LO is sleeping through the night (10-5) and sleeps around 9-1 during the day. With some cat naps in there too. He's 11 weeks old today. Does that seem like a lot?
Our LO sleeps through the night if we give her a full bottle right before we put her down. I found she was waking through the night again when I was just breastfeeding her the last feed. It is her naps she has started to skip. Some days she will only have 20 min cat naps and is fighting to have a nap when she is obviously tired. She gets very cranky when she's overtired so I really miss the long naps!
X seems to still sleep a lot to me but grandparents say he is up and down during the day. He has always napped more in the evening time. Although today he has slept a lot. His nose has been full of boogies so I hope he isn't getting sick and is just growing.
I think babies around this age should still be sleeping a total of 14-17 hours a day. Seems like a lot, and it is. I should total it up and see how much Ellie is sleeping. I feel like she sleeps a lot but it doesn't seem like 14 - 17 hours.
It weird but Dylan sleeps more now than when he was an infant. The first couple of weeks he only seemed to sleep for around 13 hours and now he sleeps for around 15. I don't know if he has just become a better napper but he is still eating fine so I figured it was ok.
For those who have let others babysit, were you nervous the first time? What did you do to prepare the person who was sitting?
I've had multiple offers from my mom and my best friend to sit. It would be really nice to be able to go out during the day to work out, and for me and my H to maybe start having date nights.
The problem is I'm just not sure either of them can handle an infant alone, or know what to do when my LO is crying or fussing. Obviously my H and I know our little one pretty well and know what works and when to do certain things. It seems like a lot of work/information to explain everything to a sitter.
I would love to start taking advantage of the help offers, but just don't know how.
@BabyBoyH2016 Could you maybe have your mom or friend come over and watch the baby while you're home? That way you can take over if it becomes too much to them plus it could help you ease into being able to leave your baby with someone else?
My mom comes over all the time and she'll watch the baby while I take a shower or do the dishes then we just hang out and watch tv or chat. It's nice because I get a break from holding him all day. If he starts fussing I say "try this" or "try that" so she has learned what I've found helps soothe my baby. My mom has watched him so many times now, even though most of the time I am at home, that I have no problem at all leaving. I know he's in good hands.
My in-laws or my mom watch the LO. I was kind of hesitant with my father-in-law but he helped raise 5 kids and he is one of the first people to get X to take a full bottle. I figure all of them have raised kids and know the basics so I just tell them what his quirks are, how we want him fed and things like that. They have all been great. It made going back to work so much easier.
My mom and in-laws have babysat for us. Just short periods, a trip to the store or a movie with my H. It really was nice to get away. You do worry, its gonna happen and that's normal, but I just kept telling myself that my mom already raised 2 kids and we turned out great! They know what they are doing and may even have some tricks to settle your LO that you didn't know about. I know I learned a few things from my mother in law to help sooth my LO. I just told them a few specifics about her, things I know she likes/doesn't like and off we went. Plus we were always available by text if any questions came up, but none did and LO had a great time-so did we!
@jellybiehn I'm a STM but didn't get the line with my first. I've been wondering the same thing. mine is so dark and even my belly button is super dark, it looks dirty. Google didn't give me a good answer either. I'm ready for that line to be gone...it goes all the way up to my rib cage.
@jellybiehn - not a STM but my Doctor told me it can take several months - like up to 6 isn't unsurprising. She noted that hers took about 5ish months to vanish.
I have the line up my whole belly, but thank goodness mine is most of the way gone now. It's very faint and only is visible below my belly button.
@molosmiles My belly button looked super dark and dirty too. This is so gross, but my belly button was actually dirty. I think it had something to do with it being stretched out while pregnant and then going back in. I eventually tried exfoliating my belly button because it was so dark, and that was when I realized it it was it was just dirty. Hopefully that's not the case with you, but you may want to give it a scrub just to make sure.
This is a totally unrelated to baby December random but I'm really excited! I just got tickets to go see Hamilton when it comes to town. I was able to buy tickets the second they came online. My mom also tried to buy tickets at the exact same time as me but she ended up on a waitlist where she is currently #97,000 in line. Yikes!
@Laraeq Oh, I've scrubbed and scrubbed it...but I'll give it another good scrub!. It just bothers me so much. what did you use to exfoliate ? Maybe I just need to be tougher, ha ha.
I bathe my baby in Honest lavender soap/shampoo 2-3 times a week. He has VERY sensitive skin just like his mama. I'm constantly putting aquaphor on his dry face, he still has cradle cap and he has a bad diaper rash at the moment. We're in CO and the air is dry so I know that has to do with it. We have a humidifier running for him.
