my 6 mo dd recently had surgery. i am well aware that this can effect her eating and sleeping. she seems to be doing very well with the pain. in fact i dont have to give her any pain meds all day and she is very happy overall. :) however, getting her to eat is a real pain. she fights me to nurse and will go 5 hours without eating. she shows no interest in her fruit, veggies, or cereal either (she acts insulted when i try to give it to her). night time is becoming a nightmare. she fights going to sleep (and fights her naps like crazy as well). i normally nurse her to sleep, but she decides that she is done before she is asleep and it takes a while to get her to sleep. we rock her and try laying her down and patting her bottom. we do not do cio or ferber (and i do not want to do cio), but i am feeling very tempted. i know that she is teething as well so i give her orajel. i am at a loss (and we have the same bedtime routine) and tired. i dont want to give her her pain meds or valium they prescribed (she is in a full leg cast) unless she really needs it. she started fighting her naps at 3 mo and honestly i am lucky if i can get an hour nap out of her. we dont want to hold her for every nap, but sometimes we have to. the swing used to work, but it no longer does. co-sleeping is not an option for us (with my hubby's apnea we just dont see it as a safe option). we all generally sleep better if she is in her own bed, it is just getting her down that is an issue. any advice?
Maybe her leg bothers her when she is in a reclined position. Since she can't tell you it hurts, maybe that's it. I would try giving her some pain meds before putting her down. Same with eating, maybe the position she's in isn't comfortable with the full leg cast.
Also, this could might be a reaction to the trauma of surgery and being put under on anesthetic.
I'm wondering if she is in more pain at the end of the day? You know, like how if you're not feeling well during the day, it's always way worse at night when there's nothing else to distract you? Maybe she is the same way, and would benefit from even a half-dose of the pain meds near the end of the day.
Aside from that, I found that putting babies down early for the night works a lot better than putting them down later. By early, I mean around 6pm. I know that sounds crazy, but give it a try. Babies are wired differently than older kids and adults, and they seem to need to be put down around 6pm, and will fight it less at that hour. It's good that you are putting her down awake, actually - being able to fall asleep on her own is really important for her future sleeping habits. Make sure she has eaten as much as she can possibly hold (and actually, every 5 hours is not a problem in and of itself, if that's when she's wanting to eat), and then put her down relaxed but awake at 6. Let her settle herself down. She may fuss a little bit, and that's okay. Some babies just need to kind of let off a little steam before they settle down for the night. Don't worry unless she sounds like something is wrong (hungry, wet, in pain).
As for napping, if you can establish a good bedtime, I think you're better off for naptime as well. For instance, if she sleeps 6pm-6am, then she should need a short nap around 9am, eat at 10am, and then down for a nap at noon. This one will probably last a little bit longer. For the naps, again, put her down awake and let her fall asleep on her own. It's okay if she fidgets, and sometimes it takes a while for them to fall asleep. If she wakes up crying, give her a few minutes to settle back down - sometimes babies cry and they're actually still sleeping, just restless. If you leave them alone, they'll settle back down. Just be consistent and remember that you need to direct the schedule somewhat here - don't wait for her to decide everything, just kind of keep to as much of a daily schedule as you can (within reason). Once she knows what to expect next, she will get with the program pretty quickly and it will become less of a struggle for you both.
Obviously because she has had surgery, you probably need to address the pain issue (even if she's happy, she may still hurt by the end of the day). So your schedule is bound to be a little wonky right now. Just do your best to make sure she's getting the rest she needs for now. Good luck!
I think she is in more pain than you think. Give her pain med for a day and see if things change.
I think beenthere may be right - she may not be crying with pain, but she may be too uncomfortable to eat or sleep. Try the pain meds again and see what happens. Call your pedi or the place where she had the surgery as well - they may recognize the behavior and have tips for you.
How safe is her room/ bed? Does she play with things yet? If she is safe in her room, let her stay up and play in bed. Do you use a pacifier? Does she scream? Have you considered buying a cot for yourself to set up in her room?
Sometimes you just have to let them scream. I would talk to my daughter through her closed door. I would sing and talk during her feeding, then set her down when she passed out, first wake up I would pick her up and rock her and sing, second wake up I would pat her and sing, the third I would stand beside her bed and sing. I would move father and farther away until I was outside her door. It took a bout a full week or 2, but she learned she was safe and it was time to sleep.
Good luck.
Sounds like she may be in some pain. She won't be hungry then.
I would give her the pain meds again & try different things that may make
her comfortable like: propping her up on some pillows, putting her in a
swing or one of those propped up infant seats.
Also, maybe try feeding her something else/different that she can have but hasn't had yet.
