[*krista*]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? DH refuses to go out anywhere with Charlotte and I'm really getting cabin fever!

When did you establish a sleep routine? Right now one of us is always on the couch with Charlotte on our chest. That is the only way she will sleep and I am scared to bring her to bed with us but I miss sleeping with my husband! I don't want to spoil her, but I don't want to upset her either.

Something kind of related to the last question, when do they start self-soothing? I don't want to make her sleep in her bassinet until I know she can self-sooth.

Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? She refuses. I've tried swaddling, that doesn't work. Her legs are still a little loose and she likes to have them drawn up instead of laying flat. That is just part of the problem, she really doesn't like sleeping on her back in general. Will a sleep positioner help? Is that what they are for?

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... Charlotte is still at 2! Am I giving her enough? She is three weeks old today. I'm not sure if these ladies are FFing or pumping.

Charlotte gets a little gurgly when she breathes after she eats. Is that normal? She makes weird noises, I don't know how to describe them. It freaks me out! It goes away after a few minutes. I noticed today I think it is mainly when she eats with the bottle, not so much with BFing.

I think that is all my questions for now, but I'm sure I'll come up with more! I'm sorry, I know I'm taking full advantage of all of the BTDT mommy advice.

[SandKmommy]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? Seamus the day we came home, I had to stop and get toilet paper he was 3days old. Kieran when I left the hospital also we stopped at Wendy's for food, after that not till she was 1.5-2weeks old

When did you establish a sleep routine? I do nursing on demand w/ my children so no sleep routiens till they are way older. Kieran started getting a bed time and "routine" about 4months ago(about 2mo before turning 1). But what we do is; she nurses, she gets her Iron, she gets her teeth brushed, I rock her in my arms for a minute or so, then lay her down put her bear on one side, her glow worm on the other then tell her nite.

Something kind of related to the last question, when do they start self-soothing? I don't know a "right age" just when ever they figure it out, anytime in the first year just depends on your baby

Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? you could maybe try a sleep possitioner and lay her on her side if you're in the room w/ her while she sleeps. My kids have never had issues sleeping on their backs so I'm no help w/ that.

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... I donno since I BF but I think with my nephew it was 4-6oz at 4-5weeks old before that I think he was only doing 2-3oz at a time(he was FF)

Donno about the last one

[Angelaosaurus-rex]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? When he was 10 days old. I didn't let anyone poke at him though lol!

When did you establish a sleep routine? Not until he was about 4 months old. I did try but he never took to it well.

Something kind of related to the last question, when do they start self-soothing? I'll let you know when he starts lol!

Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? She refuses. I never had a problem until he was 6 months old. I did get a one of those things but he would roll over in it so it did nothing at all. Waste of money!

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... Charlotte is still at 2! Am I giving her enough? As long as she is gaining weight don't worry!!!

Charlotte gets a little gurgly when she breathes after she eats. Is that normal? I would have to hear it. But I would not worry.

[Chelnae6]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? I went out @ 3 weeks to the mall. She was in a moby so no one could see, touch, or breath on her

When did you establish a sleep routine? Lani is almost 8 weeks and we still dont have a routine. So I'm of no help.

when do they start self-soothing? Lani was about a week and some change old and she laying down and I had to wash dishes and clean up, she was fussy (not full blown crying) b/c she was sleepy. I was trying to hurry up and finish so that I could get to her but next thing you know, she was quiet. It was a good 3-4 minutes from the time she started fussing until she was knocked out. She had fallen asleep on her own for the 1st time in her little tiny life lol. Ever since then, I dont always hold or rock her to sleep. But I still do it quite often b/c she's my little angel baby and I just wanna hold her, plus she's doesnt ALWAYS self-soothe herself to sleep

Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? Lani will fall asleep on her back but that sleep wont last long. I had her sleeping on her stomach since she came home. I think this helped in contributing her lifting and turning her head on her own at 4-5 days old
Will a sleep positioner help? Is that what they are for? idk. Never used one.

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... Charlotte is still at 2! Am I giving her enough? Lani drank 2oz every 2-3 hours for about 2 weeks and then she went to 3 oz every 3 hours and then I just put her at 4oz every 2.5 to 3 hours at 7weeks.

Charlotte gets a little gurgly when she breathes after she eats. Is that normal? I havent experienced that. How is she after she burps?

