Re: Sleep problems... I'm getting paranoid!!

[Guest guest]

Really well said ! There are lots and lots of babies that have

absolutely no problems adjusting to the brace! It took our daughter a

couple of days! She was a bit colicy for the first 3 mos due to gas,

had nothing to do with the FAB. Once that was sorted out (found the

Opal drops =)), it was smooth sailing.

Try not to worry and definately read Kori's tips and tricks doc

located in the files section, this really helped us! I also removed

one of the shoes from the bar to help me get them on for the first

couple of weeks and we had holes cut in the shoes to make sure her

heels were all the way down.

As long as the FAB is set up right and the shoes are put on properly,

your baby should adjust quickly =)

& Grace 16 mos

urcf FAB 13 hrs

>

> Okay, take a big breath. Don't forget to let it out.

> Try to relax a bit because you baby will sense your tenseness. I

won't sugar coat it. The brace can be tough at first. Just remember

that there are a lot of parents and babies that adjust to the brace

quickly. Not everyone has problems, we just read about the problems

more frequently because parents are looking for help.

> Also, you are not a bad parent if the brace it tough. You aren't a

bad parent because your baby hasn't discovered sleep yet. You know

your baby better than anyone else, you do what works for him.

> You are doing what you can at this point in preparing for the

brace. (since you are reading all these messages) When you get the

brace... Make sure the fit is good, the bar is the right length, the

rolled blanket under the legs (or our favorite--sleep in the car

seat) Sleep sacks are good for keeping the brace contained and not

twisted in blankets. As long as the shoes fit and your son isn't

hurting, he will adjust. Eventually. Some kids are just more

stubborn than others. And some babies have other issues that

complicate things a bit.

>

> Try not to stress too much. It might be easier than you think.

Even it if is tough... that is okay. There are many parents here

who have been there and can help trouble shoot problems. That

doesn't always make things better in the middle of the night, but it

does help.

> My cf babe wouldn't have been a good sleeper with perfect feet. He

was tiny, had to eat every 1 1/2 hours day and night for months. His

belly had problems because he was so tiny. Then add the feet and

all. We had long months of bad casting before we found a good doc.

It wasn't fun. There were many on this list that helped. It was

still hard. There is one thing I learned....

> It is okay to struggle. It is hard, and that is okay. It doesn't

make the issues go away. You are still there you don't have any

choice, you have to deal with it. You can't wallow in self pity.

But... It is hard and even if you struggle, you are still a good

person. As long as you don't give up you are winning. Take it a

minute at a time if you have too. It is okay to cry and cry and cry

(it better be cause if it ain't I'm messed up for sure). It is okay

to struggle as long as don't give up. And when it gets really tough-

you can come a whine on this list and we understand. The adjustment

doesn't last forever, no matter what is seems like.

> One day you will wake up (that means you will actually get to sleep

some day) and realize that the brace and cf isn't so bad anymore.

You can handle it. Your son will be running and climbing and dancing

on his feet. They will be beautiful feet. It does happen.

> Who knows, maybe your babe will adjust quickly and discover sleep.

> Just keep on keepin' on.

>

>

> Sleep problems... I'm getting

paranoid!!

>

>

> After reading through many of the posts here, I'm getting worked

up about sleep with the

> DBB...

>

> My son is still in his post-tenotomy cast, but once he's

out and into the DBB, I fear

> we're in for trouble. He's currently 11+ weeks old and has all

sorts of trouble sleeping--

> without a bar between his feet! I have to swaddle him at night

and run a CD of white noise

> partly to mask his older siblings' noise, but also to calm him

down enough to fall asleep

> initially at night. Throughout the night, after I've fed him, I

still run the white noise CD

> because, quite honestly, I'm exhausted and can't bear the thought

of him not falling back

> asleep!! It works and I'm afraid to chance that he won't be able

to fall asleep without it.

> He's still getting up every 2 or so hours all night and I cannot

seem to break him of that.

> During the day, he's napping in the (moving) swing, which we all

know won't last forever,

> but isn't the precedent you want to set with any of your kids.

One more thing to overcome

> while trying to teach him how to sleep on his own, ya know?!

>

> So I'm worrying about how I'm going to swaddle him when I can't

fit his little feet into the

> swaddling blanket?! I obviously am anticipating him still

needing the swaddle in about 3

> weeks when the cast comes off, which may not happen, but I don't

see a semi-major

> change like that happening without some assistance from me. Like

I said, I'm exhausted

> and need whatever sleep I can get, but REALLY REALLY REALLY want

to avoid creating

> more problems than we already are dealing with.

