Random Questions From a New Mom

1,  Cooper eats and has his couple of truck-drivers-would-be-impressed burps....sometimes a little spit-up.  THEN an hour or 1.5 hours later he spits up - a large mouthful.   Is this delayed spit up normal?  If he's laying down (at night) it dripples down his face.... it's not a forceful throw-up, just spit up, but it's the delayed part I find odd....

2.  Coo-ing (not to be confused with poo-ing which he needs no help with!).  I read he should be coo-ing by the end of the month 2.  He is 5 week today.  I hear no coo-ing.  I know I still have a couple of weeks, but will I know he's coo-ing versus fussing?  What can I do to encourage him coo-ing?

3.  What about smiling "on command" ??  When should he be doing that.... I read somewhere by month 2 and somewhere else not until 12 weeks.  That's quite a difference.  I want to claim smiles, but I know they are just gas. 

4.  During the day he'll sleep (sometimes) for 4 hour stretches without eating.  At night?  NO WAY!  He wakes up every two hours like clock-work for a bottle.  Any way I can train him to sleep for longer stretches at night?? 

Thanks for any insight you can provide! 

Cindy

(Below is a picture of Cooper sleeping with his stuffed Moose he got at the Dells on vacation.)

I'm sorry - no nuggets of wisdom from me, but had to say - he's ADORABLE!!!!

My daughter is 18 (years, not months) and it's just been too long for me to be of any help.  We're trying to have a child again (yes, I have lost my mind)...

Doesn't mean you're crazy...you're just a member of an exclusive club...the Advanced Maternal Age Club!  I'm 41 and trying for #2...my son is 14. 

Good luck - Hope you get your BFP soon!

Thank you Holly :)   We tried for years with no results; PCOS and weight issues caused no end of grief.  I pursued WLS and now, 2 years later we're trying again.   First month and no-go, but we'll be working hard this month ;)

Good luck with your 2nd!

Just wanted to say he is so cute!!! Not a Mommy myself yet but have heard that not making naps too "dark" will help reset his clock...don't make the enviroment he is in during daytime naps too much like nighttime if that makes sense...

~Flroa

1. normal... jayson still does it sometimes at 9 months

2. jayson didnt do it alot until he was 3 months old... and yes i knew it was cooing.... its a happy noise :)

3. jayson did it at around the 2 month mark.... he did it all the time at about the 3 month mark

4. no advice... jayson didnt sleep thru the night until 6 months

keep in mind every baby is different... and will do things when he/she is ready and not a moment sooner.... those your baby should do yada yada yada is just a general guide... not a "if your baby does not smile by 8 weeks this is bad news " type thing

1. totally normal from my own experience

2. Jantzen started really doing it around 6-7 weeks. Now it's all the time. You will know. It's a cute sound, not a fussy sound.

3. Jantzen really started smiling around 8 weeks but not alot. Now he smiles constantly. It's GREAT!

4. No advice. Jantzen did the same thing. By 8 weeks he was going 3.5 - 4 hours. By 12 weeks, he started sleeping 7-8 hours at a time. Usually going to bed between 8-9 in the evening. I takes time. Although it seems like they never will sleep through the night. I had to go back to work when he was still getting up 2 hours apart. UGH!

Sounds like you are having fun with him............

Hi Cindy,

Cooper is adorable - growing like a weed!  I love all his hair (my kids were baldies their first year of life).

1,  Cooper eats and has his couple of truck-drivers-would-be-impressed burps....sometimes a little spit-up.  THEN an hour or 1.5 hours later he spits up - a large mouthful.   Is this delayed spit up normal?  If he's laying down (at night) it dripples down his face.... it's not a forceful throw-up, just spit up, but it's the delayed part I find odd....


I'm thinking this is pretty normal.  All 3 of my kids did this, including my daughter who NEVER had GERD or REFLUX issues.  Our ped told us that the immature digestive systems of babies allows for some bottle contents to come back up either during, after or before the next feeding.  All babies spit up and some just hold on to it longer while they are lying down but then a good hiccup or sneeze can bring it back up again.



2.  Coo-ing (not to be confused with poo-ing which he needs no help with!).  I read he should be coo-ing by the end of the month 2.  He is 5 week today.  I hear no coo-ing.  I know I still have a couple of weeks, but will I know he's coo-ing versus fussing?  What can I do to encourage him coo-ing?


You'll definitely know it when it happens and the books tell you these things as a general idea.  Every baby is different and delayed cooing/smiling doesn't mean anything is wrong (IMHO).  Everett started smiling at a little over a month but doesn't coo that often.  He moves his head around and you can tell he's trying to make sounds in his throat, but he's still trying to figure out how to make them come out of his mouth.  Sometimes when he does make noise, he jumps and is startled by his own sounds.  Cooper will come to this on his own.  Any type of talking and smiling to your baby will encourage them.  It isn't even about the words as it is the sound of your voice.  I used to carry Ethan around and narrate everything I was doing (i.e. and now I'm folding a peach towel, which makes me want peaches.)  The more I did this, the more he started cooing.  If I tried to video tape him while I was smiling and being goofy, he would clam up and just stare at me.


3.  What about smiling "on command" ??  When should he be doing that.... I read somewhere by month 2 and somewhere else not until 12 weeks.  That's quite a difference.  I want to claim smiles, but I know they are just gas. 


Again, he'll get there soon enough.  Cooper is still quite young for this but you'll know the real ones when they happen.  Everett does the sideways "Popeye" smiles and it is the most amazing feeling in the world that he is happy to see me.



4.  During the day he'll sleep (sometimes) for 4 hour stretches without eating.  At night?  NO WAY!  He wakes up every two hours like clock-work for a bottle.  Any way I can train him to sleep for longer stretches at night?? 

With Ethan, the ped said to wake him every 2 hours during the day.  He didn't have to be wide awake, just enough to rouse him so that his eyes open.  Honestly, it didn't seem to make much difference.  IMHO, this is something they just have to learn for themselves.  When he's closer to 2 months, I think he'll start realizing the difference between night and day and his inner clock will adjust accordingly.

Thanks for sharing the picture - it always makes my day!

Hugs,

My grama would tell you that he has his days and nights mixed out and that you need to flip him in the crib. I guess it's an old wives tale that actually works. She had to do it with 4 of her 6 children. Whether it works or not - no clue.

I'm not a mommy yet, but my concentration in psych is child development.  The smiling at first is a reflex that Cooper doesn't even realize he is doing right now.  The more you "aww" at him, and pay attention to him when he's doing it he will realize it  get positive attention and start doing it "on command" at about 10-12 weeks.  hope that helps.  your son is beautiful!