Reassurance Needed....LONG but don't be put off

Well, its a saga now.

Noah fought like the dickens last night to go to bed and wound up falling asleep at 10.40 pm, when I started putting him to bed at around 9 pm...so today, I have decided to start him on a schedule(ish) This is where I need some reassurance puhleez...

Okay, so I have decided to start giving him his bottle every 3 hours (where before I was feeding him whenever I thought he was hungry) so today went something like this:

9.30 - 4 oz
followd by a nap for around an hour
12.30 - 6 oz bottle
followed by a nap for around 45 minutes
3.30 - 4 oz
followed by a short doze for 20ish minutes
NOW...he was so hysterical at 5.45 that I gave in and gave him a 4oz bottle, of which he had only 2 oz, it is now 6 pm and he is fast asleep

So thats where we are now. So here are my questions for you...thats right, the collective you, you big old group of mothers you.

1. Noah is a grazer, a 4 oz bottle could last around an hour. Does anyone have any advice on how I can get him to eat more at each sitting. (a bottle of expressed breast milk)

2. Is 6.00 too late for a nap if I want to put him to bed at around 8ish?

3. Never mind question 2, he is awake now and crying.

4. He seems to want to eat more, more often in the evening. Is evening cluster eating normal?

So, if anyone has any insight into my questions...I would appreciate any resonse you can give at all.

thanks ladies
R

Message edited 3/18/2006 1:24:20 PM.

Re: Reassurance Needed....LONG but don't be put off

I don't have any solid good advice for you as my DS is 6mos old and still doesn't sleep thru the night and every day his eating schedule is different. The only thing I CAN tell you is that yes, cluster feeding is normal at night - my DS does that also. 5PM bottle/nurse 6PM dinner and 7:30 bottle for bed. Perhaps to get him to eat more you need to stretch it out a bit. And maybe you should start feeding him when he wakes up instead of when he's sleepy. That's what works for us. I notice that if Joseph has a nap less than 2 hrs before bedtime he wakes more easily during the night. How old is Noah?

to you - I know how hard it is!!!

Re: Reassurance Needed....LONG but don't be put off

He will be 10 weeks on Monday. He does eat enough as he is quite a big boy and he is probably almost twice his birth weight already

I will try what you suggest...thanks for that and for your support.

I don't mine waking in the night with him, I just want an evening or two back to have dinner or relax for an hour or two knowing that he is asleep!

I keep feeling like he needs to be on more of a schedule with more routine, but routine is not one of my strong points, so its hard to get into one!

I am going to give him a bottle of formula tonight before bed to see if this helps him get off to sleep. Odds are he won't like it...but its worth a try!!!

Why don't these things come with troubleshooting guides???

Message edited 3/18/2006 1:51:56 PM.

Re: Reassurance Needed....LONG but don't be put off

I remember the days I was DYING to put Bella on a schedule...but she did it on her own at around 3 months. Although we did try and feed her every 4 hours during the day, she got into a routine of that early, at like 6 weeks. And we woke up with her at night whenever she did and fed her...by 8-9 weeks she was down to only being up once a night at 3 am for a feeding and then at 14 weeks she dropped that feeding.

My doc told me that anything beofre 12 weeks was a feed on demand thing...

I know it's hard but we are all here to listen...it does get easier!

Re: Reassurance Needed....LONG but don't be put off

I think that maybe 10 weeks is a little soon to be expecting a schedule. This is from what I read anyway. But like I have said, mine are 5 1/2 months and only starting to sleep thru the night. Well, at least one of them is, the other has been doing it for 3 days.

Re: Reassurance Needed....LONG but don't be put off

I had Joseph on a strict schedule from the day he was home from the hospital. Bedtime at the same time everyday - the same bedtime routine...and eating every 2 hrs. Like Noah, Joseph is a big boy and ate so well. I'm not sure a schedule was the best thing. He's still not sleeping thru the night and I'm still not comfortable leaving him because I'm not sure if he'll take a bottle from someone else or sleep thru the night. One of these days we'll understand these kids!

Re: Reassurance Needed....LONG but don't be put off

Thanks for your advice, I will just keep him as he is and see how he goes.