>

> Is anyone in the same boat, or were you at one time?!? Any

suggestions now to help

> prevent trouble in less than a month when we start with the DBB?!

>

> Thanks!

>

> Stacee & 9/24/05 rcf

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

HA! I remember the phase with when we had to say good night to everything

down the hall to his room.

s.

Sleep problems... I'm getting

paranoid!!

>

>

> After reading through many of the posts here, I'm getting worked

up about sleep with the

> DBB...

>

> My son is still in his post-tenotomy cast, but once he's

out and into the DBB, I fear

> we're in for trouble. He's currently 11+ weeks old and has all

sorts of trouble sleeping--

> without a bar between his feet! I have to swaddle him at night

and run a CD of white noise

> partly to mask his older siblings' noise, but also to calm him

down enough to fall asleep

> initially at night. Throughout the night, after I've fed him, I

still run the white noise CD

> because, quite honestly, I'm exhausted and can't bear the

thought of him not falling back

> asleep!! It works and I'm afraid to chance that he won't be

able to fall asleep without it.

> He's still getting up every 2 or so hours all night and I cannot

seem to break him of that.

> During the day, he's napping in the (moving) swing, which we all

know won't last forever,

> but isn't the precedent you want to set with any of your kids.

One more thing to overcome

> while trying to teach him how to sleep on his own, ya know?!

>

> So I'm worrying about how I'm going to swaddle him when I can't

fit his little feet into the

> swaddling blanket?! I obviously am anticipating him still

needing the swaddle in about 3

> weeks when the cast comes off, which may not happen, but I don't

see a semi-major

> change like that happening without some assistance from me.

Like I said, I'm exhausted

> and need whatever sleep I can get, but REALLY REALLY REALLY want

to avoid creating

> more problems than we already are dealing with.

>

> Is anyone in the same boat, or were you at one time?!? Any

suggestions now to help

> prevent trouble in less than a month when we start with the DBB?!

>

> Thanks!

>

> Stacee & 9/24/05 rcf

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Our daughter is doing this right now...naming Everything, saying hi,

bye bye and night night to everything - the stairs, her room, the

baby gates her animals, etc etc, its so darned cute!!! Funny, you

want them to stay babies forever but then they start doing these kind

of cute things and it makes their getting bigger easier kwim?

& Grace the 16 month old chatterbox =)

> >

> > Getting used to being alive out side the womb is just a big

change

> for babies in general. With that in mind realize the cf

treatments

> is part of their " normal " .

> >

> > Also part of their normal is the fact that they are growing

> rapidly therefore they are experiencing a huge influx of change

> extremely rapidly that we parents expect them to just adapt to

with

> out question. At no other point in their life will they grow

and

> change this much in such a short amount of time. This kind of

stuff

> would put the average adult in the nut house if they had to re-

live

> it at 30 years old!

> >

> > We can't compare their life to our own life. Say we suddenly

> moved from our home town to.....Bagdad? Well in 11 weeks you as

an

> adult would be adjusted to this major change because you have 20

or

> 30 years of life-experience to draw from helping you cope, but a

> baby has no experience to draw from except those previous 11

weeks

> since birth so he's in for a real challenge.

> >

> > Going from the womb to the world is a lot like going from small

> town USA to Bagdad in the middle of a war for these kids. You

can't

> expect a good sleeper or a good eater or anything right now cuz

as

> soon as they get used to something, BAM, it changes again. At

> first a tight swaddle felt very good to them as they were

accustomed

> to the tightness of the womb; but then they start to discover

moving

> their limbs is kind of nice so the swaddle isn't so nice anymore

> although they like it sometimes....then they start to discover

they

> can move their head more, they can turn on their side a little

more,

> they are learning the pulse of their home, the pulse of their

> family, the faces that are comforting and the faces that are new;

> their nutritional needs are increasing...... I mean they just

find a

> comfort zone in time to lose it again, does that make sense?

> >

> > In my experience the key is to keep as much the same as you

can -

> and if that means playing a Cd every night for bed time until

he's 7

> years old, then go for it, there is no harm done. (yes, guilty

> here, my 7 yo and his brother still need their " sleepy music " to

> sleep to). A routine is real important too, something they can

> depend on to happen despite what ever else changes. This takes

time

> to establish but is soooooooo worth it! Right now that routine

> might be a swing and music, so use it.... eventually he is going

to

> out grow that routine and you'll have to adjust it to his new

needs.

