Your first question is confusing me. How do you know that’s what he’s doing? Is he getting out of bed and crying that he doesn’t want to be awake yet?
He appears to be dead asleep and then pops up suddenly standing as soon as it turns on. He's a lay in bed kind of kid. Today he asked to lay back down and to have me turn off his green light. I asked if it woke him up and he says yes (he's also 27 months, so everything is with a grain of salt).
Hmmm. That’s a tough one if it’s actually waking him up from sleep. You could try just talking to him about it and reinforcing it over and over again, or (if you’re using a Hatch or another brand that can be controlled by your phone) you could just bump it back by 10 min or so when it is getting close to it coming on and you see he’s still sleeping. I’ve done that with dd before.
ETA: If you use a Hatch, I’d also try turning the brightness way down.
Do your older kids eat a lot? My 7 year old DD eats a ton and says she’s hungry a lot. She’s a bigger kid (tall and solid build) - is this just part of growing?
We are OAD with our DS (3.5) and very rarely do play dates on weekends. If it happens it's because we want to hang out with our friends and they have kids that DS is friends with. Weekends are mostly for family time, errands and church. DS is home with me during the work week and we do play dates with other SAHM friends. Play dates are for my social interaction too, not just DS'.
How often do you have play dates for your kids? I’m particularly interested in if you have an only child.
I’m wondering if BB needs more 1:1 time with kids her age/her friends or if we’re ok with the occasional play date every so often.
Never. A goes to preschool, swimming and gymnastics with kids her age. I don't have any friends with kids here and I don't really know the other parents at preschool since my H does the school run.
She lives in a house with 4 adults and engages really well with her teachers and other grown ups. She likes to observe other kids but doesn't really play with them. Probably she could benefit from some 1 on 1 with another kid, but she seems to genuinely prefer playing by herself. I dunno, I do worry but she's not even 4 and she'll figure out other kids eventually, right?
Does anyone's kid just completely disregard the OK to wake clock? My 3.5 year old DS lately has just been jumping out of the crib to get me even though I've told him repeatedly to wait until the light goes on, and that its OK for him to play quietly alone in there, etc. He's coming out at like 7:15-7:20 and I have it set for 7:30. I suppose I could lock him in, but it doesn't seem worth it over coming out 15 minutes early. But its still disconcerting to me to have him at my bedside waking me up.
My DS never followed it, even from day one. I probably introduced it wrong though, since he was already having morning issues by the time I did. At 6.5yo I still have early waking issues with him, but have more or less resigned myself to this just being him. Now that he’s older, he’ll occasionally play quietly in his room until a reasonable hour, but it’s rare.
(He’s not allowed screens before I give the ok/unsupervised because he’ll wake himself at 3am for it. I honestly don’t know how he does it.)
dock, I'm not allowing screens if he wakes up early either - he is also the type that would get up early for that! I know 7:20 isn't too early compared to most kids, but up until recently he's almost always slept until 8am. I need to adjust by going to bed a little earlier I guess. I'm not sure if I introduced the clock wrong either...he did follow it for a couple of days but now he gets up before the light goes off and gives me reasoning like "well the sun's out, so it's morning time. lol. Fair enough kid.
How often do you have play dates for your kids? I’m particularly interested in if you have an only child.
I’m wondering if BB needs more 1:1 time with kids her age/her friends or if we’re ok with the occasional play date every so often.
Up until this past weekend, never. She seems happy with her daycare pals and we use weekends as family time or to relax at home.
I gave my number to a daycare parent who’d expressed interest and never heard from her so *shrug.* MH has a cousin with a young son who sometimes calls us to meet up somewhere (we went to the zoo on Saturday, in fact), our close friends have three young kids and we hang out when we can, and my cousin’s DD is a little younger than mine so they play together at family GTGers.
This past weekend one of MH’s work friends brought her DS to our house and DD had fun with him, and we said we’d do it again in the future, especially since their family lives right near my mom.
raangoli, I’m always open to bringing C to meet up with you guys! Imagine That is close to us, or a park or something when it gets warmer.
How often do you have play dates for your kids? I’m particularly interested in if you have an only child.
I’m wondering if BB needs more 1:1 time with kids her age/her friends or if we’re ok with the occasional play date every so often.
Never. A goes to preschool, swimming and gymnastics with kids her age. I don't have any friends with kids here and I don't really know the other parents at preschool since my H does the school run.
She lives in a house with 4 adults and engages really well with her teachers and other grown ups. She likes to observe other kids but doesn't really play with them. Probably she could benefit from some 1 on 1 with another kid, but she seems to genuinely prefer playing by herself. I dunno, I do worry but she's not even 4 and she'll figure out other kids eventually, right?
