My Babywised Babies sleep great!

(I didn't have much time to proof read and so please excuse the run on sentences, fragments and HORRIBLE punctuation!)

We follow the babywise book.  It's not a new method, but really sleep hasn't changed over the years.  The basic premise is eat, play, sleep; instead of eat to go to sleep, play and then eat again.  Basically, you are teaching your child to go to sleep on their own instead of needing to be rocked, held, or milk to go to sleep.  I have done this with Owen and now again with Jesse and I swear by this method because my babies sleep great!  Owen is almost 3 and still takes an afternoon nap that ranges from 2-3.5 hours!  Jesse is 12 weeks and has sleep through the night 7 times!! His bedtime is 6pm, I nurse again (dreamfeed) before I go to bed around 10-11pm) and he has slept till 6am and 7:30am!!!  Mommy loves her sleep so I am THRILLED!

We started at about 3 weeks old with both boys.  Before that we just nursed and held our babies as we all know those first few weeks are just survival.  Then at 3 weeks we moved our babies from the bassinet in our room to the crib in their own room.  When the baby is only a newborn sometimes the "play" was only a diaper change or a burp to wake them.  Here is what our newborn routine looked like during the day:

Baby is allowed to sleep as long as they would in the night and early mornings, when baby waked we would change his diaper and then nurse one side, burp, nurse the other side and burp.  Sometimes it would take up to 10 minutes to get that 2nd burp, but it is key to know there isn't any belly gas that would be uncomfortable for sleep.  Then we would enjoy a little awake time (keeping the lights bright and not muting sounds of Owen playing or tv etc.). When we saw the first sign of sleepiness it was off to the crib he went.  Some signs of sleepiness are rubbing eyes, droopy eyes, a yawn, redness around the eyes, and fussiness.  Jesse is great at rubbing his hands into his eyes while nuzzling his head into my shoulder when he is ready to sleep.  It is really important to put them to sleep when they are sleepy and before they are over tired.  I usually say the same thing when I put him into the crib:  "night night sweet boy.  Mommy loves you! Its time to go night night" and pat his belly.  I laid my babies on their back in a swaddle they can't get their arms out of.  We used some velcro ones early on and receiving blankets, but once they can get a hand out we would put them in the Woombie brand swaddle.  Yes, they are pricey, but worth every penny!  You can get them on the half off baby websites sometimes.

During the day, I closely watch the clock and if he is sleeping and it hits the 3 hour mark from the beginning of the last feeding I wake him up and we start the cycle over again.  Now, at nighttime I do NOT do this; I let them sleep as long as they can.  With Owen the nurses said I should wake him for the first month every 3 hours.  I think that he got trained to be on this schedule and it took longer for him to fully sleep through the night whereas I knew better with Jesse and we were able to establish his nighttime at night earlier on!

I just looked back and Owen's 4 month schedule was this and it is pretty close to Jesse's schedule now too except he is still about about 2.5 hours during the day and getting up earlier:
8am-Eat, play time (this is a special time of day, he is so sweet!!) then a 1 1/2 hour nap
11am-Eat, play time (usually some tummy time or in his swing) then a 1 hour nap
2pm-Eat, play time (run errands) then a 1 hour nap
5-6pm Eat, play a little then a 1 1/2 nap
8-9pm Eat, play about 30 minutes and ready for bed!
10:30 dream feed and back to bed

Ok, here is the hardest part.  Crying it out.  I think the earlier you do this the easier it is for the baby and parents.  There are different ways to do CIO (crying it out).  We found that at 3 weeks CIO only lasted 30 minutes top.  Our boys would scream crying for the first 10 minutes then it there would be a pause then some more intense crying before tapering off or just conking out asleep.  It is HARD.  I would hold Chris's hand and we would encourage each other to be strong because we knew it was better for them in the long run.  Thankfully, it usually takes only a couple of days/nights to get to shorter crying periods.  Now, Jesse is only 5 minutes tops.  There are exceptions.  Sometimes I know Jesse is over tired from holiday or visits from family and those times I will swaddle him, give him his paci and hold and pat him to sleep and usually I can easily transfer him to his bed.  There are different ways to go about crying it out and you should decide as a family what works for you.  We said 30 minutes top crying before comforting and calming him down and trying again.  You have to check for poopy diapers, burps and sometimes a growth spurt will throw it all off.

One other thing you have to know about and it is the 45 minute intruder.  This is how long a young babies sleep cycle is.  After 45 minutes it starts over and sometimes or even most times the baby will wake up crying.  I usually look at the clock and use my judgement to see if it is close to the 2 hour mark I will get him up and start the cycle over, if it isn't close to it then I wait it out.  Usually, after 5 minutes he is back asleep or quiet in his crib.

I really can't stress enough that you should just read the babywise book.  She describes in detail the reasons behind it all.  It is all about the parent making the decisions with the information you have and not about the baby's crying dictating their schedule.

