Suzy Giordano's "The Baby Sleep Solution"

Teacher_EW

Sun, Oct 26 2014, 10:36 am

busymom wrote:

Why don't you ask your pediatrician? I never heard of this book before, but 12-hour stretches of no feedings seems way too long for a baby this little.

Thanks. I think I will do that. I thought maybe someone on imamother had read the book and implemented it, which is why I created the thread to begin with. People online seem to rave about it, but I have learned not to trust everything I read online....

amother

Sun, Oct 26 2014, 10:38 am

I'm a dietitian and started reading some of these posts.
Please speak to someone knowledgeable in infant feeding before starting this.
A baby has a very small stomach and is made to eat in small frequent intervals. You are right that "overfeeding " a baby before bed or during the day will make them sleep longer, but you are setting up a patern for future obesity and or eating disorders. At this point you are already teaching your child healthy eating habits. Why would you hurt your kid?
I know we all want more sleep...but please understand the consequences.
Also babies who are nursed consume more oz when compared to bottle fed babies. Formula is much harder for the body to digest and therefore takes longer for the baby to feel hungry again. Make sure you are not making that type of comparison.
In the nutrition world, we train parents not to measure oz (added plus of nursing, that you cannot measure) and instead watch the babies ques.
We teach about the division of responsibility to create healthy relationship with food for your child. At the infant stage a parent is responsible for what the child eats and the child is responsible for how much. Watch out for your child's ques as to when they are full. DONT worry about what the bottle says or what the books are teaching. As long as your child is growing as they should, you know you are doing the right thing.
Hatzlacha

pause

Sun, Oct 26 2014, 11:15 am

mandr wrote:

Also to the moms comparing ounces, there is a huge difference between 24 oz of breast milk and 24 oz of formula. Breastfed babies need much less per feeding.

True, but they need feedings more often. Breastmilk gets digested more easily and faster than formula. Thus breastfed babies need less per feeding but need feedings more often.

mandr wrote:

My baby is one and I dream feed before I go to bed and then I still wake up once for him so he gives me two 5 hr stretches and then a 1-2 hour stretch till morning. I ignore anyone who tells me m crazy. My baby is in a low percentile for weight so I'm not over feeding him!

Is he on solids yet? If not, then you are NOT overfeeding him. If he is still exclusively breastfeeding, I would be afraid that you are underfeeding him. A one-year old needs way more than what you are giving him.

pause

Sun, Oct 26 2014, 11:20 am

amother wrote:

I am speaking as an experienced nursing mother. And I fully agree with the bolded. Please speak to a lactation consultant or a pediatrician who knows about breastfeeding.

If a 3 month naturally sleeps more than 5 hours a night, that's great and enjoy it while it lasts. At about4-6 months most babies will stop doing that and wake up more often. But please do not starve your baby!!! After 2-3 hours they are entitled to be hungry again.

amother

Sun, Oct 26 2014, 11:46 am

My brother M is a PA. When my younger brother B had his first child they tried to sleep train him 12 hours when he was just 4 weeks old. M the PA, told B not to do 12 hours as the baby's stomache is quite small and needs small frequent meals (spaced about 3 hours) but can have one 5 hour stretch. If the baby eats too much in a feeding then may not digest the milk and may spit it up. In addition you are stretching the stomache which can cause eating and digestive issues, including baby always feeling hungry.
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The first week my baby would sleep 5+ hours then nurse and then again 5+ hours repeating this cycle. Once I saw the pattern I started waking her every 3 hours to eat leaving one 5 hour stretch for the night. She is now much happier and less fussy and eats much better at each feeding. I set my alarm at night to make sure she gets her feed.

amother

Sun, Oct 26 2014, 11:47 am

Teacher_EW wrote:

Technically, she is giving you a long stretch, from 8p until 3:30 (7.5 hrs!). I keep my baby up until 11p, then I bathe, feed and put her to bed. She usually sleeps until about 6:30 (the same 7.5 hrs), but often I wake her earlier to get her on my work schedule. I just started not feeding her at 6:30, but taking her into bed with me and pushing her until 7:45/8ish.

She actually usually falls asleep around 7 and sleeps mostly through her 8pm feeding. She still gets a dream feed between 11-12 so it's not really a straight stretch but I'm not complaining about that.

In terms of everyone saying it's too long a stretch...it's hard to know. My baby was big enough according to all theories a long time ago but she's still not giving me long stretches. On the other hand I have friends whose babies slept through the night much younger (I never let her go that long when she was younger based on what I read...I learnt to regret that!). I think as long as the baby is gaining nicely it's ok to let them go a long stretch if they do it naturally. The hard part is training them to go longer than you are sure they are ready for.

Teacher_EW

Sun, Oct 26 2014, 11:58 am

amother wrote:

I think as long as the baby is gaining nicely it's ok to let them go a long stretch if they do it naturally. The hard part is training them to go longer than you are sure they are ready for.

That is exactly my concern! She is giving me 6+ hours on her own. Shouild I just be happy with that, or should I try to push her further?

smss

Sun, Oct 26 2014, 3:35 pm

Teacher_EW wrote:

That is exactly my concern! She is giving me 6+ hours on her own. Shouild I just be happy with that, or should I try to push her further?

that is completely age-appropriate. even better than average.
this is one reason I'm not a fan of most baby books- I think this book convinced you that you have a problem, that a baby waking up this "much" is something that needs a solution. it doesn't. it's totally normal and healthy. follow your instincts as a mother. you're concerned that something is off about this program, you want to make sure it's not harmful before you start. that's a healthy instinct. listen to it.