> When that comes, well, you deal with it.

> >

> > The fact is, new babies rob mothers of sleep. That's their

> job !!! Any one who says their new born sleeps through the

> night happily in their own room is a freak (just kidding!) - but

> it's pretty abnormal. The normal is a kid who sleeps when ever

he

> dang well wants to and stays awake when he wants to - despite

what

> his mom wants. Shoot, they're only babies, what do they know?

> >

> > I just mean you gotta put your self in their shoes and see it

from

> their point of view; buy an industrial sized coffee pot and get

used

> to not fixing your hair or having all your laundry done on a

regular

> basis.

> >

> > You can still swaddle in the FAB if that's what he wants, it

just

> takes a bigger blanket.

> > s.

> > Sleep problems... I'm getting

> paranoid!!

> >

> >

> > After reading through many of the posts here, I'm getting

worked

> up about sleep with the

> > DBB...

> >

> > My son is still in his post-tenotomy cast, but once

he's

> out and into the DBB, I fear

> > we're in for trouble. He's currently 11+ weeks old and has

all

> sorts of trouble sleeping--

> > without a bar between his feet! I have to swaddle him at

night

> and run a CD of white noise

> > partly to mask his older siblings' noise, but also to calm

him

> down enough to fall asleep

> > initially at night. Throughout the night, after I've fed

him, I

> still run the white noise CD

> > because, quite honestly, I'm exhausted and can't bear the

> thought of him not falling back

> > asleep!! It works and I'm afraid to chance that he won't be

> able to fall asleep without it.

> > He's still getting up every 2 or so hours all night and I

cannot

> seem to break him of that.

> > During the day, he's napping in the (moving) swing, which we

all

> know won't last forever,

> > but isn't the precedent you want to set with any of your

kids.

> One more thing to overcome

> > while trying to teach him how to sleep on his own, ya know?!

> >

> > So I'm worrying about how I'm going to swaddle him when I

can't

> fit his little feet into the

> > swaddling blanket?! I obviously am anticipating him still

> needing the swaddle in about 3

> > weeks when the cast comes off, which may not happen, but I

don't

> see a semi-major

> > change like that happening without some assistance from me.

> Like I said, I'm exhausted

> > and need whatever sleep I can get, but REALLY REALLY REALLY

want

> to avoid creating

> > more problems than we already are dealing with.

> >

> > Is anyone in the same boat, or were you at one time?!? Any

> suggestions now to help

> > prevent trouble in less than a month when we start with the

DBB?!

> >

> > Thanks!

> >

> > Stacee & 9/24/05 rcf

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

This is a fantastic response! I just sent it on to one of my friends

who is home on maternity leave right now with a clubfoot-free baby

boy.

You always have such a great perspective on things! Thank you!!!

>

> Getting used to being alive out side the womb is just a big change

for babies in general. With that in mind realize the cf treatments

is part of their " normal " .

>

> Also part of their normal is the fact that they are growing rapidly

therefore they are experiencing a huge influx of change extremely

rapidly that we parents expect them to just adapt to with out

question. At no other point in their life will they grow and change

this much in such a short amount of time. This kind of stuff would

put the average adult in the nut house if they had to re-live it at

30 years old!

>

> We can't compare their life to our own life. Say we suddenly moved

from our home town to.....Bagdad? Well in 11 weeks you as an adult

would be adjusted to this major change because you have 20 or 30

years of life-experience to draw from helping you cope, but a baby

has no experience to draw from except those previous 11 weeks since

birth so he's in for a real challenge.

>

> Going from the womb to the world is a lot like going from small

town USA to Bagdad in the middle of a war for these kids. You can't

expect a good sleeper or a good eater or anything right now cuz as

soon as they get used to something, BAM, it changes again. At first

a tight swaddle felt very good to them as they were accustomed to the

tightness of the womb; but then they start to discover moving their

limbs is kind of nice so the swaddle isn't so nice anymore although

they like it sometimes....then they start to discover they can move

their head more, they can turn on their side a little more, they are

learning the pulse of their home, the pulse of their family, the

faces that are comforting and the faces that are new; their

nutritional needs are increasing...... I mean they just find a

comfort zone in time to lose it again, does that make sense?

