any Babywise moms out there?

We're trying this- and I guess what i want to know is what do you do when the "flow" of eat-wake-sleep gets messed up. all day was perfect,. and then this afternoon-which is always cranky time anyway- they woke up 45 minutes into the nap and were screaming bloody murder. no one had a dirty,. no one was hungry,. hot, cold, overstimulated from waetime,. etc. it just is a hard habit to break since we started late i guess- so what do you do to reverse the order and get back on track?

 

We're trying this- and I guess what i want to know is what do you do when the "flow" of eat-wake-sleep gets messed up. all day was perfect,. and then this afternoon-which is always cranky time anyway- they woke up 45 minutes into the nap and were screaming bloody murder. no one had a dirty,. no one was hungry,. hot, cold, overstimulated from waetime,. etc. it just is a hard habit to break since we started late i guess- so what do you do to reverse the order and get back on track?

 

If they woke up early, then we would just play with them, hold them, put them in their bouncy chairs, give them their pacifiers, etc. until their next "scheduled" feeding time. Now, if they were REALLY freaking out then we would feed them early, but we would do everything in our power to keep them at least on their eating schedule. Some nights we'd just keep giving them their pacifiers over and over.....they were in the NICU for 10 days and the nurses there fed them every 3 hours, so I knew they could do it.

It sounds like a lot of work, but believe me, it paid off. They have been sleeping from 9pm-6:30am since 2.5 months of age and from 6:30pm-7am since 4 months of age. Once they dropped all the middle of the nights feedings we backed down their last feeding of the day gradually - they actually let us know when they wanted to go to bed earlier. They would be soooo fussy and we could barely keep them awake....now we start their bedtime "routine" at 5:45pm and they have their baths, then bottles then bed.....

Let me know if you have any other questions....

Aira

 

I love Babywise! It was my Bible with my ds1 and I used it with the twins too. I disagree with the PP that said to play with them if they woke up early. You should feed them. Yes, it is before the clock says too, but you need to keep the awake, sleep, feed routine. When my kids woke up, they wanted to eat immediatley - there was no keeping them happy - since they knew the routine. Then adjust the next feeding appropriately to 3 hours later. At about 4 months, I started leaviong them in their cribs. If they wokeup early from a nap, they stayed their until naptime was over. It was rough at first, but my twins now will play happily (and quietly) in their cribs when they wake up. So, you may want to start leaving them in their crib until naptime is over when they wake early. Babywise is fantastic butyou have to be consistent! Keep u[p the good work!

 

Where do your babies nap? Should you always have them in their crib?

 

I agree with doubledownmom. When mine woke/wake early I play with them until their next scheduled feeding. Sometimes this does throw off the routine; however, their feeding times and bedtime always remain the same. Good luck!

 

I just read babywise and I am going to use it when my girls are born in a few months. There is a section in the book about the 45 min intruder. I think it has to do with growing spurts. You might check out that section of the book and see if it applies. I have no personal experience (yet) but the families I know that use it are much happier than those who don't. Shellie

 

I used babywise with all five of mine. For me, it worked best to maintain the 3hr feeding schedule to keep hunger cycles predictable. Their hunger cycles lead into sleep cycles. Of course when they were newborns if they were hungry before three hours I'd feed them and then work to get back on schedule. Getting in a full feeding instead of snacking is important too. My oldest three took all naps in the cribs from about 6 weeks on. If they woke early I'd go get them but stay in the darkened room treating it like a night waking. The twins napped in the swings or bouncies til almost 4mos since I had another baby to care for too. Once they were sleeping well at night I moved naps to the cribs. If your guys wake early, try to get them back to sleep, but if they don't, do whatever you can to calm them/distract them until feeding time. I don't want to make this too long...feel free to PM me if you want more details about our day to day at that age. I'd be happy to help!

 

I follow it loosely. I found that I'm just not capable of doing the program strictly....i.e. I HAVE to find time to eat and sleep as well as do some things around the house, so I'm not too religious w/ the program. All of my friends/relatives who have followed the book as well also mentioned that there are aspects of the program that they slacked on too. So I wouldn't worry too much about being strict with the pattern. I don't intentionally try to keep them awake after feeding (usually), as they have been so sleepy up until the last week or so. They also go from about 8:30 or 9:30 pm until 3 am at the earliest. Lately they have been going until 5am or so. (they'll be 2 months on the 20th.) So I would just try to sooth them if they're fussy for no apparent reason then put them back to sleep. Mine like the swings or if it's in the evening I swaddle them and give them a pacifier, rock them for a little then put them back down. At certain times they did want to do the cluster feed thing by waking up early and were really hungry but that was seldom.

So basically, I wouldn't worry about being off with the pattern at all. My girls are doing fine and I'm very lackadaisical about the program.

Good luck!!!

 

FYI - babies have a 45 minute sleep cycle. If they wake up after 45 mins and are crying then they still need rest and you will have to help them get back to sleep. If they wake up happy, let them stay in the crib and get them up at their next scheduled feeding time. My DS sometimes wakes at his 45 mins and I have to shush-pat him back to sleep, sometimes it takes another full 40 mins but I do not get him up until it's time to eat. I am doing EASY from the baby whisperer. (which I think is on the same track as babywise). Your twins are only about a week or so older than mine and they do not need to eat again that soon. I stick to 3 hours. If DD wakes up at 45 mins I know I can put her in the swing for the rest of her nap...DS won't hear of it! I'm not strict on the schedule, but I find the routine helps us tremendously and they are sleeping through the night because of it...I give last bottle at about 7pm and they are usually asleep by 8-8:30pm and will sleep right through til 7am. I don't know how they did it, but I am so proud of them!