@cait7425@423ang these sound DELISH. I must have missed the previous post someone referred to, because this blows my mind. I'm gonna try one.
So I had some cold oatmeal this morning, I just added peanut butter and some brown sugar and some pumpkin pie spice and it was pretty good! Filling, too! No midday munchies for me! Thanks for the recommend, ladies. I'm gonna play around with different combinations and see what I can do. Way better than boring cereal
^^ I have some frozen fruit I was using for smoothies, so I'm going to start getting some and leaving it in the fridge to thaw overnight so I can add it in the morning. And some bananas. I love peanut butter and bananas
Ok, so my LO changes his mind every few days of so with how he will be happiest to fall asleep. Litterly one week he protests unless it's swaying him, as soon as I get the hang of it, then it's dancing, or the rocking chair, or daddy walking him, or white noise, or no white noise. etc. It's honestly changing all the time. So pls share, what is everyone else doing?
1) is there a schedule or not? 2) how does LO fall asleep (rocking chair, in their swing, laid down in crib, soother, nursing, etc) 3) where does LO nap? 4) how long are these naps lasting? 5) advice? Pls share any words of wisdom about what has or hasn't worked?!
Ok, so my LO changes his mind every few days of so with how he will be happiest to fall asleep. Litterly one week he protests unless it's swaying him, as soon as I get the hang of it, then it's dancing, or the rocking chair, or daddy walking him, or white noise, or no white noise. etc. It's honestly changing all the time. So pls share, what is everyone else doing?
1) is there a schedule or not? 2) how does LO fall asleep (rocking chair, in their swing, laid down in crib, soother, nursing, etc) 3) where does LO nap? 4) how long are these naps lasting? 5) advice? Pls share any words of wisdom about what has or hasn't worked?!
Pls & thx you!
You might get better response on another thread. You probably didn't mean to post it on this one about feeding, did you?
My kid naps 3 times a day, if our schedule lets him - morning, mid-day and afternoon. They last 20 minutes to two hours. Unlike nighttime, he goes down pretty easy - on his side in his PnP. I sometimes nurse him side-lying in bed, and nap with him in bed. Otherwise I transfer him to his PnP after nursing (drowsy but awake, ideally, and usually but not always). For the most part, I tend to just put him down when he's tired though, and he won't fight it.
I have found that when my kid is unusually fussy, he often just needs to be put down and left alone. I used to try more things to calm him, but started having better success when I started just leaving him alone.
For the most part LO naps in her nursery (occasionally in the car seat or baby bjorn). We swaddle with arms out, white noise, and nurse. When I put her in her crib she wakes up enough to open her eyes or stretch then she goes to sleep. Morning nap around 9 (depending on when she wakes) lasts about 45 min. Mid day nap lasts about 1 1/2 hrs and she goes down around 12:30. Afternoon nap around 4 lasts about 45 min. She goes to bed around 7:30 now that it's getting dark earlier.
@virginiaunicorn11 and @lovethatcolosun When did you start seeing long naps? LO seems to be in this weird period where he's not napping as frequently but we can't get longer naps from him yet, still 15-30 minutes. DS is really hoping to be able to count on some 1-2 hour naps during the day soon.
DS was a short frequent napper for a while. I think he used to take 5 cat naps a day in the beginning. I think around 5-6 months is when he broke it into three naps. LO has been different from the beginning. The only thing I did different is I put lo into her crib sooner (6 weeks) for both naps and night time. DS used to nap in the pnp or swing in our living room. The white noise and dark room seem to help me. I think it also just varies by child.
I also do a dream feed sometimes if LO wakes up earlier in her nap cycle (after about 45 min), then put her down for another hour or so.
@virginiaunicorn11 and @lovethatcolosun When did you start seeing long naps? LO seems to be in this weird period where he's not napping as frequently but we can't get longer naps from him yet, still 15-30 minutes. DS is really hoping to be able to count on some 1-2 hour naps during the day soon.
Hm, I don't know... Usually the first nap of the morning or last nap of the afternoon is the long one. And I can get a longer nap if I lay down and sleep with him. I think he's had one long nap each day, for the most part (especially mornings, because he wakes at the butt crack of dawn).
I forget who recommended Dr. Sears' Sleep Book to me on here, but I got it out of the library today and am loving it. He says if you want them to sleep longer, track how long they typically sleep, and try to be there to soothe them back to sleep when they wake (probably way easier said than done - one way is to stay in the room with LO while napping. He also suggests baby-wearing for naps, to help get LO on a schedule.)
