Woah!- Fae started sleeping through the night at 2 months old.
Woe- Since we moved to New York she has gotten up at least 2 times in the night for no reason.
Solution?
Well, here is what we USED to do.. until we realized we were being kind of lazy parents: get up, let her play around, and let her take a bottel to bed with her.
Now we do this: She eats cereal about an hour before she goes to bed, and then has a bottle (with some cereal in it) right before we put her to bed. Brush teeth, and goes in her crib. Sometimes she cries, sometimes she plays, but either way, jarom and I do not get up with her. For example last night, she woke up around 2 in the morning, but I let her cry it out. It only lasted about 20 minutes, then she went back to sleep, and slept till 9:15 this morning!
Moral:
Every parent deals with kids differently, but I realized that we were totally spoiling Fae when we would get up with her and play during the night! She wasn't sick or hungry, she just wanted to play, and as much as I love her, she has to get on a schedule, a better schedule.. Because I will not be doing that crap until she is 5.
It is hard to listen to your baby cry, as every parent knows, but for us... it was a necessity.
Woah!- Fae is a serious walker, everywhere, all over the place.
Woe- she falls a LOT and has a perpetual red mark on her forehead.
Solution: Get her a helmet.
Moral: I let her get hurt, I know that sounds mean, but I truly don't baby her. I'm a true believer in experiencing (safe) things on your own. Yeah she falls down, yeah she hits her head a lot, and even bit through her tongue recently.. which was horrible and there was blood gushing everywhere and I freaked out because I had no idea where it was coming from... but I feel like she cries a LOT less that the average baby, and is way happier just doing her own thing and learning as she goes!
Woah!- She eats anything and everything, and knows how to chew and finnnnnallly learned how to take "bites"- which is so cute.
Woe- She throws up a lot.. she was doind very well with the puking, but the more we introduce table food, the more she thorws up. I always do bite size pieces, and always soft veggies and fruits, she just has a sensitive stomach.
Solution:
We only feed her one real meal a day, the other two are cereal, and in between are bottles. Contrary to what people are telling me to do, we will not be getting rid of her bottle by a year old.
Moral:
As far as food goes, I am Fae's mommy, and I feel like I know what is best for her. Table food is not that important right now, the important nutrients she needs comes from her formula. Cereal and soft veggies will take the back burner for a little while longer. As far as taking the bottle away though, Sometimes I think parents take things away from their kids way too early, which stresses them out. For me, A bottle is comforting, and she will be allowed to have THAT for a little while longer also.
Anyway, those are some of the things we have been dealing with lately, all I can say is I try to be the best mom I can, but sometimes I don't know what I'm doing. This is not que for "give me your advice" haha! Just expressing my thoughts! :)
I'm with you on the falling while walking thing. Ever since Adelaide started to get hurt with different things we would cheer for her. If she did start crying then we knew that she really was hurt and then we'd grab her and comfort her.
ReplyDeleteBabies totally react to how you do. One day Adelaide was at her grandparents and she was shutting a drawer and her fingers were in it, she didn't close it hard on her fingers but her grandma freaked out that baby was going to be hurt so Adelaide started crying, when she was totally fine.
Since we don't react badly to her little bumps she can run around with bigger kids, get knocked down, and keep on keepin' on! So much nicer then a kid that's constantly crying.
Also don't feel bad about having Fae still use a bottle. Adelaide is almost 18 months and still uses one. Her main source of nutrition is still milk since she hardly eats real food when she's in a highchair (believe me, we try, she just is not interested!). We figure as long as she's not a bottle when she's 5, we're OK! And you're right, ultimately you're her mom and you know you're child best and know what works for her/you so just keep doing what you're doing!
thanks!! I like everything you wrote.. that sounds wierd but i appreciate it!!
ReplyDeleteYou are her mom and she is doing just fine so you must be doing something right :-)
ReplyDeleteWe do the same thing with David when he falls and I agree with Kirsten, if you freak, she will to. Of course their are times when he is genuinely hurt and I will cuddle him.
Thanks for going public again! :) You are right, you are her mom, and it's your prerogative to make decisions like these and learn/decide as you go. As far as milk/solids go, I nursed my daughter until almost 15 months; she was a very picky eater, plus had allergies to milk and egg, so it took me a while to figure out what she could and would eat that would provide the nutrition she needed. I don't plan on nursing that long next time, but I'm glad I waited till I felt she and I were ready to wean her. It's hard because some people make you feel stupid or wrong for things you choose to do as a parent, but as long as you're the one who has to deal with the consequences of your decision and you're doing your best to make decisions based on your child's needs, you're doing good, I think.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree :). Can I take a bragging moment? Ellie has been sleeping through the night for the past 1.5 months (she's almost 4 months now).
ReplyDeleteBut, as far as the table food goes, I think it's awesome that you're paying attention to your girl's needs and realizing they're different than other kids' needs.
But, if you're looking to introduce some new foods, and if she needs the extra calories (don't know if she does), you might want to ask your doctor about using things like coconut milk, adding cream type things to her milk, etc. My sister has to supplement my nephew's diet with things like that (he's 1) because his growth charts are dropping. But, even if she doesn't need the extra weight, if your dr. gives your the okay, things like coconut milk (I like the SO Coconut brand in the dairy section) might give her new things to try.