From Craddle to Crib

I know it's early and as a first time mom, very confusing. Also, any new doctor that you see will tell you to stay away from rice cereal. I started my son on rice cereal right at a month old. He was breastfed also. If you pump a bottle and add about a teaspoon to the bottle, it will make all the difference in the world. My son is now 3 and had no problems with it. He is not overweight and has no nutritional problems. Whatever you do, don't stop breastfeeding. About a month after he's good with that, I would start him on the rice cereal in a bottle 3 times a day. About the same time you would eat breakfast, lunch and before bed. This will also start him on a normal daily eating regimen. I.E. when it's time to eat a full meal. My "old-school" doctor made so much sense out of it. If you try to just drink water or milk all day, it wouldn't last you very long. To boot, if you compare breast milk to formula, it is like comparing water to cream. Breast milk is so thin and therefore there is no substance "sticking" to his belly to hold him over.

Hi, E.,

I would say to definitely put him in bed with you.
( know docs don't tell you that, but that's likely because of lawsuits. In the remote instance that something bad should happen, they don't want to be liable.)
If you are worried about rolling over on him, etc., then I would get one of those little baby roll things.
There are plenty of ways around anything harmful,and mothers lying with their babies breastfeeding and sleeping together is an age-old, natural bonding process the baby needs--skin to skin, for prolonged periods of time. If you do continue to let him sleep in his cradle, don't worry...LOL...mine did the same thing with their legs when I tried to put them int there! haha Just means he's a wiggler ; )

And far as scheduled feeding, there are some who do it, that is true. Let me share my own experience with you.
My Nadia--who is now 8 years old--was born at a whopping NINE lb.s + ! She wanted to eat ALL the time. The doctor tried to tell me to only feed her for "this long" and "this often"....She cried constantly.
We thought she had cholic. One night at my mother's house, Nadia was doing her thing. Wailing. My mother said, "H., I don't mean to tell you what to do, but you need to feed that baby....you can't put hinger on a schedule with a growing baby..." Doctors--especially male doctors--can't tell you how to be a mother to your particular child.
Mother suggested that I feed the baby everytime she started trying to suckle, and until she fell off the breast by herself. I did, and she was the happiest baby in the world. No more crying! Boy, I felt like a bad mama! lol She had just been hungry!
I have now nursed four children this way, and I have nursed five altogether.
I would strongly suggest your letting the baby set her own schedule. I pray you will have a successful nursing experience, and a fat, happy baby!

Blssings,
H.

I see you've already got a variety of responses. My little boy is 7 months old now, and we moved him to his crib in the nursery at 15 weeks...it was amazing how quickly he started sleeping longer once he was out of our room! I almost wish I had done it sooner. Once he is in his own room you will not hear every little sigh and movement of his and think you need to respond so you will sleep better, and he will not smell his mommy's milk nearby and think it's time to eat every time he is in a lighter moment of sleep.

As far as creating a routine, I recommend the book On Becoming Babywise. It helps parents to create a flexible routine of eating, being awake and playing, and sleeping, so that your baby will have some structure to his day and be able to take good naps and get good nighttime sleep as well. We have followed the basic suggestions (tweaked to our needs) since our baby was born and he started sleeping 5-6 hrs each night by 8 weeks and once he was in his own room he started sleeping closer to 8-9 hours. It is lovely! Something to consider, but ultimately you will know what is best to do for your baby. Best wishes, and now that the frequent night wakings will not go on forever!

Dear E., Congratulations on the arrival of your first baby! I'm sure he is beautiful. Now to be the one to burst your bubble about ridding him of his night feedings...Babies will take themselves off of the night feedings. All that's required on your part is PATIENCE.

As he begins to eat more during the other feedings, he will slowly begin to sleep longer periods of time, hence, deleting some of the feedings. I suggest bathing him at night and then giving him his final feeding before he falls asleep. At just 10 weeks of age he's probably falling asleep by approximately 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. If and when he eats well in that feeding, he'll then sleep longer. And as I said, eventually he'll delete the next feeding until finally he sleeps through the night.

All babies are different when it comes to how much they eat and when they begin sleeping longer periods of time between feedings. Have patience and simply enjoy these moments with your infant child. They grow so quickly! I promise you when you are no longer spending as much time cuddling him at your breast, you will miss these moments and wish you could have them again.