A and BB are a lot alike in that they seem to engage with adults really well. I never gave it much thought until we went out to see Santa and then a restaurant with my MIL and SIL afterwards and they commented on how she was basically a mini adult with how she behaved.
I see the pictures from daycare and she’s definitely playing with friends etc so I don’t have a particular reason to worry but I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t overthink something 🙃
mbcdefg I’m glad you got to the zoo this weekend! It was super nice out. We were thinking of going but we didn’t make it. Next time we go (and when it gets warmer) we should definitely meet up!
dock, I'm not allowing screens if he wakes up early either - he is also the type that would get up early for that! I know 7:20 isn't too early compared to most kids, but up until recently he's almost always slept until 8am. I need to adjust by going to bed a little earlier I guess. I'm not sure if I introduced the clock wrong either...he did follow it for a couple of days but now he gets up before the light goes off and gives me reasoning like "well the sun's out, so it's morning time. lol. Fair enough kid.
Tired solidarity. /sob
He was a phenomenal sleeper from ~13mo til when he moved out of the crib a little before 4yo (I’ll never forgive my mom for talking me into the transition!!! lol). Total shit since then.
Do your older kids eat a lot? My 7 year old DD eats a ton and says she’s hungry a lot. She’s a bigger kid (tall and solid build) - is this just part of growing?
Both of my kids (7 and 9) go thru phases like this - I assume it’s just part of growing. Then it’ll end and they go back to their previously-normal amounts of eating.
Post by puppylove64 on Jan 14, 2020 10:23:11 GMT -5
Ds 5 has a painful lumpy wart on heel. We have been to dermatologist 2 to have it frozen off and it seems to do absolutely nothing. We have been treating it with otc since Oct. it is painful for him to wear shoes. Freezing at the dr hurts and makes him squirm but the pain is over after a few minutes. Should I continue to go and pay $65 copay every two weeks, when it appears to make no change?
How often do you have play dates for your kids? I’m particularly interested in if you have an only child.
I’m wondering if BB needs more 1:1 time with kids her age/her friends or if we’re ok with the occasional play date every so often.
When DS was younger (before he went to school) we hung out with with my friend and her sons quite a lot, but that's because I was off every Wednesday and she was at SAHM. That was as much (or more!) for myself and my friend as it was for the boys. As of now DD, won't have any of that because I work every day and really don't have friends with kids her age. She goes to daycare and sees her "friend" there every day though, so she certainly has plenty of socialization.
I unplugged the green light. C slept about 20 minutes later than normal, and laid there calmly for 10 minutes until I got him. He was in a much better mood, too.
Post by farfalla2011 on Jan 14, 2020 12:25:57 GMT -5
Will my baby ever learn to put himself to sleep, or sleep in a crib for nap? I know the logical answer is yes, but it feels like it will never happen.
For those that have followed TCB, how long did it take to get your little one to put themselves to sleep, especially if you struggled getting them to sleep in their bed?
Will my baby ever learn to put himself to sleep, or sleep in a crib for nap? I know the logical answer is yes, but it feels like it will never happen.
For those that have followed TCB, how long did it take to get your little one to put themselves to sleep, especially if you struggled getting them to sleep in their bed?
I used to hold L for all but 1 nap and finally decided no more. I started with putting him in and rocking his body until he was asleep. After 2 weeks or so of that, I got tired of it and I started putting him down and giving him 5 mins to see if he would fall asleep. He did. He stopped napping on me and bedtime became so much easier. Since then, we do our routine and I place him in bed and he is asleep within 2-4 minutes.
Develop a great pre-nap and pre-bedtime routine. For naps, I do diaper, book, merlin suit, book, lights, white noise, song, and place him down. For bed, it’s similar but we do massage, bath/wipe down, dress, feed, and then the above.
Also the huckleberry app. It’s amazing. It provides you a sweet spot recommendation. As long as I’m within the times, I rarely have trouble getting him to nap.
The consistency is key. Keep doing it. It gets frustrating sometimes but it pays off. It saved my sanity not having to fight for naps or bedtime, especially since I am home with him all day. Also make sure to follow wake windows.
Will my baby ever learn to put himself to sleep, or sleep in a crib for nap? I know the logical answer is yes, but it feels like it will never happen.
For those that have followed TCB, how long did it take to get your little one to put themselves to sleep, especially if you struggled getting them to sleep in their bed?
I didn't do TCB but I have been trying some slower approaches relative to Ferber. I'm on week two and slowly seeing improvement and this is transitioning from being nursed/rock to sleep and co sleeping to putting herself to sleep in her own bassinet. There has been some crying it out along the way as each transitioned happened (rocking but no nursing, holding but no rocking, etc) but it hasnt been too bad yet. So week two and I'm still not at the put her in the bassinet and walk away phase yet, but much much closer and overnight sleep is starting to become more predictable.
