Wednesday, September 26, 2012

reader question - waketime, gassiness, and putting baby in his nursery


Right now he is going about 2.5-3 hours during the day and 3.5-4 during the night between feedings. He is very fussy during the night. He has tummy troubles and is very gassy. It takes forever for us to get him calmed down. He just wants to be held until all the gas is out. Doctor said it sounds like colic and we are trying gas drops. 

I like scheduling and predictability so I know how to plan my day and what to expect. He is 3 weeks on Monday. How long should wake time be? I do have to wake him to eat during the day and sometimes at night. They told me not to let him go longer than those times. You hear different things from everyone and it is so overwhelming. Could you explain what wake time would look like for him right now? 


I slept in my bedroom with my husband and put him in the nursery last night...that in itself feels like a huge accomplishment! We had to turn the baby monitor off because I was just laying there listening for a noise!! Thanks Claire for taking the time to help me figure this out  and a big thank you for the encouragement. I've never doubted myself so much in my life! Just keep telling myself God made me for this and He will equip me.


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Duke was very gassy in the beginning too.  We thought it could've been colic as well, but I think it was just gas.  Eventually, he grew out of it.  It didn't take long, so hopefully your baby is on his way out of his crazy gassiness!

I think with your baby's age, his waketime is probably no longer than 50ish minutes.  And that includes feed time.  So if you feed for 20 minutes, he'd just be up for another 30.  It's different with every baby, of course, so it may just take a little trial and error to figure out the perfect time.  My guess would be 50 minutes but it could be a little less or a little more. 
At that age, Duke's waketime consisted of maybe some time in the bouncer or on his playmat.  And if I remember correctly, he was starting to feed around 30 minutes.  So, once he was fed, burped, and changed, it was just about time for a nap! 


Good for you for putting him in his nursery!  It will pay off. Before we had Duke, I was told if you get in the habit of keeping them in your room, it just gets harder and harder to move them to their own room.  So from the start, we put Duke in his room and we're so glad we did.  And yes, turning that baby monitor off is SO helpful.  We weren't sleeping at all because I was hearing every little peep and my mom finally said, "Claire, you have to turn that off. You will hear him if he's crying and really needs you."  And she was exactly right!


Everything does get easier.  The first weeks are the hardest.  I know you've heard that a million times, but it really is true. 


As far as doubting goes, I had never questioned myself so much.  And many of my friends that have recently had babies have expressed the same thing.  But what's great about it is that we are each the perfect mom for our child.  I can't be a better mom to yours and you can't be a better mom to mine.  You are doing everything you are supposed to and you are everything that he needs. :)

2 comments:

  1. I've decided that the most constant theme of motherhood is second-guessing myself. :)

    ReplyDelete

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