[ANGWife]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? About 2 weeks. IT wasn't a matter of being worried about him, I just felt like crap

When did you establish a sleep routine? right away. We swaddled him and laid down right after a bottle in his bassinet. If he woke before midnight, DH took care of him. If he woke after midnight but before 4:30am I took care of him. We stuck to this, and he was sleeping thru the night at 2 months.

When do they start self-soothing? After a pacifier and a swaddle, he was pretty content. Also he had a musical Seahorse and that REALLY helped

Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? Terrified of SIDS, he was always put on his back. He would fight alittle but I'd rather spend more time making him comfy than putting him on his belly.

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... Charlotte is still at 2! Am I giving her enough? He had 2 oz each feeding for about 2-3 weeks, then 4. But he had 4 oz for quite a while before adding to 5

Charlotte gets a little gurgly when she breathes after she eats. Is that normal? Yep

[~*sierra*~]

me and SIL took payne for a walk at 7 days old.
he was drinking pumped BM, and i think he was at like 2-3 oz for several weeks.

glad everyone else can help with the other stuff!

[ShannonMVT]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? I think he was a week or two old? Dont really remember

When did you establish a sleep routine? I tried various things when he was little but it took till he was 11 months till he really got a routine down pat

Something kind of related to the last question, when do they start self-soothing? Not consistently till he was 11 months and he was kind of "forced" to, but he would here and there before that. Def. not in the first 3 months

Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? She refuses. I've tried swaddling, that doesn't work. Her legs are still a little loose and she likes to have them drawn up instead of laying flat. That is just part of the problem, she really doesn't like sleeping on her back in general. Will a sleep positioner help? Is that what they are for? We tried a sleep positioner and swaddling and they maybe helped a tiny bit. Eventually we got the angel care monitor and let him tummy sleep and he slept much better after that. Oh and like Charlotte he spent several weeks sleping against our chests (the only way we'd get more than an hour of sleep at a time)

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... Charlotte is still at 2! Am I giving her enough? She is three weeks old today. I'm not sure if these ladies are FFing or pumping.Not sure on this one

Charlotte gets a little gurgly when she breathes after she eats. Is that normal Matthew would kind of get a little congested sounding afterwards soemtimes

[Bre*n*Will=Reid]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? We went to the pharmacy on our way home from the hospital and to Target before his first well-baby check-up. My first solo trip with him was when he was about 2 weeks old, and after that, I was no longer freaked out by it and took him everywhere. We went to the library and zoo when he was 3 weeks old! You NEED to get out of the house, it's not good for you to be cooped up! She will be fine!

When did you establish a sleep routine? I slept with him on my chest on my chair in his nursery the first night. For the next couple of weeks we co-slept in the bed with him curled against my chest. After that, he was in his co-sleeper right next to me, although he woke a lot more often that way He was a comfort nurser and didn't know how to get to sleep on his own without the boob. That didn't stop until we did CIO around 6 months old


Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? Reid liked to be swaddled and propped up slightly on his side. And yes, we loved our sleep positioner!

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... Charlotte is still at 2! Am I giving her enough? I'm sure it's fine! Does she always finish that much? If so, I would try offering more, but if she stops at 2oz I think that's pretty normal for this age.

Charlotte gets a little gurgly when she breathes after she eats. Is that normal? Hmm....sounds normal, but I honestly dont remember!

[Resi]

Oliver came along to a doctor's appt with me at 5 days old, then his doc appt, and at 2 weeks we went on our first alone trip to a breastfeeding support class.

Oliver still soothes to sleep by nursing me. I started a bed time routine when he was maybe a couple months old. Basicly, bath, bedtime story, rocking, nursing to sleep. It went something like that and of course has changed some over time. He wasn't in a nap routine until he worked it out for himself. Maybe around 3 or 4 months old he started napping at routine times. It's already so hard to remember.

The eating 2 oz sounds perfectly fine to me. She will let you know if it's not enough. It sounds like she is a small eater and then wants more sooner than later. The gurgling nose also sounds normal.

[Mars]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? Apart from the coming home from the hospital, we went out shopping when Amara was 2 weeks old. I didn't venture out sooner because of my C-Section as I wouldn't have been able to drive.

