Suzy Giordano..Twelve Hour's sleep by Twelve Weeks

[Francine]

Does anybody have any experience with this book/plan? I have a DCM that is trying to use this method, I personally don't like it. This BREAST FED baby was due August 3rd but was born July 6th, he was over 6 pounds at birth so his weight was great but he did have some breathing issues which resulted in a 10 day NICU stay. Mom's goal is to get the little guy to sleep from 7pm - 7am, eating at 7:00, 11:00, 3:00 and 7:00. He will only drink 5 ounces tops per feeding, some times closer to 4ounces. I do not think this is enough and I have told her that if I feel that he is hungry I will feed him I refuse to let him cry from hunger!!! I told her yesterday that I think we need to think about adding in another feeding during the day, she wants me to hold off a while longer hoping that he will increase the amount that he eats instead. His little tummy is technology only 5 weeks old, he physically can't hold more than 5 ounces at a time.

Don't get me wrong, I love love love this family but I think the Mom is so sleep deprived that she's gone a bit crazy. Dad agrees with me and has told me to do whatever I think is best for the baby. I hate going against what the Mom wants, I've never had this happen in 21 years of daycare. He has his 2 month check up next Tuesday and I am hoping the Ped. will tell her that he needs to eat more often but that all depends on Mom really being honest with him. I don't have the book but I did read alot of the reviews on amazon last night, it does have alot of positive reviews but also quite a few bad ones. Although a few people do say that it does work with breast fed babies, the general consensus is that it doesn't.

Sorry for writing a book, I'm just frustrated.

[Indoorvoice]

My state regulations say I have to feed on demand. I would never put an infant that young on any kind of a feeding schedule! I would tell her you thought about it and you're not willing to do the schedule. She can either accept that our figure out how to stay home and do the schedule herself.

[nannyde]

Four hours apart on a two month old? Five ounces on a two month old? For a breastfed baby to boot?

NO WAY

Are you doing the seven a.m., eleven am, and three pm feeds? If so, she is bringing you fifteen ounces?

I would divide that into four feeds.

If she is doing the seven am feed and only bringing you ten ounces... we have a problem.

He's a newborn and a breastfed newborn at that. He can't go twelve hours between feedings at night. He should be eating at least twice in the middle of the night.

Why did she want a baby if she doesn't want to take care of it? If she isn't able to care for him in the middle of the night she needs to either hire it out or find a family for him where the parents can take care of him.

What mom of a newborn gets a twelve hour night? Did she not consider this before having a child?

Ugh

How many ounces are you getting to feed him daily?

[Francine]

I haven't necessarily been sticking to the plan, Dad has just been telling Mom that I have been. Dad just dropped him off and said that he only got up once last night so to keep on feeding him like I have been ( about every 3 hours ) and he will deal with Mom. I hope he can get Mom to see the errors in her thinking.

[Francine]

Four hours apart on a two month old? Five ounces on a two month old? For a breastfed baby to boot?

NO WAY

Are you doing the seven a.m., eleven am, and three pm feeds? If so, she is bringing you fifteen ounces?

I would divide that into four feeds.

If she is doing the seven am feed and only bringing you ten ounces... we have a problem.

He's a newborn and a breastfed newborn at that. He can't go twelve hours between feedings at night. He should be eating at least twice in the middle of the night.

Why did she want a baby if she doesn't want to take care of it? If she isn't able to care for him in the middle of the night she needs to either hire it out or find a family for him where the parents can take care of him.

What mom of a newborn gets a twelve hour night? Did she not consider this before having a child?

Ugh

How many ounces are you getting to feed him daily?

I have tons of frozen milk in the freezer as well as the fresh that they bring me everyday. I can and do feed him whenever he needs to eat as I told her I would. I think Mom wants this to work because she got lucky with their first child and it worked with him. These are fabulous people & great parents, I just think her hormones have gone crazy on her.

[hope]

I would not go along with dcm's plan. It is detrimental to the baby and just plain dangerous! I also would not let dcd lie to dcm about your feedings. That puts you in a liable position. At 5 moths old the baby can only take so much and needs to be fed more frequently. Dcm's need for sleep or bragging rights do not come before the baby's basic needs.

[Scribbles]

Considering this child was premature, what does his pediatrician say about this feeding/sleeping method?
I would think it would be very taxing on his little body and without specific instructions from his pediatrician I would not agree to feed him on anything but demand as many times a day as he needs or wants.

[Francine]

Considering this child was premature, what does his pediatrician say about this feeding/sleeping method?
I would think it would be very taxing on his little body and without specific instructions from his pediatrician I would not agree to feed him on anything but demand as many times a day as he needs or wants.

I'm not sure what the pediatrician says, I can't imagine that he would agree to it but it all depends on what Mom tells him. He has a 2 months appointment on Tuesday, I'm hoping that Mom is honest with him.

[mommyneedsadayoff]

I have tons of frozen milk in the freezer as well as the fresh that they bring me everyday. I can and do feed him whenever he needs to eat as I told her I would. I think Mom wants this to work because she got lucky with their first child and it worked with him. These are fabulous people & great parents, I just think her hormones have gone crazy on her.

