Tuesday, June 19, 2007
WHAT TO DO....
Ok, so here's the dilemma- what to do as a parent??? We've been trying to get Halle on a schedule. Well actually up until this point, it's mostly been- how do we survive. But I decided, it's time to get some regularity and attack some of our problems. So I talked to my lactation consultant and she gave me a few suggestions, and thinks I may have a yeast infection. SUCK!! So I'm going to try and work on that. She told me to let Halle eat whenever she wants. But this book that I have that everyone swears by, says basically the opposite- you as a parent set her schedule. I know it depends on your preference. But it's so hard to know what to do. So as I sit here, Halle is screaming in her crib and I'm just letting her cry. Brian keeps looking at me with this sad face like we're torturing her. I don't like it either. But I think we have to start to do something, bc I don't want to feed her every time she's fussy just so she'll sleep. And tips??!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Shannon,
I went to IWU with Brian,he gave me my tour freshman year, but probably has no idea who I am anymore. (My youngest daughter gave me a yeast infection,it was horrible!!!!) My hubby and I have 2 girls, 2.5 and 3 months. We have scheduled both our girls and have loved it!! Our 2.5 year old slept through the night completely (7-7) at 4 months. Our 3 month old is currently sleeping 9:30ish-6:30ish. We never did the "put down and let scream" but I never feed her just because she is fussy. Try pacifiers ( I don't care what people say about nipple confusion, we used pacifiers with both daughters from day 1 and had no problems), swing, bouncy seat, rocking, bouncing her, walks in the stroller, rides in the car, anything that will distract her. She is still pretty young, so she probably still needs to eat every 2-2.5 hours, but any less than that, I would try to push her longer. If she is working herself up so much that she's not breathing regularly, then give in, but you should be able to push her to at least 2 hours. About one hour after she eats, she's probably going to be ready to take a nap. Nap, diaper, eat, play, nap, etc.
Good luck!! Babywise is the book we used and were really happy with it. If you have anymore questions, my e-mail is bobbyandpaula2002@yahoo.com
Paula Fannin
She is still young, Shannon. We did Babywise with Elisha (we were slackers with Madelyn) but he had to have a bottle, so I think it was a bit easier because we always knew exactly how much food he got.
The best "advice" from the scheduling was to wake them up each morning (at a time you set) and feed them, then have "awake time" before putting them down for their nap(s). This way the don't get into the habit of nursing to sleep. BUT, like I said, Halle is very young and probably does not have awake time yet. Give it a bit of time...it will get better when she is even a little older.
For now, I agree with Paula - change of scenery, different seats, etc... to expand the time between feedings. If you get too paranoid about how much milk she is getting, you can take her up to MGH and the lactation consultant can weight her before and after a feeding. (I'll admit it, I'm a worrier mom).
Hang in there - we're praying for you!
Oh, and Halle may be connecting eating with you, so it may be easier to have Brian hold her, etc... I'll come do it if someone watches my kids. ;)
Hi Shannon - I don't know if you remember me, but you rented from us when you first moved to Marion...
I know how you feel!!! At first Damaris wanted to eat ALL THE TIME and I thought it was because I didn't have enough milk for her, but I realized that might not necessarily be the case...
I would definitely suggest a good pacifier. Titus took one right away, but we really had to work to find one that Damaris would consistantly take. It made a WORLD of difference. She has been more content and she even sleeps longer at night because when she starts to fuss we can give it to her and she sometimes sleeps another hour or two!!!
It just takes time...I think the first 4-6 weeks are definitely the hardest, but it gets better. Hang in there!!!
Michelle
Hey Guys,
I know what you guys are going through!! You are definitely NOT alone!! I wanted to let you know that the book I lent you guys is the same as "Babywise." Babywise is just the secular version without the scripture. Just a little FYI.
Halle is still very young, so just hang in there! If you stick with the scheduling thing...it WILL work! The main thing is waking them up when it's time to eat. Eventually, she will get it!
Good Luck...we'll be praying for you!
Tony & Renee
Thanks for all of your advice- it's just help to know that people understand and can relate!!!
Shannie - - - - remember the two most important rules: 1) Love her 2) Keep her relatively clean!!!!
For the rest - - - - do what works for you. I've known people who were schedule sticklers, and others who seemed to have no schedule at all. In BOTH cases, the kids grew and flourished.
As she grows just a few weeks older, with even a moderate amount of consistency, the schedule thing will happen.
Try not to get discouraged (and toooooo worn out) in the mean time!!!
I LOVE YOU!!!
Hi Shannon. I just happened upon your blog through Keetha's. We have two girls, 7 and 4, and we didn't really intentionally schedule either one with feeding. Our first was a very good baby, so it was easy to just feed her every 2 or 3 hours because she was content in between. Our second was and is a completely different person. For the first six months of her life, she acted like she wasn't ready to face the world yet, so I was a little more lax on feeding - I did at times feed for comfort. Fortunately for us, both were good nighttime sleepers, so I would mainly comfort feed during the day. I agree with Keetha - do what works for you. A lot of the time what parents do reflects the personality of the parent - my husband and I are pretty laid back people, so we didn't feel the need for a strict schedule. I really don't think there is a right and wrong. Hang in there! She will be eating "normal" food in no time.
Post a Comment