Hit me with all your methods to increase calories in your older infant. We just left the pediatrician's office and E2 has only gained 2 oz in 2 months, he's 10 months old today. Pedi is mildly concerned but also recognizes that E2 has increased activity a LOT the last few weeks. He said we can monitor it. He did not give me any tips to help with weight gain. I plan to have a weight check in a month.
E2 is breastfed on demand, gets solids 2-3 times a day. He eats frequently but small amounts. He prefers to feed himself but sometimes allows us to spoon feed him. My sister already suggested to skip water in his cup with meals and put BM in it. Any other ideas? boiler717, I know this was something you dealt with.
omfg, I'm sorry melmaria . I hope you weren't traveling with any colleagues who bore witness to this security theater/mortification!
I swear, how they handle it is so all over the map. I posted before about my awful experience at BWI, but then when I flew home through DCA the next time, they couldn't have been nicer. That time I brought my milk home in capped bottles instead of bags, and they just swabbed the outside of the bottles and we were done. The difference was the agent, not what I put my milk in of course.
Being a working, pumping, traveling mom is so fucking hard.
Post by farfalla2011 on Jan 14, 2020 17:20:27 GMT -5
dreamcrisp1 and anyone else, any suggestions on getting H on board with an actual routine? Bedtime has been a long standing disagreement with us even with his older kids when they were littler, so his value on an actual bedtime is not all that high :/ I tend to be the primary bedtime & naptime person, but I do want to at least have his support when bedtime goes on much longer than expected.
Is there any way to get my almost 10mo DD to keep a hat on?? Just in the last week or two age immediately tries to pull it off. It's winter and cold and she needs a hat!
I'm also selfishly annoyed that she does the same thing with headbands. I thought I had more time to dress her how I wanted!
dreamcrisp1 and anyone else, any suggestions on getting H on board with an actual routine? Bedtime has been a long standing disagreement with us even with his older kids when they were littler, so his value on an actual bedtime is not all that high :/ I tend to be the primary bedtime & naptime person, but I do want to at least have his support when bedtime goes on much longer than expected.
Why is he opposed to it? If it helps get more sleep, wouldn’t he be happy to do it?!
DD is still refusing a bottle. I was supposed to go back to work Friday, but my boss let me switch it to Monday (although at this point not really sure what difference it’s going to make).
We’ve tried a whole assortment of bottles, different milk temps, different people, different positions, different times. No dice- she ultimately screams her head off and gets hysterical. Usually she just refuses it entirely, sometimes she’ll look like maybe she’s eating and then spits it all out. No soapy smell/taste. Happens with fresh/refrigerated/frozen milk. She also won’t take a pacifier, and doesn’t suck on my finger if I try. I’m trying to get her to just latch on any bottle nipple at this point, and she hasn’t a single time.
I’m terrified of reverse cycling or just plain not eating all day at daycare. It might be possible for my mom to pick her up and bring to me once a day to nurse, but that’s not ideal and I don’t really want to put that on my mom either. I have more bottles coming tomorrow via prime, and possibly meeting with an LC later this week. Ugh.
Post by dreamcrisp1 on Jan 15, 2020 5:49:10 GMT -5
dock, maybe a sippy cup? Also a lot of people on my BMB who had bottle refusers sent them to daycare and it was figured out. I also have a bottle refuser but haven’t pressed the issue since I’m home with him. Though a sippy cup is on my next try list.
Hit me with all your methods to increase calories in your older infant. We just left the pediatrician's office and E2 has only gained 2 oz in 2 months, he's 10 months old today. Pedi is mildly concerned but also recognizes that E2 has increased activity a LOT the last few weeks. He said we can monitor it. He did not give me any tips to help with weight gain. I plan to have a weight check in a month.
E2 is breastfed on demand, gets solids 2-3 times a day. He eats frequently but small amounts. He prefers to feed himself but sometimes allows us to spoon feed him. My sister already suggested to skip water in his cup with meals and put BM in it. Any other ideas? boiler717, I know this was something you dealt with.
Will he still eat “mashes”? Or is he totally on solids/finger foods? I used to do coarsely chopped broccoli and spinach mashed with avocado. Dd loved it and it was great for iron and fat.
Hit me with all your methods to increase calories in your older infant. We just left the pediatrician's office and E2 has only gained 2 oz in 2 months, he's 10 months old today. Pedi is mildly concerned but also recognizes that E2 has increased activity a LOT the last few weeks. He said we can monitor it. He did not give me any tips to help with weight gain. I plan to have a weight check in a month.
E2 is breastfed on demand, gets solids 2-3 times a day. He eats frequently but small amounts. He prefers to feed himself but sometimes allows us to spoon feed him. My sister already suggested to skip water in his cup with meals and put BM in it. Any other ideas? boiler717, I know this was something you dealt with.
