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Summer 2013 mamas chat thread.

  1. Revel

    pear / 1563 posts

    @tlcbaby: Oh we are still swaddling as well. I'm sensing we're reaching the end of the line there though. It seems like she may be waking herself more struggling to get out. I'm just scared to stop! I feel like I need a weeklong vacation from work to do sleep bootcamp or something to fix all this stuff.

    The main thing with us is not the crib itself; she actually likes to sleep flat. It's the sleeping while not in the swing, carrier, or stroller. I figure there's not really a point in getting her used to the pnp if she'll be in her crib for all sleep sometime in the next few months. I haven't wanted to move her out of our room yet but I may be getting there.

  2. Foodnerd81

    wonderful cherry / 21504 posts

    C is all or nothing with naps. She will either only take little cat naps throughout the day, but no where nearly enough, whether in the stroller, carrier, and she is a cranky beast because of it, or she takes 3-4 hour naps In The RnP or crib. Today she just keeps falling asleep and taking nice naps, yesterday I spent literally an hour nursing, rocking, bouncing her to sleep, only for her to wake up in an hour and ten minutes.

    So yeah, I don't know. She's only 7 weeks through.

  3. LazyLightning

    pear / 1664 posts

    Hi, can I join too?

    Baby birth day: May 28.
    Baby gender: Girl
    Baby name: LO (those are her initials, hah)

    After a really rough first several weeks I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this mom-of-a-baby stuff. We dropped the swaddle at 12 or so weeks, which was a huge game changer for us. She was waking up 2x a night fighting and squirming and trying to get out of that swaddle. One night I just didn't do it ,and she slept through the night, which she's done probably 3/4 of the time since then. We are at the 16 week point and I think getting ready to face teething. Also concerned about the looming 4 month sleep regression! We also started sleep training on Sunday night and it seems to be going well...

  4. LazyLightning

    pear / 1664 posts

    @Revel: clip baby's nails (or put those little glove things on) and give it a shot! Maybe do it with just one arm out to start?? It seriously was SO MUCH BETTER for us without the swaddle.

  5. JoJoGirl

    cantaloupe / 6206 posts

    Okay I want in!

    Baby birth day: May 6
    Baby gender: Girl
    Baby name: A

    I can't believe how many of you have swaddle-weaned! I am TERRIFIED. I think we need to start with one arm out though so she can at least suck on her fingers at night. We've been steady at 1 waking a night for about a month. Sunday she STTN for the first time ever (8-5:30, then back to sleep til 8. It was glorious) then last night she was up every 2 hours Hoping it's not the start of the regression.

    We successfully moved her from RnP to crib about 3 weeks ago using Mrs. Blue's towel trick.. it was really painless! Naps are very predictable now... ~9ish, ~noonish, ~3ish, although they last anywhere from 30 mins-2.5 hrs. Total nap time is pretty consistent at around 4 hrs.

  6. tlcbaby

    nectarine / 2750 posts

    @Foodnerd81: At 7 weeks, we had NO routine or predictability at all. It was just whatever worked. This has really only been the past four weeks or so that things have taken a turn toward a schedule.

  7. Ra

    honeydew / 7586 posts

    @JoJoGirl: What towel trick? I need to make the transition but can't pull the trigger!

  8. Bookish

    GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts

    @JoJoGirl: swaddle weaning terrifies me. I can tell LO is starting to try to roll over, so it's just a matter of time. I have nooo idea how she will sleep without it. Gahh.

  9. Ra

    honeydew / 7586 posts

    @Bookish: B's sleep improved dramatically when we swaddle weaned!

  10. Foodnerd81

    wonderful cherry / 21504 posts

    @tlcbaby: I don't mind no routine. What I mind is spending an hour to get her to sleep to have her wake after only an hour. But today she's been great so I'm not complaining (today).

    @Bookish: I'm just not thinking about the difficulties to come. The now is hard enough I won't think about having to take away the swaddle!

