And then there was light

As I had previously mentioned in Cole's weekly updates he is not a napper, especially in his crib. Well since he is starting daycare in a week, this was causing me severe anxiety. They nap in their cribs there, unfortunately there isn't enough caretakers to hold him while he naps, like at home. All I could picture was him screaming and not napping and being an unhappy little guy. I know that won't actually happen, but in my hormonal brain, that's how I see it.

Well, somehow over the past week, it just clicked. He has allowed me to lay him down 50% asleep and he will nap anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, in his crib!!!! Swaddling, in a swaddle sack, which we do not do at night, helped for naps, who knew!!! This made for a very happy momma. Its not consistent, but it's possible, and that's all I needed!!

Fast Forward to last Thursday, it's afternoon, when I usually give him a bottle and he HATES every second of it.  We have tried every bottle out there and we had yet to find one that he did not choke and gag with causing him to scream and become very irritable. Well, I had one more bottle, a Tommee Tippee (the very first bottle I ever got) that I had yet to try. I had read that the flow was WAY faster then any other nipple, so I obviously held out on that one. I found the Breastflow by The first year worked pretty good, but not perfect, so we had been using that. But, there were conflicting reports about it being BPA free-so I was still on the look out for a new bottle. I was desperate to find something. Back to Thursday, I am in the cupboard grabbing a bottle and figured, might as well try the TT. Well, much to my surprise, he took it awesome. No gagging and crying only when had to be burped, because he doesn't want to stop eating. I was so excited I had tears in my eyes, no joke.

This shed light not only on the napping and bottle situation for me, but on babies in general. You can't rush a baby or 'make' him do anything. They will do everything they are supposed to, how they are supposed to, when they are good and ready. No matter how many books you read or blog posts, every baby is different. And if you try to compare what your baby is doing to another, you will drive yourself crazy.

So, if you are worried because your baby only will sleep in a swing or when being held, give it time. Let your baby tell you what they want and go with it. IT WILL ALL WORK OUT. And the most important thing, do not compare your baby to what google or anyone else for that matter says. I promise this will lead to a very frustrated momma. Do what works for you at that time. Whether that be a strict schedule or not, crib or bassinet, long naps or cat naps, listen to your baby and what makes your life work. Don't force anything that doesn't feel comfortable. Like my situation, it will just happen when your baby is ready.