I think one of the most important things for new moms to
hear and know is that babies go through phases. Sometimes the phase might last for three days, other times
three months. Just know that there
is an end in sight! Sometimes that end might be welcomed and other times you
might be sad to see it pass. Let
me explain some of the “phases” we have personally experienced.
Breastfeeding:
I promised myself that I would breastfeed for AT LEAST 4 weeks. It was not extremely difficult, but it
was painful and it seemed my world revolved around it. I had to change the way I dressed, the
way I ate; I didn’t feel comfortable working out, it was messy, and I didn’t
feel like she was ever getting enough to eat. She was eating almost every hour! I envy the mothers who do it so easily and almost make it
look glamorous. I do feel selfish
complaining about something so natural that is good for baby, but at the same
time, ending this phase made the whole family more relaxed and happy. I got through those 4+ weeks knowing
that there was an end in sight!
The switch to bottle went smoothly and after testing a few formulas, she
was eating without spitting everything up. Thus, feeding became more enjoyable for both of us. Adios breast pump, nursing bras,
and… never mind, that’s not blog
appropriate.
Sleeping:
For
the first couple of months, she was a typical newborn.
She woke every couple of hours to eat
and would quickly go back to sleep.
No big deal.
However, she
also went through short phases of waking up at 2 a.m. and NOT going back to
sleep at all! I think the longest that ever went on was about four days.
I remember trying everything – music,
bouncing on the exercise ball, stepping outside, trying to get her to fall
asleep on my chest, etc.
All of
these things had worked like a charm before, why weren’t they working now?
Thank goodness it was JUST A PHASE.
Sometimes, though, you do have to
change things up and find out what works best.
Our lifesaver for getting sleep was the Rock ‘n Play that I
blogged about
here.
See also:
swaddling.
At about five months,
she wasn’t sleeping as well through the night because she kept trying to get
out of the swaddle.
We gave it up
and I wish we could say we haven’t looked back, but the transition wasn’t
easy.
Maybe I’ll touch more on
that in another post solely about sleeping and “cry-it-out” methods.
Her latest sleep phase: waking up at
midnight, then at 3 a.m., then at 5 a.m.
About two weeks ago, she did that almost every night.
She would wake up and either talk to
herself for about an hour before she fell back to sleep, or cry until I rocked
her back to sleep.
Although the
talking was cute, it still kept me up and prevented both of us from getting a
full night’s rest. She still wakes up in the morning talking, but that gives me
time to get ready before I have to get her up.
Also, when she would wake up talking or crying at 5 a.m. I
would go get her and bring her down to our bed. I’d let her sleep on me for the
rest of the morning.
We would
usually stay in bed until 8 or 8:30!
As much as Ray and I both enjoy having her in bed with us (seriously!),
he told me I shouldn’t keep it up or she will make a habit out of it.
Point taken.
She is back to sleeping almost 12 hours and I don’t want
this phase to end!
Eating: The
phases are pretty obvious here. As
babies grow, they are going to eat more.
You just have to figure out what your baby is wanting. If he/she cries after a bottle, it
probably means you need to add an ounce or two to each bottle from then on. Our
baby girl has NEVER stopped eating in the middle of the bottle. I mean, if there’s a drop left, she
knows it and she wants it. If we take
the bottle away before it’s gone, she starts huffing and puffing. Sometimes we do it on purpose because
it’s just so darn cute.
Those are the biggest issues that come and go in
phases. But, for each baby there
may be more. One more personal
example: RK hated the car, so we
bought a DVD player hoping it would give her something to take her mind off the
fact that she was in the car. It
satisfied her for about two days.
We returned the DVD player because there was no benefit – and when
you’re not satisfied, you want your money back! As she developed a little more, yet still hating the car, we
decided to try again. We bought
another (cheaper) DVD player and it has worked wonders. No more tears in the car! And sometimes, I’ll just pause the DVD
and she will eventually fall asleep.
Hooray!
The way I look at it, having a baby is like being a teacher
in at least this way: sometimes
you get through the days by keeping your eye on the prize that is a weekend, a
break. It might be frustrating
when you’re not getting any sleep or you don’t know what to do to make your
baby happy, but know IT’S JUST A PHASE!
