Comments on: More on the 1pm sleep and Mummy time.

By: Kirstie

Kirstie — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:52:58 +0000

Hi Sarah:
Thank you for your email. One of the most common reasons a baby wakes between 3-4am is because the baby is cold. I would suggest you firstly look at your little ones bedding and make sure she is warm enough in bed and not using the feed to warm up. Here is a link to the bedding guide – http://shop.saveoursleep.com.au/ecms/product.asp?cid=1174&pid=26811
Secondly at 21 weeks Tizzie would be recommending that your baby be well established on solids and eating three meals a day of two courses each with you feeding her until she turns away and is full. We would recommend you look at these two things first. We would not recommend dropping the dreamfeed at this stage.
If you are looking for further help and support you may like to consider the online advice area (http://shop.saveoursleep.com.au/product/475/10741/) Alternatively Tizzie’s facebook fan page is available where there are many fans who are more than happy to help out other parents with establishing the routines which is of course free. We do try to read all the posts on this page but we cannot guarantee this and of course the advice given is that of the parents and may not necessarily match that of myself and the Save Our Sleep® team. (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tizzie-Hall-Save-Our-SleepR-The-International-Baby-Whisperer/455972630507?ref=ts)

Kind Regards
Kirstie
Save Our Sleep

By: Sarah Somerville

Sarah Somerville — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 04:10:30 +0000

Hi Tizzie,
I have been using your advice since my daughter was 3 months old. She is now 21 weeks and has started to wake at 3-4am. I am doing the dreamfeed at 10.30pm but she is still waking. I have just started solids at before the 6.30pm bottle. Should I be dropping the dreamfeed and if she wakes at 3-4am try feeding her then?
Thanks for your advice, it’s been a real saviour.

By: Tizzie

Tizzie — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 01:41:49 +0000

hi Kellie:

Thank you for your lovely message and I am so pleased to hear that after a little rocky start things are going so much better for you now. Congratulations on picking up your PND so quickly and for putting an action plan in place to help you recover – Well Done!
It sounds like you are doing really very well with your little one and your night time routine is basically exactly the same as what I recommend. The only recommendation I would have is to make sure the milk feed is completed by 6.40pm and you have good 20 mins of active play with your little one before bed so he is putting himself to sleep from wide awake and not all dozy. If you put him to bed too close to the completion or milk or after cuddles and he is dozy, when he becomes aware of his night time sleep cycles he may wake and look for either the milk or cuddles to help him settle back to sleep.
In regards to getting out and about you simply need to follow the same bedtime ritual as closely as you can and wrap and pop you little one to bed in either a portable cot or the pram depending on where you are. Please remember if you put him to bed in a pram he must be supervised all the time. It is not safe to put a baby to sleep in a pram and then wheel the pram into a seperate room.
It is perfectly fine that you don’t do a dreamfeed, it does not work for all babies, you may just find you have a night feed for a little longer but this does suit some families better.

Congratulations again on doing so very well and I am sure you will find getting out and about just as easy as your little one knows what is expected of him. Keep up the great parenting

If you are looking for further help and support you may like to consider my online advice area (http://shop.saveoursleep.com.au/product/475/10741/) or my facebook fanpage (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tizzie-Hall-Save-Our-SleepR-The-International-Baby-Whisperer/455972630507?ref=ts).

Le gach dea-ghui, Tizzie

By: Kellie

Kellie — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 00:20:31 +0000

Hello Tizzie!
First let me tell you that you have been a lifesaver for our family! After the birth of our beautiful son who is 15 weeks old now I had some post natal depression and anxiety and believe me it was horrible. I never thought anything like that would happen. Fortunately I realised I needed help very early on and jumped into action and we are all so much better now. Before starting your routine we actually had started our own bedtime routine which works a charm so I didn’t alter it, however I want to know how I can adapt it so we can eventually take him out at night time. We usually do the following –
Bath & massage at 6.15pm
Feed at 6.35pm – he only takes 20 minutes at most to have his expressed bottle.

