I have an 8 month old son, who seemed to be doing really well with sleep until the last few weeks. He was only waking once in the night for a feed for a few months, with the feed time gradually moving later and later, and I had hoped it would eventually become so late as to merge with his morning feed. (This is how his other night time feeds were dropped - all at his instigation.)
Well, he slept through once, and it looks like he didn't like it much! Since then he has been waking numerous times in the night, and also resisting naps in the daytime. I feel like I've tried everything - feeding him, rocking him, singing to him etc. At night this works - for just long enough for me to get back to sleep before he starts again. During the day, he will cry and struggle to be put down if I hold him, and cry to be picked up if I put him down. I am trying a compromise - talking softly/singing to him while he is in his cot - but even though he is clearly exhausted he keeps pulling himself up and screaming himself awake!
I can't take him into bed with us, as both my husband and I are technically obese - one of the things you can't be if you want to co-sleep (like a smoker and very tired). Although I admit I have taken him into a single bed with just me a few times - which was only marginally more restful then getting up to feed him, and left me with a very stiff shoulder for several days. It seems controlled crying is going to be my only resort. Unless those of you who think it's abusive have a better suggestion?
I had that same problem, our daughter was sleeping through the night when she was about three months old, then at about 5 months she would wake in the night and not go back to sleep. I would feed, change and rock her to no avail, it would take several hours to get her back to sleep. Then she had a cold, which made things even worse.
We used to put our daughter to bed about 7.30-8pm and she would wake about 2-3pm regularly and not stop. During the day she would have a couple of 10min naps My father in law who is a GP suggested that mabey she has had enough seep and it is her time to wake. Apparently some babies sleep more sleep than others, like we do.
He suggested to put our daughter to bed later, about 10-11pm to tire herself out, before which we would give her night feed with baby rice in. We have done this for a week and a half and glad to say that she is sleeping more or less through the night, waking at about 4pm for a feed and going back to sleep quickly, waking in the moring at about 8-8.30am.
However, if after her early moring feed she does not wish to go back to sleep, and only she does this sometimes, do we have her in our bed for a short while. After she has dozed off to sleep will we remover her from our bed and place her in her cot, as we are scared of rolling on her and squashing her. My husband is a bit on the overweight side!
I really hope this helps you. If you have any more questions please ask.
Hi, I have not read this book - "The Baby Whisperer" but I know a few people who have and seemed to like it - as an alternative to CC - its called the pick up/put down system (I think)...perhaps thismight help....or there may be others on this forum who know a bit more than I do.
Also, until my baby was 6 months I would put her down at 7....then wake her at 10.30pm for a feed....I dropped this feed when she was established on solids....just a few suggestions. x
I think she means a feed and then baby rice? Surely, otherwise how can a baby drink baby rice through a bottle....I know when I make it up it is quite runny but you could never suck this through a bottle.....did this really used to happen???!!!
I did mean put baby rice in a bottle, had to make the teat bigger. My father in law who is an experienced GP recommended me to try it as it might keep my daughter for longer in the night.
I have found that advice keeps changing all the time, first they tell you its ok to wean baby at 4 months, now its 6, put baby on tummy, now its on their back. You really have to do what works for your child. I have been giving her rice out of a bottle, to no adverse effects. Don't know why the advice says no rice out of a bottle. I never leave Katie alone with a bottle at all.
Pigletmania - I know what you mean about advice changing all the time!!
Your father in law is probably giving you advice which he gave out years ago....but if you say no adverse affect then who am I to say if this is right or wrong! You have to do what you think is right for your baby.
If you are going to do that though why don't you give her some milk feed and then spoon feed her the rest??Also, I take it you are only putting a tiny amount of rice in the bottle? I say this because even when you stop mixing it, it thickens.
Why don't you put her down at seven/ish and then lift her about 10ish...and give her a milk feed. Sorry, don't want to tell you what to do with your own baby!!....it's just that this may help...it's just that I kept my first daughter up to this time in the hope that it would tire her out....but invariably she would just get up more!!