When did you establish a sleep routine? Amara was a good sleeper until she began teething and in the early months it was like clockwork, she would feed every 4 hours and sleep most of the remaining time and she was pretty consistent in times. When she started staying awake longer and was then having baths every day, I made sure that she took her bath, got her story and then was fed and burp before bed. Later on I had to change to feeding before her bath, story, etc. as she would be terribly gassy and would settle well when I fed her just before putting her to bed.

Something kind of related to the last question, when do they start self-soothing? I'm not sure. I would pick up Amara every time she fussed. She sleeps through most of the nights now but if she wakes I tap her on the back first to see if she will settle and if not, I pick her up. This is not everyone's style and most likely not what's recommended but it works for us.

Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? Amara never liked to sleep on her back so she slept on her side most of the time. There was a point when she was really uncomfortable, mainly from gas, and I let her sleep on her tummy. It make such a difference. I must add that I was paranoid about it and kept getting up every couple hours to check on her.

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... Charlotte is still at 2! To be honest, I didn't know how much milk Amara was getting at this point. I just let her breastfeed until she was full. I didn't pump this early on to check either.

Charlotte gets a little gurgly when she breathes after she eats. Is that normal? I think it is. I remember Amara being gurgly too but she was also a noise sleeper.

[bittersweet]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? At about a week old, we went to dinner with her. Then after that we took her out at least every couple days.

When did you establish a sleep routine? We put her in her crib from day 1. She wasn't a great sleeper, so I started letting her nap in the day on my chest, then I'd put her in her crib at night...eventhough she'd wake up every couple hours. I wanted her to learn the crib is for sleeping. At about 5 weeks I noticed she started sleeping for a long stretch in the early evenings. She would go to sleep around 6-7pm and sleep until 11-12am...then it was up and down every 2 hrs for the rest of the night. By 6-7 weeks she was sleeping 6-8 hrs straight. By 8 weeks she was sleeping 9-10 hrs straight. Now at 4 months she sleeps 12 hrs straight, occasionally she'll wake up once in the night.

Something kind of related to the last question, when do they start self-soothing? Well, they say if your baby can sleep longer than 4-5 hrs, they self soothe. She was doing that around 5-6 wks. However, getting her to sleep was really difficult. It took LOTS of holding, walking, swaying, etc. And she'd cry for a good portion of this. It would take an hour and half to get her to sleep sometimes. At 2 months I started to modify this. I'd do whatever it took to get her to sleep in my arms, then I'd put her in her crib. She would almost always wake up, but instead of picking her up and starting over like I normally did, I left her in her crib. I'd stay at her side and kiss her head and rub her back until she fell asleep. This sometimes was very time consuming and tiring (and killed my back) It was torture for both of us! At 3 months I decided to start mild sleep training. I stopped rocking her to sleep in my arms for an hour. I just put her in her crib when she got fussy, rubbed her back for a few minuted then I left the room. At first she fussed for 10 minutes or so, then fell asleep. I was really amazed. I thought she'd cry a lot longer. She cried less by herself in her crib than she did when I'd rock her! Anyhow, now she is a pro at sleeping. I just put her in crib awake with a super light muslin blanket that she snuggles with and she is asleep in minutes.


Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? She refuses. I've tried swaddling, that doesn't work. Her legs are still a little loose and she likes to have them drawn up instead of laying flat. That is just part of the problem, she really doesn't like sleeping on her back in general. Will a sleep positioner help? Is that what they are for? YES! My baby started sleeping on her tummy at 5 weeks. When I finally gave in and put her on her tummy she slept for 4 hrs straight. Prior to that I was lucky to get 2 hrs!

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... Charlotte is still at 2! Am I giving her enough? She is three weeks old today. I'm not sure if these ladies are FFing or pumping. I think that is just fine. I EBF for the first month so I can't comment on how much she drank then. But NOW at 4 months, when she drinks BM from bottles she drinks 4-5 oz per feeding. My baby has been growing perfectly. I think a lot of babies are overfed with bottles.


Charlotte gets a little gurgly when she breathes after she eats. Is that normal? No, sounds like the milk is coming out faster than she can swallow. Try holding her more upright and holding the bottle less verticle.

[~Jess~]

Babies do not have the ability to self-soothe until they are at least 4 months old, and many not until they are several months older than that.

That is not to say that they cannot entertain themselves when all their needs are met, they absolutely can! But to actually soothe themselves when they are upset is not possible. They physically need you to soothe them. Needing mommy at this point is a physiological need.

