If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Clarification teaching good sleep habits (xpost)
Hi everybody,
Thanks for the replies. I'm not really concerned about the schedule yet, I think hubby would like it because he keeps trying to get to bed by 10 and the boys keep keeping us up until 11:30 or 12. More important is the learning-to-go-to-sleep-on-their-own thing. Take last night for example: boys weren't asleep (therefore not in bed) until 12:30am. 3am Chris wakes up, wanting to be fed: hubby has to get up with him because I have to express breastmilk (can't leave it or I leak all over everywhere, wasting precious BM). 3:30am, Alex wakes up. I'm finished expressing, Chris is finished feeding *but* he's not asleep again yet. So hubby has to stay up feeding Alex while I try and get Chris to sleep. By 4:00am both had finished feeding, neither was asleep, so both hubby and I had to still be up. It was about 5:30 before all of us were in bed again, and poor hubby is supposed to be out to work by 7:30am. We were up for 2.5 hours, and only about 50 minutes of that was actually feeding. Days like today (as hubby and I stumble around bleary eyed) I feel like we *need* to teach the boys to go to sleep on their own. But I understand from a lot of your posts that they are still simply too young. SIGH At least I had a mother's helper in this morning so I grabbed an extra hour sleep, but hubby doesn't have that option :-( Marie "Marie" wrote in message e.rogers.com... My twin boys are 3.5 mos old, about 6 wks corrected. They are beginning to sleep 5 hrs at night *once* we get them to sleep, but getting them to sleep is a challenge. They both want to be held while falling asleep, until they are *completely* asleep. If they are even just dozing when we put them down in their crib, they wake up howling and screaming and we have to begin the entire settling down/falling asleep process all over again. This is a pain as one of them, who tends towards colic, can sometimes take upwards of two hours to fall asleep :-( The other one averages about 30-40 mins for the process. I know they are too young for Ferber, but I would *really* like to teach them how to fall asleep in their cribs--it seems like an important lifeskill. Besides, they knew how to do it once, I think: they spent the first 5.5 wks of their life in the hospital and the nurses certainly didn't hold them all the time. Even when I was there during the day they would be out of their cots for feeding and then placed back in, even if they were awake. BTW, it's not just at night--during the day they insist on being held as well. When/how can I start teaching them to relax themselves to sleep on their own? When/how do I start trying to introduce a "scheduled" nap-time into their lives? TIA Marie Chris & Alex--born 04/23/03 (31 wks gestational) |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Clarification teaching good sleep habits (xpost)
On Tue, 05 Aug 2003 20:54:46 GMT, "Marie" wrote:
Hi everybody, Days like today (as hubby and I stumble around bleary eyed) I feel like we *need* to teach the boys to go to sleep on their own. But I understand from a lot of your posts that they are still simply too young. SIGH At least I had a mother's helper in this morning so I grabbed an extra hour sleep, but hubby doesn't have that option :-( Marie Hi Maire, I'm guessing you are expressing becauses the boys aren't latching. If this isn't the case, if only one is awake for food have you tried latching one side and pumping the other side? (I never worked this out with my DD). I would also echo the other poster about making nighttime as boring as possible. If this means having the pump set up ready to go before bed then do so. As few lights as possible, dim lamp if you really need it, no TV/Radio (I found the TV on very low was fine) and no talking. It is also great that you DH is willing/able to help. Options for him getting more sleep, is it possible for him to grap an hour or so in the early evening (after dinner)? Working with that sleep deprived is not good (btdt). I wish you both all the best. Di |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Clarification teaching good sleep habits (xpost)
I haven't been totally following this line because I was out of town all