Anyway, he kinda stinks...he has A LOT of hair and he's at daycare all day. I think the staff plays with his hair a lot and that makes his hair stinky/a bit greasy.
I am happy to bathe him every night. He sleeps so well after. Esp being at daycare, but I'm reluctant to with his sensitive skin! I don't want to dry him out more! Any suggestions?
I would suggest lotioning him up really well after each bath. Washing and brushing the cradle cap each night could help remove the dry skin too. Ellie has eczema and I use an eczema body wash, it makes her skin so smooth! I use Aveeno shampoo and then Aveeno eczema overnight ointment on her. Any lotion makes her cry because of the alcohol. I don't bathe her everyday but I try. I've read conflicting things about bathing every day. My other suggestion would be to only rinse baby every day and not use soap everyday but definitely lotion every day.
Whoever suggested the calendula cream a while ago, that stuff is amazing! It's pricey but doesn't take much. I've been putting coconut oil on LO head before bath and then brushing out the cradle cap. Also use coconut oil all over her.
I spent way, way too much time researching baby shampoo while I was pregnant because of all the bad stuff with Johnson and Johnson. I found that even Honest had some bad reviews after switching to a newer formulation recently.
I ended up deciding to go with Puracy brand baby wash. It's a plant based, non-toxic, chemical free shampoo/soap. It has been great and I cannot recommend it highly enough. B has never had a day of dry skin let alone a rash from this stuff. It smells really nice too.
I also second that the California Baby Calendula Cream is amazing. It got rid of my son's baby acne in like 2 days.
Are any of you mom's planning on letting your LOs cry it out for naps or bedtime? If so when do you plan on stArting that? At our 2 month appointment our pediatrician mentioned that we could really let them CIO anytime now so he can he can learn to self sooth. He is almost 3 months now and I still feel like he is too young. Just wondering if you guys have any experience with this.
I say I am going to but still haven't and he will be 4 months old on new years day. There are times I have let him cry when I am trying to cook or grab a quick shower. He has cried before for 10-15 mins straight when I took a shower. He was asleep when I started the shower but 5 mins in he started crying. Only took like a 10 mins shower but he cried the whole time. So not sure the crying it out method will work for us.
@drabong88 We are and as early as this Friday. My LO is 14 weeks. We are reading Weissbluth's Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and he states that studies show that there is less crying when done before 4 months. Also, my husband is usually not home for bedtime, but is taking a half day on Friday and took off on Monday, so it's a good time for us to do it. I could not do it alone and will most likely make my self scare. It breaks my heart, but sleep is incredibly important...it is food for the brain and the ability to self soothe himself to sleep is the first life skill we can teach him.
I also think my LO is ready. He isn't swaddled anymore and sucks on his hands a lot. I've seen him get himself to sleep on a number of occasions, so I know he's capable.
CIO is not for every family or baby, but I feel like I'm making an informed decision. After listening to the book, we purchased the hard copy to have on reference. If anyone is considering cio I would suggest reading the book and deciding if it's for you.
@drabong88 I agree with you that 2 months is pretty young for that. CIO didn't work for my son. Nothing did. Edited because my comment got cut off, but if we do end up CIO, we'd probably wait until 6mo +.
I have been lucky with my LO. For the most part, he only cries when he's hungry. I have put him in his Mamaroo in the kitchen while trying to get some chores done and let him cry for about 15 minutes on a particular fussy day recently. I have also run into times when he wakes up in the car and is crying because he's hungry. If we are 10-15 minutes from home I will just get home as quickly as I can and feed him right away. There has also been a time or 2 when I need to plop him in his crib and just walk away for a few minutes. It's a tough call. I think if my child was crying nonstop I would be comfortable with spurts of CIO. You need your sanity too!
I started reading the Healthy Sleep book but was concerned about CIO at a young age, compared to the recommendations of 6 months. I think there are times when crying is unavoidable, such as the car. I am planning to use CIO in a few months but just can't bring myself to do it now. We are trying other methods first, such as crib instead of bassinet.
We don't do the CIO method yet. We just transitioned Molly to her crib in her nursery so we are doing one change / thing at a time. She's started self soothing in other instances and most times if she wakes I only go in, give the paci, reassure her she's ok and let her fall back asleep. Hoping she continues to do well. I heard there's a sleep regression at 4 months so we will see...she's just shy of 3 months now.
We still have Xavier sleeping in his bassinet, will be switching to just pack and play soon. His crib is in his room across the house and not ready for him to be that far away from me. Plus he still loves being swaddled in his sleep sacs. If his arms are free he just plays instead of sleeping.
