Moms on Call Book

jennp1979

Sorry in advance if someone has posted this but I did a search on my phone and didn't find anything

Has anyone used this book so far and if so did you fave success?

nolemomma14

We started using the moms on call schedule when DS was 3 weeks old. The first couple of days we didn't see much of a difference, but by the end of the week he was consistently sleeping from 9:30-1 or 2. Now he's 6 weeks and sleeps from 9-3, and last night even made it to 3:45. More progress! Not only has it been great for his night time sleep, but the schedule lets me plan my day out so much better because I know when he will eat, and although they still vary slightly, his naps are becoming more consistent as well. I would definitely recommend it.

hab83

Are you ladies BFing or FFing? DS still wants to nurse every 2 hours during the day. If I try to stretch that out, he just gets pissed off and won't nap. We are also in a Wonder Week, so his sleep is extra messed up right now. And he's rather colicky.

The pedi said to keep feeding on demand, so it looks like no schedule for me just yet, though DS does seem to be setting into his own routine. I'm going slightly crazy.

Aimes33m

I couldn't find the actual book (apparently the hard copy hasn't been published in a few years). It is available for kindle but I have a nook. Anyways, there's also an app for iPhone. Not quite as informative but between the app and what I've learned on here we've made it work.

It took us a few days to adjust. The eating schedule is working for us. But is hard to get her to nap all the time when the schedule dictates. We've definitely seen improvement in nighttime hours of sleep and we've only been using it about a week.

Before trying it out I was sorta letting her dictate her daytime nap schedule. I think she needed more daytime hours of sleep. When I tried to start making those happen I think I saw an improvement in the length of nighttime sleep.

Or...I've just gotten lucky and it's all a crapshoot. Who knows.

ADC1979

I'm reading a breastfeeding book right now that has me hesitant to try moms on call before 6 weeks. The book stresses that babies need to feed on demand for growth and to keep your milk supply up. The schedule it recommends for me only had 7 feedings and baby needs 8-12 right now. My guy cluster feeds from 6-midnight and I'd hate to not give him what he needs just for a schedule. Hopefully after 6 weeks he won't be quite as voracious.

nolemomma14

I'm BFing. Those first few days it was a bit difficult to get DS to 3 hrs in between feedings, so I just tried to hold him off as close to 3 hrs as possible, without making him mad. Getting him to nap better, which we still work on everyday was a huge help in getting him to 3 hrs. He also went through a growth spurt recently and was cluster feeding and I fed on demand. After a day or two he went back to 3 hrs between feedings.

One of the main points the book uses, is to feed at 9am every morning, to begin getting LO on a 3hr eating schedule, and always feed at the "supper time" noted in the schedule, even if you have to bunch up two feedings together. Right now that is 5:30 for DS, so regardless of when he last ate, I always offer him the breast at that time. Like I said before, his naps vary. Sometimes I can get him down when the schedule says to and other times I can't and I just go with it! It's still a learning process, and some days are better than others, but it has definitely been a big help to DH and me.

TurtleMonsters

I'd be weary of that schedule if BFing too. Sorry I have no more to add.

argonne

Sorry, I'm hesitant to put such a young baby on a rigid schedule.  My LOs have always had routines, but never a strict schedule.  If my baby is hungry, I feed my baby.  They know when they are hungry.  I know some of you still follow hunger cues, but still. 

Also, it's pretty normal for babies to start stretching out their night sleep starting around 6 weeks old, so some of the success you are seeing may just be natural night time sleep changes.  For example, DD just recently (the past five nights) started giving me 6-7 hour stretches (8-2 or 3).  She is not scheduled.  In fact, her normal routine has been a bit shaken up by starting daycare on Monday (apparently she was fighting a nap hard yesterday).  She has a routine, especially at bedtime (in bed by 8 most evenings), but that's it.

All in all, this is such a short period of time in the grand scheme of things and most children will fall into a schedule on their own in a few months.

argonne

Also, if you want a good book written by an actual doctor that has done much research around infant/child sleep, I suggest "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child".  It is very informative about sleep patterns in children and stresses that young infants (less than 3-4 months) should not really be scheduled, but you should follow their cues.  He does suggest CIO for older infants, but goes on to say that CIO is usually not necessary if you read and respond to your child's sleep cues.  Right now, we go with no more than 2 hours of awake time (sometimes less) and it has been amazing for DD and the rest of the family.

jennp1979

Does anyone have a copy of the schedule that they wouldn't mind sharing...I looked today at bookstore and they didn't have it

nolemomma14

There are different ones depending on LOs age but here is one of them.

We swaddle for night time sleep, but not during the day. We also don't use white noise, LO does fine without it. We rock DS to sleep and then put him in his crib, and definitely don't let him
CIO, he's too little for that.