Ok, so my LO changes his mind every few days of so with how he will be happiest to fall asleep. Litterly one week he protests unless it's swaying him, as soon as I get the hang of it, then it's dancing, or the rocking chair, or daddy walking him, or white noise, or no white noise. etc. It's honestly changing all the time. So pls share, what is everyone else doing?
1) is there a schedule or not? 2) how does LO fall asleep (rocking chair, in their swing, laid down in crib, soother, nursing, etc) 3) where does LO nap? 4) how long are these naps lasting? 5) advice? Pls share any words of wisdom about what has or hasn't worked?!
Pls & thx you!
We're in the middle of a leap, and I don't know if that is the reason his naps are screwed all to hell, or not. But his naps are screwed all to hell. 1) Not? I can usually rely on a nap around 10-1030am. Its usually the longest one of the day, usually 45-60 min, but could be as little as 30 or as long as 90 min. The rest of the day is a crapshoot. Sometimes he naps for 20 or so min in between one feeding and the next, sometimes he doesn't. I *try* to keep to the EASY schedule (eat, active, sleep, you time), but he has been sometimes getting cranky or sleepy and taking a 20 min nap after 'active' time but waking up way before its eating time, so I have to fill that hour trying to be active again, or trying to get him to nap more again 2) recently I've been able to sit him in his baby rocking chair awake and rock it gently with my hand and he falls asleep. Sometimes I have to cuddle him, but if I do that, I can't move him cause he'll wake up. So I try to avoid that for the 10am nap, unless I'm also planning to nap with him for sure. Every now that then will fall asleep while nursing, but he usually wakes within 10 min 3) during the day, downstairs with me 99% of the time. Either in his rocking chair, or next to me on the couch, or (less and less) in his swing. DH and I have both tried to put him in his crib for naps in prep for crib transition (hopefully next weekend) but he always wakes up and is somehow completely back to 100% energy in there. This bodes ill for crib transition, I fear. 4) Not long. See #1. 5) I wish I had some words of wisdom, but I'm at a loss right now. Good luck!
@lovethatcolosun So reading your post I totally got an image of DS nursing LO back to sleep if he wakes up to soon! Guess my men are screwed! I feel like DS1 didn't consolidate sleep until 6 months.
@virginiaunicorn11 At first I swore off sleep books, too stressful. Now I kind of want to read one but I'm to busy. If I had time to research I should use that time for my sleep!
My supply seems nuts right now. Wonder what all our bodies are doing. Last week I had a really heavy period and it seemed like pump slacking was catching up with me. We really dipped into the freezer stash. LO has been up every hour or two at night and nursing like mad for the last 2-3 nights and now I am constantly engorged. Leaked through all my clothes after a run at the park, left out pads because I felt really empty when I left. Today I have to go 7 hours from nursing to when I found time to pump and I pumped 13 ounces. More than double my usual. I suddenly have 5 extra bottles in the fridge. Earlier in the week I thought we were looking at the beginning of the end.
Edit' DH not DS. I need more sleep, I don't even realize the mistakes I make . . .and my phone is weird now and doesn't let me go back and edit unless I delete everything.
Our other awkward sleep development is that LO is really ready to go to bed at 8pm but won't go down without nursing (he always did before) but I am not home several nights until 9pm. LO never seemed to care for nursing at all, but now he's seems more attached to it. DH is having to put him down on his stomach which scares me. It's only for a short period though since he's back up to nurse by 10 or 11.
Here's a good visual of how naps have changed for our LO. The first is from August and the second is his current napping trend. There are some that I forgot to record but you'll get the idea..
In August longer lasting naps that are close together... in October wee short little naps spaced further apart...
I was just reading that at this stage baby should go back to sleep (nap) within 1.5-2hours of waking for best results. But this assumes a regular eating schedule is every 3/4hrs I suppose you could adjust it according for your sleep/feed schedule.
@virginiaunicorn11 you're right, I didn't mean to post my question ably sleep in the feeding thread! Oops. But thx for taking the time to answer anyways.
@christinabrtn you're a superhuman with having tracked your schedule so well! I applaud you. I'm over here just trying to remember which day of the week it is! Haha
@christinabrtn Want to come help us out here? We usually can't remember if we fed our 3 year old dinner by the time bedtime rolls around. Amazing charts! I wish I had any idea so we could look for patterns.
