[Pilar Moss]

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• This reply was modified 4 months ago by  Pilar Moss. Reason: Error, reposted in reply to Emma

[Pilar Moss]

Hi Emma,

Thank you for the advice, it definitely makes sense and I will work on breaking the association at night first and then move to naps. It is exciting to see some progress already with the crib naps and it makes me hopeful that we will work through some of the other habits in due time. I really appreciate you answering my questions and for all the advice. As a new mom it can sometimes feel like you are on an island, so it is so helpful to have the opportunity to chat with you and learn from this community.

Thank you!

Pilar

[Pilar Moss]

Hi Emma,

I wanted to update you to let you know that I have been able to get her to take her naps in her crib (yay!), so she is no longer contacting napping which is great, so thank you very much for your advice. I am still working on breaking the feed to sleep association which is proving a little more difficult, as I have not found an alternative soothing technique that she responds too as of yet, which is making it challenging. I have been able to keep her awake while feeding but she gets very drowsy and when I put her down, she takes about 2-3 min to fall asleep on her own. If I move the feeding up in the routine, she gets very fussy when it comes time to put her down and eventually I give in and then she wants to feed to sleep. I will keep at it, but I would love your thoughts. Is it better to try to break the association for naps before bedtime or the other way around?

I am trying to get her on a more consistent feeding schedule, but at the very least keeping her to about every 3 hours, so I think that is helping. There are times I offer her when she wakes up or during her wake window and she doesn’t seem interested, but I think that will change as I hold back more at sleep times because she will be hungry.

Thank you again for all your advice, it has been super helpful!

Best,

Pilar

[Pilar Moss]

Hi Emma,

This sounds great, I will definitely give it a try and hopefully we will be able to break this association and get her napping in her crib. I really appreciate your help and the ability to tap into your expertise.

Best,

Pilar

[Pilar Moss]

Hi Emma,

Thank you so much, this is super helpful and definitely some things I can try. I have been offering her a feed post naps but many times she fights it or starts to get sleepy again, I will try waiting the 10 min to see if that helps so she can be a little more awake. I will also make sure there are a few hours between each feed so that she is not snacking and more likely to eat a full feed. I will also try adjusting her routine for naps with no feed and see how she does, if she really protests I can try the second option and maybe work my way up to the no feed routine.

I can give these options a try and let you know how she does. I will also start needing to get her on bottles more consistently, so hopefully that will help as well. Thank you so much for the suggestions and guidance, I really appreciate it!

Thank you!

Pilar

[Pilar Moss]

Hi Emma,

I think I made an error when making a reply, so I have reposted here. I’m sorry for that, but thank you so much for your response and happy to answer any questions.

For the night wake, we do leave the white noise on all night, and lately she has been waking closer to 4 or4:30, so it might not be him, fortunately she goes back to sleep pretty quickly. Sometimes I’m not sure if she is hungry or needs a nappy change, but I usually do both if she seems full just in case so she sleeps through the rest of the morning. The other night wakes, I don’t charge her nappy, so maybe I could change it at the first night wake up and see. I usually just try to get her back down as quickly as possible, so she does not get too awake and can fall back asleep easier.

For the nap questions…

1. You mentioned feeding on demand during the day. Are you following wake, feed, play, feed, sleep? Or is it more wake, play, feed, sleep? – I am following a wake, feed, play, feed, sleep. She doesn’t always want to eat right when she wakes up, but I always offer. Then through the day if she wants to eat, I feed her so it might be wake, feed, play, feed, play, feed, sleep.
2. For her pre-nap routine (nappy change, sleep sack, book, darken room, white noise, feed, rock/hold to sleep) – are all these steps done in her bedroom? Specifically, are you feeding her in the darkened room? – yes these are done in the bedroom and i do have the room darkened for the feed portion.
3. After feeding her, do you stand up and walk around while rocking her in your arms, or are you sitting down when you rock or hold her to sleep? – I am typically sitting down, but will stand up to rock her if she seems to have trouble settling.
4. Do you sing to her while you’re rocking or holding her to sleep? – only if she goes down and needs to be picked up again and soothed, then i stand and rock her and sing a lullaby that calms her crying.
5. When you say the room is darkened, is it dark enough that you wouldn’t be able to see your hand held in front of your face? – there is still some visibility, but it is as dark as we can get it. We have darkening shades but some light seeps through the sides, especially on really sunny days.

Thank you again for your willingness to help, please let me know if any other context would be helpful. I have found your videos, classes, and newsletters so incredibly helpful and so thankful I can get your expertise here.

Thank you!

Pilar