Because Alana is sleeping...
I'm still alive here, I'm just a full time mother.
The high-needs love of my life
Our beautiful princess Alana is what Dr. Sears calls a "high-needs baby." In other words, with a few exceptions, she needs to be held and entertained 24/7. She has a few peaceful hours during the day but the majority of our day is spent cuddling. If I put her down, she cries.
This is fine with me, it just makes it extraordinarily difficult to get anything done. All I can really do is watch tv, read a book, and refresh The Nest 0-6 month board. The posts are short so I don't get caught up in anything I don't have time to finish. They're also all baby related, and I can type a SHORT, one-handed response, if need be.
"Me" time?! LOL
The funny thing about mommies is that our "me" time usually includes something to do with the baby, be it thinking about the baby, talking about her, reading books about raising her, taking pictures of her or writing in her baby book.
Cuddle with me!
I've been carrying her basically all day for the last few weeks. I put her in the Bjorn as much as I can but to be honest, it's kind of a pain in the ass to put her in and take her out of, and she can't lay down in it either. Given that money is TIGHT right now, I hesitated for a while but finally gave in and ordered a Sleepy Wrap.
It looks pretty handy for the grocery store and errands. Unlike the Bjorn, you can just keep it on without having to take it off every time. It also has a bit of stretch to it, and looks cozier for baby. I envision myself putting it on before I leave the house and slipping Alana into it as soon as we get to the grocery store. Carrying her in her car seat is difficult for me because it's so big and awkward. It's no problem for Allen, but he's not always with us when we run errands.
I can also wear her around the house easily too, so maybe... just maybe I can get things done.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind holding my princess all of the time, it's just that most of the time I literally can't put her down for a few minutes while I go grab some food, and her cries are heartbreaking.
Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper
We also ordered a co-sleeper for Alana. More money, sure, but probably very worth it. Given that we co-sleep on our full-sized bed, none of us really have any room, except for Alana. Sometimes, Allen sleeps on the couch :o( In order to further our efforts to NOT have Alana come between our marriage and intimacy, we have to try somethings else.
She sleeps so much better with us at night. I place her about a foot away from me and she ends up wiggling over to me and pressing herself on my chest. The fact that she needs to be on me 24/7 makes me worry a little that because we don't have the skin to skin contact, she might not like her co-sleeper.
Seriously though, she sleeps like a DREAM most of the time when she's in our bed. I won't go too much into it, but read Dr. Sears' research, if you're actually interested. Basically, when a mother sleeps with her child, they tend to breathe in unison, enter the same sleep stages in unison, and the mother tends to wake up right before the baby wants to feed. It's all totally true. A lot of times I'll wake up in the morning and not remember feeding her or only sort of remember feeding her. Or, when I do remember it, I realize that I wake up about a minute before she does. She feeds immediately and no crying ensues.
Anyways...
God bless you if you read this.
I feel like life is SOO much better since we were blessed with Alana ;D
The high-needs love of my life
Our beautiful princess Alana is what Dr. Sears calls a "high-needs baby." In other words, with a few exceptions, she needs to be held and entertained 24/7. She has a few peaceful hours during the day but the majority of our day is spent cuddling. If I put her down, she cries.
This is fine with me, it just makes it extraordinarily difficult to get anything done. All I can really do is watch tv, read a book, and refresh The Nest 0-6 month board. The posts are short so I don't get caught up in anything I don't have time to finish. They're also all baby related, and I can type a SHORT, one-handed response, if need be.
"Me" time?! LOL
The funny thing about mommies is that our "me" time usually includes something to do with the baby, be it thinking about the baby, talking about her, reading books about raising her, taking pictures of her or writing in her baby book.
Cuddle with me!
I've been carrying her basically all day for the last few weeks. I put her in the Bjorn as much as I can but to be honest, it's kind of a pain in the ass to put her in and take her out of, and she can't lay down in it either. Given that money is TIGHT right now, I hesitated for a while but finally gave in and ordered a Sleepy Wrap.
It looks pretty handy for the grocery store and errands. Unlike the Bjorn, you can just keep it on without having to take it off every time. It also has a bit of stretch to it, and looks cozier for baby. I envision myself putting it on before I leave the house and slipping Alana into it as soon as we get to the grocery store. Carrying her in her car seat is difficult for me because it's so big and awkward. It's no problem for Allen, but he's not always with us when we run errands.
I can also wear her around the house easily too, so maybe... just maybe I can get things done.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind holding my princess all of the time, it's just that most of the time I literally can't put her down for a few minutes while I go grab some food, and her cries are heartbreaking.
Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper
We also ordered a co-sleeper for Alana. More money, sure, but probably very worth it. Given that we co-sleep on our full-sized bed, none of us really have any room, except for Alana. Sometimes, Allen sleeps on the couch :o( In order to further our efforts to NOT have Alana come between our marriage and intimacy, we have to try somethings else.
She sleeps so much better with us at night. I place her about a foot away from me and she ends up wiggling over to me and pressing herself on my chest. The fact that she needs to be on me 24/7 makes me worry a little that because we don't have the skin to skin contact, she might not like her co-sleeper.
Seriously though, she sleeps like a DREAM most of the time when she's in our bed. I won't go too much into it, but read Dr. Sears' research, if you're actually interested. Basically, when a mother sleeps with her child, they tend to breathe in unison, enter the same sleep stages in unison, and the mother tends to wake up right before the baby wants to feed. It's all totally true. A lot of times I'll wake up in the morning and not remember feeding her or only sort of remember feeding her. Or, when I do remember it, I realize that I wake up about a minute before she does. She feeds immediately and no crying ensues.
Anyways...
God bless you if you read this.
I feel like life is SOO much better since we were blessed with Alana ;D