Monday, July 18, 2011
Cry baby
Mother of four looking for advice. This baby is wearing me out! He needs to be held all the time. All the time! Not only does he need to be held all the time, but he prefers being held by me. When it's your first child and no one else needs your attention you might think that it's sweet, but when it's your fourth child it's exhausting. When I say held, I mean held while you are standing, sitting in your lap is not enough for him. Bonus, he hates riding in the car and in a stroller. Pretty much every evening the noise that accompanies me while I make dinner is a screaming baby. Mia can hold him for about 10 minutes before he wears her out. Then he is set down and instead of just babbling and playing with his toys or observing his surroundings he screams and cries. He doesn't give up either. He will scream and cry until he is picked up and when that happens he immediately ceases crying. Aaron holding him doesn't help either. He screams in Aaron's arms. I think it makes Aaron feel bad because he holds Eli less and less. What can I do about this? I have a baby carrier, but I can't wear him while I'm in front of a grill or boiling water or a hot oven. Not to mention that I love him, but I don't want to hold him all the time. I also want him to learn to be happy on his own, and not feel like he needs to be held all the time. Right now I feel like it's never going to end. What can I do? This is Eli last night while I was cooking and don't forget, he's fed, clean, safe, and rested. This is just what he does when he's not being held.
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5 comments:
Have you tried an ergo carrier? I can still carry Sam in it and he's two. Sam was the same way ( I can't imagine doing that with 3 other kids!!) and having him in the carrier really helped.
Oh and I wanted to say the ergo carrier is great because you can put him on your back. I used to cook with him all the time. Sam grew out of that clingy phase and I think he's more confident now because I held him so much as a baby...but that's just my opinion.
you could try putting him on a sleep/eat schedule and then plan your cooking/cleaning/kid time while he's asleep. That works great for me with the twins! They usually sleep for about 5-6 hours during the day and 11-12 hours at night!
This is why I love child rearing... Leah and Heather have the two most polar opposite child rearing methods, but they both have happy, well adjusted, productive lives. I slot somewhere in the middle. I let my babies rule my life until they were about 6 months and then it was much more scheduled. For me it had to be more scheduled as I returned to work at that time. I cooked dinner when they were napping in the day, so I didn't have that horrible crying thing in the evening. You'll find the best way to resolve it, or he'll just grow out of it. Plus remember crying never killed anyone. Sometimes you just got to let them cry!!!
Thanks all you wonderful Florence women! He does not like the Ergo on my back, only the front. Aaron works in the evening so we have dinner by 5. He follows a "loose" schedule and naps from 2-330/4 so he's wide awake while I'm cooking. I feel so bad when he's crying, but I've got to get it done. The one thing I can try is to prep as much of the dinner as possible while he's in that 2 o'clock nap. Heather, I'm so jealous your girls are sleeping 11+ hours at night! He's just at 6. He's been tricky, but we love him lots.
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