I'm a new mother and going out of my mind! help!

[Linda in San Diego]

Crock Pot No Peek Beef Recipe

2 lbs. beef stew in 1 inch pieces
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
1/2 C. dry red wine or beef broth
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms

Combine all ingredients in the crockpot. Stir well to mix. Cover and cook on low for 8 - 10 hours. Serve over noodles or rice.

If you do not have a crockpot and a rice cooker, send DH to Walmart and get one of each. Your crockpot will be a lifesaver and a rice cooker has rice ready in mere minutes. To find recipes simply google "crockpot beef recipe" or "crockpot chicken recipe" Once you get things in the pot in the morning, you are done and you don't have to find the energy later in the day!

 

[Fowl-Language]

I'm with Arlee 453...Dr Sears' Fussy Baby Book saved my sanity. My daughter, who is now 10, was a non-stop fusser, ALL DAY LONG and nursed constantly. I can still remember how stressed & lonely I felt (ex-husband was a jerk) and how I kept second-guessing myself. I also recall feeling ripped off when I saw others with their happy babies.

My advice, for what it's worth:

-Keep breastfeeding of course, but get with a lactation consultant who an help you assess your diet;

-Ignore every fool who tells you she's "spoiled", let her cry it out, blah blah blah. That is dangerous advice. Clearly your daughter NEEDS you;

-Get a mental health break when at all possible. I can't emphasize this one enough.

-Ignore every fool who asks if you have a "good" baby. Babies aren't good or bad.

- Take great comfort in knowing that it will get better! I promise! Gradually my daughter ceased being so fussy, and I wouldn't trade her in on any other child...she's the best!

Feel free to PM me if you want -

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
My second baby (my son) slept through the night at 6 months old - and he was the earliest. THe other two kids (girls) woke every night till at least 2 years old....

With my first baby, a girl, I tried to give her cereal at around 4 months old, to try get her to sleep through the night - that didn't help at all....

For during the day - perhaps a sling will work, I used a sling with my kids so I could walk around and do things with two free hands! (you could also try one of those back-pack carrier things)


Edit to add: we're always told to give a baby cereal as a first food, but a fruit or veggie is MUCH better for them, and babies do seem to like it better!

 

[summerwindsfarm]

Quote:
Boy isnt this the truth! You know i worked day care before i had my boys. And i had babysat since i was 12. I never dreamed that having a baby would be stressful for me! Yeah right!! Its sooo much harder when they are YOURS and there 24/7! I think the first borns get more attention..but they sure do get experiemented on too! By the second and third ones youve figured out what works for you and its all become old hat.

My oldest was weaned from the breast at 2 months because i listened to my stupid doctor. My youngest finally weaned himself at 18 months lol. Big difference there!

Ive had my grandson out here on the farm since he was 10 days old. He comes out on weds night and stays til sunday morning now. Hes 17 months old and has a 2 year old sister and a 19 mo step brother. I adore my *grandma time*..though he wears me out! And it sure helps his mama be a good mama to so many little ones to get a bit of a break each week! If i didnt live so far away it would probably be a shorter time that hes here. But since im an hour and a half away its just easier this way and since she works he doesnt have to be in day care this way. Thankfully hes been an easy baby. But he has asthma too and we did the every 4 hour round the clock breathing treatments for his first year. Since then hes slowly started to outgrow it.

 

[SarahF]

she is a very healthy baby, other than the gassiness. she poops way less often than a couple weeks ago. but nothing has changed. i've been giving her rice cereal since june 4th and only in the last two weeks have her poops stopped to once a day (i used to get 3 or 4!). i just want the doctor to be able to tell me if its teething or an allergy! i wish it was that easy! i'll try cutting out the dairy again, including formula. i know my breast milk production has depleated considerably since she was born, but i have started to pump in the last week to increase levels. if she is allergic to my breast milk, what should I give her then?

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
What a Fantastic grandma you are! If you were closer I'd drop off my two as well......

 

[summerwindsfarm]

Quote:
This is soo true. They have even done studies now (finally) that show that babies that are held when they need to be..like when they are crying..cry *less* than babies who are ignored when they cry. Of course.. a colicy baby is going to cry..held or not..but it still helps later.

I dont think you could get any more attention than Preston gets lol. His mom and stepdad live with his stepdads parents and an older sister. He spends the other half of his week out here with his papa and i. I dont think hes *ever* cried and not been picked up lol...mostly we all fought over who got to hold him lol! And hes not spoilt. He almost never cries. And believe it or not he loves his naps and bedtime. I have yet to figure out how that happened lol. I wanted to rock him to sleep when he was tiny and hed fuss til id lay him down and the hed go right to sleep! The other day i put him in his baby bed cause i had to run outside for a minute to get a goat free from the fence. It was a half hour before his nap time so when i came in i got him back up. He cried! I put him back in his bad and he snuggled up with his bear and went right to sleep. Now why couldnt MY boys do that?!

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
I really doubt she's allergic to your milk.

Try giving her a fruit mashed up instead of the cereal. I would think at Lunch time would be a good time, it would give her time to digest it before going to sleep for the night.

 

[Katy]

poops stopped to once a day (i used to get 3 or 4!).

Several dirty diapers a day can be very normal for a breastfed baby.

 

[arlee453]

More frequent dirty diapers = happier baby.

I had two babies that pooped 3-4x per day. Those were my 'happy content' babies.

Two others only pooped 1x per day or LESS. Those were my fussier babies.

All 4 of mine were exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months - it was just the way their systems were made.