We were getting into a really good routine where Connor was only waking once and Kendra twice every night.
For some of you that might be horrific but that's bliss to us.
Okay, maybe not BLISS, but let's say, manageable!
It started at exactly 6 months but wasn't consistent. I just counted in The Notebook
Connor's awake times...........Frequency
1........................................................11
2........................................................16
3........................................................5
(3 of those 5 times was in the last 4 days!)
Kendra's awake times...........Frequency
1........................................................3
2........................................................13
3........................................................15
Three days ago the "good sleeping" stopped.
Coincidentally it happened right after I told a work colleague that the sleeping was really getting much better - ha!
Then I spoke to another friend who said she put cereal in her girls' bottles and that worked. So of course I tried it.
No change.
If anything, they woke EARLIER in the evening than before. Grrr.
I've noticed that if they sleep the first stretch really long like 7 - 8 hours, then they only wake once (Connor) or twice (Kendra).
When they have a short first sleep (around 5 hours) it's like it sets a pattern of quick sleeps - we've even had them waking every two hours.
Which totally knackers me since I'm so old.
I bought an e-book on the internet a few weeks ago on Sleep (what else?!) and as part of the cost, you get two free email consults, so I've been compiling my questions as I don't want to waste them, but also decided to quickly google this cereal in the bottle business and I found this 3-pager, http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/content/cerealinbottle.pdf
Bottom line - there's no correlation between the cereal in the bottle and sleeping better.
Hmmm, my babies are textbook cases. So after tonight (I'd already made their "going to sleep" bottles with cereal), no more.
So here are the questions I'm about to email the lady.
- why is it that C is so big yet is still hungry at night? (I can hear his stomach growling - there is NO doubt that he's starving)
- how do I get him back to sleep without feeding when K wakes him?
- why do they not wake at the same time every night (not the two babies waking at the same time, but each baby wakes at different times every night)? I'd love to reduce the amount of milk in the, let's say "4 am" bottle, but the 4 am bottle could be at 2, 3, 4:30, anytime.
- how do you get that first stretch of sleep to consistently be longer?
I was actually thinking about why I blog and ask your advice vs googling and the answer is........ when you google, you find case studies and averages which, I'm sorry to say, have never applied to my kids, but with you guys, you find actual, real live examples of things that are working. Yay!
So would love to hear your insights :)
P.S. I'm way too scared to let them cry it out. Simply because the day before C's second tooth arrived (Sat 23 Jan), C wouldn't settle and go to sleep and he cried for two hours straight. My heart can't stand the screaming so eventually we gave him some Baby Panado and he calmed down enough to sleep. Remember this is my "easy" baby so imagine Kendra!
I have no problem letting them cry once I've tried to soothe them and I know they're not hungry, wet or too hot/ cold. But not just "cold".
Sorry, I have no advice because I would have told you to do CIO. My son was eating 4 HUGE bottles a day, on cereal and "solids" and I said, "sleep is a brain function". I must train his brain so I am not going in. It only took 3 days. Yes, they woke each other but it was manageable for 3 days. Do you think you could do it for 3 days?
ReplyDeleteOh hon, no answers - just hugs >:D< You must be completely knackered. Focus on the fact that one day they'll be teenagers and if you see them before noon you'll be shocked :) Seriously though, I hope they start to sleep longer soon - for your sleep's sake.
ReplyDeleteWe did the weaning method ages ago. I guess you could call it a form of training. I got the idea from you! Giving them a small amount of food and gradually decreasing it till they are not eating at night which for us meant not waking up. This has trained them to eat during the day. Our Dr. said it is completely normal for them to wake up during the night still at 6 months and I should feel blessed that Emma, my light sleeper, is sleeping 8-10 hours at night. Claire of course will plow through 10-14 hours of sleep and not even wake up screaming for food! She will also take anywhere from 8-10 ounces which help tremendously.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have any luck with cereal either. I really think you might want to invest some time in one particular sleep training method. Give it a good two weeks, maybe take on a nanny just to give you some relief!
Oooh, don't ever think things are going smoothly and you have settled... Sleep comes and goes and as soon as they settle into a routine something changes... they have a growth spurt and you see them grow an inch in a night, there teeth are sore even though they aren't erupting. could it be something they have tried in their solid routine - go back a step or two... even something really innocent can change their sleep... and before you figure it out they will probably be back into their sleep thing. Hang in there... this will pass and it will be a whole lot better before you know it...
ReplyDeleteCan you get them to up their intake during the day? Particularly with the solids, maybe? At six months, my girls were eating about 1 1/2 ounces of solids twice a day, plus 5 bottles. If they really are hungry at night, I would think getting them to eat more during the day is going to be key. Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteno advice :( i'm still dreading the day when alex decides that STTN is no longer her "thing"
ReplyDeleteeeek!
I took mine to see Ann Richardson at 6 months and according to her feeding plan by 7 months i put them on protein. This keeps them fuller for longer,so it helps with their sleep. If Connor is hungry with just veggies, maybe it time to give him a bit of Chicken. That helped me.
ReplyDeleteHad to give some assvice about the 7 month sleep regression!!! Guy did this too and I was beside myself as we did sleep training at 6 months and it had worked like a dream for 2 months........could not understand why he would not sleep all the way through at 7.5 / 8 months....eventually took him to see Judy Rothschild who is a baby whizz and she said to me that Guy was hungry not for milk or cereal but for PROTEIN and iron...... we started introducing Kiri cheese into all of his night time meals 9it melts beautifully into the veggies) as well as a bit of meat stewed and pureed, eggs (I know some say noooo eggs but he loooooved scrambled eggs ) and so I kept going with the protein..........it worked like a charm!!! Hope this helps with Connor – can’t believe how beautiful and big they look. I think you are doing an awesome job!!
ReplyDelete