This was originally the blog of a first-time Mum to remember the ups and downs of my pregnancy - and chart the first year of my daughter's life. But I've kept it going, and am now a mother of two! More than anything, it helps me to get to sleep once I've emptied my brain of issues and concerns and emotions onto the laptop.
If you're reading this and also a mum- or dad-to-be, first time parent, or just someone who's thinking about it - I hope it gives a little insight into one person's experiences - good and bad....

Sunday 4 September 2011

DADDY SAYS RELAX

I go one good day with Charlotte and then start questioning everything - is she feeding enough, sleeping enough, too hot, too cold???

Last night was very warm, and despite the fact she'd been asleep for a good couple of hours and was in the same number of layers as the previous warm night, I panicked that she was too hot. So we stripped her out of her 1 tog sleeping bag while managing to keep her asleep. But then she fed really fussily at 1am, so I thought she was still too hot and took off her sleepsuit. It took a couple more feeds, a change of nappy and fretting over whether she was now too cold in just a vest and sleeping bag to get her back to sleep. I know it was all my fault as I'd fussed and fussed over her and woke her totally up, but it meant she didn't go back down until after 3am.

Why I didn't just stick with what we'd done the night before which worked perfectly, I don't know. But a vest, sleepsuit, sleeping bag and sheet (to keep her arms swaddled) seemed excessive in 24 degree heat.

Her Dad did the morning feed the next morning with expressed milk (slowly managing to get that back on track) to give me a bit of a lie-in. But I can never relax and only managed about half an hour's extra sleep. I still worry whether she's getting enough food from me, despite her obvious happiness and alertness and (mostly) good nighttime sleeping. I guess I've just got that total 'new mum neurosis' and - as my OH keeps telling me over and over - I've got to learn to relax; she's a baby - not yet three months old - and she'll do what she wants.

5 comments:

  1. if she is happy don't stress. My DH always thinks she is too hot and I always think she is too cold. I work on the principle that if I have two layers on, so does she. Remember, the more you stress the more she will.

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  2. I know you're right, and I'm endeavouring to be more relaxed about everything, especially as she's still so young. I like your blog by the way.

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  3. Hey, firstly I wanted to say that I think your blog is great. Your OH pointed me in this direction from a forum, where I'd been worrying about my now 6 week old little girl. It seems like our children like to do the same things to worry us! Izzy hates sleeping during the day even if she is horribly tired, and I second guess everything that I do for her while my OH just seems to relax about it. And as much as I don't want to agree with a relaxed dad (mainly because I will worry about everything and anything) she will do what she wants to do- I think it's a babys prerogative to keep us on our toes!

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  4. Thanks Miss Lucy for your kind words. Keeping us on our toes is absolutely right. Charlotte has just gone to sleep in her Moses basket WITHOUT A FIGHT at 2 o'clock IN THE AFTERNOON! And that's the third time today (although the others were with a bit of a fight). It will only be for half an hour at a time, but that's better than nothing. One thing my blog's been helpful for is looking back at how she was several weeks ago - I couldn't imagine she'd ever do this when she was 6 weeks, and you easily forget the tough bits, so hope that gives you some hope that things should improve for you in the coming weeks.

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  5. Well I've been reading your blog since she was born and it's been great seeing how similar their behavior is. And seeing how Izzy seems to do the things which Charlotte has done just a couple of weeks behind, gives me lots of hope!

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