Will he still eat “mashes”? Or is he totally on solids/finger foods? I used to do coarsely chopped broccoli and spinach mashed with avocado. Dd loved it and it was great for iron and fat.
He will but he loses patience with the spoon. I'll try that one, thanks!
dreamcrisp1 and anyone else, any suggestions on getting H on board with an actual routine? Bedtime has been a long standing disagreement with us even with his older kids when they were littler, so his value on an actual bedtime is not all that high :/ I tend to be the primary bedtime & naptime person, but I do want to at least have his support when bedtime goes on much longer than expected.
Why is he opposed to it? If it helps get more sleep, wouldn’t he be happy to do it?!
I have to at least give him credit, he helped at bedtime last night. But I think he's more of the idea of if he's tired enough, he'll fall asleep? I dont really know or understand it for sure. I'm hoping by getting him in there it will help.
Side note, it took an hour to get L to sleep last night and we ended up going all the way backwards and fully swaddled him all night. The good, he slept better than he has in a while. The bad, we cant keep swaddling him. I've been looking for the Merlin suit used since it's so short term, but the only ones I've found are larges and L is a little guy, so I think I'm breaking down and just buying a new one possibly today while he's at daycare.
Why is he opposed to it? If it helps get more sleep, wouldn’t he be happy to do it?!
I have to at least give him credit, he helped at bedtime last night. But I think he's more of the idea of if he's tired enough, he'll fall asleep? I dont really know or understand it for sure. I'm hoping by getting him in there it will help.
Side note, it took an hour to get L to sleep last night and we ended up going all the way backwards and fully swaddled him all night. The good, he slept better than he has in a while. The bad, we cant keep swaddling him. I've been looking for the Merlin suit used since it's so short term, but the only ones I've found are larges and L is a little guy, so I think I'm breaking down and just buying a new one possibly today while he's at daycare.
It’s worth every single penny.
Would sending him articles work to show that the routine helps? I can help find some for you if so!
omfg, I'm sorry melmaria . I hope you weren't traveling with any colleagues who bore witness to this security theater/mortification!
I swear, how they handle it is so all over the map. I posted before about my awful experience at BWI, but then when I flew home through DCA the next time, they couldn't have been nicer. That time I brought my milk home in capped bottles instead of bags, and they just swabbed the outside of the bottles and we were done. The difference was the agent, not what I put my milk in of course.
Being a working, pumping, traveling mom is so fucking hard.
It’s so crazy to me! I traveled through ORD Chicago Marathon weekend and was coming home with over 100 oz of BM. I told them I didn’t want it to go through the x-ray and the only thing they did was swab each bag individually (did not open it) plus my hands and the cooler.
DD is still refusing a bottle. I was supposed to go back to work Friday, but my boss let me switch it to Monday (although at this point not really sure what difference it’s going to make).
We’ve tried a whole assortment of bottles, different milk temps, different people, different positions, different times. No dice- she ultimately screams her head off and gets hysterical. Usually she just refuses it entirely, sometimes she’ll look like maybe she’s eating and then spits it all out. No soapy smell/taste. Happens with fresh/refrigerated/frozen milk. She also won’t take a pacifier, and doesn’t suck on my finger if I try. I’m trying to get her to just latch on any bottle nipple at this point, and she hasn’t a single time.
I’m terrified of reverse cycling or just plain not eating all day at daycare. It might be possible for my mom to pick her up and bring to me once a day to nurse, but that’s not ideal and I don’t really want to put that on my mom either. I have more bottles coming tomorrow via prime, and possibly meeting with an LC later this week. Ugh.
Anything I haven’t tried?
Have you always been there during the bottle attempts? DD2 didn't take bottles until after I went back to work. I will admit, the first week she barely ate while I was at work. It was scary, I was gone about 8 hours and she only took 1-2 oz total for the first week, which was crazy considering how much she had been nursing when I was home. I was panicked, she was stubborn. She made up for it by nursing a lot when I was home and overnight (sob...). After about a week she finally gave in. So it was an adjustment. Honestly, my advice is to go to work on Monday and let daycare deal with it. They are used it, they will figure it out and your baby won't starve. They can survive a few days with less during the day, more at night. The reverse cycling does suck, but for us it didn't take too long to work itself out.
Also, I would not have your mom bring her to you to nurse, at least not the first 2 weeks. I think it would make the transition harder.
farfalla2011, I would just buy the Merlin suit. Sleep is worth the price. You can probably sell it when you are done and recoup some of the cost.
Anything outside of the standard list (potty, undies, puppy pads etc) that you found helpful while potty training? We are using MLK to tackle it with the twins. They hate hate hate wearing diapers, so I am cautiously optimistic.
Nature's Miracle or the like for better cleanup of the inevitable accidents.