Coffee Catchup - Upper Hutt - 15th September

OHbaby! Coffee Catchup - Upper Hutt - 15th Septemeber. Feel free to ask questions and Dorothy will reply when she can.

Don’t forget to use the code BABY14 to get $10 off your Countdown online shop when you spend over $100, and be in the draw to win a fantastic Countdown hamper worth $100”



Edited by skiltz - 03 October 2014 at 8:31am

Hi, I have been using the sleeping advise that you gave us on Monday and it has been working really well. My daughter is ten weeks old and didn't really sleep during the day. She maybe had 2 naps that lasted about 30 minutes. After your advise she is sleeping 2 to 3 times a day for about an hour and a half. My only problem now is that she isn't sleeping well at night. She was going down at 8pm or 9pm and waking at 4am or 5am, now she wakes at 1am 3am and 5am... I feel like I've taken ten steps backwards... Any advise would be much appreciated for what to do from here. Thanks Dorothy

Hi Dorothy,
I want to say a huge thankyou for the session on Monday. I found it extremely helpful and have been trying to put the settling and resettling ideas into place this week. I will definitely be a bum on a seat whenever you're down this way again!
I was wondering if there are any books on babies in general, and sleep in particular, that you would recommend?
Thanks again,
Nicola

Hi Dorothy

Thank you for the great talk on Monday. I have a question around MOTN feeds and my son stirring/thrashing around in the night.

My son is 8 weeks (6 weeks adjusted) and is now 5.04kg (born 2.73kg), with regular poos, wees, etc.

He feeds approximately every 3 hours and is on a good eat, play sleep cycle. My question is around MOTN feeds. We do wake him at 10.30pm for a dream feed (but he sometimes wakes around then anyway) but note that he doesn't really take it asleep but falls asleep easily afterwards (not on the boob). After this, he tends to wake around 2.5 -3.5 hourly. However,sometimes in the night, he will thrash about and make 'urrrrhhhh' noises, cries (about 2-3/10) then goes back to sleep, then it repeats. His eyes are usually closed. For example, I feed him at 4.15am this morning, and then at 5.50am he started thrashing around as above. I tried settling him multiple times of which he fell asleep in my arms and/or burped however once I put him down, he starts all over again (in his sleep). I tried feeding him but he only took a few minutes very slow sucking before he fell asleep again until morning.

Note: he is not a huge screaming howling baby and I haven't heard his "OMG I'm starving - how have you not fed me yet?" screech in weeks.

is this thrashing the beginnings of hunger? Or is it just him noisily sleeping and should I be holding off from feeding him? We have tried both options and we are still unsure of what to do! Sometimes he takes a feed, sometimes he doesn't. I have videoed it if you would like to see.

Thanks so much!

Kim

HI Janine

Teething
I tend to use natural remedies during the day. If that does not work, I then offer more pain relief such as Pamol and Nurofen.

Products that I have found work well for most of my clients are the Teething Drops, Kava Drops, Teething Gel, Viburcol, and Traummel gel or drops – all purchased from Quintessence either by phone (09 817 1530) or Internet (www.qhealth.co.nz)

If you want to use an alternative product that helps with both inflammation and pain try Traumeel gel. Use twice a day morning and night.

Teething becomes very painful. It affects the whole head and in particular the ears. It is common for the pain to intensify at night and so you may find that you need to use stronger medication to treat your baby. If you find this pattern applies to your baby then I would recommend using Pamol during the day and Nurofen at night. Nurofen helps with both inflammation and pain whereas Pamol just helps with the pain.

Some parents find raising one end of their baby’s cot helps to reduce the inflammation that occurs overnight due to lying flat for a long period of time.

Amber beads are an alternative that you may wish to consider. I have not used them, however I do have clients that think they are very effective in alleviating their child’s teething pain. They say the darker the amber is the more effective the beads are



Medication-may2014.pdf

Hi at 14 weeks ideally she is having wake times of around 1 3/4 hours and having naps of a minimum of 1 1/2 hours. A band nap is that - it is less than 30 mins. A nap of 45 minutes is one sleep cycle and with her not being able to resettle I would suggest that you take the time to do this.

Sleep is a learned behaviour and some babies learn faster than other.s Sleep is also a nutrient the same as food, so without both walking hand in hand one can lead to the other.

The safetsleep isn't designed to keep her still, it does keep her in one place but while in the safetsleep she can actually roll from her back to her tummy and back again.

Her sleeping well at night was probably due to not sleeping in the day so she would crash at night.
Feeding to sleep is a personal choice but some babies don't drop this and you could be doing this when she is 18 months plus

It will take time to teach and support and encourage her to sleep in her cot - will she be able to sleep in the carseat or buggy when she is 18 months old. It is easier to start now than when they are older

Is her room dark enough -

Have a look at your baby’s room is it dark or is there lots of light. To see if your baby is light sensitive then black out the windows and all the little lights on all the electrical equipment in their room and see if this helps. It does not mean your baby will not sleep elsewhere as at this stage it is about encouraging your baby to go to sleep and stay asleep.

YOu mentioned you have tried it all but have you put her to bed after her wake time of 1 3/4s and then just either stayed in the room and allow her the time and right and ability to find her sleep and then intervene to help her. When you intervene do you give her movement that can be done in arms or in the cot.   How long have you attempted to self settle her. It will take a good 20 minutes for her to fall asleep this isn't about leaving her on her own but it is about allowing her the ability to find her sleep and you intervening to help if she doesn't.

hi Kirsty
My pleasure

Hi Ladies
Thank you for all your questions and hopefully the answers will help you. It was lovely to meet you all at the OHBaby Coffee Catchup.

Remember before you do anything STOP, THINK, and ACT – work out what you are doing, why you are doing, and what you are trying to accomplish and then act.

Remember YOU are the baby’s mum and so listen to your heart and instinct.   Yes, we all don’t do it by the book, or get it right the first time, but you need to make ‘mistakes’ to get it right for you.   It’s a time of learning a little person’s personality and figuring out what works for your home life.

If you have the time I would love to see you pop over to http://www.facebook.com/BabyWithin and 'like' it. You can then keep up with information that I post from time to time or hear from other mothers who write on the wall. Also there is now a “recommendations’ section and it would great to hear your comments.

Please remember as a parent or carer that you should understand and acknowledge that Dorothy is NOT a licensed medical doctor or other licensed medical provider and the information that I share with you has come from experience and working with numerous families and babies and toddlers