Saturday, January 11, 2014

Spoiling a newborn

Can you even spoil a newborn? Some say yes and some say no. Me? I'm one of the "no" people.

"Don't pick up your baby every time she cries or she will learn that it's okay."
"She should be on a schedule to prevent cluster feeding."
"She should be sleeping in her crib, not in your room."
"You shouldn't hold her all the time, you'll never be able to put her down without her crying."

Blah. Blah. Blah.

I appreciate everyone's concerns with my child, but here's the thing...to put it simply, only my concerns count when it comes to my child.

When she cries, I pick her up. I comfort her. She doesn't want it, she needs it. My body housed her for nine months, and holding her pressed up against it is familiar and comforting for her.

When she's hungry, I can tell. I will not wait one more hour just to keep a schedule. She sometimes snacks on two ounces at a time ALL day instead of ever drinking one full bottle, but that's okay by me. She is hungry, I will not deprive her.

She'll sleep in her crib when I'm ready for her to sleep in her crib. The sweet sound of her breathing has become my white noise and it comforts me. Whatever she needs, I am there immediately with her beside my bed. We do not co-sleep simply because I'm terrified of rolling over on her, but to mamas who do, good for you!

I hold her all the time. Period. I let her sleep in my arms, I hold her upright while she watches tv, I snuggle her when she's not feeling well. When it comes time to put her down, she doesn't cry. She's only going to be a snuggly baby for a short time before she wants to walk around and explore rather than being held by mommy. I will take advantage of it until she is just too old to be held anymore.

I don't think there's a single thing wrong with spoiling babies, if that's what you want to call it. They're only babies once, even though we are mommies forever. #snugglesforlife ;)

1 comment:

  1. :( I wrote a whole message, and my computer deleted it!

    I'm enjoying your adventures of being a "new" mommy :)

    We went through the same thing with Christopher. It was hard having to listen to people telling us we were spoiling him, and even to this day they still are.

    He slept in our room in his napper and pack n play until he was 1 years old, and when he had to transition over to his crib he did very well and never woke up in the middle of the night (even though we were told countless times that he would)

    We also held him and comforted him every chance we got. He slept on Chris's or My chest through out the day, and he never cried when we had to get up and put him down in his napper.

    Babies need comfort. Babies need to feel loved.

    :)

    -mel

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