HELP!

So I mainly just lurk on here...just too busy right now for much else, but I need HELP! And I'm sure some of you will roll your eyes or throw things at the computer when I say what I'm about to say...But my singleton 6 month old has my twins beat on difficulty a million times over. I had my twins scheduled...it was smooth sailing as far as our routine went. But Lillie is the QUEEN. We have no structure, and I cannot deal with the chaos. She cosleeps...at least half the night. She doesn't go to sleep without me nursing her or rocking her. I am at my whits end...and now that we are at the six month mark, I'm trying CIO, with soothing in there, too, but she is STUBBORN. I need help, advice, and I'd love to see examples of your schedules, especially those of you with breastfeeding babies.

On a side note, she is tiny. The twins were 6lbs 4oz and 7lbs 4oz at birth and by six months were easily 20lbs. Lillie was 8lbs 2.5oz at birth and barely 14lbs, if that. She doesn't eat very much (baby food or breast milk). Anyone else have a little one that doesn't eat much?? I know she is fine..just weird having a smaller baby when the twins were rolly polly babies. Someone asked me yesterday if she was 3 months old!

 

:hug: Singletons can be every bit as difficult as twins! Take this for what you will since I still have kids that, at age 3, climb into my bed in the middle of the night, but at 6 months, I would definitely be considering CIO if you can do it (or maybe a modified version?). Is she still eating in the night? I would focus on creating a schedule from the chaos if I were you, a bit of structure would probably help you & her both. Here is a link to the section of the first year handbook with examples of schedules from our own TS moms. Maybe that might help give you some ideas.

 

Thank you, Tina! that was very helpful. I sat down and wrote out the ideal schedule for us...and HOPEFULLY we will start working toward that. She still nurses during the night but HONESTLY, I believe its more for comfort than for hunger. And I give in so that I can get some sleep.

 

Many, many of us have been there! :hug:

 

Been there! I started towards a minimum with CIO- 4 hours feed to feed. Then once they could to that, gradually lengthen. We did not do co-sleeping, but if I had a singleton, I think we would have done that until about 7 months or so... It sounds like you are starting to transition to some expectation. At 6 months I think that's ok- I wouldn't nurse a 6 month old every 2 hours in the night if they were nursing that often during the day (as long as she's not sick, of course!)

 

No tomato throwing here! LOL! My boys were on a schedule once they hit six months-bottles at same time everyday, their meals, their naps, their bedtimes. You name it-I could write it all down and it could easily be followed. Annabella? HAHAHA! That child had NO schedule(still doesn't! :laughing. Oh-and the boys were STTN at six months old when we did ONE night of CIO. Annabella, at one year old, is FINALLY CONSISTENLY sleeping through the night.

If she woke at night-I fed her. I personally couldn't let her CIO, and she would consistently drink a full bottle almost every night. And she is my last. So I enjoyed that alone time(for the most part... lol). And I knew she'd fall back asleep if I quickly fed her. It was just the easier thing to do. And-Annbella was BIGGER than her brothers in weights... and she STILL ate! And she was a horrible baby food eater. She would take two bites and clamp her mouth shut. However, now that she's on table food-she gobbles it all up!

Honestly-I'm no real help. And I see Tina showed you the schedules and that should help. I found it hard to have her on a schedule, when the boys had various activities, or playdates we went to. Good luck! And just know you are not alone! Oh-and that it's a "phase!" LOL!

 

Just wanted to say I was exactly where you are when my girls were 6months. It was horrible! During the day they would only nap while nursing on me, at night I had to co-sleep and roll from one side to other to nurse them back to sleep when they woke every few minutes. I was going crazy! Finally, when I went home from Christmas with them, my mom said enough is enough and started CIO with them. I didn't have the heart to do it myself. And they were STUBBORN!! It took a couple weeks for them to be able to settle on their own, and even then there were weeks that were worse again. And neither of them were STTN consistently until just recently...and they're 1 year in a couple days!!!! One thing I read though, was that even if you do CIO to go to sleep at bedtime, if they wake in the middle of the night you should nurse them back to sleep again. Some may not agree, but this is what I did. My girls were small like yours at that age, and I really believe not forcing them to skip that potential feed is important. 14lbs is still pretty tiny, especially for that age where she might be moving more and using more energy...that night feed might be important.

Good Luck! Hang in there...it will pass with time!

Melissa

 

Thank you guys so much for the advice! Always makes me feel better to know that I'm not the only one thats been there!

Meaghan, the twins start pre-K in one month...I could cry. Our school has a regular pre-K program...its 5 days a week, and from 8 to 3 just like regular school. I could cry, but point is, I think if I'm going to do this, now is the perfect time, because in one month, it will just be Lillie and Me.

Melissa...this is just random, but I thought it was funny. I'm married to a Kris (spelled different, obviously)...and my girls were also born at 35w 6d, ha.