, not as good as sofa.
bbl booby call

[*MinKy*]

Prama, good idea about the sofa! Will have to give that a go...Noah hates tummy time too!

[Jacki]

Luke hates tummy time as well but I think is slowly getting slightly better. I try to encourage him to lift his head and use his shoulders/back by having him chest to chest with me while sitting reclined a little on the softa and getting him to look at me.

Esme - great news on the sleep and congralutions on the transition to his own room. I am sure your BB will sort themselves out pretty soon if he keeps up those great nights.

How does everyone get their little ones to go to sleep. When they are tired do you just wrap them up and put them in bed? Or rock/pat until just about to doze off? Put down to sleep? Use a dummy? Let cry ?
I seem to be having more and more difficulty getting DS off to sleep both day and night and just wanted to know what you are all doing. Is it a 3 month thing due to him being more alert etc that will pass? Its driving me mad.

[prama]

jacki - during the day, he has a little bouncer that's padded and can be made flat. i rock him in that, and he falls asleep, only when he's sleepy. i dont wrap him during the day. at night, he has a feed, some cuddles with us in bed and then we wrap him up and put him his bassinet and let him watch his mobile. that helps him drift off and fall asleep. sometimes he does a little cry but not a big one. i think it's just a im sleepy cry. and he falls asleep.
if he has trouble sleeping during the day, i just cuddle him in my arms, sing a lullaby and pat his bum. that helps sometimes.

esme - woo hoo! what asleep. but i know what you mean, when poopy sleeps a bit longer, i still keep waking up to check.

ania - yeah, poopy gets a bit fracus with me cos he can smell the milk. he calms down with daddy.
oh, also with tummy time, the nurse said it's better if they do it with daddy's chest, cos it's flat and it wont make them confused with play and wanting a feed!
poopy hasnt shown any rolling attempts yet, he sortof half turned 2 weeks ago, but i think that was a fluke.

[*MinKy*]

Hiya, we dont wrap bubs anymore...A its too hot and B he kicks his way out..lol..so we normally just watch out fr his tired signs, a cranky high pitched whinge,he has a little cuddle, then is put to bed as soon as the eyes close.

Night times he goes into his sleeping bag as he is hopeless with keeping the sheets on!

[prama]

oh when we wrap him at tnight, he still manages to get his arms out and stuck in the fold but doesnt kick it cos we tuck him in and put the sheet and blankie really tight. he's like a baby burito

[ania]

WOW - u guys put me to shame putting bubs to sleep - i have to hold him, dummy and all (patting, rocking etc) in my arms than when he is asleep i put him down..... sometimes he wakes up and ihave to do it all again... although i did the control crying it did work but than when he was going thru silent reflux and wind issues that all went out the window.... another big thing for me is he fights his sleeps - its not a little cry its a bog cry so i have to hold him tight in my arms....and the fact that he loves the cuddles. Any ideas how to brake this habit cause im finding it very hard..... and it breaks my heart when he get histerical....

[Sueby]

Good Morning Girls,
just a quick post as my 3yr old is sick

Re sleeping and wrapping etc
Daysleeps DD usually awake for 1.5 to 2hrs then gets cranky we put her to bed ( are just weaning from wrapping) she cries for maybe 10secs and then finds her thumb and she is off!
Night Sleep the same but in sleeping bag.

We have put her to bed the same way since she was newborn and now she associates her room / cot with sleep. Of course sometimes she doesn't settle and may have wind etc and then of course we pick her up burp her and then back down to sleep.

Girls it is hard they do become more knowing and who wouldn't like to be held and rocked to sleep, but they do need to learn to put themselves to sleep. Tizzie Hall has a great website and there are some great sleep schools out there.
Every bub is different, my two sons were very hard to settle but they eventually became more settled after we develop a sleep routine.

Good Luck girls

Sue

[Esme]

Thanks girls for putting my mind at ease re tummy time! Actually yesterday (just after I posted the question) he lifted his head up during tummytime; just wanted to make mummy worry first.... Prama, I will try the sofa trick today; much easier than crawling around on the floor trying to get at Jasper's eye level!

Ania/Jacki - Jasper has been fighting sleep for the last few weeks. We do have a routine which involves putting him in sleeping bag, closing the curtains and wrapping him (one arm out). But most of the time he works himself up into a big hysterical cry; I have been trying to get him to sleep without getting him out of his cot/bassinet by patting/stroking his tummy and singing a lullaby until he stops crying (this can take up to 15 minutes). Sometimes I have to do this more than once before he falls asleep.
Lucky; this week he seems to be getting better at falling asleep and doesn't cry for more than 5 minutes, so hopefully he is learning how to self settle... He is asleep now after only 5 minutes of grizzling, so hopefully it was just a phase he went through... After his midnight feed he falls asleep quite quickly without much crying. I have to say, it is so hard on you when they are obviously unhappy, but I am happy I persevered with getting him to sleep in his cot.