My baby app would actually let me track sleeping, also, I just don't bother to use that function. If I did, it would chart and graph out my results like that. I track feedings, diapers, baths, tummy time, growth (weight and height), vaccines, medications (which I'm currently using to keep track of taking my lactation supplements). It will organize your data for you by timeline, its pretty neat. Mine doesn't do month by month, tho (at least, not on my phone) - it will let me look at data for the previous 1,2,3 weeks, and the previous 1,2 months, or 'All'. However, I think I could export the data to another device like my laptop and get it to break down so I could look at August alone, September alone, etc
Tracking it is literally the only way I function otherwise I have no clue what I'm doing. It's easy if you enter it right away... If you wait forget it lol.
I've been using one called 'baby tracker' and I have gotten really used to it and like it. But I've been meaning to switch to 'baby connect.'
I believe both allow your partner/daycare to have the app and also record what they have done from their phone.
I post just to demonstrate we see a trend but trust me I'm not that put together. I just happen to be one of those organization and documentation enthusiasts who has to do these things to prevent from losing it and feeling lost...
So, making it to six months on nothing but my milk is an important goal for me,and at this point, I think we'll make it. But DAMN, I hate finding time to pump while I'm working. It's my daily train wreck. Good news,I've become pretty proficient at pumping in sketch places. Truck stop? Sure.
So after all those issues with pumping last weekend I finally remembered how I used to do it discreetly. Manual pump. So I'm carrying that in my bag and using it in random restrooms. I can pump two ounces each side in a little over 5 minutes. Its actually faster than my load pump. I did a night time 5k Friday and then pumped to comfort in the bathroom afterwards, super easy and no one notices. I am going to start carting that everywhere, I forgot how much I used it with my first.
LO (18 weeks) is now eating round the clock every 1.5 hours, and my right nipple is just starting to get sore again. I'm getting a little nervous because nipple pain isn't a hell I want to go through again. Here's hoping...
Tomorrow is our 4 month pedi visit. I cannot freaking wait to talk to someone about what's up with this little dude, and to get his measurements!
I'm either dehydrated or my supply is taking a hit. I usually have more than enough at the end of the weekend for Monday's bottles and even freeze some. I'm currently pumping because I'm 4 ounces short for tomorrow.
And LO cannot get rid of her cold. It's really affecting her eating and sleeping. Poor girl, I feel so bad for her.
@henrytviii Way to go on the 5k! I was just thinking about signing up for a turkey trot at Thanksgiving.
I made lactation cookies a couple days ago land they are so delicious!! Pinterest win! Are they helping my supply? I'm not totally sold but I'll take any excuse to eat cookies.
I made lactation cookies a couple days ago land they are so delicious!! Pinterest win! Are they helping my supply? I'm not totally sold but I'll take any excuse to eat cookies.
^^ lactation cookies ARE good. I was also not sure if they helped supply, but yeah, cookies. And they were quite filling
My LO is assaulting my left boob. This is my lower supply boob so I don't know if she's trying to squeeze more milk out or what. She grabs a fist full of skin and squeezes and rolls it around. Hurts like hell with her tiny razor blade nails.
I made lactation cookies a couple days ago land they are so delicious!! Pinterest win! Are they helping my supply? I'm not totally sold but I'll take any excuse to eat cookies.
^^ lactation cookies ARE good. I was also not sure if they helped supply, but yeah, cookies. And they were quite filling
I've probably eaten like 12 in 3 days. But it's been breakfast and lunch and snacks lol. It's hard to eat with a baby! I drink a lot of instant carnation breakfasts and Gatorade too. All for the breastmilk is what I tell myself.
Definitely transitioning to EP soon. After the past 5 days of basically EP due to her croup/cold and working, my boobs were emptied and felt much better. My supply definitely decreased from the pumping and wonky schedule but I think that can all be fixed. Today I went back to BF and I immediately got blanched nipples and vasospasms that lasted 2 hours, and she wasn't satisfied. The writings on the wall...
TTC: 1/2014
BFP: 9/24
EDD: 6/8/2015
Sorry for the poor man's siggy...ticker won't load regardless of how many tips I read.
Definitely transitioning to EP soon. After the past 5 days of basically EP due to her croup/cold and working, my boobs were emptied and felt much better. My supply definitely decreased from the pumping and wonky schedule but I think that can all be fixed. Today I went back to BF and I immediately got blanched nipples and vasospasms that lasted 2 hours, and she wasn't satisfied. The writings on the wall...
I don't understand everything happening here, but I'm glad you're feeling better and hopefully have a permanent solution you're comfortable with. You've had a rough week! Hoping you'll hit the upswing soon.