We were supposed to transition her to her crib for a couple of weeks now. She would be fine it is me that is not ready! I keep coming up with excuses for her to stay in her bassinet. Was going to try again this weekend but now she has a cough so I wanted her close still.
I havnt officially done any CIO methods but on occasion I have left her safely in her crib to cry if I need a mental break or to eat some days. Little girl has some stamina and and is usually still crying when I go back. Just this week she was suddenly quiet..so of course I was worried and rushed up the stairs to find her just happily looking around the room.
Does anyone clean their LO's noses? I noticed my guy has dried up boogers inside of his nose. Not sure how to get to them or if I should even try. I thought those suckers were for wet boogers.
I've been using my Nose Frida a lot lately since my LO is coming down with a cold. It got all the snot but I notice it got all the dry boogers too. You might want to give that a shot!
We just bought the nose frida today because his bulb suction is crap. He hasn't been too snooty but has had some dry ones I can't help him with. Luckily he has been able to sneeze them out on his own for the most part. Hopefully the nose frida is all it is talked up to be.
We use to when he was smaller but now that he has meat on his bones we don't for the most part. X is a heat box like his daddy so he tends to stay pretty warm. We also use fleece sleep sacs so that is another reason we don't. Although with how cold it is getting here if his sleeper seems a bit thin then I will put one on under it. I'm so afraid of overheating him.
Re: December Random
My hair has started coming out. Mostly in the shower. It's like a small animal died when I'm done...I don't have thick hair to begin with. Ugh!
I've had multiple offers from my mom and my best friend to sit. It would be really nice to be able to go out during the day to work out, and for me and my H to maybe start having date nights.
The problem is I'm just not sure either of them can handle an infant alone, or know what to do when my LO is crying or fussing. Obviously my H and I know our little one pretty well and know what works and when to do certain things. It seems like a lot of work/information to explain everything to a sitter.
I would love to start taking advantage of the help offers, but just don't know how.
My mom comes over all the time and she'll watch the baby while I take a shower or do the dishes then we just hang out and watch tv or chat. It's nice because I get a break from holding him all day. If he starts fussing I say "try this" or "try that" so she has learned what I've found helps soothe my baby. My mom has watched him so many times now, even though most of the time I am at home, that I have no problem at all leaving. I know he's in good hands.
@molosmiles My belly button looked super dark and dirty too. This is so gross, but my belly button was actually dirty. I think it had something to do with it being stretched out while pregnant and then going back in. I eventually tried exfoliating my belly button because it was so dark, and that was when I realized it it was it was just dirty. Hopefully that's not the case with you, but you may want to give it a scrub just to make sure.
This is a totally unrelated to baby December random but I'm really excited! I just got tickets to go see Hamilton when it comes to town. I was able to buy tickets the second they came online. My mom also tried to buy tickets at the exact same time as me but she ended up on a waitlist where she is currently #97,000 in line. Yikes!
@BabyBoyH92016 That's awesome! I can't wait to see it!
Anyway, he kinda stinks...he has A LOT of hair and he's at daycare all day. I think the staff plays with his hair a lot and that makes his hair stinky/a bit greasy.
I am happy to bathe him every night. He sleeps so well after. Esp being at daycare, but I'm reluctant to with his sensitive skin! I don't want to dry him out more! Any suggestions?
I ended up deciding to go with Puracy brand baby wash. It's a plant based, non-toxic, chemical free shampoo/soap. It has been great and I cannot recommend it highly enough. B has never had a day of dry skin let alone a rash from this stuff. It smells really nice too.
I also second that the California Baby Calendula Cream is amazing. It got rid of my son's baby acne in like 2 days.
I also think my LO is ready. He isn't swaddled anymore and sucks on his hands a lot. I've seen him get himself to sleep on a number of occasions, so I know he's capable.
CIO is not for every family or baby, but I feel like I'm making an informed decision. After listening to the book, we purchased the hard copy to have on reference. If anyone is considering cio I would suggest reading the book and deciding if it's for you.
Edited because my comment got cut off, but if we do end up CIO, we'd probably wait until 6mo +.
I havnt officially done any CIO methods but on occasion I have left her safely in her crib to cry if I need a mental break or to eat some days. Little girl has some stamina and and is usually still crying when I go back. Just this week she was suddenly quiet..so of course I was worried and rushed up the stairs to find her just happily looking around the room.
This is a very random question but do you guys our onsies under your LOs sleepers for bedtime?