He is asleep now, but not before loads of trauma! Its now 10 pm here, I gave him some formula, of which he only drank .5 oz at around 7.45, he had a bath at a little after 8 pm, has a 4 oz bottle of EBM, he fell asleep, we came downstairs around 9.10, he was crying, so I went upstairs....picked him up...he emptied the contents of his stomach all over me. I cleaned him up, gave him some more EBM to try to refill his tank...he then threw that up all over me and the bed. Got him changed again, my husband changed the bedding....Noah is now dead asleep. So lets see what happens.

I have only tried to give him formula 4 times, the other 3 times he spit up (when he doesn't normally) so I think that he hates formula. Can babies just eject the contents of their stomachs when there is something bad tasting in them? He did this the other day when I was trying to give him some baby tylenol stuff that was strawberry flavoured...

Ah well, live and learn. I feel like a bad mother for causing him to throw up like that...
*sigh*

Off for some dinner now at 10 pm

Re: Reassurance Needed....LONG but don't be put off

Definetly not a bad mother!!! You are trying to find what works, as all of us are.... We are all here for you so vent away anytime.

Re: Reassurance Needed....LONG but don't be put off

Posted by jcndd

I had Joseph on a strict schedule from the day he was home from the hospital. Bedtime at the same time everyday - the same bedtime routine...and eating every 2 hrs. Like Noah, Joseph is a big boy and ate so well. I'm not sure a schedule was the best thing. He's still not sleeping thru the night and I'm still not comfortable leaving him because I'm not sure if he'll take a bottle from someone else or sleep thru the night. One of these days we'll understand these kids!

Re: Reassurance Needed....LONG but don't be put off

How'd it go last night?

Re: Reassurance Needed....LONG but don't be put off

Can't give you advice, obviously, but ! I feel your pain!

Re: Reassurance Needed....LONG but don't be put off

Well we made it through the night...he came downstairs and fell asleep in the vibro-chair and I took him up to bed with me at around 11.30 ish, he slept until around 3, had 4 oz of EBM and slept until around 8ish, so I can't complain. I even had a nap at around 10 while dh watched the little guy. He is now fast asleep in the vibro-chair so all is well. He woke up bright and smiley this morning!

I think that the formula that I tried didn't agree with his stomach, so I will have to try some others in the near future.

Live and learn huh?

Message edited 3/19/2006 7:22:41 AM.

Re: Reassurance Needed....LONG but don't be put off

I agree 10 weeks is still a little early to expect a schedule- its never a bad thing to try out...

To me just sticking to the same routine, is always good, regardless of what time it is...

Ex:

If you want bed time to go like this...

Bath, play, bottle, bed.... then do the same thing every night.... even if there is a hour gap between each of those thing...

Eventutally when your child is at that stage, where he can learn a sched. he'll know, after bottle... I go to sleep...

You can start it at the same time everynight- just know that it may end at a different time every night..


See- with Ryan- I always fed him every 2hrs. then once he hit 6 weeks I tried to do every 3. If offer a little more in his bottle...and try and hold him off... (1st for an extra 15 min... then a half hour, then45 min, then the whole hour) it took a few days, and if he was REAL hungry- where holding him off wasnt working...Id feed him (I just dont believe a child should cry for hunger) It takes a few days from going from an on demand sched. to a 2 or 3hr sched.

As far as sleeping through the night....It just happened on its own.... and then once he got a little older (4months) and stopped sleeping through the night- I looked into other methods...

As far as napping @ 6- Id let him.... Naps are very important for there a happy bedtime sleep.... An overtired baby- is going to be restless all night (it makes no sense- because you think the more sleepy- the more they'll sleep-but when it comes to baby that couldnt be further from the truth!)

Or- put him down for bed at 6-7... If he not sleeping through the night... either way hes gonna get up.... Try and have your bath and last bottle by 6ish...and shoot to have him in his crib (or wherever he sleeps but 7)

I remember right before Ryan started sleeping through the night- around 6-8 he would just scream, and I would say its too early for him to go to bed (because I would try to keep him up til I would go to bed... because I figured....that way if I got a good 3-4 hrs outta him...I would get that as well....But it only made things worse

Well Calla suggested putting him to bed that time... he "witching hour" and sure enough... it was the answer to my problems...

To this day- when Ryans sleepy. I let him sleep- for keeping him up against his well only makes things worse....


You gotta stick to the same thing for a few days to really see a differecne! Good luck

Re: Reassurance Needed....LONG but don't be put off

thanks for that Maris, thats good advice!