No, i only put a tablespoon or two in not a great deal. I find that Katie is not really tired early evening, so she just plays until 10pm when i will put her to bed. When she gets a little older and understands more, I will give her a proper bedtime routine. At the moment it works for us!
Hi Pigletmania..if it works for you then that is the way you must go! It is never easy, and you are so right about advice changing...it has changed so much since my first daughter was born and she is only 7...not long really!! You have to do what is the best thing for you and your family...xx
Too right Karen999! I have seen that some of the mums on these forums can be quite critical without knowing the full reasons and situations behind some things i.e. bottle feeding. They tend to foist their opinions upon other people, and when challenged, get quite defensive and deride the people who they do not agree with. Some of the advice that we offer may not be scientific or facts, merely our experiences, I feel that if one is not able to accept criticism, don't be critical of other mums. We all do our best in our own individual circumstances.
Pigletmania - my sentiments exactly! I too have never criticised any other methods that other people use...I can only write about what I have and done and why...and the reasons that I do them are because I think that I am doing the best for baby, me and the rest of the family....I will admit that perhaps I may have made some comments that people may have found offensive but sometimes when you feel that you are under attack you attack back...x
yes very much so. I know that i made an underhanded comment in one of the forums which i regret, i said it in haste not really thinking, i guess i was a bit annoyed at some of the sanctimonious comments being made by others especially about bf
Well, at the end of the day Pigeltmania you have to remember that it is YOU bringing up your baby, YOU know your baby best and I think that we are all striving to do the best for OUR childre....all kids are different and all parents are different...some of the comments on this forum got me a little down and I will admit that but each day when I look at my beautiful baby I know that I am doing the best I can. It is not easy having a baby and all that we all desperately want to do is 'get it right'...what will work for some won't work for others...and believe me I have a (nearly 8 year old) who is still a poor sleeper and eater so this time I wanted to try something different...ok I used the CC method but for me this has worked. Has it worked for my baby? Or has it caused long term damage? Only time will tell but for the time being I, and she are happy. I think we should all get real and admit that being a parent is a worrying business but confidence in what you are doing can only benefit baby.....I have had mums who have criticused me for CC but I know that for many others it has worked and they are also happy with it...
I know my baby and I know what makes her happy and that is all that matters to me...xx
Sorry but I could not stay quiet about that one, even when I started out 8 years ago it was made very clear to all mums you never put rice in a baby bottle. I really thought it was something done many years ago, like gripe water to make them sleep! I personally find it rather unkind to feed something that's not healthy or control their food intake just to get them to do what you want.
Moogyboobles - I can understand your concern re the rice in the baby bottle - I had never really heard of this but as Pigletmania says - her father in law (experienced GP) recommended this to her -she was merely following advice and as I have mentioned before there is an abundance of it out there.....as BUB only proved....it's not easy always knowing what to do and when you are given specific advice then your instinct is to follow it.....one of tbe specific pieces of advice I got with my first daughter was to wean at 16 weeks - which I did and with no dire side effects....the advice (which I read up on before the birth of my 2nd child)is now to wean at 6 months....."fine" I thought, that is what I will do and then I went to the HV for a routine check and she told me to start weaning at 16 weeks...can you see how advice is confusing and inconsistent.......???I then decided to wean at 16 weeks and she is now established on solids and pretty much eats what we do! She had roast chicken, roast potatoes and green beans for Sunday lunch and loved every minute of it!!So, you see I sometimes think that as parents you are capable of deciding what is best for your baby, whether that means following the 'latest' advice or not...and lets face it, all the advice will have changed a hundred times over by the time my daughter is having children of her own!! and then I will be the one saying "oh, they never did it like that in my day!"
