How much stimulation?

Hi there

My girls will be 4 weeks old on Friday and I was wondering if I should start any daytime stimulation with them because they struggle to sleep after their 20:00pm and 23:00pm bottle and then during the day and early morning they they don't have a problem. Is their any activity that I can do with them during the day that will make them sleep better at night? Friday they would have been 40 weeks in my tummy, does that make a difference in working out their real age? Will I always subtract 4 weeks to know where they should be in their development?

Luckily it seems the Isomil Soy is starting to work, they don't have constant diarrhoea any more and Abigail is struggling less with cramps.
But now it seems they are more hungry. They now want to feed every 2 hours during the day. Could the Soy be less filling or is this just a cross over phase due to changing their formula? I am so happy we found out early on that they are allergic to milk because they didn't mind the new taste.

Thank you for the help ladies.

Luv
Zellie

Hi Zellie, My babies are now 4 months old and they only seem interested in stimulation now. And only for a few minutes then they start crying. I remember when Bjorn came home he was 4 weeks old and he did exactly the same thing. During the day he slept like a dream and at night time it was a struggle. The only advice the doc gave me was that it will get better after he is 10weeks old and it did. I think you must still subtract the four weeks until they are maybe a year
I'm glad the Isomil is working better, it definetely helped my babies with their cramps and blocked noses all the time. Maybe they are having a growth spurt and are a bit more hungry. I hope it will change soon.
Good luck

Hi Zellie
Glad your girls are doing better. Melanie will be able to tell you about the Isomil.

I used Babysense and Sleepsense and they say 5min of moving activity twice a day is very good for improving sleep, for instance on a baby swing or a walk.

Re the corrected age thing, you have to correct their ages in terms of growth and development till 2 years, although I find that mine is catching up in terms of growth fairly rapidly, and their milestones are either correct for thair actual ages or just slightly behind.

xx

Hi Zellie

Congrats on finding the solution to your problem. I hope they are much happier now. Unfortunately they have thier day and night times mixed up now apparently the get the idea around 8-10 weeks like Elaine said. SO for now hang in there and use the sleep sense book to help them get thier days and nights right. unfortunatley those 4 weeks make the most difference early on. So with Premmies you have the tough early times for 4 weeks longer than full term babies.

But stay strong, it does end (I was convinced it would never get better) they figure out when to sleep. I just hung a toy above them during the day when they were awake to look at. And I think the idea of a walk is great now in summer. It also gets you out of the house to feel a bit more human.

I correct my boys age by 4 weeks and for somethings now I dont have to for others it is reassuring that I have those 4 weeks.

Kerry

I am so happy to hear the isomil is working - I found that it make them fuller for the first few weeks and then they are back to normal but you must remember they have alot to catch up re weigth so I done the wrong thing and did give them milk when ever they need it. I was on a 3 hour routine until 12 weeks then I decide stuff it because the colic and reflux are driving me insane so I gave them when they are hungry and some days is was 2 hourly and some 3 hourly until 16 weeks and then 3 hours but the exact time differ every day depend on the time they wake up.

I have experience growth sprut at their corrected and actual age so if make a bit of a difference. I just said that they are tiny and need all the milk they can get to grow and when they want I gave. No water or rooibos tea, jsut milk.

I didn't do too much for stimulation at that stage, played a bit by talking and funny things but they slept still very well at 4 weeks

Hi

Thank you ladies. It's so wonderful to come here and get your support. This is all so new to me and I really feel clueless.

Will try and take them for a walk once a day, will do me good since being suck in the house can make you a bit depressed, like your life came to a standstill .... but I need to remind myself that this phase will pass, like most of you already said.

Have a lovely day and thank you again.

Luv
Zellie

Hi Zellie, I think u'll feel much better once u start walking. I've also started it every afternoon, around about that time when they start to get a bit niggly, it's the prefect thing - works like a charm.

Hopefully i can loose a bit of weight aswell, that will most definately be welcome!

Hey, just my 2cents...

Remember between 5 and 7 pm is the famous "suicide hour" where they can be very difficult some days - other days its fine...
Try to stick to the 3 hour routine during the day - starting from the Hour when they wake up in the morning - example 5am. Your routine should consist of Feeding, Wake time, sleep time. Where wake time is about 10-20 minutes after the feeding, and sleeptime at their age is about 2 hours. And wake them for the next feed if you reach the next 3 hour mark. Remember the 3 hours are counted from FEEDING to FEEDING.

Stimulation - well , hanging toys above their changing station (if possible) did wonders for my girls, and also pictures on the wall. I have Nemo and Dory on the wall and Nica LOVED to look at Dory - she would almost go into a fantasy world once Dory has been spotted...
Remember at 4 weeks they can not see very far yet - so most things are still a blurr for them.
Red , black and white are the colours that they can identify now.

Keeping them awake after a feeding for wake time was very challenging - but you only need to try and do wake time for about 10 minutes. After their feeding, while you are still sitting, as part of the burping, hold them infront of you - facing you - with your hands obviously supporting their necks and lift them up and down (not high) - as if jumping on your lap and chat to them by saying their names .
You would be close enouh for them to see you and they love to listen to your voice, the other thing you can do is play music for them. I have a little cd player in their room and use to put the CD on and sing sometimes.

other ideas for wake time is to put them on the changing mat , while chatting or singing and play with a toy hanging down above their heads....

One other thing (which might still work for you since your girls are still small) it worked like a charm to me is "wrapping" your baby or swaddling before putting them down
It made them feel safe, and also made them use to the routine. They knew (and even know today still) that once they are swaddled they need to go to sleep.

but most important thing is..... enjoy them!!

Hi

Thank you Page for the great ideas!

I wanted to get a small cd player for them but never got around to it. Just send dh to get us one. Do you play classical music?

Have a lovely day.

Luv
Zel

I often play them music and even the radio. There are many lovely kids cd's, look out for the cd's at musica with adapted music from raock bands, they are great and you can listen to it too!

Classic music is great, but go and have alook at Baby city - some of the Mozart for minors are very nice...

but i can also cut some CD's for you. there is a Baby Abba which is really COOL..
Then for later (2/3 months) you can invest in these "Beautiful Creature " CD's - they are really nice and very African and educational.

I also have a musical "mobile" in the room (it just plays music and shines a light on the roof with pictures) which i switch on when they need to go to sleep. It plays for 5 or 10 minutes, and there are 3 different tunes. I think they cost around R150 . i still use it today when they go to bed at night. it calms them down easily.

Good luck my friend....