  11. Bookish

    GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts

    @rahlyrah: That's the thing though, she STTN right now! I'm worried she's going to go back to waking up frequently

  12. Pepper

    pomelo / 5820 posts

    Love the swaddle talk, because this has been a huge thing recently for us! LO has decided to wake up every 1-2 hours at night this week. I'm basically a zombie at this point. He flails and throws his little swaddled body all over his cosleeper. Last night I had enough, so I took off the swaddle and put him in a long sleeved sleeper (with fold down gloves) and a fleece sleepsack. He still squirmed for awhile, but gave me a 4 hour stretch from 4-8 am.

    We also adjusted his bedtime routine so now he goes to bed at 8 pm. Highly recommend this! I still had to run upstairs and soothe him like 10 times before I went to bed at 11 (haha), but it was nice to sit downstairs with the monitor and do what I needed to do. Which at this point is packing, because we're moving.

    When do your LOs go to bed these days?

  13. Bookish

    GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts

    @Pepper: ohh I am SO glad your LO is doing better with the sleep (w/o the swaddle)!! You poor zombie!

    G is down by 7:30 every night. I nurse her some time between 5:15-6:15, then she gets her bath at 7, then I nurse her to sleep (or at least drowsy) until 7:30. Then it's off to her crib. Apparently she's a baby that likes routine!

  14. Foodnerd81

    wonderful cherry / 21504 posts

    @Pepper: ugh- moving with an infant cannot be fun! Good luck.

    C usually goes down around 9, a little later if she woke up really late from a nap. But it's very loose at this point- one day she took a four hour nap and didn't wake until after 8 so she ended up finally going to sleep around 11. Hoping soon we can have a better schedule.

  15. Foodnerd81

    wonderful cherry / 21504 posts

    @Bookish: that sounds so lovely! C is getting better with her bath but still cries at some point- it would not relax her! How old is G?

  16. Ra

    honeydew / 7586 posts

    @Pepper: Yay for more sleep!

    B usually goes to bed around 8:30. We do bath, lotion, jammies, bottle/nurse, bed.

  17. Bookish

    GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts

    @Foodnerd81: She's 11 weeks this week. She's been a water baby from the beginning though; whenever we gave her a bath she would calm right down. I hope C grows into loving it!! I just hit the baby jackpot with her sleep I think. She naps terribly but I'll take what I can get!

  18. Pepper

    pomelo / 5820 posts

    I feel so behind with the earlier routine! We always did the bath, swaddle, bottle, bed... but it was too late at night. C is a crap napper too. Some days (like today) he'll take a 3 hour nap, other days its 30 minutes if I'm lucky.

    @Foodnerd81: Yeahhh moving will be interesting, that's for sure! Guess its better now than in a year when he'd be walking/running all over.

  19. Foodnerd81

    wonderful cherry / 21504 posts

    @Pepper: yeah we moved when I was 6 months pregnant which also wasn't fun. The plus side is I got out of a lot of the work I guess!

  20. Ra

    honeydew / 7586 posts

    @Pepper: We moved a few weeks ago. I got out of a lot of the work because I was on baby duty

  21. Pepper

    pomelo / 5820 posts

    @Foodnerd81: @rahlyrah: Sounds like I can get out of doing a ton! Good thing my kid lovvvves to eat, haha.

  22. JoJoGirl

    cantaloupe / 6206 posts

    @rahlyrah: Ooh, I'll have to find the post. You put a rolled up towel in a "u" shape UNDER the sheet so it's not a SIDS risk. LO looooved the way the RnP "cuddled" her head and was not having it in the crib with the silly flat mattress. Once we put a towel under the sheet, her head hits the towel and she's out cold!

    And tell more about sleeping BETTER after swaddle weaning?! What the what? Did you quit cold turkey?

    We put my LO to bed between 7:30 and 8 every night. Bath at 7, swaddle, nurse, book, sleep. We had to add the book in there to break the nurse-to-sleep habit... it's been a little painful getting her down, but she's never cried more than 5 or 6 minutes before falling asleep.

  23. tlcbaby

    nectarine / 2750 posts

    @Pepper: A goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 usually. We start the bedtime routine between 6:45 and 7:30 depending on when he gets fussy. We do bath and then nurse and if he doesn't fall asleep DH reads him a story and then I rock him or pat his back while lying with him in bed until he is pretty much asleep.

