June 2010

Hey ladies

Connor had such a good night last night - this is what happened when he slept in his own room

(we didn't bath him because he vomited earlier in the day and we bathed him then)

feed 30ml 17:05
sleep 17:10 - 20:15 (3 hours 5 mins)
feed 90ml 20:20 - 20:30
nappy change
sleep 21:20 - 00:00 (2 hours 40 mins)
feed 80ml 00:00 - 00:25
nappy change
sleep 01:15 - 03:55 (2 hours 40 mins)
nappy change
feed 100ml (yikes) 04:00 - 04:25
sleep 04:50 - 06:50 (2 hours)
nappy change
feed 80ml 07:15 - 07:30
sleep 08:05 - 09:05 (1 hour)
brought him to our bed - at this point I was exhausted
sleep 09:25 - 10:30 (1 hour 5 mins)
feed 100ml 10:40 - 11:00
nappy change
sleep 11:35 - current

The SCHEDULE almost worked!!! But even better for me in the end.
Look it was only Night 1!

After feeding him 30ml (should get 75ml per feed of 8 feeds) at 16h30 he slept for 1 hour yesterday. This was the norm for the last 2/3 days! We had bath time at 6pm and at 7pm we gave him a bottle and tried to get him to have ALL his feed this time. But he only managed 60ml and that was after many attempts and NO sleeping till 24h00! He seemed very colicky that entire period and cried blue murder! Gerard & I almost gave up hope... when he fell asleep in his own cot, in his own room!!!

I went to bed with half my ear pricked up to the Baby monitor. Gerard who is busy on an IT job didnt even sleep. So was awake to hear if baby made a sound. Then this morning at just after 04h00 I get woken-ed by a slight moan and thought ok I feel fresh (hmmm) but its time for bottle. It was only then I realistic for the first time EVER he had slept through FOUR HOURS (for me that is huge)... and SOLID SLEEP!

OH and he finished a full 75ml feed!!!

Only thing which kind of scared and shocked me was... he had managed to turn from his side to his stomach and was half way up the cot and only half covered making moaning sounds but still half asleep! SAY WHAT, my almost 4 week old TURNED! Is this normal and what do I have to be worried about now? Look I have been doing tummy time during the day to strengthen his muscles and he is very strong. He easily moves head from side to side on his tummy, he can lift it up but is not very graceful in releasing it - as in then it flops till he moves it again. But now he must be strong enough in his arms as well to move him away from the base of the bed. I don't think he was too cold as the room is about 22 degrees and I have him in warm clothing, and I heard him moaning...

But what should I be watching out for now and should I be worried???

At least he slept well and in his own bed and room!!! And Mommy feels fresh as a daisy - wow! Please God let this be every night!

Hi ladies! After reading the various posts I came to the conclusíon that my twins are very easy babies. All they do is feed and sleep. In the neonatal ward they were on a strict 3-hourly schedule... Which I can't keep up with for various reasons. Luckily they also thrive on the new routine. Demand-feeding that happens more or less every 4 hours... And they actually finish their bottles then most of the time.

I wish I knew about maternity panties during my first pregnancy! What a life saver to keep those awful big pads in place!

I've found that reading the new posts during the 1 o' clock feeds at night on my phone keeps me awake so I don't fall asleep whilst holding the bottle!
Thanks ladies!

Alex well all I can do is try and I can tell you already we havent stuck to the schedule. I can force him to eat a full feed and to get him to eat he stayed awake longer and therefore was overstimulated and he is only asleep now at 21h30 instead of 19h30,,, so we shall let him sleep till he wakes and take it from there...

simone- cant u get family to come and help u sort out things at home? You cant do it all on ur own. Good for u for accepting the birth! Thats half the battle won!
Lucy- that schedule sounds great but is it wise to wake baby for feeds? Also, what happens if baby wakes before scheduled time? I'm just wondering coz i really think i should have a routine from day 1. Good luck for 2nite!

Hey all, very interesting discussions re schedules. Caitlin is demand fed and takes on average 20 minutes to feed (10 minutes per boob) and then change nappy, sometimes twice cos she poops again as I put new one on - it's her party trick:) and then burp...but at night she doesn't always need a burp.
Her times are as follows:
6am or there abouts feed, she is awake in the morning and will usually go down by 8am,
11am or there about - feeding session
15:00 feed
18:00 feed and bath every 2nd night
then she feeds again somewhere between 23:00 and 02:00am

She seems to be a relatively easy baby, if you get to her in time she doesnt cry. She still sleeps in her camp cot in our room at night and in her cot in her room in the day til we go to bed.

I really feel for you guys who are feeding so much at night, it is tiring. If Caitlin wakes at midnight I find it a killer.

Strongs mommies - remember to take rescue remedy when you feel like you need to 'calm down' a bit!!! Caitlin is 1 month old on Sunday...WOW

Lucy - that schedule sounds like a dream! Only problem is that Connor doesn't even sleep that long so I will be feeding him more often. I don't know what else to do when he wakes up crying. I change him and cuddle him then the next obvious thing is feed. I don't even know if he's really hungry or if he's just feeding because I am giving it to him.

Skyler - bottle feeding is easier but I salute you for carrying on with the breast feeding - please do it as long as you can - I've heard it gets easier so you just need to hang in there. My friend's baby is 2 months old and she said it was hell but now it's the best decision she made, to carry on breast feeding!! You're doing SOOOOOO well

Beanbag - I only have the happy hugger bean bag so I use that one - I haven't heated it up in the microwave, I just put it on him for the weight. Otherwise I use a heavy blanket because the bean bag smells and I'm worried it will stimulate his senses.