I'm sure it doesn't work for everyone, and if LO is hungry before the 3 hours of course I feed him. It might just be coincidence that he's starting to sleep longer, but it's working for us so far!

jnnfrrose6

I've got the book.  SIL gave me a consultation with one of the author's when DS was born and that was part of the service.  Needless to say, I'm a fan.  I EBF'd DS for a year and had no issues with supply when we started with everything at 3 weeks for him.  I've got the other books on kindle, though.  

This time we started around 2 weeks for DD, but mostly because she is a noisier baby at night (very grunty, etc...) so that's when she was moved into her crib in her own room and it made sense to start then.  Again, we're EBF and I haven't seen any problems with my supply (I've actually been able to pump some mornings between feedings as well and get a bit of a stock in the freezer for going back to work).  She's 10 weeks now and has been STTN for over 2 weeks now with about 5 weeks before of only getting up once in the night. 

It's something that works well for us.  We've got a schedule.  DH and I know roughly when she'll be tired and napping, when she'll be hungry, and we can actually make plans as a result.  It's also fit in well with the routine we have with DS.

jennp1979

What fo you do when your bit at home during the day...do you still follow routine if your out shopping (example)

What hours are LO sleeping at night?

nolemomma14

If we are out and about during the day, I usually plan it so that LO eats before we go out, and he's a pretty good napper in his car seat.

Example: on Sundays we go to church and the service starts at 10:30. LO will eat at 9, and we leave the house around 10. He usually falls asleep in the car on the way there and will sleep through the service for the most part which is over at 11:30-11:45. I will feed him at noon (ebf) and then we go run any errands we need to. Last Sunday we went to lunch, SAMs club and target. LO was awake for a bit and then slept in his car seat. We were home by 3 and LO was ready to eat again.

Right now LO is sleeping 9-3. He eats, gets changed and swaddled again and is usually down again by 3:30-3:45, and wakes up again around 6:30-7.

jnnfrrose6

As @kdelgado03 said, I work out my errands around DD's schedule.  Today, she ate at 9 then we headed out to the bank and grocery store.  She napped during the errands and we were home around 11.  She ate at 12 and napped until I had to leave to work out.  She slept in her carseat while I worked out with my trainer, then I fed her at 3 after my work out.  Back in the car after that to pick up DS from DC and now we're home hanging out until she eats at 5:30.

To me, that's the beauty of it all.  We have a schedule.  I know when she'll eat and we work around that.  Everything else fits in around it.

nolemomma14

@cko521‌ he does wake up on occasion. If that happens, I have a sling, and will just take him out of his car seat and put him in there, he will usually fall back asleep or at least stay content enough that we can finish up whatever errands we have left. Sometimes there is no keeping him content and nothing helps and in that case I just head back to the car and head home. It's not ideal, but I figure as he gets older and can be entertained by toys or other things it'll happen less that I have to pack up and go.

jnnfrrose6

kdelgado03 said:

@cko521‌ he does wake up on occasion. If that happens, I have a sling, and will just take him out of his car seat and put him in there, he will usually fall back asleep or at least stay content enough that we can finish up whatever errands we have left. Sometimes there is no keeping him content and nothing helps and in that case I just head back to the car and head home. It's not ideal, but I figure as he gets older and can be entertained by toys or other things it'll happen less that I have to pack up and go.

Same here.  Depending on the stop she either stays in her carseat or gets worn.  If she's worn, it's much easier to settle DD if she gets fussy/wakes up.  If she's in the carseat, we try the paci first.  If that doesn't settle her down then it depends on the errand.  Sometimes she'll come out for soothing, sometimes I just push through getting the errand done or head home.  If it's close to time to eat then I'll find somewhere to sit and nurse.

cookiemomma14

This sounds wonderful but DS has reflux and cannot lie flat for at least 30 minutes after he eats for play or tummy time. But boy would I love some predictability. Any advice?

jennp1979

Which book are you using...I'm looking for it but see there are a few Moms on Call books

Aimes33m

bcook530 said:

This sounds wonderful but DS has reflux and cannot lie flat for at least 30 minutes after he eats for play or tummy time. But boy would I love some predictability. Any advice?

I would just make the schedule work for you. They are scheduled to nap for a two hour block but rarely does my DD actually nap that long. So keep him up for 30 min after feeds, then play (which at this age could be done sitting up in your lap anyways). You'll still have 1.5 hours for a nap. My DD usually naps during each scheduled nap time, but sometimes it's only 30 min. When we started the schedule I was trying to make the exact times work but you can't force them to nap for 2 hours so just be flexible. Sometimes she eats slightly early or late depending on what we are doing and how hungry she seems.