    We just moved to the crib for night sleep this week so the routine is going to change, but I don't quite know what we'll do yet. Tonight he didn't fall asleep nursing so I rocked him until he was almost asleep and then put him in the crib.

  24. Pepper

    pomelo / 5820 posts

    Ugh. LO is not wanting anything to do with sleep tonight. We did our routine, but he's been up crying since 8. DH wanted me to let him cry it out, but I just can't do it. I've been back and forth calming him down for an hour. Finally gave up and now he's wide awake (but content) in his swing.

    @JoJoGirl: That towel idea is awesome!

    @tlcbaby: Laying with him in bed is a good idea. I'll have to try that. I usually nurse him to sleep, but lately the minute I transfer him to his cosleeper he wakes right up!

  25. Foodnerd81

    wonderful cherry / 21504 posts

    @Pepper: the sitting there trying to get them to sleep while they just won't cooperate is the worst! I feel your pain.

  26. Ra

    honeydew / 7586 posts

    @JoJoGirl: We quit cold turkey. He always busted out of it anyway. With the swaddle, he slept 2-4 hour stretches. Without, he started sleeping 7-9 hours a stretch!

  27. tlcbaby

    nectarine / 2750 posts

    @Pepper: We usually lie him on my chest and I just rub his back while DH reads. He sometimes falls asleep during that time, but if not we just lie there with him a bit longer. But now that he is in the crib I want to try reading to him in the rocking chair and hopefully get him toward putting him in the crib while he is still a little bit awake.

    I don't know how we will ever give up the swaddle. He falls asleep with it just fine, but when he wakes up he fights and fights to get to his hands so he can suck on them. But when he isn't swaddled he can't seem to calm himself down.

  28. Revel

    pear / 1563 posts

    @tlcbaby: My LO sounds similar to yours with the swaddle. She was not a fan originally but now it seems to really help her settle.

    I can't vouch for how well it's really working because we have at least two wakeups every night, but she does usually give a 5-6 hour stretch to start the night.

    Impressed with those of you who have mastered drowsy but awake! We still nurse to sleep at night and for many naps when I am with her. I have no problem with it for night sleep, but I'd love to figure out some different strategies for naptime.

  29. Pepper

    pomelo / 5820 posts

    @tlcbaby: This is the exact same problem we're having! LO wouldn't fall asleep last night. The minute I swaddled him, he was out. But then he woke up trying to break out of it. If he's unswaddled, he kicks and moves his arms so much that he keeps himself awake.

  30. Espion

    pomegranate / 3577 posts

    @rahlyrah: @Pepper: Crazy all the moving we've been doing! We moved when E was 5 weeks, and looks like we will again in the next month or so. (If our offer gets accepted.) Packing while pregnant was doable. I cannot imagine packing with an infant!!

    E is finally giving us a 8pm - 6am stretch (with occasional hiccups) over the last week or so. (Cue James Brown: I Feel Good! Nanananana) He doesn't nap regularly, but he has mastered the falling asleep drowsy but awake. I have no idea why he "gets it" at night, but refuses to nap anywhere except our arms or in the car during the day!

  31. Boheme

    papaya / 10473 posts

    Add us to the swaddle weaned list! C was a terrible sleeper until I went back to work at the beginning of the week. I hesitate to call him a good sleeper since its only been four days, but he naps regularly for our sitter and his night sleep has improved drastically.

  32. JoJoGirl

    cantaloupe / 6206 posts

    amazing how many of you have seen better sleep with no swaddle! What the heck?! Maybe I should try it...

    @grizz: Did you quit cold turkey? Move to sleep sack? Swaddle with arms out?

  33. Boheme

    papaya / 10473 posts

    @JoJoGirl: He could bust out of anything and everything. When he started busting the zipper wide open on the Halo swaddle sack we just quit. He just sleeps in Halo sacks now.