I would tell mom that eating farther apart during the day will not mean longer sleep at night. He should be eating every 2-3 hours during the day and if he gets enough nutrition during the day and can last through the night without waking, then that is awesome, but at 5 weeks, he may still get up at night a few times and mom needs to deal with it or have dad wake to feed bottles. Don't lie to mom. Just tell her that you have been feeding on demand, per your state regulations which you are required to follow, and he has been eating every 3 hours and is doing great. I always laugh when parents come at me with the newest book on how to get your kid to eat, sleep, be a wonderchild, ect. I am like, you should save the ten bucks you spend on the book and then listen to the advice I am giving you for free. Not my first rodeo, but if the book says it is possible, then by god, we must do it!

[jenboo]

I had a family who used that book/method and I've read it as well. It sounds like mom needs to read the book again if she wants to follow that method. It's a pretty basic read. The author does a great job mentioning multiple times how each child is different and it isn't a one schedule fits all ordeal. It's more about just getting baby on a schedule. If baby needs bottles every 3 hours instead of 4, that's fine... Baby can eat on the three hour schedule. It's more about making sure baby gets enough oz throughout the day so that they eat less at night, therefore sleeping longer stretches.
Oh plus, she has requirements for age and weight before merging feedings so I'm not even sure this baby meets her requirements yet being a preemie.

In your case, I would keep feeding baby every 3 hours if that is what they are naturally gravitating towards.

[Francine]

I had a family who used that book/method and I've read it as well. It sounds like mom needs to read the book again if she wants to follow that method. It's a pretty basic read. The author does a great job mentioning multiple times how each child is different and it isn't a one schedule fits all ordeal. It's more about just getting baby on a schedule. If baby needs bottles every 3 hours instead of 4, that's fine... Baby can eat on the three hour schedule. It's more about making sure baby gets enough oz throughout the day so that they eat less at night, therefore sleeping longer stretches.
Oh plus, she has requirements for age and weight before merging feedings so I'm not even sure this baby meets her requirements yet being a preemie.

In your case, I would keep feeding baby every 3 hours if that is what they are naturally gravitating towards.

That is kind of the jest of what I was getting from the reviews too. When I have mentioned to her that I don't think feeding him every 4 hours is enough, that I think he needs more she insists that he should be able to drink more per feeding since he's only eating every four hours. She doesn't get it when Dad and I tell her that he can't drink any more per feeding because his little tummy can only hold so much.

I didn't start watching their other son until he was 6 months old so I didn't go through this early stage with them but I have always thought of them as being very easy going people. They have always asked and taken my advice so this is very characteristic of her, I can only say that it has to be hormones and lack of sleep.

[jenboo]

That is kind of the jest of what I was getting from the reviews too. When I have mentioned to her that I don't think feeding him every 4 hours is enough, that I think he needs more she insists that he should be able to drink more per feeding since he's only eating every four hours. She doesn't get it when Dad and I tell her that he can't drink any more per feeding because his little tummy can only hold so much.

I didn't start watching their other son until he was 6 months old so I didn't go through this early stage with them but I have always thought of them as being very easy going people. They have always asked and taken my advice so this is very characteristic of her, I can only say that it has to be hormones and lack of sleep.

Poor guy.
The family who used this book, definitely took their child's lead. Their first kid had bottles 3 hours apart and drank about 5oz. Their second baby had them 4 hours apart and drank 5-8oz. The first one took 3 naps a day and the second took 2. Both slept 12 hours at night.
It's all about how many oz they are drinking during the day, not so much on a very strick eating schedule.

[Scribbles]

That is kind of the jest of what I was getting from the reviews too. When I have mentioned to her that I don't think feeding him every 4 hours is enough, that I think he needs more she insists that he should be able to drink more per feeding since he's only eating every four hours. She doesn't get it when Dad and I tell her that he can't drink any more per feeding because his little tummy can only hold so much.

I didn't start watching their other son until he was 6 months old so I didn't go through this early stage with them but I have always thought of them as being very easy going people. They have always asked and taken my advice so this is very characteristic of her, I can only say that it has to be hormones and lack of sleep.

I would tell mom that you will NOT feed according to her schedule unless she discusses the book/method with the child's Dr AND gets the approval of the Dr. Have her get it ALL spelled out in writing (the Dr's handwriting).

[Willow]

Four hours apart on a two month old? Five ounces on a two month old? For a breastfed baby to boot?

NO WAY

Are you doing the seven a.m., eleven am, and three pm feeds? If so, she is bringing you fifteen ounces?

I would divide that into four feeds.

If she is doing the seven am feed and only bringing you ten ounces... we have a problem.

He's a newborn and a breastfed newborn at that. He can't go twelve hours between feedings at night. He should be eating at least twice in the middle of the night.

Why did she want a baby if she doesn't want to take care of it? If she isn't able to care for him in the middle of the night she needs to either hire it out or find a family for him where the parents can take care of him.

What mom of a newborn gets a twelve hour night? Did she not consider this before having a child?

Ugh

How many ounces are you getting to feed him daily?

I'd flat out tell her that what she's doing is dangerous. I'd absolutely point blank pull out the big D word while I looked her straight in the eye and asked why she was struggling to understand that. I wouldn't skirt around the issue because if you and dad do, she's going to go about the weekends pushing for and expecting the same insanity out of him. Malnutrition in infancy can and does have life long health implications.

I wouldn't care if she was a nice woman otherwise, it doesn't negate that what she's doing is a serious liability to the child's health. Don't be afraid to wake her up to that fact!