Allow him to drink what he needs and sleep as much or as little as he needs. His little body knows what is necessary for him to satisfy his hunger. Go with the flow, and enjoy your baby before he grows up and no longer needs you.

Believe me, I have 3 children with the youngest now at age 26. The moments I had with each during their feedings and bath times are irreplaceable. There were many times i wished I could have had them tiny infants for just a little longer.

Good Luck and God Bless you and your little one! take care of your family and enjoy the blessings that come with being a mother.

sincerely,
D.

Hey E.! I didnt breastfeed, but I pumped until I had major complications of the breast which led to my body to dry up. But what I seem to hear from breastfeeding moms is that they are nursing for the baby to go to sleep. I didnt let my daughter cry it out until 6 months! It was the best thing I ever did. Once I did she now naps and goes to bed without my help. I sure miss the cuddling. But a happier mom makes for a happier house. Also moving her to her own bed was the next best thing, like mentioned below, I was amazed at how much better and longer she slept, she moves like a fish out of water when asleep, I had to start reswaddling her at 4 months(with her arms free) and did that until 6 months. I also suggest that. But once she learned to go back to sleep on her own and sleep in her own room, with only slight noises, it changed our world. I have a fan and a radio on very low, because her room was so slient that any noise woke her and we live by a semi busy road. Her doctor also said that evening time, was the only time they suggested an extra feeding, if needed. Say she was to eat at 6 and 10. I would give her a bottle in between those feedings, which eventually led to a larger bedtime feeding and no night time feeding, but you need to speak to your baby's doctor about that. Although I would say it takes awhile to empliment a schedule, I would say try to find the happy medium between the baby running the show and you helping him. Example: after an hour and a half after his feedings, try and get him to take a nap. this may help him, get into a schedule that helps you both.

arm's reach co-sleeper!!! it gives him his own little space, right by your bed, but is the size of a pack and play. you can hook it to your bed so it won't scoot. my daughter slept in hers til she was about eight months old. and at ten weeks, he still needs those night feedings, don't cut them out. also, you make more milk at night, and if you stop feeding him then, you might not make enough for the day. dont' add cereal! it is SO bad for them, no matter the anecdotal evidence others may give. his body is not ready to digest grains til he's almost a year, and it will really mess him up. breastmilk is not like water. babies were made to eat many many times a day. that is what is healthy, normal and right for them. pleas edont' try to 'train' your baby. you have a little human in your home, not a dog. you might also just put him in bed with you. both of mine just turned over to nurse when they were hungry, and stopped when they were done, without me ever having to get out of the bed. it was heaven to just snuggle up with my warm little baby, latch them on, and go back to sleep! true, they did nurse at night more often than some, but being woken up four times a night for about 30 seconds was so much better than being woken up and staying up to go into another room!

Yes it's definitely time to move from cradle to crib. What I did was I put an eggshell crate (at wal-mart)in the crib. I cut one down to the size of the cradle and put it under the sheet of the crib (make sure to do this so his little face does not go in it). This cushioned the crib and my little ones slep longer and more peacefully. Now as far as the eating schedule. I bottle fed because I adopted my children. So what I did was I increased the amount of formula, and by the time they were two months they were sleeping thru the night.

I was blessed with my children.

Sincerely,
A.

I was told that babies actually can smell their mothers when they are in the same room and it tends to wake them up more to eat. We put our son in his own room/crib at 4 months and it really seemed to help. He still ate once every night until he weaned at a year, but that wasn't terrible. I could fall right back asleep thanks to the hormones released from breastfeeding. He never cried a little and went back to sleep like some others suggested (we tried it)...he cried a LOT hysterically until I would feed him. Ultimately, your baby will let you know what they need. Good luck!

Hi E.,
I think it is a good idea to move him to his own room. If he's been sleeping fine in his cradle, the transition to crib won't be hard. You may find he sleeps longer automatically when you move him. Some babies find the crib mattress more comfy or something. Also with him out of your room you may find that you don't hear all his noises and only the ones that definitely mean he is hungry. :)

I would also recommend a book called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." It is a good book that talks about the different methods to teach your child to sleep well. It also talks about the physical changes that happen at certain times that allow your baby to sleep longer. It will help you figure out if he is ready to go longer or not.

Hope that helps,
M.

From my experience with my son who is 10 months old, the night feedings go in a cycle. We started to give our son a little bit of rice cereal in his last bottle at 8 weeks, but that isn't really a recommended thing. A lot of doctors will tell you no, some will say yes, and many grandparents swear by it. I know it helped my son sleep better and we never had a problem doing it.