week but I feel for you! Mine went through weekly stages....either they both woke up at the same time or they tag teamed....the only time where it was really difficult was when I just started feeding one and the other woke up shortly there after....thats when I had to wake up dh, otherwise it was all on me to change/feed them at night. I didn't BF, so mine were bottle-fed....while they were very young, I did manage to hold both and feed both at the same time but propping them on pillows, side by side and then holding the bottles also worked well (also made it *kind of* easier to stay awake)....the routine was kinda basic....when they woke, I got the bottles warmed (either by the bottle warmer or just via tap), changed them then fed em, then back to bed.....I can't remember when I started them on their schedule....I know they started sleeping longer at 2.5mos so it must've been sometime after that .... but now come 7pm they know its bed time!! All I have to say/announce is "Its bed time!" and there they go....two cute butts walking down the hallway right to their room! Boy, when they are ready for it, scheduling is definatly the way to go!! Oh, I got sidetracked.....as someone else stated, I would wake the other one up to change/feed at the same time.....getting tagteamed is the worse!....actually you don't have to "wake them up"...you just get them out of bed and then change and feed (if they take it, they take it, if they don't, they don't) oh, and I don't know how light you sleep, but I know with all three of mine, I could sleep while they were awake, cradled in my arms....if they moved, then I instantly woke...but outside of being on a boob, there's nothing a babe likes more than being nuzzled on moms/dads chest, listening to their heartbeats...knocks em right out! hth -- Gwen, Designer Wraps SAHM to James (9-98) Austin and Amber (5-02) tired of eBay? Try these great alternatives! www.tobuytwo.com ....auction house for families of multiples (but singletons can use it too!) www.familyauction.com www.wahmall.com www.wahmauctions.com |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Clarification teaching good sleep habits (xpost)
I remember those awful nights...really I do...do try the tandem nursing, a
BFing pillow or just a whole bunch of pillows around you, football holds and see if that works. No sleep makes one nuts..I remember that too. Most babies don't mind sharing mom at that age so the double feeding might work. I did try to wake one up when I fed the other and it worked for a while until the other one went on strike when I would wake them up. But for a while it helps mom and dad get a few more winks. Good luck, hang in there, it seems like a long time but really it will be over and you will be surprised. Shirley Chris and Kathleen 1/95 "Sue" wrote in message ... My friend had twins and if one woke up to feed during the night, she woke the other one too to feed at the same time. I don't know if that is an option for you and your husband, but at least they got the feedings done at the same time. She only did this in the middle of the night. -- Sue mom to three girls Marie wrote in message le.rogers.com... Hi everybody, Thanks for the replies. I'm not really concerned about the schedule yet, I think hubby would like it because he keeps trying to get to bed by 10 and the boys keep keeping us up until 11:30 or 12. More important is the learning-to-go-to-sleep-on-their-own thing. Take last night for example: boys weren't asleep (therefore not in bed) until 12:30am. 3am Chris wakes up, wanting to be fed: hubby has to get up with him because I have to express breastmilk (can't leave it or I leak all over everywhere, wasting precious BM). 3:30am, Alex wakes up. I'm finished expressing, Chris is finished feeding *but* he's not asleep again yet. So hubby has to stay up feeding Alex while I try and get Chris to sleep. By 4:00am both had finished feeding, neither was asleep, so both hubby and I had to still be up. It was about 5:30 before all of us were in bed again, and poor hubby is supposed to be out to work by 7:30am. We were up for 2.5 hours, and only about 50 minutes of that was actually feeding. Days like today (as hubby and I stumble around bleary eyed) I feel like we *need* to teach the boys to go to sleep on their own. But I understand from a lot of your posts that they are still simply too young. SIGH At least I had a mother's helper in this morning so I grabbed an extra hour sleep, but hubby doesn't have that option :-( Marie "Marie" wrote in message e.rogers.com... My twin boys are 3.5 mos old, about 6 wks corrected. They are beginning to sleep 5 hrs at night *once* we get them to sleep, but getting them to sleep is a challenge. They both want to be held while falling asleep, until they are *completely* asleep. If they are even just dozing when we put them down in their crib, they wake up howling and screaming and we have to begin the entire settling down/falling asleep process all over again. This is a pain as one of them, who tends towards colic, can sometimes take upwards of two hours to fall asleep :-( The other one averages about 30-40 mins for the process. I know they are too young for Ferber, but I would *really* like to teach them how to fall asleep in their cribs--it seems like an important lifeskill. Besides, they knew how to do it once, I think: they spent the first 5.5 wks of their life in the hospital and the nurses certainly didn't hold them all the time. Even when I was there during the day they would be out of their cots for feeding and then placed back in, even if they were awake. BTW, it's not just at night--during the day they insist on being held as well. When/how can I start teaching them to relax themselves to sleep on their own? When/how do I start trying to introduce a "scheduled" nap-time into their lives? TIA Marie Chris & Alex--born 04/23/03 (31 wks gestational) |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Clarification teaching good sleep habits (xpost)