What is the reason for not giving rice in a bottle? My daughter is a very active 7.5 months old. It was suggested by my father in law, as she might be hungry in the night. I do feed her 3 good homemade meals a day, as well as her bottle feeds. I cannot bf as my milk dried up pretty quickly, nothing at all i could do to maintain it. Just because the practice is old, does not mean it is bad. There is so much conflicting advice out there, at the end of the day, when you have a baby that is crying for hours in the night every night, you are willing to try anything(up to a point), whatever works that's great!
I feel personally, that it is more distressing for a baby to wake in the night as it is hungry, thus disrupting their sleep, than to put her a little baby rice in her feed, and she has a longer and more satisfying sleep. She is a healthy and happy little girl, thats the main thing really!
For personally, I do not agree with the Claire verity method, that is cruel and selfish really! However, I don't think my daughter in years to come is going to say how cruel i was giving her rice in a bottle he he he!
The main issue I believe was the way they suck a bottle isn't meant for anything too solid, and some babies breathed in some cereal and it led to lung problems. Also it's associated with increasing the chance of an eating disorder later on, overeating for example. It kind of deceives them as too how much they are taking in.
The solids at 6 months thing is nothing new, it's been around at least 5 years, if your hv was saying otherwise she needs reporting! There is good reason, they don't just change advice on babycare on a whim.
I understand the weaning age is 6 months, however i think that it also depends on the child. My nephew was born a 9.11 lb baby, at 4 months old he looked and had the build of a 10 month old, he is now 9 months and can fit into 1.5-2yr clothes. He is not fat, but looks like a proper boy not a baby. Big babies run in the family. Anyway, at 4 months old his tummy was rumbling, milk alone could not keep him satisfied. By that time he was crawling and really active so needed really solid food to sustain his energy.
Katie, only has a diet of homemade food, no junk has passed her lips and will not until she is old enough to ask me. Then i will do so in moderation. I do not give her sweet drinks, only water if thirsty, or her usual milk. Katie, is a very small baby, more long and lean, than stocky so i do try and feed her up a bit.
It's dangerous to put baby rice in a bottle because your baby can choke due to the thicker texture. This thicker substance also forces more pressure through the teat and can damage it - there have been cases where this has happened and babies have choked on a bit of teat that's come away from the bottle.
Im having the same problem trying to get my 5month old son down to sleep on his own. I dont see it as a huge problem because i know he will do it one day. He's a very hungry baby and my health visitor actually told me to wean him at 16weeks. Although he was on spoon fed baby rice by the time he was 12weeks. He has developed so well and im very pleased i put him on food earlier, it has made him go a lot longer during the night and the whole family is getting plenty of sleep. My son is now on 2 meals a day and has slightly lumpy food which he loves. A little bit of baby rice in your childs bottle will do absolutely no harm and im sure it's helping a lot. By the time my son was 14 weeks he was having half a rusk in his bottle. Seeing as children used to be weaned at 3months, then 4 months and now 6months i honestly think it should now be left to the parents to decide when to wean their child! Good luck and take care!!
Thanks Beth for the advice. Yes Katie does sometimes have a rusk or baby rice in her bottle. Her father used to have it too and he is fit and healthy as did his brother and sister and they are fit and healthy too so i dont see the problem. They say that this should not be done as the teat can break off and choke the baby though i have never heard this happen and have been doing this for ages and Katie is happy and healthy.
Exactly. If that happened to teats, rusks etc wouldnt have been put in the bottle for who knows how many years! They'd have looked into it and made them from another material. Oh well, i guess it's all down to the individual choice but as long as the babies are happy and healthy then i can see no harm! (the rusks obviously melt down into liquid anyway)
Nicky - I know it is some time since you posted this thread - I have an 8 month old who is doing the same thing - I think it is just this time in their little lives - they are becoming more aware of being separate and so more aware of being alone in the night too.
i have invested in an AMby Baby hammock - it hasn;t arrived yet but I am hoping it will help - look them up on the internet - they look great (fingers crossed!) I have resorted to sleepin