You should definitely google the "fourth trimester" to help you understand your babies needs and how you can help to transition her to this strange cold world....

[LisanAndy]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? Taylor, 1 month. Rylie, right away

When did you establish a sleep routine? Taylor, 6 months (WAAY too long IMO). Rylie, 6 weeks.

Something kind of related to the last question, when do they start self-soothing? I cosleep with my babies until they're 5 months old. That's when we move them to their crib and there's a little whining/fussing but it ends in 1-2 nights.

Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? My babies REFUSED to sleep on their back. They did just fine on their tummies as long as nothing is going to obstruct airflow and the room is kept cool. I always have a fan running every night. Since my girls are older, they now roll onto their backs when they want.

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... Charlotte is still at 2! Am I giving her enough? She is three weeks old today. I'm not sure if these ladies are FFing or pumping. I think you're doing fine! I FF Taylor and she was getting 2.5/3 oz and I BF with Rylie so I couldn't tell ya. She'll let you know when she's still hungry. The way I view, if she cries, whip out the boob LoL. If that doesn't work, try something else.

Charlotte gets a little gurgly when she breathes after she eats. Is that normal? Normal

[Frozendesire]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? We didn't actually wait for any reason.. more just me healing and actually wanting to go out into public! Maybe a couple weeks.

When did you establish a sleep routine? Right away with Dustin but with Curtis not after a few months. I went with the flow for Curtis but with Dustin he fit right into the routine we already had set up for Curtis... I actually prefered that in the long run.

Something kind of related to the last question, when do they start self-soothing? I have heard not for a few months do they even have the ability too. Dustin is STILL working on that (when it comes to sleep anyways)

Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? Yup, both my boys slept WAY better on their tummies. I used a sleep position to keep them kinda on their sides, all tucked in. Then when they were a bit older (a few weeks atleast) I let them sleep on their tummies.

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... Charlotte is still at 2! Am I giving her enough? I am actually not to sure as I've always EBF at that age... but I would think she would let you know if it's not enough. Many baby's "snack" and I think that's totally normal!

Charlotte gets a little gurgly when she breathes after she eats. Is that normal? Hm again, not too sure about this one. I would think it would be okay. Maybe ask her doc at her next apt?

[Nami]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? We took Alissa out after a week, with Chris it was 3weeks.

When did you establish a sleep routine? With Alissa we still don't really have one but not needed, she goes to bed on her own at 8. Chris was a year and half before any routine worked.

Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? YES! Alissa would not sleep in a bed or anything until she was 2 and a half months old! I was sleeping on the couch with her and if we put her down she would cry. We kept trying then one day she just fell right back sleep and started sleeping in her own bed every night after that. We didn't do much, just kept putting her in her bed at night for half an hour, if she would cry we'd pick her up and goto bed on the couch.

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... Charlotte is still at 2! Am I giving her enough? Alissa only had 2oz at a month old, same with Chris. Alissa is only at 4-5oz now and she's 3months, though she eats every 3hours.

[Adriana's Mommy]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? Around 2 months old.. But what I know now.. I would have waited as long as I could.. My son got really sick at 4 months old, which caused him to go into the hospital for 5 days.. Needed oxygen to breath.. Vary scary.. All of this came from a simple cold..

When did you establish a sleep routine? Around 3 months old..

Something kind of related to the last question, when do they start self-soothing? When he's ready..

Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? We swaddle.. You should try the miracle blanket.. Works wonders!

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... Charlotte is still at 2! Am I giving her enough? Yes, she's getting enough, don't feel forced to feed her more. She must have a small appetite. My daughter has a small appetite.. When she was a newborn, she'd only eat 1-2 oz's at each meal and never ate no more then 4 oz's, and that's at 11 months old.. To this day, she's eats small meals.. Just the way she is.. My son, is a different story! lol

Charlotte gets a little gurgly when she breathes after she eats. Is that normal?It may be just the way she eats..

[*krista*]

Thanks for taking the time to answer my endless questions! I've never heard of the newborn stage being referred to as the fourth trimester, I will google it. It isn't hard to tell I'm pretty clueless with the details of caring for a newborn, I'm definitely learning as I go.

The gurgle goes away within a few minutes, so usually once she is burped she is fine. I'm definitely going to ask the doctor about it though.

And yes, she always finishes her two ounces. I might bump it up to 2.5, DH is all for it.