My friend had twins and if one woke up to feed during the night, she woke
the other one too to feed at the same time. I don't know if that is an option for you and your husband, but at least they got the feedings done at the same time. She only did this in the middle of the night. -- Sue mom to three girls Marie wrote in message le.rogers.com... Hi everybody, Thanks for the replies. I'm not really concerned about the schedule yet, I think hubby would like it because he keeps trying to get to bed by 10 and the boys keep keeping us up until 11:30 or 12. More important is the learning-to-go-to-sleep-on-their-own thing. Take last night for example: boys weren't asleep (therefore not in bed) until 12:30am. 3am Chris wakes up, wanting to be fed: hubby has to get up with him because I have to express breastmilk (can't leave it or I leak all over everywhere, wasting precious BM). 3:30am, Alex wakes up. I'm finished expressing, Chris is finished feeding *but* he's not asleep again yet. So hubby has to stay up feeding Alex while I try and get Chris to sleep. By 4:00am both had finished feeding, neither was asleep, so both hubby and I had to still be up. It was about 5:30 before all of us were in bed again, and poor hubby is supposed to be out to work by 7:30am. We were up for 2.5 hours, and only about 50 minutes of that was actually feeding. Days like today (as hubby and I stumble around bleary eyed) I feel like we *need* to teach the boys to go to sleep on their own. But I understand from a lot of your posts that they are still simply too young. SIGH At least I had a mother's helper in this morning so I grabbed an extra hour sleep, but hubby doesn't have that option :-( Marie "Marie" wrote in message e.rogers.com... My twin boys are 3.5 mos old, about 6 wks corrected. They are beginning to sleep 5 hrs at night *once* we get them to sleep, but getting them to sleep is a challenge. They both want to be held while falling asleep, until they are *completely* asleep. If they are even just dozing when we put them down in their crib, they wake up howling and screaming and we have to begin the entire settling down/falling asleep process all over again. This is a pain as one of them, who tends towards colic, can sometimes take upwards of two hours to fall asleep :-( The other one averages about 30-40 mins for the process. I know they are too young for Ferber, but I would *really* like to teach them how to fall asleep in their cribs--it seems like an important lifeskill. Besides, they knew how to do it once, I think: they spent the first 5.5 wks of their life in the hospital and the nurses certainly didn't hold them all the time. Even when I was there during the day they would be out of their cots for feeding and then placed back in, even if they were awake. BTW, it's not just at night--during the day they insist on being held as well. When/how can I start teaching them to relax themselves to sleep on their own? When/how do I start trying to introduce a "scheduled" nap-time into their lives? TIA Marie Chris & Alex--born 04/23/03 (31 wks gestational) |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Clarification teaching good sleep habits (xpost)
I think I remember mine pulling that one too....thinking that 3 am was
morning! ahhhh well, at least around here they repeat the previous nights local news at that time.....plus it a good time to run another load of laundry! -- Gwen, Designer Wraps SAHM to James (9-98) Austin and Amber (5-02) tired of eBay? Try these great alternatives! www.tobuytwo.com ....auction house for families of multiples (but singletons can use it too!) www.familyauction.com www.wahmall.com www.wahmauctions.com "Bert Szala" wrote in message ... My girls just turned 7 months monday (6 weeks premature) and I have to echo the sentiments that I've heard. If one wakes up they both get fed (only at night). Mind you that I have to feed them formula (they can't eat my breast milk - but that's another story!). We keep lights and noise to an absolute minimum, just enought to measure the meds and mix the formula (and not stumble). Usually we are able to get them both back to sleep with singing and carrying. If they wake up after 3am for the "midnight" feeding we seem to be out of luck. At that point they seem to think that they've had enough sleep and it's time to play. Bert PS I keep telling myself that it gets easier but DH and I have yet to get a full night's sleep (or enough sleep for that matter) since they were born. Sue wrote: My friend had twins and if one woke up to feed during the night, she woke the other one too to feed at the same time. I don't know if that is an option for you and your husband, but at least they got the feedings done at the same time. She only did this in the middle of the night. -- Sue mom to three girls Marie wrote in message ble.rogers.com... Hi everybody, Thanks for the replies. I'm not really concerned about the schedule yet, I think hubby would like it because he keeps trying to get to bed by 10 and the boys keep keeping us up until 11:30 or 12. More important is the learning-to-go-to-sleep-on-their-own thing. Take last night for example: boys weren't asleep (therefore not in bed) until 12:30am. 3am Chris wakes up, wanting to be fed: hubby has to get up with him because I have to express breastmilk (can't leave it or I leak all over everywhere, wasting precious BM). 