The SleepEasy Thread

lola4411 · December 2014

hi ladies! after being super active on here during pregnancy i fell off a bit. sleep issues are bringing me back to j14 and i am so glad i found this thread. i have lurked and read every single page and am so encouraged by the successes.

i have a couple of silly questions. i am going to start our training on monday. when my LO cries, how do you know when to start the timer for check-ins? his cries vary greatly from whiny to super distressed. do i wait until he is very uncomfortable or start timing when he begins sounding upset?

also, i too have to wean night feedings. unfortunatly, my lil piglet eats for 15+ mins overnight so i think i have a loooooong wean ahead of me. do you suggest doing a dream feed an hour or so after putting him down? he is a big baby, so weight isnt an issue here at all.

thanks in advance! i am so glad i returned to j14 and found this help again

nunzchucks · December 2014

Welcome to the party @lola4411‌!

I start the timer from the moment I am out of the room. You'll want to delay the check ins if there are 30+ second breaks in crying which show LO is learning.

By now, there is no need for a dream feed. Just start weaning your night feeds. I started with DD about when you are starting and did just that.

lola4411 · December 2014

@nunzchucks thank you so much! you have been so helpful and i havent even started yet! the last straw was last night when i was reading through pages 15 and 16 and knew we needed to get moving on this. i have been back to work for two months now and that is when he began his sleep issues. now i know that the issues are actually mine! i am ready to start changing our nighttime habits.

i will keep you all posted, but please cross fingers and toes for me

nunzchucks · December 2014

KrystaJ said:
Is anyone else really struggling with naps? She goes down easy at night (little to no crying), but still cries every nap, frequently for an hour. I think I need to reread the naps section of the book, but what's your best piece of advice for naps?

Feeding a little beforehand helps me.

nicolemcm · December 2014

nunzchucks said:

Is anyone else really struggling with naps? She goes down easy at night (little to no crying), but still cries every nap, frequently for an hour. I think I need to reread the naps section of the book, but what's your best piece of advice for naps?
Feeding a little beforehand helps me.

Seconded

cinnamonsmiles · December 2014

KrystaJ said:

Is anyone else really struggling with naps? She goes down easy at night (little to no crying), but still cries every nap, frequently for an hour. I think I need to reread the naps section of the book, but what's your best piece of advice for naps?

LO still cries for ~5min every nap, starting as soon as we begin his routine.
The snacking could work, but it made things worse when I tried it (food=energy!).

Someone else asked me this when I started, so to spread on - is she burning up her energy before a nap? It may just be that my guy is a ball of fire, but he needs to have worked off some of it or he won't nap at all.

SarahS11 · December 2014

First night... First half hour... I feel so bad but know it's for the best. Please say a prayer for this mama... She needs it

katekat8721 · December 2014

Viole

SarahS11 said:
First night... First half hour... I feel so bad but know it's for the best. Please say a prayer for this mama... She needs it

It's so hard. Put in some some earplugs and have your husband do the checks when you feel like you can't handle it.

What got me through it was seeing one well rested baby vs a sleep deprived baby. Realizing my little one was actually sleep deprived... how sad is that? It's a whole new world when they sleep well, I promise!

katekat8721 · December 2014

V wakes up between 3/4 now every morning and yells out in her crib then goes back to sleep. Why child?! We don't even go check during this time. She's just mad and wants to wake us up lol!

So I was reading the 6-9 month part of the book and saw the part about dropping to 2 naps. It mentioned moving bedtime up to an hour hour earlier to make sure they were getting enough sleep. But it didn't recommend moving earlier than 6:30.

Present bedtime is 6:30... what do we do when that time comes? I've been kind of wanting to try to push bedtime later and see how how that goes. Horrible idea?

lest12 · December 2014

Hey @lola4411! Good to see you here! Hope you and lo are well!

nunzchucks · December 2014

@katekat8721‌ When DD dropped her 3rd nap, we kept bedtime the same. It was 6:30 for her then, too.

SarahS11 · December 2014

Thanks for the encouragement ladies! We had 44 minutes of screaming, then LO slept through the night! However, she does NOT want to nap at all today... It's lovely

cece673 · December 2014

Hey guys, after posting here a few times, I finally started training tonight. DS was previously in the Magic Merlin Sleep Suit so I took advantage of the situation and put him in a regular sleep sack tonight. Might as well kill two birds with one stone. He cried for only about 2 min when I put him down but his issue isn't going to sleep, it's staying asleep...so I'm steeling myself for the rest of the night. Husband is in the military and is away so it's just me. Wish us luck!

nicolemcm · December 2014

cece673 said:

Hey guys, after posting here a few times, I finally started training tonight. DS was previously in the Magic Merlin Sleep Suit so I took advantage of the situation and put him in a regular sleep sack tonight. Might as well kill two birds with one stone. He cried for only about 2 min when I put him down but his issue isn't going to sleep, it's staying asleep...so I'm steeling myself for the rest of the night. Husband is in the military and is away so it's just me. Wish us luck!

