Ok, ladies.. I need advice and help.
1. Sleeping problems:
I have been struggling with Finn's sleeping issues for months now...about a month ago I attempted to "Ferberize" him ( let him cry , go in and comfort every 5, then 10 , then 15 minutes...) He sort of got it, slept throught the night for 3 days then reverted back ( mostly because I "caved" and brought hime back to bed with us). I am EXHAUSTED and I know that one of the main issues for "me" is hearing him cry so horribly. Olivia went through this but not nearly as hard and long..it maybe only took her 3-4 days to get it down. She has been sleeping through the night since she was 6 months old.. no problem.
I think that I have become "soft" in my old age...but I am so tired. Bringing him into bed with us is no longer an option because he wants to nurse every 2 hours and then I am up all night anyway. I know the ultimate solution is to just let him cry and work it out but I am so weary... any suggestions to make this easier would be greatly appreciated.
2. Eating problems
Finn is a horrible "solid food" eater!! He inconsistently eats from a spoon and throws an absolute fit when I try and feed him. "Some" times he will gobble his food up but more often then not he purses his lips and thrashes around to get away from the spoon. *sigh*. When he was 6 months old doing this I just let it go a couple of weeks and just nursed him.. but now he is 8 months old and needs his solids. Suggestions? Part of me thinks it is because he is teething ( 3 teeth at one time!) but he really isn't fussy at all and nurses with no problems.. sooooo...I can only chalk it up to him feeling "pressured" by the spoon.. hahahahaha! I don't know what to do....
I know that there are lots of mommies who read this blog so PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE leave any comments you can about things you do with your kids to help with these problems....you will not offend me and I really do need the encouragement and wisdom of those around me!!!!
THANKS!!!!
4 comments:
Finn might be too young for a security blanket/stuffed animal but if you have a blanket or stuffed animal you can hold while you nurse him it will pick up the smell of you and maybe that will help him sleep. As far as the feeding solids we used a turkey baster, and if they were really stubborn we squirted the food into their mouths while they were in the tub. They are so distracted with the water they hardly notice you are feeding them. Hope that helps. Also maybe for the sleeping problem you could do some kind of white noise, like a fan or they even have white noise machines you can use to make soothing sounds. Good luck to you! Lots of love, -Vanessa
I was going to suggest the white noise thing like a fan or those 'noise machines'. I had the same thing with Georgie -- I was just so emotional about hearing her cry (I think b/c I was pretty ill at the time). My mom helped me out a lot because she happened to be in town and she just 'took over' for about 3 nights in a row. When Georgie would wake and fuss, my mom would put the pacifier in. It helped because she couldn't 'smell' mommy and know that food was near and it helped me because I didn't hear her cry. Not sure if those options are available to you but it helps.
To get her to nap I just had to stand firm and let her cry. It was SOOOOOOO hard but it really only took a few days of letting her do it. I thought going in every 15 minutes would help but it ended up making it worse for her. So I just decided I'd make it ever 30 and by minute 17 she was zonked out :) It was really really hard emotionally, though :)
As far as solids, maybe if you let him hold the spoon and dip it in the food himself? He might not get a lot of food in but maybe it will boost his interest. Maybe you've already tried that :)
lots of love! I'll be praying for you. Exhausted mommies have it rough!!
Hey cousin! I am sorry you are having these sleep problems, that is so tough. I'm new to all of this, but Zoe so far has been a really good sleeper, and this is what I do:
Make sure the room is really really dark, get some blackout shades if you must. For about a week, Zoe was waking up at 4:00 a.m. every day, and realized it was too light in the room and she thought it was time to get up! So I keep the room super dark now. Use a white noise machine, the humidifier I keep running in her room is the white noise I use. I put her to bed on a full tummy, even if she ate two hours prior to going to bed. Make sure also that the room isn't too warm or too cold. Even in the winter here in Wisconsin, a lot of people dress their babies too warm thinking the baby is cold, but they probably are too warm!
Good luck, thinking of you!
Also, we would feed them (with the baster) and get them really full in the bathtub right before putting them to bed. When they were super relaxed from the warm water and full of food they slept much more sound but you know me, I'm a total wimp and our kids were in our bed forever, Kelsey who is three still sleeps in our bed from 4am on. Although just recently we put her into bed with Trevor she sleeps all the way through and Trevor likes the company, so its a win-win. Not sure how the baby experts feel about it but whatever works, ya know. ;)
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