[Daffodil]

Ugh, sorry I know this annoying and you've heard it all before from me (I swear, I'm a calm person, usually)...

But waaaaaaaahhhhh, nighttimes have just SUCKED lately. I'm trying to get Arie to stop drinking so much formula and eat more solids...the pedi said to just give her 2 bottles of whole milk right now, once in the morning and once in the night. I have been giving her half milk/half formula, which she has been drinking, BUT...

She will scream and scream and scream for a bottle midday. And then she wakes up in the middle of the night and won't go back to sleep unless I give her a bottle.

I don't get it...why doesn't she just eat enough??? Do I have to kinda starve her for a few days before she decides to eat enough?? She is walking all over the place, almost running now...doesn't that make her tired??? I mean, I guess it makes her hungry too, but if you are hungry, then eat something!

And I am SO MAD at hubby. First of all, he snores horribly. He has gained some weight and when he does, his face gets so chubby and he is the most obnoxious snorer. I don't think its fair, I think he should get surgery, but he said he is losing the weight and that will help. In the meantime though he keeps waking me up and he wakes up Arie sometimes too. Also, he completely forgot everything I taught him...that she needs to learn that nighttime is for sleeping. As soon as she makes a squeak or sits up, its "She's hungry!" Or he'll try to play with her. And he's been sleeping right darn smack in the middle of the bed, so I'm on the edge and Arie is squished in the middle.

I am ordering her a mattress for her room today.. I really hope that helps her sleep through the night better in her own room.

I know this doesn't make any sense but I guess I feel like its unfair that she wasn't breastfed but she's acting like a breastfed baby. Maybe she is teething... I need to have a talk with hubby today though, I might put him on the couch until her bed arrives. I feel like if I can't get her to stop her formula bottles and eat enough during the day, I'm not going to be able to get her to sleep in her own room. I feel like I lost all my energy and determination and she is a lost cause.

I think I'm PMSing.

[sboricua]

Im sorry you are going through this. I had the same problem with Jasmine. she never slept through the night til her 1 yr bday. I was still giving her a bottle! what I did with Desi to stop the night time feedings was if she woke up I would put her back down and pat her to sleep. it took about a week to get into the routine. If she didnt go to sleep like that I put her in our bed. we dont co-sleep but in the middle of the night I did put her in. You just have to be consistent with it. Its hard but you will get there!

[sfarrow3]

Ok .. Can you split up the ounces over the day? (ie she has 16 ounces of milk and give her 4 ounces in the morning w/food and 4 ounce in midday w/food and then 8 ounces at night and slowly decrease it (midday bottle)? Will she drink water at night? I know some moms who give a milk bottle and slowly decrease the milk and add more water. I don't know....sometimes you have to do trail and error. Im sorry I was not much help

[Jule'sMomInOR]

Seema - deep breaths - I am having some pretty bad nights also.

First of all, I think you know your baby way better than the pedi. She may not be ready for that much food. I don't think you HAVE to get her down to two bottles because the pedi says so. I'd just go with the flow. She might just need another month or two of the mid-day bottle. I don't see any reason why that would hurt her. She'll probably sleep better at night if she has a full tummy, whether that's food or bottle.

[Daffodil]

Shantel, I think I'll try that with splitting up the bottles.

I really don't understand what is going on, maybe she IS teething. She is hardly eating anything today. But it seems like most of the time she is too interested in playing and running around to eat.

I texted hubby about the mattress (he wants to buy her a temper pedic like we have...I think its a ridiculous expense, but he is insisting ), but he hasn't responded yet...I am seriously ready to purchase and move her.

[Mom-Mom]

I dont understand why your pedi said that. My 3 yr old,still drinks milk 5 times per day!

[starrsgirl]

I guess I would start with offering 3 snacks and 3 meals per day at first and see how she does after a few weeks. I would focus on introducing more foods versus cutting out milknif you know what I mean.

Also, tell DH to get fixed. I told Eric when wengot married that snoring was a deal breaker...as in whoever started had to get checked out ASAP. Boot him to the couch and he might get the idea.

[Daffodil]

Haha, I talked to him and he is going to sleep on the couch tonight. I slept on the couch a couple of times a few days ago because I was sick and it was heaven. So I don't feel bad for him.

But he also made me realize why I'm probably spazzing out so much (other than it being that time of the month)...we are still "recovering" from the move, and I have SO MUCH to unpack,and unpacking with a 1 year old is freakin difficult. Even with my sister and SIL helping its taking forever, especially because she keeps running to me. Hubby also mentioned that it might be taking her awhile to adjust to the move, and that's when I remembered Sweetliberty mentioning it took her son a month to recover from their move, so I will wait it out before I flip out again, hopefully.

Anyway, Marsha, the reason the doctor said only 2 bottles is she was assuming she was drinking 8 oz bottles...so that would be 16 oz a day. She said a little more than that is ok but much more can cause anemia... I didn't ask any specifics but I'm assuming as you get older, you can have more milk and still be ok, and I'm betting Samantha doesn't drink 8 oz's each time. I am going to split the amount into 3 bottles a day and put the rest in a sippy. Its going to be difficult for me to get her off the bottle, not because she dislikes milk and loves formula, but because she loves me feeding her. She would probably take the sippy just fine if I rocked her and gave her her sippy.

Liz, she actually ate a decent amount today because my SIL (yay, she was helping SO MUCH today, hallelujah!) kept feeding her and for some reason she seems to eat better when other people feed her than when I do it. I think I'm boring old news to her, but everyone else is exciting...but she does constantly run to me for comfort, which makes me feel good, but like I said, makes it difficult to unpack a household.

[Karlie]

Personally I would just give her a bottle if she's screaming for it, even if you water it down some. Luca is still having 3 8oz per day and I'm encouraging him to eat more and drink less but at the end of the day I don't really care, he'll drop it when he's ready.

[Mama2Owen]

*huge hugs* Sorry it's rough, mama, but it does sound like you're all adjusting to some big changes. That's enough to spaz anyone out. I hope things get easier as you all ease in to the new routine.

For what it's worth, I'm a firm believer that the pedi is there as a guide, as far as parenting decisions go. Their word is not law. You know what your baby needs. Go with your gut!

[Daffodil]

Originally Posted by Karlie

Personally I would just give her a bottle if she's screaming for it, even if you water it down some. Luca is still having 3 8oz per day and I'm encouraging him to eat more and drink less but at the end of the day I don't really care, he'll drop it when he's ready.

I don't mind bottle #3, its bottle #4 and #5 in the middle of the night that I have a problem with...but its more than that. Its really lack of sleep on everyone's part. Hubby slept on the couch last night which was so much better, but Arie still had really restless sleep, and consequently so did I, and she woke up crying this morning and kept crying at the bottle. So I gave her some ibuprofen and she eventually conked out again. She is cutting all her molars so I'm wondering if that's part of it.

I guess ever since she was born, I've been waiting for a "break"...if everyone was like "oh my kid is waking 3 times a night and not eating and is cranky all the time" then I'd probably feel better. Its the fact that I keep reading about babies who sleep from 8 pm-8 am and have been for several months that grates. I feel like I'm too old not to have enough sleep!! And I feel bad for Arie too, when she wakes up in the morning, she is SO SLEEPY, she is rubbing her eyes and is cranky for an hour before she goes down for her first nap. She was doing much better before, but it might have to do with her molars and the move, and maybe she is ready to be sleeping in her own room.