GL

)

Jazznit1984 · December 2014

So LO had a cold last week and she's been routinely getting up from 2 onwards. Consistently. I'm just so frustrated. It's like a total regression I was hoping to have her totally trained by the time we went back home for the holidays. So frustrated that we have to do it all over. And I think I'm crazy but her 6 month old shriek cry is so freaking intense.

Urrrg

tclayton53 · December 2014

Any advice for LO's when they sit up? We put her to bed and walk out but she immediately sits up and screams and won't lay down. Help!

nunzchucks · December 2014

@jazznit1984 @tclayton53 I know it's hard, but when they learn a new skill or get sick, they can backslide a little. Be consistent with check ins and LO should slide right back into the groove. The important part here is LO sees you responding the exact same way every time. Tclayton - I wouldn't lay her back down yourself, I would let her do it. Eventually she's going to be able to pull herself up and will need to lay down alone then, too.

Jazznit1984 · December 2014

Thanks for the support ladies. I have been following the book and just been trying to be consistent. I knew regressions happen, I'm just pouting.

Happy holidays to you all!

lynkat · December 2014

Hey ladies, I posted in here awhile back and am FINALLY getting started due to teething/holidays. This is a question for those of you who are familiar with weaning.
My DS has had erratic bedtimes and feeding times up to this point so I made his DFs and hour before on what would be a typical night. Right now they are 10:30 and 2:30 with a bedtime of 7:45 and wake time of 6:45. My original plan was to wean the 10:30 feed, thinking that the 2:30 one will hold him over best. I intend to keep one DF but now I'm second guessing which one to wean. I've read some of you on here do an early DF to really encourage sleeping through the night as long as possible. Any advice??

nunzchucks · December 2014

@lklann88 The book recommendation is for the dream feed to be before you go to bed. Not an early morning one. The point is for the whole family to be sleeping well. However, after 5 mo and 15 lbs, there is no need for a dream feed.

lynkat · December 2014

Thanks @nunzchucks‌. Do you by chance EBF? My DS definitely doesn't need to eat at night anymore but I planned to keep one also for the reason that I am a working/pumping mom during the day and I am concerned about my supply dipping if I cut out the night nursing all together. Right now I keep up with him doing three pumping sessions a day and get the most first thing in the morning. I'm a ftm so I am nervous about my body thinking it doesn't need that milk anymore. I really depend on the amount I get from that first session.

Any other EBF moms completely weaned at night, please chime in

thanks for all the support.

nunzchucks · December 2014

@lklann88‌ I do! However, I am a SAHM and DS nurses almost every two hours during the day. I haven't had a supply issue. I think @ugabamafans‌ is in a similar situation.

cece673 · December 2014

OK so last night was a success. He only cried for 9 minutes an hour after putting him down and 9 min at 4:30 in the morning. But he's STTN many times so I wasn't too concerned about that. Naps are a different story. He's been awful all week. So I have a question about naps. We definitely get them after an hour if they're crying, right? Because DS fell asleep for 45 min and then started to cry. Cried off and on until the hour mark but was CLEARLY still exhausted. Rubbing his eyes, pausing for 30 seconds and turning his head...obviously trying to fall back asleep. I got him at the one hour mark b/c he started to cry again but I felt like maybe I shouldn't have? He's now already rubbing his eyes after being up 15 min. What do we do in a situation like that?

lola4411 · December 2014

@lest12 hey there! its good to be back. i totally fell off here while keeping busy in baby land

honestly everything is amazing except his sleeping. we are starting the sleepeasy tonight. i am kinda scared.....how is everything with you? is it getting better with work and sleeping??

cece673 · December 2014

Ok, sorry, me again with one more question. What do you do if baby is clearly overtired (specifically at nap time but really either one), do you still let them cry? I know the books talks about the importance of wake time and not letting them get overtired but my DS is super sensitive to being overtired and the wake times in the book are too long for him. He's really struggling today and I'm worried that he's crying even more and harder because he's so overtired.

UGH

nunzchucks · December 2014

@cece673 If you think he's trying to get back to sleep, you can let him go past an hour. The wake times get easier to hit as they become better sleepers. Maybe start with just 1.5 hrs in the morning at first if he's really struggling, then 2 hrs after that. He may take 4 naps.

cece673 · December 2014

@nunzchucks - ok thank you so much! I will try that next time and I'll adjust his wake time starting tomorrow. You're awesome!

lest12 · December 2014

lola4411 said:

@lest12 hey there! its good to be back. i totally fell off here while keeping busy in baby land

honestly everything is amazing except his sleeping. we are starting the sleepeasy tonight. i am kinda scared.....how is everything with you? is it getting better with work and sleeping??

@lola4411 - glad to hear everything is well!