  34. Espion

    pomegranate / 3577 posts

    @JoJoGirl: We still swaddle, but E will almost always break out at some point during the night. For some reason, it hasn't interrupted his sleep. We swaddle "loose" enough for him to get his hands free without a struggle.

  35. LazyLightning

    pear / 1664 posts

    @Pepper: We've been gradually changing her bedtime since she was born. She was at 11 pm... then 10:30 for a long time... then 10... then 9:30... Now that we're sleep training I set it at 8:30 and it seems to work well, though sometimes she wakes up 30 min to an hour in and fusses a little, she'll go right back to sleep usually without us even checking.

    Like @grizz: our child could bust out of anything - zippers, velcro, miracle blanket, etc. Several people said to try double swaddling but that just pissed her off royally and she'd flop around screaming and squirming like a fish out of water. So yep. Cold turkey, to a sleep sack. sleeps 8-10 hours a night.

  36. JoJoGirl

    cantaloupe / 6206 posts

    Fascinating. Last night LO was double swaddled with a miracle blanket and THEN a SwaddleMe on top and this morning she was SUCKING ON HER FINGERS. What the heck? She goes down relatively easily at night so I'm worried unswaddling she'll be up forever, but maybe we'll try it this weekend and see..

    ETA: LO needs her paci to fall asleep... with her arms free, she can pull it OUT of her mouth, but not put it back in..... anyone else deal with that?

  37. LazyLightning

    pear / 1664 posts

    @JoJoGirl: LO always went down easily in the swaddle, but would wake up trying to get out of it. Now she goes down easily without the swaddle and does *not* wake up -- I say that's better! Worst that can happen is that you try it, it isn't for you, and you go back to swaddling!

  38. JoJoGirl

    cantaloupe / 6206 posts

    @LazyLightning: Hmm. Maybe we'll give it a go tonight.

  39. tlcbaby

    nectarine / 2750 posts

    @JoJoGirl: Did you try to go swaddle free?

    A breaks out of his swaddle every night, but he can't fall asleep without it. He just flails around everywhere. He seems to need it to fall asleep and stay asleep, but then when he wakes up he starts working at getting his hands out. I am freaking out, though, because he is on the verge of rolling over and I am worried we are going to be swaddle weaning very soon. I am sooo not ready.

  40. tinypiglet

    cherry / 184 posts

    Hey summer mamas! I have been awol for a while as well but wanted to say hi!

    Baby birthday: June 20
    Baby sex: Girl
    Baby name: Cecelia

    Cecelia is 15 weeks old now and it is so strange looking back over that time period at how much she has grown and changed. I just spent a while reading through this thread, and the older posts reminded me of stuff we went through and challenges we had that are no longer there! So that's a nice feeling.

    Currently our biggest challenge is napping in the afternoon while at home. If I'm out at a meetup or shopping or whatever, she will pass out in the carrier/stroller/car seat, but if we are at home it is a struggle to get her to nap after 2 pm. Her bedtime is still pretty late (used to be 11ish, now we have backed it up to around 9:30) so a couple of naps in the afternoon are necessary! She sleeps fantastically at night so I can't complain there (she went down at 9:30 last night and it's getting on 8 am now; I finally pumped off some milk about 30 minutes ago because I forgot to pump before bed last night and was dying!), but definitely on days where she doesn't nap well, getting her all the way to bedtime is a trial. We moved her into her crib for night time at 7 weeks and that has been fine for nights, but she doesn't nap in her crib consistently either. She's not swaddled for naps or nighttime and really never has been (for the first couple of weeks it worked on occasion but since then she's been in sleepsacks or footies for nighttime). In the morning she will actually put herself to sleep for a nap in her RNP but I can't get her to do that in the afternoon. Any suggestions on new things to try?

    Otherwise things are good! She just rolled over from belly to back the other day for the first time, she likes to chat with us a lot, she's getting attached to her taggie blanket (if you don't have one, they are awesome!) and she's just generally more active and excited about the things going on around her. My favorite thing to do is watch her when we're on the subway (we've been making a lot of trips into the city lately). She looks around at everyone and charms the pants off whoever is sitting next to us or standing nearby. So cute!

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