Speak to me of baby gas...stinky, stinky, stinky farts...and lack of poopage. And crying. Lots of crying. Some of it's even from the baby.
haha.
Also, hi! I've been lurking for a few weeks now that we're back on dialup (ugh), as well as moving back home and trying to adjust to not being in town, realizing that I really do have to find a part time job (no more than 4 hours a day, though, and no further than 30-45 minutes from home as I'm still pumping) because we are down to pennies. Can't afford to low carb, and am living on wheat, wheat, sugar, and more wheat, eating meat about once a day. Fruit's too expensive, heck, even vegetables are pricey.
But I digress.
Anyhoo, I am conflicted. I've been reading the Baby Whisperer, and have great difficulty with the author's advice concerning independence and putting baby to bed. The Chieftain is almost 3 months old now and has reached the devious stage. Y'know, the one where he likes to fake out the parents. I really want to get him to go to bed in his pack n play by himself, and if I let him fall asleep next to me on the bed, he'll pretty much go into the pnp without too much fuss. Mr Moonrise has extreme difficulty and usually hands him off to me.
Cutting this story short, my dilemma comes from a) my natural desire not to stress my baby vs b) not instilling bad habits that will haunt me 9 months from now. It turns out that I am one of those people who can't stand to hear their baby cry. I didn't cry during his first round of vaccinations, but I can't take more than 5 minutes of it when Mr Moonrise lets the Chieftain cry himself to sleep. How do I get over that? I can't be the Chieftain's crutch...right? Even though he's ony little? And I can't spoil a baby? How do I indulge myself by holding him, comforting him, when I can already see him taking as much advantage as a 3 month old can? (actually, that's quite funny, especially when he gives 'the frowny lip' while trying hard not to smile at the same time. Seriously, birds could perch on that lower lip when he sticks it out) I guess I can't figure out what to do, take my own advice and treat him the way I feel he should be treated aka Mom Knows Best, or try to utilize the Baby Whisperer's advice while he's still young enough to take to it "easily".
Moving on, what's with the stinky farts? He's moved on to occasional bm's now even though he's still breastfeeding (from the bottle, with the odd latch on me) so there are no new food tummy issues, unless he's getting them from me. I'm trying hard not to eat cheese or milk, but sometimes that's all I've got to eat (I get 20 quarts of milk a month from WIC, plus 4lbs of cheese, and I can't cut down on the milk, alas). He's always phlegmy, but it's worse when he's sleeping at night, and gassy all the time. He wakes up doing the silent screaming cry, all red in the face, tears actually coming down his cheeks...I've got to call the pediatrician on Tuesday anyway for skull shape issues so I'll also ask about getting some baby gas relief, too. But why so gassy in the first place?
Being a new, inexperienced mom and super paranoid, I also wonder about his sometimes extreme hearing sensitivity. He hates his rattle if it's shaken too hard. It's just a plastic rattle with beads in it, but I noticed today when I took him to the local Morris dancing that he didn't like the bells on the dancers' legs, he got very upset until I moved away. I dunno, maybe all babies are like that?
Help.
M
ETA: His eating pattern has changed, too. I'm worried that he's eating for comfort rather than hunger, changing from a hefty meal every 3 hours or so to eating an oz or two every hour, and eating before sleeping...I don't want to set him up for a lifetime of being fat (let's be honest, here) or bad eating habits. Unfortunately Mr Moonrise has a habit of shoving the bottle in the Chieftain's mouth when he's crying, I'll offer the bottle but put it down if he doesn't want it. How to I tell Mr Moonrise to stop his behavior without jumping down his throat?
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