king26
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Post by king26 on Sept 24, 2017 22:12:29 GMT -6
Hello,
I am from the August 2017 boars but thought I could get some wisdom here. I am a firat time mom and struggling some. You all are months past the stage in in now but I have a few questions if you dontbmind.
1. When do babies start sleeping better? 2. When does it get easier? 3. I am leaving my baby with my husband to go back to work and I'm worried. Will babies be on a better nap pattern by 3 months? 4. Any advice to get through the first few months? We have our good days and bad but the bad are rough.
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Lakes
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Post by Lakes on Sept 25, 2017 6:06:18 GMT -6
Hey king26! I'm sorry you're struggling but it's also totally normally. Don't be afraid to talk to your doctor. My anxiety was off the charts after my first baby and it took me long time to recognize it. I wish I had done something sooner. 1. When do babies start sleeping better? Your baby is around 1 month then? You're in the thick of it. All babies are different but I think months 2 and 3 you start getting some longer stretches at night. 2. When does it get easier? Just take it one day at a time. The next phase/growth spurt/month/etc will be better in some aspects and challenging in new ways. 3. Will babies be on a better nap pattern by 3 months? Generally yes, by this stage they have more consistent naps. I'll post some websites for you to look at about sleep schedules. 4. Any advice to get through the first few months? We have our good days and bad but the bad are rough. Reach out to your friends and family for support. Put the baby in its crib and take a shower. Make sure you take care of you. A HAPPY MOM EQUALS A HAPPY BABY. The first couple months I was legit going to sleep at 7 or 8pm just do I could survive. Take up anyone's offers to come over. They can hold the baby while you shower/sleep/get out of the house for an hour/etc Big big hugs. This stuff is hard but so worth it. Please don't hesitate to ask more questions. .
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Lakes
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Post by Lakes on Sept 25, 2017 6:22:12 GMT -6
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peaseblossom55
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Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear.
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Post by peaseblossom55 on Sept 25, 2017 7:40:18 GMT -6
Hi So sorry you are struggling. I had a preemie so it's hard to know when the sleep situation got better. I think it was about a month or two after we brought her home. We were still doing a 1am feeding at that point though. Our nanny really helped her et on a good nap schedule that was in April.
I took advance of any and all help. Even it it was the in laws coming by to see her. I would nap or focus on cleaning.
My me time now are trips to target alone. It does get easier. E also had reflux so that caused some issues and trying to figure out medication too took some time. It should get easier by 3 months hang in there!
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king26
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Post by king26 on Sept 25, 2017 10:18:47 GMT -6
Thank you! These responses help! Thanks for the charts I loveinfo too
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ellabee
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Post by ellabee on Sept 25, 2017 12:30:04 GMT -6
First off, ((hugs)) king26! These first few months are rough. It gets better. Hang in there. I like the links Lakes posted too. The biggest help I found in the newborn stage was to make sure you're getting a good full feeding in each time the baby is hungry. If they're snacking and falling asleep, you'll find it hard to get good chunks of sleep. Around this time I started trying to follow a EASY (eat, activity, sleep, you time) routine. That helped me organize my day a bit better and feel like we were moving towards a schedule. The "activity" portion is relatively short at this age since they can only stay awake for 1-1.5ish hrs. I found my kids had pretty reliable awake intervals so I could anticipate the next nap time based on when they last woke. For example - if LO woke at 6am and fed, I knew that by 7:20ish I could start rocking and putting down for a nap (crib/rnp/swing/car ride/etc) and they'd be out by an hr and an half. As they get older they can stay awake for longer intervals and that's how they start dropping naps. (The interval between last nap and bedtime is usually the longest, which is why it can be a sort of witching hour.) Do you use an app to track feeding/sleep? (I like BabyConnect) I found it helped me with the feeding/sleeping routines. By 3 months, my LOs were still doing 4ish naps I think. Maybe 3 longer ones and 1 cat nap towards bedtime. 4 months I think we were down to 3 naps. It was closer to 7 months when we transitioned to 2. Have you tried baby-wearing at all? That can definitely help with the fussiness. White noise machine? (I like the ones by Dohm)
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