Please Help! NOW!

I bought the Bjorn yesterday and as soon as Kevin is able to be here long
enough, I will try it on. I don't want to lock her into it until I have
someone to help me get her out just in case the lock sticks. Just the
first
time.

~Carol Ann
Mom to Morgan born 3.24.04
http://tinyurl.com/299ot ---Pictures of Morgan


I used to put my kids in the Bjorn by myself all the time. Put the Bjorn on
the bed or couch, put the baby it in, lean right down, and slip it on. It's
not that hard.

Sophie
#4 due July 7, 2004

Oh, I did also give her some Little Tummies Gas Drops and she let out a
bit
of air. Perhaps she has terrible gas?
~Carol Ann
Mom to Morgan born 3.24.04
http://tinyurl.com/299ot ---Pictures of Morgan


Get rid of the gas drops and get some gripe water. I think you're in a big
enough town/city to have a store that sells British food - you'll find it
there.

My mother is now holding her, even though it makes her arm hurt. Morgan
fell fast asleep in minutes. What gives???????????

~Carol Ann
Mom to Morgan born 3.24.04


If you're as stressed out as you come across in your posts, Morgan feels it.
If your mom is relaxed (which she probably is) Morgan feels that too. IME
anyway.

"Carol Ann" wrote in message
news:2Pfnc.54514$kh4.3150814@attbi_s52...
Morgan just won't let me put her down. She wants to be on me all the
time.
She eats and falls asleep. Then, when I put her down she wails.

I've tried just about everything. I'm at my wits end.

Please help!!


My 2 year old was this way, well, until about when she started crawling.
Then we didn't actually have to be touching. I just kind of went with it,
and did nothing but hold/nurse her for the first months of her life.
Looking back now, though, it was sweet. Now she's too busy to even give me
a kiss. I have to say that I had a bit of a hard time adjusting to
motherhood, and the never getting a minute to myself was probably the
problem. I did use my Maya Wrap and Baby Bjorn a lot, and got used to
having less (ie no) personal space. It has gotten better, and my 2 week
old is not that way at all.

Nancy

"Sophie" wrote in message
...
My mother is now holding her, even though it makes her arm hurt. Morgan
fell fast asleep in minutes. What gives???????????

~Carol Ann
Mom to Morgan born 3.24.04


If you're as stressed out as you come across in your posts, Morgan feels
it.
If your mom is relaxed (which she probably is) Morgan feels that too. IME
anyway.



Seconded.

"Carol Ann" wrote in message
news:SQgnc.54364$Ik.4020988@attbi_s53...
Did you get a sling yet? Will she sleep if you put her in the car seat?

I guess I should get the car seat out and take her for a walk when I can
after the sun starts to lessen.

I found a couple of walks worked for Sarah and I - one in the morning,
before the heat starts, and one at dusk, after the heat began to fade.
And at night I would drive her around when she was inconsolable.

you might drive yourself less crazy if
you just go with it and let her "be on you" and let EVERYTHING else
slide.
I did this for the first 4 or so months of my DD's life, until she could
sit
on her own and then things changed, slowly but surely. Housework and
(even
showering) can slide - I used to make myself one goal a day. Mine was
usually "I will take a shower before my DH gets home". And that's ALL I
did
all day, literally.

Carol Ann, the above is really good advice. Please consider that right now,
and for at least the next month, your only job is to comfort your newborn.
Yes, it's boring. Yes, it's exhausting. And yeah, you're a feeding
machine. But it won't be forever - just a little while longer. Don't try
to do anything other than taking care of you and her. And if you think Cy
is kidding about making a goal of "I will take a shower before DH gets
home", she's not. That was the kind of thing I would do, too. Take a
shower. That's it.


Oh now there's a thought. I can drive around. I just have been leery
about
getting out for fear that she will scream in the car like she did a week
ago. It just about broke my heart.

In general, driving is wonderful for babies. The trouble is getting them
out of the car without waking them. I never could.

There used to be a crib attachment available online (I can't remember what
it's called - maybe someone here can help?) that simulated the feel of a car
travelling at 55 miles an hour, complete with sound effects, vibrations and
bumps, that was proven in clinical testing, to soothe tiny babies. I'm
dying to buy it before the next baby comes along - Sarah had outgrown the
early horrible sleep/crying phase by the time I'd found it online. Does
anyone know what the device is called? I can't find it anymore.


