I bet when you saw the title of this blog post, you thought of the song by Queen, “Under Pressure,” right? Well, if you didn’t, you should’ve. Good song.
Anyway, I write this today because I kind of wanted to vent. As a first time parent, I feel as though I am under a lot of
pressure. How so, you may ask? See the examples below:
*Note – these are real examples*
“Your baby is 8 weeks and isn’t sleeping through the night
yet?”
Um, no. She is a baby. They don’t really do that for a
while. Some parents are very fortunate and get that early. Haven’t you ever heard the phrase, “sleep like a baby?” That means
waking up every two hours wanting to eat. (why anyone would want to sleep like
a baby is beyond me)
“Your baby is 7 weeks and hasn’t rolled over yet?”
Um, no. Again, she is 7 weeks, and that is not supposed to
happen for awhile.
“Don’t hold your baby all the time, she will become spoiled.”
Babies need to be
held; maybe not ALL the time, but often. That is how they gain trust and know
you will be there for them.
“Wow, your baby is so young! I can’t believe you would take
her out at this age!”
You can stay in the house cooped up all you want, but this Mom has
gotta get out!!
“You need to let your baby cry it out. That will get her to
sleep through the night real quick.”
Thank you for the awful advice. I would actually prefer to
build trust with my baby, so that she knows I will be there for her.
Many people give so much unsolicited advice/comments and it kind
of brings a girl down. Granted, some of this comes from strangers who I don’t
give a crap about, but it boggles my mind that people feel the need to open
their mouths and say anything like this. Some days, I feel as though raising a kid is made out to be a competition or a race. Every baby is different.
Nope, my kid
does not sleep through the night, but she’s freaking cute when she smiles at me
at 3 am. I hold my baby a lot, but I won’t be able to soon because they grow so
fast. I am going to take my baby wherever, whenever because I’m not going to
stop my life because I have a baby (just make sure you pack a lot of diapers).
Cry it out this young? Please. I’m not THAT heartless.
A few days ago, I decided to ignore the shenanigans and ENJOY my kid.
Every kid is so different, nobody can judge! You know your baby better than anyone else. I've tried the same methods on both kids with opposite results. When you think you have everything figured out just right, baby #2 will come along and humble you all over again :) You are doing a good job, Jamie!
ReplyDeleteWhat? She's not sleeping through the night? Just kidding. I think you're a great mom and don't let anyone make you think differently. Did you notice how I held Olivia pretty much the whole time I was there on Monday? Well sorry for spoiling her. ;) And if that's spoiling her then I plan on making her spoiled rotten.
ReplyDeleteFind other young moms with babies, quick! You can thank me later. The mommy group became a lifeline for me (usually this was women from church.) As strange as it sounds, you really do forget quickly when and how certain things happen, so strangers usually mean no harm, they just aren't sure what to say, so they say whatever pops into their heads first. Wear really big earplugs in public. (Good advice for pregnant women as well.) You are doing a great job. Hang in their, momma!
ReplyDeleteAmen! Don't worry, jack still doesn't sleep through the night at 8.5 months. And the experts say it's impossible to spoil a baby under 6 months old...I so agree! There need to be more blogs about the real mommy-ing experience instead of people only sharing the fluffy moments and making fellow-mommies feel like failures ahh!!
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I have stumbled on your blog Jamie. You have such a great outlook and perspective! You have a beautiful baby, and I am glad you are enjoying her so much. By the way, all my babies slept through the night at different ages. Most of mine were closer to 5-6 months and the oldest was closer to 8 months. He is 12 now and sleeps through the night fine, and I am so proud of the young man he is becoming despite not being the first child to reach that landmark. Everyone reaches different landmarks a little differently in their lives just as you stated. Keep up the good work. You both look beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAs Stacey and Amber mentioned, even children in the same family go through different stages at different ages. One of mine started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks, while another one didn't until she was 15 months old. Because my oldest was big for his age, people were saying things like "Isn't he talking yet?" when he was 9 months old and "Haven't you toilet-trained that child?" when he was only a year. Anyway, as you have already figured out, you just have to trust your own instincts, plus research and observation. You are doing great!
ReplyDelete