[jenjams]

My Little girl from about 4 weeks to 8 weeks would NOT sleep during the day unless she was in my arms.
I still wrap DD but during the day I leave her arms out as she gets her arms out anyway. During the day after she wakes, we feed then we play for awhile. When she starts to get a little grumpy I put her in her cot, put her dummy in and wrap her and then leave her. Sometimes she grizzles for a bit.
We have had the same night time routine since 2 weeks. She has a bath at 930. I feed her, I wrap her and she is put to bed. She seems to associate bath with bed.

Maybe Jackie you could try massage?

As for tummy time, we are getting better here. She isn't crazy about it but she is getting better and strong! She is rolling onto her side now. This morning was good because one of the cats came and sat in front of DD so she stared at the cat while being on her tummy! I try to put a toy on front of her too.
Prama- I love the new pic of Lakshman too
Sue- I hope your poor DS gets better. Nicholas?
Jackie- DD went through an unsettled patch last week so I do put it down to the 3 month mark. Luke will get better... and your sanity too!

Bun- Where are you? How is Catherine and DH?

Hello to everyone else. Nearly all of our bubs are at 3 months. HOORAY!

[Sueby]

Hi Jen,

Yes Nicholas is sick. He has been Febrile Temps of 40 plus for 4 days, he has been having panadol and nurofen regularly and still has a Temp of 38. Poor little fella. He is miserable and not eating and just wants cuddles. We have been to the GP twice and he is sure it is just viral so we are waiting it out. Hopefully today will be the last day of the temperatures. I have another appt on Friday to see the GP (couldn't get in earlier!) so If he isn't any better I will take him into my work ( Emergency Department ) to see one of the Drs there.

Yes I too can't believe that all our bubs are reaching 3 months.

With the sleeping problems, I found with my two boys they get used to things very quickly so if you are rocking and patting etc they will associate that with how to go to sleep. My 1st DS was about 3months and we were rocking and patting etc but we stopped and put him down into bed happy and awake and after two or three days he was going to sleep much better. We would have to go back in and settle him just a quick pat and its ok and then leave the room. It is hard and I hated him crying but I was determined with DD that she would learn to self settle. Sorry for the ramble sometimes these posts are my only Adult contact for the day until my DH gets home.

Have a good day everyone

Sue

[jenjams]

I know what you mean Sue. I have DD or the dog or cats to entertain myself until DF gets home from work. Do you have a mothers group? I dont. My maternal health nurse said one was starting up and they would get some info to me... but I am still waiting.

I agree with the settling. No I put DD to bed awake and she is learning that is the time to go to sleep. Sometimes she will grizzle and I go in and pat her until she is quiet then I leave the room again.

I hope Nicholas is feeling better.

[Jacki]

Sue - just read your post in the sleeping thread - OMG I am so jealous. Your Sophie sure is a sleepy head. Does she sleep just as much when you are out and about or just at home. So sorry to hear about Nicholas, hope his temp comes down soon the poor little mite.

Thanks all for your replies on how your settle your bubs to sleep. With Luke I don't put him in his cot asleep just sleepy. Generally try to catch his tired signs, pick him up have a cuddle for while, pat his bum etc and when his eyes are all heavy I wrap him and put him to bed. Once there I if he doesn't drift straight off, or wakes after a couple of minutes and grizzles etc I try to pat his bum etc in his cot and not get him out.

I'd like to be able to put him in his cot a lot earlier though. I'm not big on the whole self settling / control crying approach but I just seem to spend way too much time settling him to sleep during the day and then only get a 45 minute sleep. Aaaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhh !!!

Jen - hope you get the mother's group sorted out soon. I really love mine. We meet once each week and have been doing so for the last 2 months. Usually just rotate whose house we go to and eat cake and chat for a couple of hours. Its great to get out of the house and chat to 'adults' - even if the conversation is mostly about babies.

