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443968 tn?1288612689

baby routines

What are your naps and bedtime baby routines? I am trying to figure out what to do.

James bedtime routine is bath, bottle while rocking wait until he falls asleep in my arms then bed, but lately is not working much, he keeps crying and crying and I have to keep reassuring him and picking him up, so I was wondering about what to do?
Some people are telling me that he is associating sleeping with a prop (his bottle) and once he does not take more bottles we are going to have a problem....arghhhh, is so hard to try and figure out what to do and do it right. I want him to be able to fall asleep on is own but don't know what to do anymore, any ideas.
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623156 tn?1322865851
I think my problem was I was pumping and using the bottle to much and not my breast. I would have loved to have still been breastfeeding but also with Jeremy being sick before it was just more beneficial for him at that time to have the formula. Thanks for all the information. If, If being the key word if I decide in the next year to have another baby I will definately breastfeed only. No bottle! Thanks again!

AP
Helpful - 0
615752 tn?1361867986
I have to admit I feel very blessed that I still breastfeed. I really enjoy it because she gets so excited.

I was told by my midwife and read that the majority of women can breastfeed but those that can't or don't really have enough milk are in the minority. Usually the breast works on demand, the more the baby suckles demanding milk, the more milk you make because it is trying to supply baby, replacing what baby takes and producing even more.

What I read that is interesting is that milk production also depends on the mother’s body having well-functioning nerves to carry the signals from the breast to the brain for processing. My daughter was constantly nursing, she was also a big girl (weighed 4.06 kgs, 56 cm at birth).

I also tried to drink alot of fluids, and around 2 cups a day of fennel and anise tea (really helps in milk production) and 1-2 of Ovaltine (a malt based chocolate drink). I only found this out a few days ago but malt is also really helpful in increasing your milk supply.

I love breastfeeding, I hope to do it until Medina is 12 months old, and then after tat we'll see, maybe until she's 2. I love the bonding and closeness we additionally have through it.
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94902 tn?1330479667
I had the same problem!  But I never really investigated it either bc Cash also had a latching problem.  He has laryngomalacia, which is lots better now (but not completely gone), but when he was smaller he couldn't breathe well and it prevented him from latching on to the breast properly.  He even had trouble with the bottle and couldn't keep a pacifier in his mouth for nothing!  He now is a pro at the bottle and loves the paci when he sleeps so we are on the way up - he should outgrow it by the time he is two years old.
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756023 tn?1338520435
AP---thanks...I will give it a whirl.  Hopefully she'll sleep through the night more often.
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623156 tn?1322865851
I'm so envious. I tried to breastfeed Jeremy but my milk production was not that great and he was so big I stopped when he was 2 mos but I had always alternated between bottle and breast. Jeremy was sick I just would have much rather preferred breast feeding. Do you know what causes low milk production. I never really read up on it!!!!

Thanks,
AP
Helpful - 0
615752 tn?1361867986
As soon as Medina hit the 6 month mark, her sleep changed. So great to hear that the paediatrician confirmed that regression happens at that stage. I know I wrote this on anotehr post but it was meant for this thread so here it is again (regarding weaning off the breast).

Regarding weaning off the breast, that took a few days. When she was really tired and half-asleep, I would take her off, close her mouth by pressing her chin up. I tried again and again until she feel asleep. She eventually learned after about 3-4 days but now she sleeps in my bed (we always co-slept) and I usually breastfeed her and she gets off usually awake but tired and I sing her a lullaby and hug her, sometimes rock her and she sleeps more content on her tummy. When she gets her new mattress, I will try to get her to sleep in her new bed but I don't want to think about that yet!
Helpful - 0
443968 tn?1288612689
James takes his formula around 5-5:30 has dinner right after then bath, light play, read a book and nighty night, around 6:30 so far it has not work at all, he keeps wakin gup at night to eat, have tried putting him to bed later, feeding later around 7:730 adn going to bed at 8 pm and it is worse bc he is so tired that he wails badly, he likes to go to bed early so I think I am going to try and keep it up and just ride this wave and see what happens next.
Helpful - 0
623156 tn?1322865851
sasha- I found with Jeremy on the nites he's extremely restless I give him a bath and he usually falls asleep shortly after! I would also try to feed your daughter cereal later try 6 or 630 and make enough formula so she can have the rest after she eats to wash everything down. It will help her stay full longer and up the amount of cereal. I use the scooper from Jeremy's formula to measure the cereal and I always mix it with formula and then add the fruit to it. When he has veggies I seperate the amount of cereal in seperate bowls and I make the cereal alittle thick to fill him up!!! This has been working great for us for about 3 mos now! He's been sleeping through the nite for about 4! Good luck! I hope this helps alittle.