Cuddles and wrap him up and put him into bed at 7pm.
The bath and massage are a huge part of his routine and he really loves and enjoys this time and knows then he has his dinner and goes to bed afterwards. We haven’t introduced the dreamfeed and I don’t plan to as he should be starting solids very soon, so what do you suggest??
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I look forward to hearing from you

By: Tizzie

Tizzie — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 02:11:11 +0000

Hi Cara:

Thank you for your message. Without further information it is very difficult to guide you as there could be many reasons why your baby is not settling during the sleep time. It could be hunger, he could be too cold in bed to settle and sleep well, he could need more awake time or he could be uncomfortable for some reason. The best way to get advice on establishing my routine and solving sleep or settling problems it so choose one of the support options below.

The best way to ask questions about your baby is to please subscribe to Online Advice, FAQ and Book updates 12 month Membership (http://shop.saveoursleep.com.au/product/475/10741/) However before you do this we suggest you read my bedding guide because we have found in this age group addressing a baby’s bedding can solve 70 % of sleep problems (http://shop.saveoursleep.com.au/ecms/product.asp?cid=1174&pid=26811) . The Save Our Sleep® Online Advice service offers a friendly, supportive online community where parents, myself and the Save Our Sleep® team help parents. You can chat to other parents, carers and friends who have similar parenting styles, and ask your questions there. You may find your question is already covered in previous threads.

This community of like-minded people willingly shares their experiences, advice and support with new members. Some of these parents have had previous one-on-one consultations with me and the Save Our Sleep® team, so are very helpful to new parents using the routines to establish them successfully. The Save Our Sleep® moderating team regularly checks the threads and clarifies any questions not fully or correctly answered where necessary. Members can alert the moderators via the ‘Contact an SOS Moderator’ thread if they feel a question has been overlooked or if they have tried following the advice but are still experiencing problems. If this is the case either I or one of my team will step in and direct you further.

We charge a yearly fee to register on our online advice area, to take up this offer please click here. There are two levels of online advice membership available. One is a full membership which allows you to post your questions and seek answers for your own individual situation, the other is a ‘read only’ membership which will provide you will full access to the online advice area but you will only be permitted to read the posts, you are unable to post any questions of your own. If you purchase a ‘read only’ membership you can upgrade this to a full membership at a later date should you wish too. Once we have received your payment we will activate your membership.

We also offer several direct, one-on-one support options with me and if you would like more information about these options please email via the website.

Alternatively my facebook fan page is available where there are many fans who are more than happy to help out other parents with establishing the routines which is of course free. We do try to read all the posts on this page but we cannot guarantee this and of course the advice given is that of the parents and may not necessarily match that of myself and the Save Our Sleep® team. (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tizzie-Hall-Save-Our-SleepR-The-International-Baby-Whisperer/455972630507?ref=ts)
Le gach dea-ghui, Tizzie

By: Cara Morgan

Cara Morgan — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 10:33:35 +0000

Hi Tizzie, It has been awesome to have had a guide with my first child Morgan who was sleeping well from the second week following your guidelines. However since last Wednesday he has been really unsettled on at least one of the day sleeps. Sometimes he cries for the whole sleep session, even with me stroking his head and patting his tummy. Then when I get him up to feed him he is falling asleep because he has not slept during the times you have indicated. He turned one month old today and so I am using the age appropriate routine. I would love to know what to do to have sleep times a pleasant experience. With smiles,
Cara

By: Tizzie

Tizzie — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 03:42:39 +0000

Hi Danielle:

Thank you for taking the time to say thank you, lots of grandparents make the comment you do its just common sense in my book. I think the trick to getting my boys to sleep so well out and about is we did it from day one. From experience t seems to be a hard thing to achieve with older babies.

You could try the pram at home but you would need to do this in your baby’s room and you would need to sit in the room supervising your baby because it is unsafe to leave a baby alone in a pram. Yes you would use the same bedding but be sure he doesn’t get wet with sweat, he might get too hot in his pram you might need to adjust his layers.