Don't be scared. The first few nights might be rough but I think it gets a lot better. Sometimes it helped me to think that it couldn't be much worse than what I was dealing with (which was DS screaming anytime I put him down). That thought got me through the first few nights, if it helps

DS is actually doing better this week, yay! I had to tweak some of our bedtime routine. I think those tough nights might have had just as much to do with developmental stuff/Leap 5 as my going to work. Once I figured that out, I was able to help him 'wind down' much better and we're back to going to sleep and STTN. WIN!

lola4411 · December 2014

lest12 said:

lola4411 said:

@lest12 hey there! its good to be back. i totally fell off here while keeping busy in baby land

honestly everything is amazing except his sleeping. we are starting the sleepeasy tonight. i am kinda scared.....how is everything with you? is it getting better with work and sleeping??

lola4411 said:

@lest12 hey there! its good to be back. i totally fell off here while keeping busy in baby land

honestly everything is amazing except his sleeping. we are starting the sleepeasy tonight. i am kinda scared.....how is everything with you? is it getting better with work and sleeping??

@lola4411 - glad to hear everything is well!
Don't be scared. The first few nights might be rough but I think it gets a lot better. Sometimes it helped me to think that it couldn't be much worse than what I was dealing with (which was DS screaming anytime I put him down). That thought got me through the first few nights, if it helps

DS is actually doing better this week, yay! I had to tweak some of our bedtime routine. I think those tough nights might have had just as much to do with developmental stuff/Leap 5 as my going to work. Once I figured that out, I was able to help him 'wind down' much better and we're back to going to sleep and STTN. WIN!

@lest12 yes!!! so happy to hear this and you give me hope

katekat8721 · December 2014

@lola4411‌ welcome back girlie! Don't be scared. It's rough at first but it really is so worth it!

lola4411 · December 2014

hey @katekat8721 !! how are you doing? thnaks for the encouragement!

ok, i'm in the middle of my first night. do i only do a check-in if he seems upset? what if he is just hanging out in his crib and not upset? i start the timer if he cries, right? thanks girls

lest12 · December 2014

lklann88 - I just saw your question. I didn't have a problem with supply from night weaning... but I was still on maternity leave at the time. If I were pumping, I (personally) would probably add an extra pumping session in, maybe at night before bed? Just to be safe. I have no experience with this so take that for what it is worth, I would just be nervous as well. You can always just do it to keep supply up and if in a week or two you find you don't need it, play around with dropping that session. The other thing is that LO will eat more during the day if you're night weaning. I'm not sure how much you're pumping or if you'll be able to make up that extra without adding in a pump... KWIM?

lola4411 · December 2014

Thanks @CAMag‌ ! Ok, I survived night 1! Kinda rough but we made it. I have a question though. He was crying just before his 11 hour wake up time. I did check ins to try to get him to calm down but at that time it was making him more angry. I basically waited until he had a small 20-30 sec break in crying and then got him. Was that the right move? I hope I didn't negate the whole night!

SarahS11 · December 2014

Wooo hoooo night three success! Our little girlie went down, only fussed (instead of screamed) for 5 minutes, and drifted off to sleep... ALL NIGHT! No pacifier, no night check ins, and she woke up right at the 11 hour mark!

The first night was truly horrible! It made me sick to my stomach to hear her cry like that, but the second night was better, and last night was great! Thanks so much for this thread, the encouragement to give it a try, and a place to feel comfortable asking questions!

Jenn111211 · December 2014

lola4411 said:
Thanks @CAMag‌ !

Ok, I survived night 1! Kinda rough but we made it. I have a question though. He was crying just before his 11 hour wake up time. I did check ins to try to get him to calm down but at that time it was making him more angry. I basically waited until he had a small 20-30 sec break in crying and then got him. Was that the right move? I hope I didn't negate the whole night!

I think the book says to wait, but if it's 10 minutes before the 11 hour mark I usually take DD out and we start our day. I haven't had to in a while though because she started sleeping longer on her own.

DagnyDoo · December 2014

Naps. I am completely ready to throw in the towel on them. We are on Day 5 and so far the longest he has slept is 12 minutes (once), but more often it's 0 minutes or 2 minutes maximum. Nights are awesome and I'm a complete believer, but the child refuses to nap in his crib. I've tried the prescribed check-ins, delayed check-ins, no check-ins (because me going in there clearly just makes him more upset), I never touch him or pick him up, he's always groggy but not asleep after a very consistent routine (blinds, sound machine, book, nursing, lay down, kiss, leave) of putting him down. He is a basket case, I am a basket case, and truly I am seeing zero progress. He lays on his belly and "swims" the full hour screaming. Any advice?

nunzchucks · December 2014

@dagnydoo What about adjusting the amount of awake time? @meg2j moved to a 3 hr window and naps got better.

lauren8384 · December 2014

@DagnyDoo‌ this is us!!!! We are on day 6. @nunzchucks‌ could he just be overtired and that's why he's not sleeping as well? This is all so hard, but my house is getting organized because I have to keep busy while he's crying.

lola4411 · December 2014

Thanks @Jenn111211‌ !! For those that weaned feedings at night, did you put baby back down awake and do check-ins or asleep?

nunzchucks · December 2014

lauren8384 said:
@DagnyDoo‌ this is us!!!! We are on day 6. @nunzchucks‌ could he just be overtired and that's why he's not sleeping as well? This is all so hard, but my house is getting organized because I have to keep busy while he's crying.

It's possible. Did you try shortening the wake window? Is he acting tired before the set nap time? Some of this is using your judgement.

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