AP
Helpful - 0
756023 tn?1338520435
I have tried cereal (not a lot) about 1.5 hours before bedtime but I found that she wouldn't drink her formula which made it for a long night.  So what I have been doing and it's been working for 4 nights now is dinner at 4, a bit of cereal or formula at 5:30 (she usually will only have a bit) and then I give her a bottle at about 7:30 with cereal in it (she'll drink 6oz).  Hopefully, this will continue to do the trick.  The last four nights she didn't wake for a feed, she woke because she was on her tummy (2x/night).  She doesn't like being on her tummy.  I would go in, flip her onto her back and she falls back asleep.  Usually she awakes for a flip..lol...at around 11pm and then not again until 4:30 or 5:00am.  She then gets up at 7:30-8:00.  She moves alot in bed.  

If anyone has any other suggestions as to what I should do to keep her full through the night, please....I am open to trying anything.
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443968 tn?1288612689
Today we took James to the pediatrician for his 6 m check, he is doing great he weight 19 pounds and is 28 inches long.
I talke to thepediatrican about his sleep routine and he says some babies around 6-7 month they have regression and start to wake up at night or have troubles falling back to sleep, h erecommende to keep hugging him and give him love and soon he will grow out of it. Like I said before he was doing fine before but now is a little bit different.
Helpful - 0
432737 tn?1358549432
Jack goes to daycare M-F so he's gotten on a pretty good routine. He'll wake up when we get up for work and have a bottle around 7:30 a.m. But sometimes he doesn't want it quite yet (right after waking) so we let daycare feed him at 8-8:30. He seems to, like clockwork, want to have a nap around 10 a.m. and he likes to have another nap around 2 or 3. He will sometimes take a small snooze before his night/bedtime bottle but that depends. We don't have much trouble with napping - he likes his snuggly snoozing - but getting him down at night can take a little time. I've learned, though that if we put him in his crib with his pacifier he'll whine for a few minutes and if we just leave him alone and stop running to him he'll eventually go down. If he screams and cries then we know he's just not ready to sleep yet and take him back downstairs...where he'll eventually fall asleep in his swing or pack n' play.
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623156 tn?1322865851
Jeremy very rarely naps in the morning. He wakes up between 6-8.. He occasionally naps in the afternoon sometimeHis for 2 hrs others for a cat nap like 20 mins tops. I don't really have any routines. If he is really exhausted and fighting a nap I will lay him in his crib and he will fall asleep. Other times it's putting him on his activity blanket or giving him a bottle. Bedtime I'm lucky he sleeps through the night and has been doing so for about 4 mos. His bedtime is from about 630 - 830....He loves to fall asleep in daddy's arms but if he is working it's usually a bottle and he falls asleep while drinking it. I don't put him to bed with a bottle and won't. I can say Jeremy's main routines are sleeping through the night and meals.. I think the best help to a long sleep is definately cereal at night!!!!!! Also sometimes you got to let them fuss alittle. Luckily Jeremy is a go with the flo baby.....Now that he is feeling better he is happy go lucky!!!! I hope this helps alittle!!!!


AP
Helpful - 0
94902 tn?1330479667
Well, for naps we change diaper, rock, and lay down - no probs he will sleep 1 to 2 hours twice a day.  We just follow his cues when he's sleepy usually about 9 and 1.
For bedtime its another story!  He doesn't associate bottle with sleep - i don't  think - bc we do a bath, lotion/massage, pjs, bottle, then we read one or two books (depending on how long they are), and then its lights out and we rock.  I lay him down asleep - sometimes this lasts until about 130 and sometimes 10 minutes (lately 10 minutes) and then I let him cry for 10 mins max and then go in rock and start over.  I have been doing this for three weeks and it is NOT working!!  As much as it breaks my heart I am going to try controlled crying/CIO.  We tried it at 3 and 1/2 months and he cried and cried and wouldn't stop.  So I decided that it wasn't for us, but now that he's older I'm going to try it again....we'll see how it goes.
Helpful - 0
719902 tn?1334165183
For naps, when he acts sleepy, I take him back and lay him on my bed on his tummy, and he goes to sleep within minutes.  Sometimes I lay with him, but usually not.

For bedtime, it is a cereal/fruit, a bath, then a bottle, burp, rock and sing a little bit, sometimes a story, then I carry him up to bed where he falls asleep on his own.  

If it sounds too good to be true-- I know!-- believe me, I understand.  But this is baby #4 and I *finally* learned to let him fall asleep on his own from early on.  Having a really great sitter who does the same helps, too.  
Helpful - 0
443968 tn?1288612689
Thanks ladies for your all of your ideas. I truly going to have to figure somethiing out, we used to have this wonderful routine that it worked like a charm for naps he will sleep 1-2 hours 2 - times a day, I will read or play withhim a bottle and then lay him awake,, he cried I will pick him up reassure him and will fall asleep, at bedtime bath, bottle and down awake, no problem ever at bedtime he will sleep and only wake up once or twice at night.

