Apparently, my son was hungry. I took him back to the pediatrician yesterday morning, in desperate need of some advice, and I came away encouraged and with a plan of attack. I do love our pediatrician!
He said it was absolutely legitimate to expect at least 4-6 hours of sleep from the babies at this stage, and it wasn’t out of the question to work up to 10-12 in the near future. Of course, since we’re starting from 2-3 hours, we won’t get that far immediately. But it’s a goal!
Anyway, he recommended a checklist of sorts to figure out exactly what to do for him through the night. He said we probably needed to start Alex on cereal, from a spoon. Then if he woke up, we would know it was gas or reflux or habit and could deal with his awakening with the appropriate treatment (in that order).
So last night, after baths and a quick nap, I fed both babies, and then Eric fed Alex rice cereal for the first time.
And it worked!!!
First of all…he loved it. LOVED it! He was sucking it off the spoon. (I did take some pictures, but they’re on Eric’s camera, so it’ll be a while before I can post them.) He ate about a tablespoon, I think, before acting done. And then he was jolly. He was so happy…it was great!
Then we laid them down for bed. And they slept. I got 3 four-hour stretches last night! We went from 9:30 to 1:30, then to 5:30, and now I’m just hearing babies again!
I think we might have crested this particular mountain. So thank you for all your encouragement and prayers. And most of all…Praise Jesus!!
Happy Tuesday!
Praise the Lord!
i’m so glad to hear this! you know, i was just at the doctor today with bennett and he said i could start her on cereal. he told me that cereal helping babies sleep better at night is just an old wives’ tale. hmmmm…i think old wives know a thing or two! hope it becomes a pattern…
I’m so happy for you! So cool! Hayley never really took to her bottle. She just never really acted interested and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. I started her on cereal earlier than I would normally have because I just worried she wasn’t getting enough. I wasn’t sure what to expect since she had the bottle issue. I remember the look on her face to this day. It was like “Finally, you got it.” She LOVED her cereal and then baby food and weaned herself to a cup at like 9 mos old. My older two I had to fight to get their bottles away from them. Not her. She just loved her food.
Oh, Shannah!! I’m SO SO SOSOSOSOOSOSOOOOO excited for you!! This actually made me a little teary because I’m so happy that prayers are being answered. I’ll keep praying that this new plan continues to streeeetch your sleep hours at night.
YAY!! Maybe it’s a boy thing…that’s what my Hudson needed too 🙂
Praising with you!
It’s not always easy to figure out the “easy” answers when it comes to figuring out babies. So glad he seems happier which of course = happier mama.
YEAH!!!!!! I can sense the relief in your post. I am thrilled that you found an answer!! More sleep = a new woman!
YES!!! Thank you God! Oh, how that glimmer of hope can get you through another day!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Rejoicing with you!! 🙂 That’s a HUGE deal! yay!