I don't think I'm ready yet to advance onto 8-12 weeks - I realised yesterday when I was at the gym that there's still quite a few issues I've not mentioned that may be things you are experiencing at the very moment ...
Most importantly - if you're still pee-ing in the bath - don't worry - it won't last forever. I can remember being ripped to shreds, sitting in a salt water bath after my first, relieving myself (of urine!) wondering why the fuck people do this? And why no one told me about this bit. Where is the dignity in bathing in your own piss? And why on earth would anyone do this again now they know this??? Where is the fun in having to take a jug to the toilet every time I have to pee and pouring cold water over my bits just to make it not sting as much?? It isn't fun, believe me ... But I can assure you first time mothers, as you loofer your dry skin off with pee-stained water, it will start to subside soon. And come another week or so, you will finally be able to wee all by yourself with no liquid assistance. Obviously by then the pain and discomfort will be taken over by the sore nipples and exploding boobs - but that's for another time.
Anyway, other things I wanted to mention - the dummy. Oh, the dreaded dummy that people will judge you on until the end of time. And don't get me wrong, I'm the first to look at a child over 18 months, walking around with a dummy in, judging and tutting (sorry to my best friend - I don't judge you, just your child ... ha!) - but I am a huge believer in the dummy in those first few months. I have done a lot of reading and am persuaded by the notion that babies like sucking - they have a desire to suck and look to do that to help sooth themselves - so if this is the case, why not give them something that will help in those early, dark (dark!) days?? And I'm also a little judgemental about those who say 'oh no, my baby won't take a dummy' - of course they won't at the start - it's about as unnatural as going to bed at 7pm and staying asleep for 12 hours! - But it's about training and helping them on this little journey. Again, I refer to the 'it's hard work' statement I may have mentioned once or twice before - a lot of questioning yourself as you walk in and out of the room, placing the dummy in over and over - but after a couple of days, they'll be up for the challenge and will realise it's a great soother for them - some (well, our friends over the pond) would say it pacifies them. Okay, call it a pacifier if it makes you feel better about shoving it in.
And when you want to do your 3-hourly routine and have baby sleeping regularly, a dummy can help a huge amount - you know baby has been fed and you know the dummy will help them to sleep - i.e. you'll realise you're not questioning yourself over whether you should go and feed again or somesuch. Plus, I think it's easier to lose the dummy than lose the notion of feeding to sleep or rocking/cuddling to sleep.
I was in a right panic with my second as she was soooooo dependent on the dummy to go to sleep. With our first we got rid at night time four and a half months, but as we approached that age, I couldn't see it happening. But at 5 months it just felt right - she was settling herself in the night without it and so that was it - another boot camp-style of hardcore-ness. Bang on 5 months, the dummy was stopped there and then. And you know what - after all the worrying and angst about the terrible nights ahead, it worked! Within 20 mins (mostly quicker) she was asleep with no dummy and we didn't use it again.
With our first we kept use of the dummy in the day time (I couldn't deal with a crying baby in public!) but by the time we had our second I was more confident with how to deal with a tired baby trying to get off to sleep. So she just went to bed one night and didn't get given the dummy again. So my feeling is that it's a great sleep aid whilst you get into your routine and find your feet, but then once you're confident with the sleep times and feeds (i.e. you know baby is full, changed and contented) get rid. It's definitely easier to get rid now than go to the doctor's or dentist at 2/3 yrs old and get told baby's teeth are growing funny because of the dummy, or baby's speech hasn't developed as well because of the dummy etc etc etc ... (again, apols as I know that sounds judgemental, but I guess this is about my views ...).
No comments:
Post a Comment