It's amazing to me how sweet and adorable Mae is and how she is absolutely the most difficult kid I've had. It's my saving grace that she sleeps through the night because if not... I'm not sure I'd still have my wits about me!
She nurses constantly still. I'm lucky if she goes every two hours, usually more like every hour. She will cuddle with me immediately after nursing but if I put her down to play she absolutely, every single time, begins crying. If I leave her she will cry, like loud crying, not fussing for about 3 or 4 minutes then sometimes can self calm and play with whatever I put in her lap. She only has a nap and play since she can't sit up and frequently naps in there. Well the last two weeks the second I put her in the little chair she starts crying but will.not.stop. unless I take her out. She hates it! I've popped her in the stroller and let the girls push her around the house a couple of times so I can do some house work but mostly I've been holding her or wearing her in the ergo or k'tan. Most of the time I'm just sitting in the rocking chair holding a toy up for her to bat at. You have no idea how much I love it and hate it.
Finally this morning I was done. Jerry came down on his break and kissed me and asked how my day was going over the noise of Mae screaming on the floor. She had rolled onto her tummy a second before and she hates tummy time. "Remember that time I hadn't slept more than two hour spurts when Mae was six weeks old and I told you we were buying a swing or she was going to die?" he nodded very seriously. He remembered. "Well I'm there. We're buying something to put her in or else I"m sending her to work with you." He nodded and without skipping a beat asked if I needed his card or cash. The man knows my serious face. It's a good thing too because I really would have abandoned her in an alley somewhere.
Okay, maybe not. I love her. I think (don't tell my kids this) I actually have more grace and love for her than I did for my other kids at their most needy ages. It was probably the way nature intended. I need so much more grace with her. She refuses a bottle, binki, or any other comfort item besides me.
The most frustrating thing is that even if she has nursed a moment before, if she is crying and I pick her up she wants to nurse. If Jerry is holding her and she's starting to fuss or he has to go upstairs, the second he hands her to me she wants to nurse.
I think that I wouldn't mind nursing as often as we do if she would just sit there and nurse, but no - she does gymnastics, likes to kick my arms and scratch while she nurses. She is incredibly impatient when she is nursing and gets so angry while waiting for let down. When this happens she pulls away violently, with my nipple still in her mouth. She will clench her jaw and jerk away and scream and cry and turn red. As soon as my milk lets down she scratches and pinches. It seems like it's only getting worse!
It came to me last week that she is probably bored. I mean, she's six months old and doesn't sit up. She can roll on to her stomach but can't hold her head up long so she gets frustrated very quickly.
I do not exaggerate. She cries and cries and cries - sooooo often!
Last week I ordered her a chair for the table and it was delivered moments after we got back from Target where I bought a jumperoo.
She has played in it and sat in her new chair and threw cheerios off her chair happily. It's been almost three hours since I nurse her and she seems pretty content.
Has anyone had a needy baby like her? She is taking reflux meds now and still takes great naps and sleeps through the night. I would not mind if anyone had any ideas for me. I want to continue nursing so I'm looking for idea how to make nursing less painful for me, and less gymnasium like for her.
And I do love her.
And I do love her.
Zack was more high maintenance than Ryan was but that could also be because he was my first?! I never had a needy child so I'm not much help there, seems like you're on the right track though.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the nursing thing, if she is sleeping all night (or 12 hours each night like you've mentioned) then she will eat more often during her awake times. They need calories and if they don't get it at night while they're sleeping then they're going to make up for it during the day, hence eating every hour. Maybe try waking her up to eat a few hours after she goes to bed or when you wake up. Plus that can't feel good on your poor chest! :)