I've tried rocking, singing, swinging, bouncing.....some work some of the
time if she falls asleep. But, I don't know what to do when she doesn't
want to sleep. After I change her, play with her, walk around with her,
swing her, sing to her...I just don't know what else to do. Then, she
starts crying and crying and crying.......

Basically, iirc, the only thing newborns want is to be attached to mom. So
a sling, or chest carrier of some kind was a godsend for me. But mostly,
Carol Ann, I, like almost all new mothers, spent the first 6-8 weeks
sitting/walking/rocking my newborn.

It gets better.

Donna

"nina" wrote in message
...

"Carol Ann" wrote in message
news:Esinc.53719$0H1.5206726@attbi_s54...
If you can, buy a swing. I've used them with all 3 kids, its a
lifesaver.

Have a great one! I will begin to use it more. I had been using the
vibrating bouncer (Kick and Play). But, she seems tired of it.

She is too young to really enjoy a bouncer. The swing will (hopefully) put
her to sleep
and then keep her that way. I was here alone with my baby for 5 months,
sometimes she
took entire naps in her swing. It was the only way I could eat, shower,
pee
etc


Today I DID use the Aquarium Swing. Can I leave her alone with it on?

Yes. Don't go too far, but yes.

One of the things that was recommended to me when I had Sarah was to set up
"designate interest areas". The swing. The baby gym. The bouncy seat by
the window. The blanket under the ceiling fan. And every ten minutes, move
the baby from one interest area to the next. That helps keep the baby
interested. But this might be a little later on for you - once you can put
the baby down without her wailing.

Carol Ann, by the way, newborns LOVE ceiling fans. Love them, love them,
love them. We used to keep a baby blanket directly underneath our ceiling
fan, and Sarah would just look up at it rotating and be fascinated. We
called it "Mr. Fan". She didn't outgrow that until the turning-over age
(four months? Five? I forget.). If you have a fan, think of it as a
newborn entertainment device.

Donna

"New York Jen" wrote in message
...
Just hang in there and it's ok to let her cry on her own for a little bit,
especially if you know nothing's wrong. A little crying will not hurt her
at all and she might learn to put herself to sleep. You need your sanity
in
order to be a good momma, leaving her on her own does not make you a bad
mother. My pediatrician had to drill this into me because I felt so bad,
but knowing that she was just fine I dealt with it.

With me it was my darling neigbor Mary, across the street (who talked me
through more new parent crises than you can shake a stick at.). Repeat
after me, Carol Ann "Crying Will Only Make Her Tired."

It's the hardest thing in the world to do, to just let your sweet darling
cry, but sometimes there is nothing you can do to fix things. Newborns cry.
If they're not hungry, tired, hot, cold, sick or bored... they are just
crying. I know how awful it is -- my blood pressure used to shoot up and I
would instantly have a hot flash when Sarah started to wail. But try to
remind yourself that crying is what babies do. It will only make her tired.
It will only make her tired. It will only make her tired.....

You're a good mom, Carol Ann. You are doing the very best anyone can do
with a newborn. Don't worry about transmitting your anxiety to your baby --
let me tell you, every first time mom needs prozac, I swear. You're no
different than any of us are/were, with our first babies. You're going to
get through this just fine.

Donna

PS: I'm assuming you've tried tight swaddling, right?

Carol Ann wrote:
Morgan just won't let me put her down. She wants to be on me all the time.
She eats and falls asleep. Then, when I put her down she wails.

I've tried just about everything. I'm at my wits end.

Please help!!


This will mostly echo what others have already said, but since our babes
are about the same age, I'll tell you what has worked for me:

-the bjorn - if she's super fussy I can strap her in there and get some
things done 'hands free' and she usually conks out
-do you have a bouncy seat or swing? sometimes those will work for a while
-holding her facing outward; holding her tummy down over my knees. both
ways seem to put pressure on her tummy and helps with possible gas
-RELAX - if she cries, she cries. Its annoying and hard to listen to
but sometimes babies *need* to let off steam and just cry for a spell.
Sometimes when nothing works with M she fusses and cries and gets all
worked up and then suddenly relaxes and falls asleep.
Hang in there - the first 3 months are really tough with some babies,
but it generally improves drastically as the weeks go on...

cara

Our hospital had heartbeat widgets to put next to unhappy babies whose
mothers were having a short break. They kept getting stolen, but they
worked.

Tine, Denmark