Once again thank you for the thank you I am pleased my book helped.
.gach dea-ghui, Tizzie

By: Danielle

Danielle — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:53:09 +0000

Hi Tizzie,
I’m sure that I am more then the mllionth person to say this but THANKYOU for writing your book. No one ever explains things the way you do in your book, and its all common sense too. Parenting classes (pre-baby) should be geared towards these “real-life” senarios that you write about in your book not just the “perfect baby” that they tend to get you to strive for. Your boys are amazing at sleeping in their pram! even your youngest with full daylight on his face goes down without a fuss and to sleep. As with some of the other mums I also have the trouble of my 6month old only ever getting 1 sleep cycle in while in the car or in the pram when we are at mothers group or at the shops. We do get out of the house a lot for walks and activities since he was very young so he has had a lot of time and experience in the pram. I have been putting a muslin wrap over the front of the pram while in the shops to take away the stimulation that he gets when he wakes between sleep cycles. Do you think is is causing a problem? Do you recomend I try popping him in the pram for some sleep at home to get him used to this sleeping style (with constant supervision of course!) Do I use the same bedding that I would in his cot and move it to his pram? He is recently given up his double wrap as he started to roll over in his cot even with the correct bedding guide and temperature. So I guess I’m just wondering how I can get Cooper to relax and sleep for more then one sleep cycle while out and about with other mothers and babies or at the shoping centre.

Thanks again for your amaing advice and for creating an environment where mothers and fathers can help and support eachother through this wonderful stage in our lives. You really are an inspiration to us all. It helps us reach out and support others with the knowledge that we have gained. I used to feel helpless when I couldn’t figure out why Cooper wasn’t sleeping or crying or catnapping (and the rest that goes along with a newborn) but you have made me a more confident mum, a better mum for Cooper, a happier wife to my husband and dare I say that when we come to the baby expo next weekend my husband will hug you for all that you have done to make our baby that happiest little Tizzie baby you have ever seen.

By: Tizzie

Tizzie — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 03:16:21 +0000

Hi Peta:
Congratulations on the birth of Alexandra. It sounds like you are doing a great job and well done for trying so hard with the breastfeeding. I have found drinking lots of milk really helps a mum with her supply so I would advise you to try this. You didn’t go on the mini pill at 6 weeks by any chance because this can affect your supply and might be the problem.
With the cat napping and night waking the first thing I would suggest is you look at my safe bedding guide I find most sleep problems are caused by not enough bedding. Secondly I would suggest you start solids at 16 weeks I say 16 weeks not 4 calendar months. I know lots of people are still saying 6 months but I have found this to cause too many problems such as catnapping and allergies so I have gone back to saying 16 weeks, saying four months is as Clare Byam-Cook said in her book setting modern day parents up to fail.
Here is the link to the bedding guide http://shop.saveoursleep.com.au/product/1174/26811/
Le gach dea-ghui, Tizzie

By: Peta

Peta — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:07:56 +0000

Hi Tizzie, I had your SOS book recommended to me while I was 5 months pregnant and have followed your routines to the letter from the day Alexandra was born 15 weeks ago. Everything was going along perfect, she self settled, takes a bottle with no fuss, was sleeping from 7pm-7am with a dream feed from the age of 6 weeks and very very rarely cried…. Until she hit 10 weeks. At that 10 week mark she started to teethe and had a bit of a hard time with it, we managed that and her teeth have gone back down but the crying has persisted. We figured out the next issue was boredom eventually when we introduced a new toy and the problem seemed to resolve. Then for some (still unknown) reason my milk supply dropped and I cant get it back up. I have been expressing (with no success) to try and increase supply, I’ve taken fenugreek, blessed thistle and even tried a beer, but its all over the shop and I have had to comp feed her goats milk formula, During the last 5 weeks that we’ve had these problems she has started catnapping in the day, and waking at anywhere between 5.30 and 6.30am. I’m trying desperately to hang on to breast-feeding even though it doesnt seem to be enough for her but I’m worried it will cause a domino effect of sleep problems. At the moment she is overtired and hits her witching hour at 4.30 every afternoon and demands an extra feed every day between 4.30 and 5.30pm. She was 2 weeks over and is apparently very advanced according to my doctor and chiropractor, and was born 8lb 9oz (3385g) and I am feeling that she is ready to start solids but am not sure about her digestive system being ready. She shows a lot of interest in my anything I eat and has had little “tastes” (only enough for a smidge of flavour) but she is only just gone 15 weeks. Do I introduce solids at 4 months by the calendar? Or 4 months as in 16 weeks?? My mummy’s group and I are all very curious because everything we have been told by other sources says wait until 6 months but that’s a long time for this to continue and its starting to really wear me down. Any help is hugely appreciated. I tell everyone I meet how wonderful your book is and normally Alexandra is fantastic proof, but not so much at the moment I am really looking forward to hearing from you ~ Thank you in anticipation, Peta and Alexandra