Definitely transitioning to EP soon. After the past 5 days of basically EP due to her croup/cold and working, my boobs were emptied and felt much better. My supply definitely decreased from the pumping and wonky schedule but I think that can all be fixed. Today I went back to BF and I immediately got blanched nipples and vasospasms that lasted 2 hours, and she wasn't satisfied. The writings on the wall...
Your issues sound exactly like mine first time around. Blocked ducts all the time, mastitis seven times, nipple always blanched after feedings, terrible stabbing pains for hours after nursing etc. BUT this time around absolutely no issues after the first month (had all of these in first weeks but not so severe). I bring it up so you know it might be much better 2nd time around. My family practice doc says she feels like she sees this difference a lot. Good for you for sticking with, that year was miserable and all consuming for me. EPing at this point might be a good solution if you are comfortable with it. I hate pumping 10x more than I hate nursing. And I hate giant boobs even more than I hate pumping!
So I'm a formula mom but, all my friends are here :-h LO has been fighting me on every bottle. He won't take a med flow nipple and only like playtex bottles. He doesn't have an allergy or intolerance, that I know of and I can't figure out what's changed or needs to change. He eats 4oz. normally but starts to wiggle at 2 now??? It's almost like he's just full. Anyone else have this issue recently?
@henrytviii thanks for the encouragement. It's hopeful to think that maybe this won't happen with future children. I really hate pumping. For real. Buttttt it is what it is. She only gained 7oz in the past month which used to be her weekly gain so I'm a little on edge. The doctor wasn't phased at all but...still.
TTC: 1/2014
BFP: 9/24
EDD: 6/8/2015
Sorry for the poor man's siggy...ticker won't load regardless of how many tips I read.
@devyns2nd it may be the Events leap you're in right now. One of the "symptoms" is reduced eating. I'd obviously keep an eye on it based on your latest thrush struggles, but it's always a possibility. Someone posted a blog link relating to this. I'll see if I can find it and tag you in it.
I just want to thank you guys for all your support. I know I constantly sound like a whiney, annoying Debbie Downer in all my posts about breastfeeding and how frustrated I am, but it really means a lot to have a sounding board. I really, really appreciate it. Truly. And if I'm annoying any of you feel free to keep scrolling and throw in an eye roll , I get it!
TTC: 1/2014
BFP: 9/24
EDD: 6/8/2015
Sorry for the poor man's siggy...ticker won't load regardless of how many tips I read.
@dancegurl1118 I totally get it I was there once and had no place to vent. My marriage really took a hit. Vent away. Try not to worry about her weight gain, they do slow down. I know I sound like a broken record too but keeping all these exact records is stressful. You don't need them after the initial few weeks. Trust yourself, you got this.
@dancegurl1118 absolutely vent away. We're all going thru some kind of struggles or certainty with regards to feeding at sometime or almost all the time. Try not to stress over the weight. I know how hard that is.
You go girl and EP your heart out. @dancegurl1118 Absolutely the best choice in your situation. I pretty much EP now..... Only latch him overnight. You have a bunch frozen if I remember so don't "stress" over supply and make your supply worse. Tell yourself that you have milk in the freezer and you will be fine no matter what..... (Trick your mind )
@dancegurl1118 vent away, girlfriend! You are informative and enlightening in all your posts. But you can just swear and use GIFs and that would still be acceptable.
Re: Feeding lo - October
Ok, so my LO changes his mind every few days of so with how he will be happiest to fall asleep. Litterly one week he protests unless it's swaying him, as soon as I get the hang of it, then it's dancing, or the rocking chair, or daddy walking him, or white noise, or no white noise. etc. It's honestly changing all the time. So pls share, what is everyone else doing?
1) is there a schedule or not?
2) how does LO fall asleep (rocking chair, in their swing, laid down in crib, soother, nursing, etc)
3) where does LO nap?
4) how long are these naps lasting?
5) advice? Pls share any words of wisdom about what has or hasn't worked?!
Pls & thx you!
My kid naps 3 times a day, if our schedule lets him - morning, mid-day and afternoon. They last 20 minutes to two hours.
Unlike nighttime, he goes down pretty easy - on his side in his PnP. I sometimes nurse him side-lying in bed, and nap with him in bed. Otherwise I transfer him to his PnP after nursing (drowsy but awake, ideally, and usually but not always).
For the most part, I tend to just put him down when he's tired though, and he won't fight it.