But, even though my son started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks, he did it with or without cereal. When he started teething, his sleep became a little more inerrupted. For almost a month now I've been having to give him a nightime bottle again, I think they just go through different cycles as they grow and change.

You've already received some great advice, bu there are two fabulous resource books for kids and sleep and just raising baby in general: Solving You Child's Sleep Problems, by Ferber (covers every issue you can imagine from birth to teens, including setting routines and getting baby to sleep by himself, etc.) and Baby 411 (practical advice for baby's first year, by a pediatrician, covers breastfeeding, solids, sleep, when to go to the Dr. and when to wait it out, etc.). These books saved my life when I had my first child while stationed in Korea and Alaska (we moved when she was 3 months old) and am still using them for my second.

Also if he still fits (and is under the weight limit) and you can't stand to move him yet, there are breathable bumpers out there. I own two sets of mesh bumpers that cover the slats but let air pass through. They are for cribs but come in pieces that velcro together, so you could probably make it work. They collapse when bay stand son them, so when you transition to the crib, no worries about climbing out. Just google breathable or mesh bumpers!

Good luck to you - having a baby is wonderful and overwhelming!

E.

If it were me, I would put his regular size crib in my room. A ten week old baby is too young to be in a room by himself. It is too soon to take him off night time feedings. Remember, he is just a little fellow. He has a lot of growing and eating to do before the night time feedings end. Be Patient.
Try a little cereal with some breast milk at night. My children did not like rice cereal, they were given oatmeal cereal and did beautiful. Use your instinct, it works good. Don't be afraid to try things. Just go slow and light with them in the beginning.
Good Luck
S. Miller

The best advice I can offer is to keep your son awake as much as you can in the evenings, allowing catnaps of no more than 20 minutes after 7pm. That way, by about 10pm, he will be begging to go to bed. He will learn to sleep longer and, with him in his own room, you will sleep better too. You will be surprised how quickly he drops a feeding or two when you can't hear his every whimper, grunt and groan and react to it. Good luck. (My kids are now 11, 14 and 17 - it does get easier!)

Just take him into bed with you. It's the best :) Got to love that side-lying nursing :) Don't get up on those cold winter nights! Let him nurse whenever he needs to, and barely even wake up!

We've been doing this with our daughter since she was about 3 weeks old (started with the bed-side co-sleeper, ditched it soon enough). I love it. Sleep so well and it's very cozy.

Learn how to do it safely at askdrsears.com or just get his excellent Baby Book, Sleep Book or Nighttime Parenting Book.

Have fun with your little one!

L.

Young infants just don't do schedules. If you don't want to run to his room, could you cover up the slats somehow?
My son slept in his little stroller. Once I went in and found his head hanging out the leg hole! Fortunately he wasn't hurt.

It does sound like he needs more room. Our little boy used to start out at one end of his crib and be all over the place sleeping by morning or when I would go in to get him during the night. At this point, it really is all about the schedule he sets and we can do nothing about it. I wish we could manipulate it, but it won't happen. Sleep is really good and you just have to nap when possible on the weekends to catch up on some must needed rest.

I don't know if it will help any, but my son, who is now a few days shy of 16 months old, woke in the night for a bottle every night until he was about 8 months old. Of course I didn't have to go to another room because his crib was in our room, but that's because we didn't have a spare bedroom. Schedules are good, but they aren't set in stone so maybe once he's in his own room all the time, he'll realize he doesn't need to wake up to eat in the night. All babies are different, but I just wanted to give you my thought on the matter. I hope I could be of some help.

E.,

I know many people who slept with their children, but I also know how hard it was for them later when it was time to get that child out of their bed and into their own room. It also affects the quality of your sleep and the baby's. I nursed 3 and all 3 slept in their crib, in their room, the first night home from the hospital. They also all slept through the night by 12 weeks thanks to staying on a flexible schedule and not responding immediately to every cry with the breast.

To encourage all night sleeping I tried spreading their daytime feedings to 3.5 or 4 hours apart and making sure that they were eating a complete meal each time - especially at the last feeding of the night (which was around 10 pm for us). During the day, I also made sure I stayed on a routine of waking, feeding then playing and sleeping - not nursing them to sleep. This way, they learn to go to sleep on their own when they are tired and don't need the comfort of the breast. If you keep a regular routine (not rigid - but regular) - just like all of us have each day - the baby will quickly learn to sleep on her own for a good 7 or 8 hours at night.

