Isaiah 40:31

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall walk and not be weary, they shall run and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Transition to crib

We are doing better after last week's plague, thank goodness. Now on to bigger and better obstacles.
Since HM was born, he has slept in his swing. Not actually swinging, but just upright. When we put him in his bassinette in the hospital, he hated it from the get go. The nurse told us he had reflux and propped the bassinette up a bit, which helped, but he still hated it. So when we got home, we found out AH HA! The swing works great!
Now we are 4 1/2 months down the road and our lil man is growing out of the swing. We'd been noticing that he was increasingly uncomfortable in the swing, and finally got to where he'd put his feet on the bottom and push. So, listening to our child and dreading what we were going to hear, we decided to bite the bullet and transition him to the crib.
It hasn't been as bad as we thought it was going to be. HOWEVER, we are still dealing with him holding his legs up. He holds them up all crumpled close to his chest. Then when he relaxes, he wakes up. Then he starts rocking back and forth, accompanied by some agitated sputtering which escalates to screaming if you aren't fast enough. So we swaddle. He loved swaddling when he was born-2 months old. Then, I guess we didn't have the need and discontinued it. So now, we swaddle him to avoid the leg chain reaction, but it still happens. So my lil guy that was sleeping so well throughout the night for about 6 weeks is now NOT SLEEPING as soundly. I thought we were smooth sailing. I was pinching myself that we'd made it. NOT SO FAST, MOM!

So any and all advice about this issue is appreciated as we navigate this latest adventure in parenthood. Last night, his uncomfortableness was compounded by the fact that he had to have 2 shots. But my 18week old weighs in at 15 pounds and 25 inches. He is in the 50th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference. My lil textbook baby! And he is eating bananas, avocados, butternut squash, and cereal now. All in all, this journey is joyous!

6 comments:

The Blessed Barrenness said...

Hey Hollie!
Have you tried lying him on his side using wedges? My little Ava does not sleeping on her back at all. We bought those wedges and put her on her side, alternating sides and she sleeps much better. I also warm up a bean bag and place it against her back for extra comfort.
YOu can also get an anti reflux wedge that goes under the cot sheet and props up the bed slightly so he is lying at an angle.
All the best!

Delenn said...

I was going to suggest the wedge under the cot.

Also, sometimes when they awaken from a reflex (like his legs going down), if you leave him alone for a few minutes, maybe he will go back to sleep.

The lying on his side is a good idea too.

I was going to also suggest maybe a blanket instead of a the full swaddle--maybe just to help him un-curl his legs.

Good luck!

Chelle said...

Hollie-I could have written this post! Only instead of a swing, it is bouncy chairs!

So, the first thing I did was get them a security blanket. A little blanket that I slept with for a week so that it smelled like me. (I don't know if you are okay with this being that you have a son... I don't want to offend you by telling you he needs a blanket! He could probably due without) Then I rocked them to sleep with the blanket for about a week and set it with them so that when they wake up, they have their blanket. After that, I set them in their crib when they are still awake and let them hold their blanket.

Then, and this is the part I have to laugh at myself for, I put a hand held massager under a pillow in the crib. The soft vibration puts them right to sleep and after about 20 minutes, I turn it off. If they wake and I can't get them to calm with their suckie, I turn it back on for a few. This has helped our transition to the crib.... Hope it helps you too!

Chelle said...

PS- They just finally got used to the zantac. I use an eye dropper and just give it to the inside of the cheek. I fought them a lot on this one when I first tried it, but zantac was easier than prevacid!

Jessica White said...

No advice...hopefully something 'clicks' soon and he starts sleeping through the night again soon.

I'm dreading when my DD is too big for the swing...it's where ALL our naps occur.

Kelly said...

Hi Hollie - Your little man is absolutely precious! I hope you have a wonderful birthday Wednesday, as well. It will also be the best of YOUR life! Kelly :)