Last thought because WOW this is getting LONG!  If you are nursing you really need to make sure the baby is nursing enough and getting the hind milk.  If you can feel yourself let down then you know baby is getting the nice creamy think calorie milk.  If you only nurse for a few minutes on each side then baby only gets the foremilk which is more watery and wont sustain baby till the next feeding.  Babies who only get the foremilk have to eat more frequently and thus turns into a cycle of snacking instead of eating full meals.  The other reason to move baby out of your room if you are nursing is that baby can smell you...wouldn't you want to wake up earlier if you could smell your wonderful food cooking all night?!  Jesse slept an extra hour longer at 3 weeks when we moved him to his own room at night.  4 hour cycles are amazing during the night with a newborn!

Please, ask any questions!

switching to whole milk

It is official, no more bottles, no more breastmilk and no more FORMULA!!!  Thank goodness!!

We started switching to whole milk cold turkey.  He seemed to like it, but then we got worried that the whole milk was giving him diarrhea.  WELL, it wasn't the milk it was that stomach bug!  So, we went back to formula till Owen was all well.  When I tried to give him whole milk he wasn't interested, I wouldn't be either.  You know how you eat something and it makes you sick and you don't want it anymore, this is what I think he is relating to the whole milk.

So, we did 1/5th whole milk and 4/5ths formula for several days, then 1/3, and then a good week of 1/2.  I could tell when he wasn't sure of the milk and when he would get used to it.  I didn't force it as I was also trying to use up the container of formula too.  From 1/2 we were able to jump to a 1/4 for a day or so and then it happened.  We were running late, so I just thought better now than later!  Owen drank the 100% whole milk ok that day! BUT the next day and true to today he has been GULPING it down like the whole milk is FABULOUS and he has never had such goodness!

I am proud that I was able to exclusively give him breastmilk till 10 months, he had formula for 2 1/2 months and now he is organic whole milk.  

Now if I could get him to eat his veggies!!

Breastfeeding/Weaning

My original goal was to breastfeed Owen to a year.  Well, I know I could have if I had wanted to, but there were multiple reasons we decided to wean Owen earlier than planned.  We started giving him water in this cheapo sippy box that has a flip up straw (from Walmart in the tupperware section on the bottom shelf it was like $1.50).

Owen: 
By 6 months, Owen was able to drinking my water through a straw.  So we kept offering him water to practice.  At 8 months, I started giving him the frozen milk I had stored up.   By 9 months, I ran out of frozen milk so I started to offer him formula and now at 10 months he is strictly formula.  I will probably switch to whole milk between 11-12 months.  I still want to talk to his pediatrician first.

Me:
I did call a lactation consultant (since it was free) and talked to a friend who had breastfeed her 2 sons (thanks Caroline!).  They gave me some great tips and the best is to drop one feeding a week.  If you are still pumping you should drop those first.  Owen was nursing 4 times a day, 8am, noon, 4:30pm and 7:30 pm. His favorite was the morning, so I started dropping the feeding in this order:  4:30/after nap, then the noon/after morning nap, this left me at nursing every 12 hours.  Since, he really asked for the morning feeding I dropped the nighttime feeding and just this past week dropped the morning feeding.

I just let it be a casual thing. For example, say I nursed him at noon on Monday, dropped the feeding on Tuesday and Wednesday, but then Thursday he was really cranky and needy I would just nurse him.  I am not sure how your milk supply has been, but I almost had an oversupply issue in my right breast so I was very worried about over engorgement.  So far I have not had too much uncomfortableness.  Another good tip is to wear a tight bra or sports bra.  The binding tells your body to slow down the milk supply.  You can use cabbage leaves if you get engorged and I do think they work some as I used them after I delivered the twins.  But thankfully this time I haven't needed to (they are stinky).

I did realize a couple days after what I was thinking was Owen's last feeding that I had some lumps in my right breast.  I massaged the lump that evening (and leaked a little) and then the next morning it was still there, though smaller.  So, I nursed Owen then they were gone!  I massaged my breast a TON when he was first born and as time went on I didn't need to anymore, but when you start weaning you should to make sure you don't get clogged ducts.  If you ever had mastitis you will know all this already.  I did and it is HORRIBLE!!!

Whew! I didn't realize I had such a long winded opinion....oh wait!  Yes, I did!   I hope this helps anyone going through this too!