3:30am, Alex wakes up. I'm finished expressing, Chris is finished feeding *but* he's not asleep again yet. So hubby has to stay up feeding Alex while I try and get Chris to sleep. By 4:00am both had finished feeding, neither was asleep, so both hubby and I had to still be up. It was about 5:30 before all of us were in bed again, and poor hubby is supposed to be out to work by 7:30am. We were up for 2.5 hours, and only about 50 minutes of that was actually feeding. Days like today (as hubby and I stumble around bleary eyed) I feel like we *need* to teach the boys to go to sleep on their own. But I understand from a lot of your posts that they are still simply too young. SIGH At least I had a mother's helper in this morning so I grabbed an extra hour sleep, but hubby doesn't have that option :-( Marie "Marie" wrote in message ble.rogers.com... My twin boys are 3.5 mos old, about 6 wks corrected. They are beginning to sleep 5 hrs at night *once* we get them to sleep, but getting them to sleep is a challenge. They both want to be held while falling asleep, until they are *completely* asleep. If they are even just dozing when we put them down in their crib, they wake up howling and screaming and we have to begin the entire settling down/falling asleep process all over again. This is a pain as one of them, who tends towards colic, can sometimes take upwards of two hours to fall asleep :-( The other one averages about 30-40 mins for the process. I know they are too young for Ferber, but I would *really* like to teach them how to fall asleep in their cribs--it seems like an important lifeskill. Besides, they knew how to do it once, I think: they spent the first 5.5 wks of their life in the hospital and the nurses certainly didn't hold them all the time. Even when I was there during the day they would be out of their cots for feeding and then placed back in, even if they were awake. BTW, it's not just at night--during the day they insist on being held as well. When/how can I start teaching them to relax themselves to sleep on their own? When/how do I start trying to introduce a "scheduled" nap-time into their lives? TIA Marie Chris & Alex--born 04/23/03 (31 wks gestational) |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Clarification teaching good sleep habits (xpost)
Di wrote:
I would also echo the other poster about making nighttime as boring as possible. If this means having the pump set up ready to go before bed then do so. As few lights as possible, dim lamp if you really need it, no TV/Radio (I found the TV on very low was fine) and no talking. I found TV was a big no-no--not in terms of the volume, but in terms of the light. Recently, I heard about a study suggesting that the light from computer screens or TV tend to reset one's internal clock, and I wonder if that might not be true! If my husband sits down at the computer later in the evening, despite being tired he'll be up until 2am and say he's not tired and can't fall asleep--but if he goes to bed at a reasonable hour with no tv, then he falls asleep fine and is out like a rock all night long. Nights never go as well if I've had the tv on after the baby's bedtime. I used to watch tv a little before going to bed, but with the baby in our room now, I've had to give that up so that it doesn't make her more wakeful during the night. I don't even have the tv on during her last nursing before she goes down for the night. Best wishes, Ericka |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Clarification teaching good sleep habits (xpost)
On Wed, 06 Aug 2003 12:24:42 GMT, Bert Szala
wrote: PS I keep telling myself that it gets easier but DH and I have yet to get a full night's sleep (or enough sleep for that matter) since they were born. Again, I don't multiples. At night, I did all the feeding and waking during the week, which included pumping with my DD (for the first few weeks). My DH had to be at work at 7am. I went to bed early usually by 8pm. So he did the evening shift with DD, and I did the night shift. On one weekend night a week, DH did the night shift for me so I could sleep through. If you are breastfeeding, this might not work. It is what helped me save my sanity and get enough sleep. -- Daye Momma to Jayan EDD 11 Jan 2004 |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
teaching good sleep habits (xpost) | H Schinske | General | 12 | August 5th 03 09:13 PM |