We have been trying to teach Emma Kate to say "help, please" instead of having a melt down/throwing a fit when she can't do something, but lately it seems as if I am the one that needs to be reminded of this lesson. Recently there have been several times where I just want to sit down and throw a major fit, and to be honest I have been feeling extremely inadequate these days. I want so badly for my blog to be uplifting and a fun way to look back at all the exciting milestones in Emma Kate and Easton's life, but right now I just feel a little bogged down with the struggles of parenting.
So....I have decided to say "help, please" and see if any of you have any advice to help us out. It seems as if Easton has quite the strong will and is now refusing to take a bottle altogether. Emma Kate went through this so when Easton started resisting the bottle I thought no big deal - I'll just do what I did with Emma Kate, be patient and try as many different bottles as possible until he finds one he likes. Well, we have now tried: born free, avent, breast flow, adiri, nuby, and nuk all with no avail! It's not that I am ready to quit nursing, but we're going out of town in November for 4 days and for my mom's sanity I'm pretty sure she would appreciate if he was taking a bottle by then! :) The other major thing we have been struggling with lately is sleep. I know that we were so fortunate with Emma Kate that she was sleeping through the night by about 8 week, but I thought surely by 4 1/2 months Easton would be. But unfortunately it seems to be getting worse every night. He's gone from waking up once maybe twice to eat to waking up every 30-45 minutes with maybe a 2 hour stretch somewhere in there. We stopped using the Nap Nanny and tried just laying him flat in his crib which worked for a little while, but then after a few days he was back to waking up all the time. And we used to be able to use the swing as a last resort, but that hasn't even been working here lately. :( We have been toying with the idea of doing the cry it out method, but we still swaddle and I'm not sure if that would work since he would probably work himself out of the swaddle if we let him cry. And my other concern with this is that EK is an extremely light sleeper so I'm afraid then we would just have two babies awake in the middle of the night!
Ok, enough of my ranting...but honestly any suggestions are welcome! :)
And I guess I will leave you on a happy note. I took this video the other night during bath time. I can't help but think my baby girl is SO smart! :)
9 comments:
She is SO smart and that is such a fun age. I loved it when Carley did big learning steps like that. They are so sweet. Good job, Momma!
As for the others, I have no advice. I am sure it is super hard. Hang in there. I wish I had something to tell you. What did the pediatrician say about bottles? I would guess that eventually he would get hungry enough to try it. My other guess might be to try formula instead of milk in the bottle. Maybe he knows that milk comes from you and not the bottle so if it was a little different taste he would try it. I have no idea.
Any answers you find, please post. We are all lost in this world together.
Miss you, friend
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!! I have been feeling super inadequate as a Mommy these days too...And I only have ONE child! Addi is very strong willed, and I feel like all I say these days is, "No-No, No Ma'am, Bad girl, Be sweet, Don't be ugly...." It's exhausting!
Addi was just like Easton- Not the best sleeper;] She was 6 months old before she FINALLY started sleeping consistently through the night. At 6 months we started letting her cry it out- It was so hard at first, but finally, FINALLY she was able to go to sleep on her own, go back to sleep if she woke up during the night, and sleep the entire night. I'd say maybe unswaddle Easton and give it a try...If it's awful, at least you know you tried.
Sorry I'm not much help:( Hang in there, and remember that you're definitely not alone! You're a wonderful Mommy!! Hope you get some sleep soon- It's amazing how a good nights sleep can lift your spirits!
PS- What a smart girl you have!! Way to go EK!!
I feel like I could have written your post a few months ago! I found it easier for Natalie to take a bottle from someone else when she was REALLY hungry or I wasn't there AT ALL. We only offered one kind of bottle (AVENT).
As for sleeping at night...Natalie started to at 7 weeks. Quit by 14 weeks and has RARELY done it since. ughhh... I know that offers no help...but just hang in there. By 6 months I was used to getting up often (that sounds miserable but it wasn't!).
You are a good momma! Don't forget it! I saw you & your mom at Chik fil a the other day. Ya'll were leaving :(.
Hi. My name is Lacye and I came across your blog through a friend and i just think your sweet family is adorable! I have a 21 month old, strong willed boy who did not start sleeping through the night until he was almost 7 months old. He had a very hard time laying flat on his back and would cry cry cry. He never spit up so I never would have suspected Reflux, but the pediatrician finally gave us meds for reflux and he was finally able to lay flat on his back. My only advice would be to eventually let him cry it out if you think there is nothing wrong (like he is sick or anything) and have the tough nights even with Emma Kate, it will be worth it in the long run when all of you are getting sleep. I hope you find the encouragement and "help" that you need. I know it can be super frustrating and exhausting at times (our little one was strong willed from day one :)
braidy decided to completely refuse the bottle the about a week before i was going back to work...talk about a stressed out momma! the pediatrician assured me he wouldn't starve himself to death and eventually he'd take it. many nights i would leave the house completely while ryan fed braidy the bottle...he could handle the screaming, i couldn't. i pretty much quit nursing cold turkey (would still pump) and only offer the bottle for a day or 2 until he got the hang of it. it worked. also, we used the playtex drop ins with the brown nipple, it's different than the regular ones so i think it was easier for him. we used those until he quit bottles all together and went to sippy cups. you might try those. i swear we tried almost all of the bottles you mentioned. you might try just not nursing at all for a couple days and just give him bottles of milk while you pump, and let someone else give him the bottle. once he gets a hang of it he will (or at least braidy did) take it from you.
good luck! i know things like this can completely stress you out...hang in there!!!!
no advice on sleeping through the night, braidy didn't until he was probably 8 or 9 months old. anytime he has an ear infection he wakes up multiple times a night, is easton acting cranky? you might give him some tylenol and see if that helps.
Oh Kristin! I'm so sorry to hear things have been stormy lately. I don't guess I have too much to offer in the ways of wisdom, but I would second what a couple of others have suggested. Do not be anywhere near him when he attempts the bottle. If he sees you or smells you, he's going to want you and the real thing. I once heard/read that babies can smell you from 20 feet away!
This too shall pass, and eventually it will be hard for you to remember the sleepless nights. I think it's one of God's tricks so we will have more children! Ha! :)
On a positive note, EK IS smart! Way to go. That is pretty impressive! :)
I'll pray that things get better for you soon.
Hi Kristin,
I read your blog sometimes and thought I would pass this info along to you.
http://www.yourspine.com/Chiropractic/Chiropractic%20and%20Sleeping.aspx
Dr. Tracy Wilson is a great doctor in your area.
http://www.createyourwellness.com/
Hope that helps!
Hey girl! I came across your blog through my sister, Amy. Dane, my oldest, had reflux too but spit up a lot. We started seeing Dr. Tracy Wilson, the chiro mentioned in one of the posts, when he was 6 weeks old. He helped a ton! Zack, our baby, started going when he was about 2 weeks old. Greg and I both go as well as my parents. It has helped both boys tremendously. Crying it out is the best option for sleep, I think. It has worked with both boys.
As for the light sleeper, Zack is my light sleeper. We bought a small but loud fan that sits in the corner of his room. We turn it on high but make sure the air doesn't actually circulate in the room. It has helped a bunch. Dane can sleep through the alarm going off but Zack can wake up with a door opening. He now doesn't wake up near as easily.
We used Dr. Brown bottles. If you want to try some and just buy the nipples, let me know. You can definitely borrow to see if Eastn likes it.
Wendy Armes
If you figure the sleeping thing out let me know how you did it! your nights souns just like mine! our little man won't sleep unless we hold him!
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