Don't worry - you're not too far away from a full night's sleep!

Hi E.

With the 4 I breastfed, I got so tired from being up in the night that I would sleep through if they woke up and whined for nummies. And if they got a little louder and woke me up, I would find that if I let them cry a little, they would go right back to sleep. After a night or two of this, they got the idea to sleep on through the night. Babies actions are products of our training, so train your precious one to sleep through the night. All mine were by age 6 weeks and we both were the better for it : )
Blessings and kudos on providing your little man with the best nutrition available to him!
Grami

We moved the crib into our room when my baby got too big for bassinet. Ten weeks is too little to force solid food on so I would either move the bed to your room or buy a comfortable chair for the nursrey. Ten weeks is pretty young to sleep through the night and babies will eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. This stage will soon be over just enjoy your little person.

IT's way early to be giving up night feedings for a breast fed baby. He is only 2 1/2 months old. He is big enough to pump your breast milk and mix in a little rice cereal, ( like a teaspoon or less) at first. That should help him keep his tummy full. When he starts waking earlier, increase the cereal. I don't know how our son would have made it without it. We started him at about 7 weeks and he is a super healthy 9 year old now. Good luck

Hi E.,

I'm sure you are probably ready to pull your hair out with the variety of responses you've recieved.

While I would not presume to tell any mom what she "should" do, here's a bit of what I've experienced and learned.

I had to move my baby girl out of her bassinette by 10 weeks because she's very long and active and was sure she would tip the thing over. Now at 3 1/2 months, I'm still adjusting to the randomness of her "schedule." Sometimes she'll sleep for 4-5 hours at a time and sometimes she'll wake me up ever 2 - 3 hours to feed during the night. Sometimes I feed her and put her back in her crib. Other times I will take her into bed with me and let her nurse as long as she wants and I sleep through most of the feeding.

Several things to keep in mind. Baby bellies are tiny, so frequent feedings are not unreasonable. Also, if your baby is like most breastfed babies, he poops as soon as he feeds thereby making more room. :)

Secondly, your baby will go through growth spurts very frequently in the first year. When this happens he will want to feed more frequenly, so the idea of a schedule is unrealistic. As soon as you get used to one routine, he'll mix it up on you.

My last recommendation would be to NOT listen to the advice on adding rice cereal to his meals. There are better ways of getting a few more minutes of shut eye (such as pumping your milk and having bottles ready for your partner to help with the mid-night feedings) than adding cereal to breast milk when his little digestive system may not be ready for it. Formula and early introduction of cereals is one of the reasons we are as a society seeing a prevelance of childhood obesity. Your breast milk has everything your baby needs to keep him healthy.

You've started on the right track by breasfeeding, and I'm sure you will make the best choice for your baby. Talk to your pediatrician and/or a lactation consultant from your hospital or La Leche League. They may have some suggestions for making the most of your breastfeeding experience.

Good luck!

An Often Exhausted Mom...

I agree with Miriam L. I was given "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" (Marc Weissbluth) after my first son was born, and the book explains the physiological development of infants that affects their sleep patterns, and ways parents can work with them to maximize sleep for the entire family. Basically, a child is not able to sleep through the night until at least four months; it's a developmental stage that cannot be rushed. I used this book in conjunction with "Baby 411" (Denise Fields), which tells how long a child can sleep without food at various months - also very useful!

Having the baby in a separate room should also help you sleep better, especially if you don't have a room monitor! We got one because I was afraid I'd not hear my son and he'd starve; but you hear a child when he's hungry! When he started sleeping through the night at 4.5 months, I only turned the monitor on enough for the lights to show sound, but no volume. Then, if I woke up thinking my son was crying, I could check that against the sound lights on the monitor. Usually I was imagining things, and was gradually able to relax more at night. :) Good luck!

they make a pad that goes around the inside of the craddle it is just like the one that goes in a crib that way his legs can't get out of it cause you will probable still feeding him for a couple of months yet at least one more month good luck

There's not much you can do. His schedule will work as it works. Just be patient and he will get there. Be sure you take every opportunity to rest. The house won't self destruct if there's a little extra dust around. Do the minimum and get plenty of rest so getting up at night with him won't be such a big deal. Relax and enjoy this time, it doesn't last long.