Tuesday, August 27, 2013

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.

Grab button for Busy Bee

8 comments:

  1. Love this post! My daughter will nap at her grandmas for hours at a time but will never nap for longer than a hour and I have to lay with her! This post made me feel better so thanks for sharing!

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    1. It's so frustrating. But yes, eventually it will just happen. May not be perfect, but it's a baby and they are never predictable. Good luck

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  2. Love this post! My daughter will nap at her grandmas for hours at a time but will never nap for longer than a hour and I have to lay with her! This post made me feel better so thanks for sharing!

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  3. Great advice! I worried *so much* in the beginning about Mya's short naps. But now, I tend to just kind of roll with it. If she refuses a nap, she refuses it. No biggie. I can't MAKE her sleep, and I was only stressing myself out. I wish I would've figured this out sooner :)

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  4. Yep, wish I would have chilled out a little sooner too, would have saved myself a lot of tears. Some days he would nap for 10 min in the swing, others not at all. Even now, I still need white noise sometimes to get him down. Like today we are on our 3rd 45 minute nap. You really do have to just roll with it for the first 3-4 months.

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  5. He is such a doll!!! And you look beautiful! So darling!! The first few months were the hardest best months ever. xo

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    1. Thanks. Yes, each day is a new crazy fun experience. But, I try not to take it for granted, I know it won't last for long.

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  6. i used the BF bottles for Avrie, i loved those things, never a mess!

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