[prama]

sue - sorry to hear nicholas is sick, poor baby. hugs and cuddles from me.

tried ahvign a routine but it always goes out of whack when we are out, feeding time, sleeping time. i also tried doing feed, sleep, play etc but it doesnt always work that way. i try to include tummy time, playmat time, nappy free time between feeds. i mean one of each at different feed times, not all once. but it's a bit hard sometimes when you're doing other stuff or he's not interested, and i get stressed that im not doing all the things for his development. so i play it by ear, sometimes i cant include all of it.
we try to stick to the night routine. bath, feed in bed, cuddles with steve and me, and wrap and we put him in his bassinet. we let him look at his mobile and laugh himself silly, then turn off the bedside light after 10mins if he's still awake and he usually just falls asleep.
so far he hasnt been fussy about going to sleep at night. they say things change a gain at 4mths. he's sleeping less and less duringthe day. if he does, just 30mins or so. i dont put him to sleep during the day, only if he gets sleepy himself. he falls asleep in his bouncer. if i were to wrap during teh day, he will just wake up and not sleep.
i know what you mean about adult company. im just doing baby talk all day, sometiem,s till steve comes home. at least mondays i have my exercise class and now tues motehrs group. it makes such a abig difference/

jj - thanks, they just grew up so quickly.

jacki - hope it gets better hun..
my house is int oo much of a mess to have ppl over!

[Bun]

Hi guys,

Sorry I haven't posted in so long, I just haven't had the time! DD and I had a really bad cold all of last week and I was bridesmaid at a wedding that weekend and everything just got crazy busy! Thankfully we are finally getting better now. Unfortunately DD's night sleeps have gone crazy since she has been ill!

It sounds like everyone had a great mothers day! I got brekky in bed and a lovely card and pressie so was a very happy mummy indeed!

DD still doesn't like tummy time but is improving. She will tolerate it on me or on her change table but doesn't like it much on the floor. She is getting very close to rolling over at the moment and will do it any day I think! She is super smiley and getting better at entertaining herself with her toys so I can get a few things done! A big improvement!

I have to rock and sing to DD to get her to sleep after wrapping her really tight, she very rarely manages to get herself to sleep. Somtimes it is easy and she falls asleep straight away, and other times she needs a LOT of rocking before she goes down. Sometimes once I get her to sleep and put her down, she then wakes up five mins later screaming. She gets reflux and I am never sure if the screaming is because of that or because she just wants a cuddle. Sometimes I will pick her up again and she will go straight to sleep (so obviously just wanted a cuddle) and other times she does a big burp or spew so I know that was the problem. The trouble is how to tell which it is and whether she really needs to be picked up or not! Grrr, sometimes I wish I spoke Baby!!

ania - I can hear you on the wond issues and reflux, and the fighting sleep! DD loves to fight it; just like her daddy!

sue - sorry to hear your little boy is sick; I hope he gets better soon.

jenjams - thank for asking about me; it has just been so hard to find the time to post lately! I am sorry to hear you don't have a mothers group, mine has been a lifesaver! We meet once a week and go to swimming together once a week and one of them came around last week. We have started a mothers group on facebook and keep in touch all the time. Maybe you could phone your child health nurse and ask about it again? Mine forgot to mention it to me at first and then called later, so maybe she just forgot? I would definitely recommend joining if you ccan find one.

Hi to everyone else, I will try to write again soon. I hope you are all well!

Bun xx

[Sueby]

Hi Everyone,

Jacki -- To be honest we don't get out alot apart from the kinder run. I find it too hard to shop with three of them. We do catch up with friends on the non kinder days and the boys have a play with other kids but we haven't done this for the last month as either Nicholas or Benjamin has been sick. If we go out it is usually in the afternoon. If it weren't for Internet Banking and extended trading hours I would be stuffed. I really don't know how my Mum did it with 3 under 4 and no internet banking or longer supermarket hours!!
I am also very spoilt atm as my MIL will come up early Thurs/Fri mornings so I can take Benjamin to Kinder so if sophie isn't awake I don't have to wake her. This won't be happening forever as they go away to QLD for 3 months very soon so I am making the most of it.!!
Mothers Groups are great I still have 3 really close friends from my mothers group which was nearly 5 years ago.

Thank you all for your thoughts about Nicholas. He is a bit better today but still has a Temperature! I am a nurse but when my child is sick all of my instincts go out the window lol.

Hello to everyone else.

Prama -- Happy 3 months today!! I remember as Sophie was born the day after Poopy! Have a lovely day
Sue

[Sueby]

Well, little Miss must have heard me bragging, she did sleep for 12hours overnight but has had a one hour snooze this morning and a 40minute one this afternoon. She is in bed now but I don't think she will sleep for too long. I should know not to brag and that just when you think you know what they are doing they change!!! LOL

Sue