>

> In my experience the key is to keep as much the same as you can -

and if that means playing a Cd every night for bed time until he's 7

years old, then go for it, there is no harm done. (yes, guilty

here, my 7 yo and his brother still need their " sleepy music " to

sleep to). A routine is real important too, something they can

depend on to happen despite what ever else changes. This takes time

to establish but is soooooooo worth it! Right now that routine

might be a swing and music, so use it.... eventually he is going to

out grow that routine and you'll have to adjust it to his new needs.

When that comes, well, you deal with it.

>

> The fact is, new babies rob mothers of sleep. That's their

job !!! Any one who says their new born sleeps through the night

happily in their own room is a freak (just kidding!) - but it's

pretty abnormal. The normal is a kid who sleeps when ever he dang

well wants to and stays awake when he wants to - despite what his mom

wants. Shoot, they're only babies, what do they know?

>

> I just mean you gotta put your self in their shoes and see it from

their point of view; buy an industrial sized coffee pot and get used

to not fixing your hair or having all your laundry done on a regular

basis.

>

> You can still swaddle in the FAB if that's what he wants, it just

takes a bigger blanket.

> s.

> Sleep problems... I'm getting

paranoid!!

>

>

> After reading through many of the posts here, I'm getting worked

up about sleep with the

> DBB...

>

> My son is still in his post-tenotomy cast, but once he's

out and into the DBB, I fear

> we're in for trouble. He's currently 11+ weeks old and has all

sorts of trouble sleeping--

> without a bar between his feet! I have to swaddle him at night

and run a CD of white noise

> partly to mask his older siblings' noise, but also to calm him

down enough to fall asleep

> initially at night. Throughout the night, after I've fed him, I

still run the white noise CD

> because, quite honestly, I'm exhausted and can't bear the thought

of him not falling back

> asleep!! It works and I'm afraid to chance that he won't be able

to fall asleep without it.

> He's still getting up every 2 or so hours all night and I cannot

seem to break him of that.

> During the day, he's napping in the (moving) swing, which we all

know won't last forever,

> but isn't the precedent you want to set with any of your kids.

One more thing to overcome

> while trying to teach him how to sleep on his own, ya know?!

>

> So I'm worrying about how I'm going to swaddle him when I can't

fit his little feet into the

> swaddling blanket?! I obviously am anticipating him still

needing the swaddle in about 3

> weeks when the cast comes off, which may not happen, but I don't

see a semi-major

> change like that happening without some assistance from me. Like

I said, I'm exhausted

> and need whatever sleep I can get, but REALLY REALLY REALLY want

to avoid creating

> more problems than we already are dealing with.

>

> Is anyone in the same boat, or were you at one time?!? Any

suggestions now to help

> prevent trouble in less than a month when we start with the DBB?!

>

> Thanks!

>

> Stacee & 9/24/05 rcf

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I just think all the baby books and standard advice set parents up to feel like

a failure so many times when it's really just common sense you need.

s.

Sleep problems... I'm getting

paranoid!!

>

>

> After reading through many of the posts here, I'm getting worked

up about sleep with the

> DBB...

>

> My son is still in his post-tenotomy cast, but once he's

out and into the DBB, I fear

> we're in for trouble. He's currently 11+ weeks old and has all

sorts of trouble sleeping--

> without a bar between his feet! I have to swaddle him at night

and run a CD of white noise

> partly to mask his older siblings' noise, but also to calm him

down enough to fall asleep

> initially at night. Throughout the night, after I've fed him, I

still run the white noise CD

> because, quite honestly, I'm exhausted and can't bear the thought

of him not falling back

> asleep!! It works and I'm afraid to chance that he won't be able

to fall asleep without it.

> He's still getting up every 2 or so hours all night and I cannot

seem to break him of that.

> During the day, he's napping in the (moving) swing, which we all

know won't last forever,

> but isn't the precedent you want to set with any of your kids.

One more thing to overcome

> while trying to teach him how to sleep on his own, ya know?!

>

> So I'm worrying about how I'm going to swaddle him when I can't

fit his little feet into the

> swaddling blanket?! I obviously am anticipating him still

needing the swaddle in about 3

> weeks when the cast comes off, which may not happen, but I don't

see a semi-major

> change like that happening without some assistance from me. Like

I said, I'm exhausted

> and need whatever sleep I can get, but REALLY REALLY REALLY want

to avoid creating

> more problems than we already are dealing with.

>

> Is anyone in the same boat, or were you at one time?!? Any

suggestions now to help

> prevent trouble in less than a month when we start with the DBB?!

>

> Thanks!

>

> Stacee & 9/24/05 rcf

>

>

>

>

>

>