What did you do? | ExpatWoman.com
 

What did you do?

157
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 January 2011 - 20:31

Hi ladies,
DS is nearly 3 weeks old now and I'm after some advise please on what everyone did with regards to sleeping routines for their LO's.

I read a couple of books during my pregnancy on the sleeping routine thing and thought we would try one of them. All goes out the window though when it's 4am and your LO has been up for 2 hours and won't settle! I know he is only 3 weeks old, but do you just do what you can at this stage to get them to settle or try and get them into the whole self settling thing etc? DH and I are pretty exhausted as DS uses me as a dummy to get to sleep and if DH tries to get him to sleep after feeding (DS is BF) it can take up to 2 hours. He's not so bad during the day - night times are the worst when he won't settle. He's not very good at brining up wind, could this be the problem? Also, we can do a nappy change up to 3 times during one feeding session...is this normal?

Any advise greatly appreciated!

1238
Posts
EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 24 January 2011 - 07:03
Also try not to label him as a "lazy feeder" because he may not be. He may just like to take his time. Had I listened to the books, both my two would have been "snackers", but in fact they were just efficient feeders. Branding your child can easily become a self-fulfilling prophesy because you (and others hearing the brand) form opinions based on the brand - we all do - and babies change so often, it's highly likely to still be there when the baby has grown out of the phase. You know, we've all heard it so often: "my DD has always been a grumpy child" (-> really? What, every day?!) I completely agree with this ... my first two were the most efficient eaters - on and off in less than ten minutes. But they grew, and eventually I stopped worrying about it. My twins definitely take their time. They have a look around, nurse for a bit, a burp, a nap, then another little nurse ...
192
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 January 2011 - 23:33
We're swaddling DS and he does like that. We keep one of his arms free as he seems to like it and occasionally finds his fingers to suck on. We have music playing in the background softly and during the day he sleeps with TV going etc. His nappy we were changing at the begining of a feed to wake him up as he's also a lazy feeder and quite often drops off to sleep while nursing. Midway through feeding most times he would poo, then we'd change him again to wake him up and also try and burp him. Because he takes so long to settle during the night he'd wee again so it just seems like we're almost starting the feed / sleep cycle over again by the time he's dropped off it's time to feed again! I have thought about not changing him after some night feeds because on the occasion where he does settle I don't want to disturb him. Just don't want to get him into a bad habit of falling asleep on me and not be able to get him out of it. He's gone down perfectly tonight so fingers crossed tonight is a 'sleep' night. Thanks for your replies :-) If anything, he doesn't need to be woken at night for a feed - just pop him on when he starts bleating and take him off just as he's getting sleepy again. Try tickling his feet or ears to keep him going while he's drinking. Also try not to label him as a "lazy feeder" because he may not be. He may just like to take his time. Had I listened to the books, both my two would have been "snackers", but in fact they were just efficient feeders. Branding your child can easily become a self-fulfilling prophesy because you (and others hearing the brand) form opinions based on the brand - we all do - and babies change so often, it's highly likely to still be there when the baby has grown out of the phase. You know, we've all heard it so often: "my DD has always been a grumpy child" (-> really? What, every day?!)
157
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 January 2011 - 22:50
We're swaddling DS and he does like that. We keep one of his arms free as he seems to like it and occasionally finds his fingers to suck on. We have music playing in the background softly and during the day he sleeps with TV going etc. His nappy we were changing at the begining of a feed to wake him up as he's also a lazy feeder and quite often drops off to sleep while nursing. Midway through feeding most times he would poo, then we'd change him again to wake him up and also try and burp him. Because he takes so long to settle during the night he'd wee again so it just seems like we're almost starting the feed / sleep cycle over again by the time he's dropped off it's time to feed again! I have thought about not changing him after some night feeds because on the occasion where he does settle I don't want to disturb him. Just don't want to get him into a bad habit of falling asleep on me and not be able to get him out of it. He's gone down perfectly tonight so fingers crossed tonight is a 'sleep' night. Thanks for your replies :-)
784
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 23 January 2011 - 22:05
Like you, I thought following to the T what was advised through books would work. But its most important to do what works for you. What I used to do for DD when she was that age was and til today really, at 8ish, it's time for bed bath with warm water with a few drops of johnson's bedtime bath ( the purple bottle ) then I massage her down with the bedtime oil, also the purple bottle ( which btw contains lavender oil which is very calming), don her jimmys and rock her to bed, after nursing and burping her. I also swaddled her, I have just recently changed the swaddle for the babygro and baby pillows. at 3 weeks, she'd wake ups up every 2 hrs to feed. I burp her then rock her to bed again. The thing is that I trained DD to sleep with noise ( again for my benefit ;) ) so i've got nursery rhymes playing softly in the background. DD also has the dummy. oh..i know it's gonna sound bad, but i don do nappy change at night unless it's really a poo or really bothering her. I only do it at 6am once she's awake. :) S <em>edited by shjbelle on 23/01/2011</em>
192
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 January 2011 - 22:03
wind could certainly be a bit of an issue - I know this sounds daft, but do you burp him? I only ask because as a first time mum, I had no idea I needed to burp the baby and somehow thought that a few teensy pats would do it. My Mil (ex neo-natal nurse) showed me how to do it properly and I was quite surprised at how vigorous it was - lean them forward a bit so that your hand is putting pressure on their tummy, then pat quite vigorously a few times, then rub, again quite vigorously... alternate between rubbing and patting until a big rolling burp emerges! I second Guinness though on the sleep pattern - 3 weeks old is so, so very early, so do whatever you need to do to get you all to sleep. "Bad habits" aren't formed instantly, and there's absolutely no "bad habit" in this world that can't be broken later. The nappy changing is a bit strange though - if it's just wee, leave it until the end (or leave it until it's about to disintegrate, like I used to! lol!)... if it's poo, well, leave it until the end of the feed. No need to disturb him while he's feeding. At night, only change the nappy if it's really bothering him or if he's done a poo... it could well be that you're actually waking him up more and that he loses his sleep slot. Keep the lights dim when you're feeding and keep things quiet, so no talking or singing... all that could stimulate him and essentially tell him it's playtime.
1238
Posts
EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 23 January 2011 - 21:34
Are you swaddling DS? Frankly, at that age, you need to do what you can to get them to settle. Self-settling can wait for the daylight! However, swaddling is really key for most babies in terms of settling. I have twin babies - a girl and a boy. I put them both in the Mothercare swaddling cloths. The girl prefers to be wrapped up tight with a dummy. The boy likes to have his arms out and no dummy. But as soon as I tuck either of their feet into the little pouch at the bottom, they visibly relax. Swaddling can also help with preventing gas - when my kids won't settle, I often swaddle and then bf - they fall asleep that way and will stay asleep. The nappy change bit is a little strange. Why do you need to change DS's nappy three times? Is it dirty or wet or what?
 
 

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