I have found that when my kid is unusually fussy, he often just needs to be put down and left alone. I used to try more things to calm him, but started having better success when I started just leaving him alone.
I also do a dream feed sometimes if LO wakes up earlier in her nap cycle (after about 45 min), then put her down for another hour or so.
I forget who recommended Dr. Sears' Sleep Book to me on here, but I got it out of the library today and am loving it. He says if you want them to sleep longer, track how long they typically sleep, and try to be there to soothe them back to sleep when they wake (probably way easier said than done - one way is to stay in the room with LO while napping. He also suggests baby-wearing for naps, to help get LO on a schedule.)
1) Not? I can usually rely on a nap around 10-1030am. Its usually the longest one of the day, usually 45-60 min, but could be as little as 30 or as long as 90 min. The rest of the day is a crapshoot. Sometimes he naps for 20 or so min in between one feeding and the next, sometimes he doesn't. I *try* to keep to the EASY schedule (eat, active, sleep, you time), but he has been sometimes getting cranky or sleepy and taking a 20 min nap after 'active' time but waking up way before its eating time, so I have to fill that hour trying to be active again, or trying to get him to nap more again
2) recently I've been able to sit him in his baby rocking chair awake and rock it gently with my hand and he falls asleep. Sometimes I have to cuddle him, but if I do that, I can't move him cause he'll wake up. So I try to avoid that for the 10am nap, unless I'm also planning to nap with him for sure. Every now that then will fall asleep while nursing, but he usually wakes within 10 min
3) during the day, downstairs with me 99% of the time. Either in his rocking chair, or next to me on the couch, or (less and less) in his swing. DH and I have both tried to put him in his crib for naps in prep for crib transition (hopefully next weekend) but he always wakes up and is somehow completely back to 100% energy in there. This bodes ill for crib transition, I fear.
4) Not long. See #1.
5) I wish I had some words of wisdom, but I'm at a loss right now. Good luck!
@virginiaunicorn11 At first I swore off sleep books, too stressful. Now I kind of want to read one but I'm to busy. If I had time to research I should use that time for my sleep!
My supply seems nuts right now. Wonder what all our bodies are doing. Last week I had a really heavy period and it seemed like pump slacking was catching up with me. We really dipped into the freezer stash. LO has been up every hour or two at night and nursing like mad for the last 2-3 nights and now I am constantly engorged. Leaked through all my clothes after a run at the park, left out pads because I felt really empty when I left. Today I have to go 7 hours from nursing to when I found time to pump and I pumped 13 ounces. More than double my usual. I suddenly have 5 extra bottles in the fridge. Earlier in the week I thought we were looking at the beginning of the end.
Edit' DH not DS. I need more sleep, I don't even realize the mistakes I make . . .and my phone is weird now and doesn't let me go back and edit unless I delete everything.
In August longer lasting naps that are close together... in October wee short little naps spaced further apart...
I was just reading that at this stage baby should go back to sleep (nap) within 1.5-2hours of waking for best results. But this assumes a regular eating schedule is every 3/4hrs I suppose you could adjust it according for your sleep/feed schedule.
Eta because spelling..
& thanks @lovethatcolosun @henryviii I'm glad I'm not alone! Thx for replying.
@christinabrtn you're a superhuman with having tracked your schedule so well! I applaud you. I'm over here just trying to remember which day of the week it is! Haha
What app do you use @christinabrtn ?
I've been using one called 'baby tracker' and I have gotten really used to it and like it. But I've been meaning to switch to 'baby connect.'
I believe both allow your partner/daycare to have the app and also record what they have done from their phone.
I post just to demonstrate we see a trend but trust me I'm not that put together. I just happen to be one of those organization and documentation enthusiasts who has to do these things to prevent from losing it and feeling lost...
2nd round exp 8/20/18.
Tomorrow is our 4 month pedi visit. I cannot freaking wait to talk to someone about what's up with this little dude, and to get his measurements!
And LO cannot get rid of her cold. It's really affecting her eating and sleeping. Poor girl, I feel so bad for her.
@henrytviii Way to go on the 5k! I was just thinking about signing up for a turkey trot at Thanksgiving.
He's so fidgety and fights soo hard! Lol
He's 17 weeks. I think.
Absolutely the best choice in your situation.
I pretty much EP now..... Only latch him overnight. You have a bunch frozen if I remember so don't "stress" over supply and make your supply worse. Tell yourself that you have milk in the freezer and you will be fine no matter what..... (Trick your mind