All those doctors and nurses and sundry child care professionals that said “At 6 weeks old she will cry more.”
Well she turned 6 weeks old last Thursday and I don’t think she has stopped crying since. What happened to my nice placid baby? She puts on great show for visitors all smiles and gurgles but as soon as they leave – WAWAWAWAWA.
Outside we go for long walks in the pram and she lies there staring around at the world happy as larry but as soon as we get back in the house where no-one can see – WAWAWAWAWA.
After a long week in Queensland visiting family (complete with me getting some e-coli bug) what I really wanted was to come home and get settled back into our routine so I could get some rest. But no Bubbaleechie has other ideas she wants to vocalise – WAWAWAWAWA.
Think perhaps it is time for one noisy baby to spend the day with her Omi whilst her mum tries to get rid of the crying baby echo from her head.
It is known as “care giver’s relief” and yes, get some right away. You are being stressed way more than you need to be. I trust your child’s basal temperature, BMs and all else are normal? If so, you need a brief respite.
My little blossom is the same. Even now, at eight months, he HATES being home and whinges and cries often. As soon as we are outside, he’s as happy as larry.
I had to go to Osaka(with blossom) for a day the other week, and took the overnight ferry there and back. He didn’t cry once.
Yes, do get some time off as soon as possible!! FWIW, such extended crying sessions often stop at right around 3 months. I know that seems like a long time, but hold on to the hope.
I think one of the hardest things about having a first baby is that it feels like every phase is going to be permanent. . .She’ll never sleep through the night; she’ll never stop crying, whatever. I promise you, whatever it is, it’s just a phase. There’s no promise that the next phase will be better, but this one will pass!
Poor leechbabe. Have you tried locking her in the bathroom? Well, it worked for my cats! Whattaya mean that’s not funny? I can see all the way over here that leechbabe has a little grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Seriously, get someone to take over while you go for a break. Get a manicure, go to a movie-- one of my friends would have me come over just so she could take a long soaky bath in peace.
I took Bubbaleechie to her Omi’s today and we both got spoilt rotten. She enjoyed the company and I enjoyed the chance to sit and have a cup of tea in peace. Bliss.
Leaving a baby to cry (after exhausting all other possible alternatives) does NOT constitute child abuse/neglect.
Babies do not die from crying, in fact you hurt more from hearing her cry than she feels when crying. Babies know this. It’s part of their Master Plan to start the Parental Guilt Trip Process (PGTP) from an early age. And that’s why they don’t do it in public…it would blow their cover. It helps them later on when they want the new Barbie Doll/Rough Rider windcheater/Eminem CD. All they have to do then is to squint their eyes, and your Guilt Trigger is activated. Babies are evil and manipulative. Even the cute ones. ESPECIALLY the cute ones. They reserve all of their most obnoxious behaviour for mum, so everyone else thinks that they are gorgeous, and that it is YOU who must be delusional.
Yep. It’s all part of the PGTP plan.
(Hey Leechy, are you still up for a Baby-Dope sometime soon? We’ll sort your little rotter out!!)
Some people just cannot be reasoned with. Have her read that “Your New Baby” book you got and follow the directions precisely. That should take care of all your problems.
Trust me, someday you will look back on this phase of Bubbaleechie’s development and WISH you could go back to it as SO much better than the present aggravation you are being put through. :eek:
Kambuckta’s advice is spot-on, except that I would hasten to add that it is VITALLY important that even at this early age you begin installing Guilt Buttons in Bubbaleechie in addition to the ones she’s installing in you so that someday you will be able to say two or three words and have her positively cringe. One of the true joys of parenthood. It’s never too early to start!
But seriously, take care of yourself. Get someone to give you a few hours off every now and then so you can get some much-needed rest. When Bubbaleechie takes a nap, DO NOT WORRY about the house/dishes/vacuuming/assorted other “must do while I can” tasks. Take a nap, too, and waste not even one second of guilt over everything else you SHOULD be doing, because really right now the only thing you SHOULD be doing is taking care of yourself so you can take care of her!
And feel free to whinge here any time you want. There are a BUNCH of us who understand!
Just a think on my part. Maybe your little angle is bored. So buy the little stinker all new toys and see if that helps. If not, you’ll have to move to a new house. If that doesn’t help, I don’t know, buy Bubbaleechie a pony. That’s a sure bet. Yup, she needs a pony.
Orrrrr… something that helped both the boys was a “Sounds of Nature” CD. Soupo liked the “frog chorus” and Katcha was partial to “rain” and “babbling brook”. (Good thing we got the sampler and had a CD player with “repeat”.)
I have learned with my own that babies can sense frustration. If you are tense she is going to feel it. Let Grandma or a friend or someone else hold her for a while when you can and take a breather for yourself.
As it has been mentioned…this will pass. My newest one who is 15 months now didn’t sleep through a single night until he was 13 months old.
My husband and I were so sleep deprived and we were at our wits end. On those night we just couldn’t take it anymore we had one of our parents take him so we could get some sleep.
We also had his nursery in our master bedroom. When we bought the house we thought having a nursery nook off of the bedroom was a great idea.
The night we moved him to his own room he slept through it. I talked to the doctor about it and he said when little one woke up in the middle of the night and could see us across the room he wanted our attention and wanted to get in bed with us.
Now he sleeps peacefully in his own space and so do we.
Best of luck to you! Enjoy this baby time…it goes too fast!