Goodbye 3 hour feedings and pacifiers

3 Hour Feedings

Our pediatrician suggested we try to see how the babies would eat if we fed them every 3 1/2 or 4 hours because they usually aren't very eager to eat at feeding time. They just want to play by turning their heads back and forth and turning away from the bottle. I didn't know if it would work at first because I figured they would wake up early, ready to eat. I knew they wouldn't be ready for a 4 hour stretch, so we decided to try going 3 1/2 hours. Surprisingly, it has worked really well. They are much more eager to eat and it isn't such a battle to feed them. Also, they surprised us by taking in more per feeding, which is a must if we are going to feed less often and drop a feeding. They are still taking in the same amount if not more (on some days) than when we were feeding them every 3 hours. It has been wonderful! It is amazing the difference just 30 minutes makes.

Pacifiers

I was reading in my "What To Expect The First Year" book the other day about how this is the best time to kick the pacifier habit before they get older because it is harder to kick when they are older. Also, we have been getting tired of them having to have their pacifiers to sleep. They don't ever have them when they are awake, just to sleep. They associate the crib with pacifiers. If they ever fall asleep on the floor or in a swing, they aren't dependent on them to sleep. I will say even though they slept with them, if they fell out of their mouths while sleeping, most of the time they wouldn't wake up. However, there are times they do and we were getting tired of them and us using the pacifiers as a crutch. That was something the book talked about - how easy it is for parents to use them as a crutch just as well as the babies. So, we decided to take the plunge and start trying to wean them off of them. I have to say, I am surprised by how well it has gone. Tyler and Hannah have done real well with it, but Whitney, not so much. I figured Tyler would be the most difficult. He actually does really well with it. I think a big part of it is because we have started leaving his arms unswaddled and since the paci isn't a factor anymore, we don't have to worry about him knocking it out of his mouth with his hand. Hannah does well most the time, but she has her moments. Now Whitney... that is another story. That girl is SO stubborn! She will cry and cry and cry for her paci, but other times, she does just fine and goes right to sleep without it. Sometimes we have to give in because she just won't settle down and go to sleep, but we don't give it to her on a regular basis anymore.

So, that is the latest with our household. Nothing majorly exciting like pictures, but its a pretty big deal to us. Until next time...