We got a sleep positioner today, going to give it a try. I still don't think she will sleep on her back, but maybe if we can get her on her side using the positioner it would help. Letting her sleep on her stomach just scares me because she could lift and turn her head since the day she was born and when she wakes up she doesn't start crying immediately. Instead she just squirms and scoots from one side of the bassinet to the other. I don't know, all that movement scares me!

[**jessie**]

Let's see...

We went out after a couple weeks. It was because I didn't feel up to it, not because I was scared of germs.

Started to get a true bedtime routine at around 3 months old. Tried before then, but just couldn't get it to work. Since then we have modified it based on his needs. But from the beginning we used the premise that night is 'all business, no play'. At 7 pm we would dim the lights and turn down the volume on TV or radio, no visitors. I would still hold him but stop talking directly too him. No rocking or bouncing.

Jaxon was a belly sleeper from about 4 weeks onward. It was the only way to get him to go to sleep without it taking hours.

I don't know about the self soothing. We moved Jax to his crib in his own room at 10 weeks. At bedtime, I would put him in awake. If he fussed/cried, I would sit right there next to his crib and shhh him and rub his back until he fell asleep. He learned self soothing pretty early on.

He also ate 2-3 oz BM the first month. During the 2nd month, it went up to 5 oz and stayed that way until 6 months old. If she is drinking the whole bottle, I would put a bit more in there to see if she drinks it. If she does not finish the bottle of BM, you can immediately refrigerate the leftovers and re-use it at the next feed, as long as its within 4 hrs or so. That way you aren't wasting any!

[~* Helen *~]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? Ryan was about 5 days and Chloe was about a week .. with Chloe I had her then it was easter hols and then we had the whole school routine !!

When did you establish a sleep routine? Both mine have had a routine since birth ... I always make sure I try to crack a bedtime routine first .. Ryan slept through from 6 weeks and Chloe slept through from 3 months .. from about 8 weeks she would only wake once a night and before it was twice a night.

Something kind of related to the last question, when do they start self-soothing? Umm not sure really ..as both mine always went to bed awake and fell asleep on there own.

Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? Ryan slept on his back from birth .. that was how he was comfiest .. Chloe on the other hand was a side sleeper .. no matter how often I rolled her back on her back she was back on her side within minutes. I just made sure her bottom arm was out in front of her straght so she couldn't roll onto her tummy.

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... Charlotte is still at 2! Am I giving her enough? All babies are different hun .. she will let you know if she wants more .. if she drains the bottle than add another ounce and go from there .. sometimes you add another ounce just to find they only need half an ounce more .. but if she is happy and content in between feeds then she is having/getting what she needs .. a baby won't let her/him self go hungry !!!

Charlotte gets a little gurgly when she breathes after she eats. Is that normal? Babies make all sorts of noises at the best of times It might be that she has a bit of wind rattling about or just the way she eats .. babies can be nosy eaters when gulping

[**Jenn**]

How long did you wait to go out in public with baby? She was less than a week, but I have two older kids and trying to keep them in the house is not the way to go--they go crazy with cabin fever. I keep her in the sling though so no one touches her.

When did you establish a sleep routine? We don't really have a routine during the day. I know about when she'll nap and her bedtime at night is at 7:30 but that's because she set that herself a little before she turned 2 months. When she wakes up at night is hit or miss--usually around 12:30am, 3am, and 6:30am for the day.

When do they start self-soothing? She doesn't self soothe yet and it'll probably be a while. My boys did it at different times and I can't remember exactly when now, just that Liam was before a year and Lochlann was after.

Anyone have issues getting baby to sleep on his/her back? None of my kids are back sleepers no matter what we tried so I put them on their bellies. We had an instance of Liam choking when he was 2 months old because we forced him to be on his back and since then I've never made them sleep that way if they didn't like it. We cosleep since then too so I'm more comfortable putting them on their bellies since I'm right next to them.

Also, I read in my DDC some of the women are giving their babies 4 to 5 ounces each feeding... Charlotte is still at 2! Am I giving her enough? We tired Lila with her first pumped bm bottle a couple weeks ago and she didn't finish all of the 2oz. I'm sure she gets more out of the breast but I wouldn't say more than 4oz at this point (almost 3months old).

Charlotte gets a little gurgly when she breathes after she eats. Is that normal? I never noticed my kids do this but I'm sure its normal.