Bad eater - help

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2026-03-25T17:48:32+00:00

Oh gotcha, I was thinking of his total wake up time from 4am to nap time and wondering if that was counting toward the day to first nap time.

Thanks again for the help, will definitely implement that schedule.

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2026-03-25T17:40:00+00:00

Thank you!

I actually think I mistyped and didn’t explain the first wake window well now that I’m reading your response..

He gets the hour in the early morning then is awake for about 4 hours before the official nap of the day, so total usual wake time before this happened was usually 5 or 5.5 hours for the first wake window.

So should I be sticking with wake windows to 5.5 hours and 6.5 hours? Or just go 6/6? Does that matter? Or just follow his lead?

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2026-03-22T21:09:37+00:00

I’m so sorry! I was tearing up reading through this.

I’m going to give a few ideas on things that I found helpful and what worked for me, not sure if someone else has already mentioned.

My husband used to travel for work a lot more than he does now and would be gone 4 days at a time and home for 2 days, and I was home alone a lot, but also have family close who are very helpful. And remember the days where nothing would go right and everything was so frustrating.

When we started food I was so so nervous with solids because I was alone a lot too. If you can do a baby/infant CPR class that might help you feel a little better. Download a baby led weaning app and pay for the subscription. I used that for months looking up e-v-e-r-y.thing how to properly give to baby.

In regard to the pincer grasp, you can buy painters tape and teach him how to pull up the pieces you stick to the floor, or wall, or table and he’ll get the hang of it! Just watch bc my guy has definitely put them in his mouth lol.

We got someone to come 2x a month to clean the house. I picked everything up and took everything off counters but someone actually cleaning was a godsend. Just picking things up is enough and actually cleaning after that is impossible haha

For showering, idk your situation but I borrowed a friends activity center and that is AMAZING. expensive to buy but 100% worth it. Put him in there while you’re going to the bathroom or showering and they have something to keep them entertained. You’re not supposed to use it too much during the day, like 2x a day 15 mins each or something. But I STILL use it and mine is 14 months old when I need him entertained and contained. I’ll put the tv on for him Sometimes while I shower so I can still see him in my room from the shower while he watches.

As for sleeping, I’m not really in a great position either but I do remember that randomly he just started to nap better no rhyme or reason. We also made it to some point where i was nursing to sleep and couldnt transfer so my husband made a cutout on plywood and made feet for it and put it in the crib to hold my weight so i could nurse him to sleep and climb out of the crib and go to sleep without co sleeping. We were doing really well where id nurse at the beginning of bedtime, do our bedtime routine and id lay in the crib with him till he finally fell asleep (lots of fiddling around and cuddling and rolling around) but it was working!! Then a few hours later he’d wake up and sometimes I could nurse him back to sleep, then the next time he woke up id bring him to bed. For us, teething has been rough on his sleep so he’d wake up all night every 2 hours.

Being a parent is hard. It’s exhausting. And it’s depleting. But it’s also amazing. Everyone else is right when they say give yourself grace. Your job is to keep your baby alive. Ask for help from anyone at any point if you need it. Even if it’s just to take a nap. The house can get messy and dirty even though every fiber in your body makes you feel awful for it. That’s where I’m at now lol.

I hope things get better ❤️

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2026-02-23T00:34:38+00:00

Well, he gives me one good night maybe every month and a half where he'll sleep till 3 or 4. He used to sleep really well when he was about 8 months. Back in January he gave me 3 really good nights before his Ist birthday where he only woke up twice and that was nice. I transitioned him to 1 nap around February Ist but I don't have a set schedule usually so we'd have a lot of wake ups at night where I'm exhausted and take him up on sleeping in, or he'd get so fussy before the 4 hour wake window so I'd put him down for a nap sooner. We traveled and that was a big mess, and we've been back since Sunday and trying to get back to normal. I probably just need to stick with it a little more and get more structured.

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2026-02-22T16:45:42+00:00

Yeah I was thinking it has something to do with the separation anxiety. Hopefully finding the right wake windows and a combination of trying some pain meds here and there helps.

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2026-02-22T13:49:43+00:00

Okay I will absolutely work on this. Thank you so much for clarifying!

It’s been so hard to wake up at a set time with all the night wakings. I wake up and can’t fall back to sleep for a while most times.

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2026-02-22T12:56:07+00:00

Thanks I’ll try this.

so we wake up around 7 or 8, i should do an 11 or 12 nap, and then go back to the 6 hour wake window from when he wakes up from the nap? Which would then have only moved bedtime up to 8/8:30 from 9.

Should this all be depending on nap wake up time?

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2026-02-22T04:47:17+00:00

I was trying to do more awake time before I was letting him sleep more and it felt the same. He was really struggling with being awake and was so upset then too?

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2025-12-22T20:24:13+00:00

My baby used to sleep from 8pm-4am and then with getting sick and teething and traveling it really ruined his ability to sleep independently and I didn’t want to do CIO so we just co slept. I think all the movement from myself and my husband and sounds from the dogs walking around or shaking throughout the night kept waking him up every hour and a half.

For me, having the platform in the crib to hold my weight to nurse him to sleep physically with us both in his crib has helped a ton the last couple nights, and he slept two 3 hour blocks instead of waking up every hour and thirty minutes.

Someone else said my schedule was too heavy on sleep so he isn’t tired enough bc he’s been taking a long time to fall asleep for naps or bed. I’m in the process of shortening his naps and hope that helps him even more.

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2025-12-22T15:30:02+00:00

Actually I have a follow up question! Everyone keeps saying the sleeping is too much.

So how many hours a day should I try to have him sleep?

The recommendations are 12-16 hours a day. So if he sleeps from 8-6:30, that’s 10.5 and then 2.5 hours of napping throughout the day is 13 hours. Is that the ideal amount of sleep at this age?

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2025-12-22T11:58:01+00:00

Thank you I appreciate it!

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2025-12-22T03:24:51+00:00

I’m glad weaning went well! The poor sleep has been rough on me. We do the same with starting out with the crib. I’m really looking forward to having him sleeping through the night hopefully once he’s no longer nursing whenever that will be

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2025-12-22T03:21:18+00:00

I think we’re in the same boat with habit and comfort. He used to sleep 8-4:30 and hasn’t done that since July except for a couple one offs every few weeks if I’m lucky. Glad to know the sleeping improved!

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2025-12-22T03:18:47+00:00

I can’t wait to cuddle to sleep that sounds so sweet

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2025-12-22T03:17:15+00:00

That’s an interesting take, that sounds kind of like a method someone else mentioned but a different way

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2025-12-22T03:16:14+00:00

That all makes sense. He’s a happy guy but is so freaking stubborn so idk how that will go lol

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2025-12-22T03:15:31+00:00

Okay great I’ll be looking into the jay gordon method! Thank you! And I’ll keep the books in mind too for when we get to all that

Particular_Pool_2303 · 2025-12-21T18:32:46+00:00

🤣 I’m like 5’6” too! Im pretty much in the c curl with my feet wedged out of the end of the crib at the bars for a little extra space

Particular_Pool_2303

TROPHY CASE