Owen: 10 months

love this face

Schedule: 
You've been waking up at 7:30 am with Daddy's alarm clock, one of us gets you and by 8am you are done with breakfast consisting of puff or cheerios, yogurt and milk.  By 9:30 am to 10am you are so tired and ready for your nap.  You usually sleep till noon and are ready for lunch.  You are eating about 4-6 oz of stage 2 baby food, some more puffs and 4-6 oz of milk.  We then run errands or meet up with friends for a playdate and run home by 2 pm to get you back in bed for your nap.  You will sleep till 4-4:30pm and then you have a snack and more milk and we start waiting for daddy to get home.  After dinner at 6pm you play with daddy till bedtime at 7:30pm.

laughing at mommy

Teeth:
You got your 5th tooth on the top left!  It was a rough week till it broke through, you would wake up once or twice and we would rock you and give you some numbing agent on your gums.

so serious, my boy

Eating:
This month we started weaning.  At the beginning of the month you were breastfeeding 4 times a day.   Each week I dropped a feeding and you did so great!  You are drinking formula out of a straw sippy box.  As of the night you turned 10 months we had our last feeding together.   It was the middle of the night and you needed some comfort.  You pooped your diaper (you were constipated) and then you were teething so you needed mommy's milk that night.  It was so sweet, so bittersweet.  I am so proud that you don't need me anymore for your food, but I miss our sweet snuggles already.  We even spent our first night apart when I stayed with your Aunt Sara one night!

runner up for the Christmas card

Movement:
You have started crawling!  I can put you down in one room and find you in another or down the hall.  You like to throw a toy and then crawl after it!  Your crawl is like a belly/army crawl.  We have already teased you that you are prepping to crawl under houses like your dad!  You will lay on your side and play...you still don't want to sit up on your own.  We can hold your legs and you will sit up, but you never try to do it.  I know it is only a matter of time, I did find you in your crib once this month sitting up crying and you have sat up several times in the bath.

Our Christmas Card picture!

Did I mention how much I love you and I have loved experiencing each new thing through your eyes.  My life is so much better with you in it!

Food & Mud

Yes, we have entered the world of solid food around my house.  Owen didn't really care for the rice cereal so I tried the single grain Oatmeal.  Lets just say YUM!  He has been putting Oatmeal back like his daddy does ice cream!  Since he is past the 5 month mark and he is really getting this eating thing down I decided it was time to try something else.  I had several avocados in the fridge and I blended them with some water till they were creamy with no lumps.  The problem was to get them creamy they had to be pretty runny.  Well, Owen doesn't like his cereal runny so I mixed in some rice cereal (I am not one to waste food).  Well, Owen LOVED it!  I call it his Mexican fiesta dinner!  If you know anything about my family we love some Mexican food!

I am still breastfeeding him before each meal and at bedtime.  He is such a good eater.  Which leads me too....the mud that is entering my life.  We are still cloth diapering 100% of the time and this new mud poop has got me thinking about our system.  We are going to have to break out the diaper sprayer and today I bought a new trash can for the bathroom.  My plan is to swish or spray the diaper in the toilet and then put it in the trash can with the lid (it does have a foot petal).  I have two planet wise wet bags that I am going to use as the bag for the trash can.  If you could have only seen me earlier today in walmart with my wet bag testing out the trash cans...I am sure someone looked at me funny. 

Funny how as I am typing this my son is grunting on the floor....seriously I think he is cleaning out before we go on vacation, this will be poopy #3 today...maybe it is the avocado.

I am back, Owen got fussy and it was nap time.   Let me tell you about what I just found in his diaper, I think it was more than poop numbers 1 and 2 together!  Thankfully, this time I was not changing him in the van or caught without wipes.  It was much more managable and the swish and flush worked pretty good.

I have recently started reading the Flylady's website (just google her) and thanks to her swish and swipe my toilet wasn't nasty.  I mean I wouldn't want to put my expensive and cute cloth diapers in a nasty toilet!

new phase in breastfeeding (need help!)

I have started working on Wednesdays and I am away from Owen for about 2-3 feedings.  I have noticed in the past few times that he was only eating half of his second bottle.  Chris and I decided that we should see what the deal is and we have found out that he isn't taking bottles like he used to.  He will take about an ounce and a half and then spit out the nipple and scream and cry through the rest of the feeding (ie what happened at my Mothers Day dinner and again at home on Sunday evening).  I googled it and seems this is normal for a 3 month old.  If anyone has any tips please let me know.

So far we have tried:

• me not in the room
• daddy feeding the bottle
• me feeding the bottle
• holding him in a total different position in a different place
• cleaning the nipples really good (why does BM create a film on plastic-yucky!)
• using the next flow nipple (drowns him and he chokes)

Some ideas I am going to try:

• warming the milk more (not burning but warmer than luke warm that we have been doing)
• fresher milk, I've been using several days old milk in the fridge or frozen

 Ideas i am not trying:

• buying a million bottles and nipples (a friend is going to let me borrow some of hers to try)
• if you live near me and want to let me borrow some........let me know ;)
• starving him/skipping feedings:  to get around this we are doing as google recommended and offering it to him 3 times and when he fusses or cries we are letting him play for 10 minutes before I feed him.

Would love to hear what has worked for other moms!!!