Well then we went and stayed at my inlaws in California for a whole month he slep with me, and got used to sleep with the bottle and now verything is a mess, he cries a lot every time I put him down, then I have to pick him up and reassure but it is taking forever, and now only wants to fall asleep with the bottle. I tried the paci but he does not like it. Now days it seems like it is always crying out for me and I am exausted but I cannot do the CIO  method it breaks my heart, I have tried letting him cry for 5 minutes and he wails so loud that I have to go and pick him up.

I think I am going to start again our old routine but feeding first, reading/playing and then rocking to sleep for a bit and lay him awake for naps.

Bedtime, feeding, playing, bath/reading and lay down with his overhead projector and soothing music.

You guys are right I think I just going to wait and continue this routine, like Kaprovea said it usually takes up to 4 days to see any changes.

Zazou- how did you got Medina off associating sleep with breast, I need to do that with the bottle?
Helpful - 0
756023 tn?1338520435
iliana has been taking 3 naps a day (10, 1 and 4ish).  All of them are approx. 45-60 min.  I change her bum, give her a bottle (sometimes she takes it sometimes not depending on when we have food) and then lay her down awake. She doesn't want to be rocked to sleep.  I put her down, give her the paci and turn on her seahorse.  She is usually down right away.  I may have to go in once and give her the paci after a couple of min. but that's the last time I have to go in.
Night time is bath with Anika, bottle and then I lay her down awake.  She is usually out right away or if she is not, I go give her the paci (once) and then she is out.  I used the cry it out for a few days (I would go in...no eye contact...no talking and put in her paci every 5 min) and since then she has been pretty good to put down.  

Good luck!
Helpful - 0
551885 tn?1300383822
no crying it out here...he NEVER stops, like ever.  He also doesn't nap in the day really.  Maybe for a bit if he is laying on me...but he just has never been into them that much.  
Night time we give him his bath and let him play for a bit to get him a bit more tired.  Then he gets a jar of fruit (stage 1) and then I bring him in my room and give him the bottle where he falls asleep and then I go bring him in his crib.  When and If he wakes up I go to him as soon as I can see on the video moniter that his eyes are open and looking around, pick him up and rock him in my glider for like two minutes and he falls back to sleep and I put him back!

Good luck!!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
For us we just give JT his medicine a bottle and then we put him down. He may whimper a bit but he eventually falls asleep on his own. We tried the CIO method and it worked for us. For the first few nights he cried for about 15-20 mins and every night he cried less and less and now he whimpers and fall asleep. The CIO method is a hard one but it is what worked for us. Good luck with whatever you try!
Helpful - 0
400358 tn?1320234443
For nap times I always read Joel a book and then put him down asleep in his crib.  I give him a pacifier if he starts to fuss but sometimes he will just fall right asleep.  For his night time routine we give him  a bath, bottle and then put him down awake.  He always falls right asleep at bedtime.  Just remember whatever you do if you try to tweek something with the routine that it takes up to 4 tries before the baby will fall into a routine.
Helpful - 0
615752 tn?1361867986
My nap time routine is reading from a particular book and then breast feed and then rocking to sleep That usually works. With night time, reading three books (Elmer books from David McKee, my daughter LOVES them) then she yawns, hints for the breast, drinks and then I rock her to sleep or singing with stroking hair, patting bum (which only works in my bed). Yes she should fall asleep on her own which she used to but separation anxiety has really kicked in with her so I think I should attend to her needs more and give her the love and comfort she needs.

The problem are these sleep associations. Well I have learnt that to save myself from going insane I also have to do what is best for me so I can function both physically and psychologically. If I put her in bed, she will wail most of the time, so at the moment, I'm doing what I can to keep me sane and I think that our bubs are going through major phases at the moment - moving more, trying new foods (alot of work for the digestive system), separation anxiety etc.

Have you tried a pacifier instead of the bottle? I've just got Medina off associating sleep with breast, but she still wants me there and to be honest, although she is only a terror when she is tired and sleepy, I'm not willing to make any major changes now because with Medina, that involves crying and I'm not a big fan of CIO (crying it out) and controlled crying doesn't work with her.

Do what is best for the both of you. The first year is always rocky, many babies do not sleep through the night. One of my nephews only slept through the night at 12 months following being weaned off the breast. A good friend of mine has problems with her 15 month old son, he is a little like Medina and he sometimes wakes up during the night. Many mums tell me that the baby will eventually grow out of it. I sure hope so!!
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