I am not enough for my 7 week old baby

[Snacks]

Aw, y'know I am getting a little teary at your last post because I can SO relate!
My first, Natalie, was a baby who cried a lot. It feels just dreadful when you don't know why your baby is crying - it feels like a personal attack!
My only advice is to ignore people who are telling you you're doing it wrong. IGNORE! And also books - there are loads of books out there that people might recommend, but if they tell you their way is the only way then IGNORE! The key is confidence.
And those babies that are swaddled and put in bed without a peep... Have you seen this with your own eyes?!? I would reckon these are exceptional babies, not the norm.

How often does your baby feed out of interest? I was told that feeding my baby more often than 2.5 hourly would make her feel full and sick and was not a good idea. I am now pretty convinced (although of course I will never know for sure) that Natalie was just hungry. I rarely gave her top-up feeds because I was worried that it didn't fit in with the 'routine'. Once she was 6mo I was feeding her VERY frequently overnight because that's what we did when she woke to get her back to sleep - she wasn't a co-sleeper (and neither was I TBH). She was a much happier baby at this point! It could be that at 6 months she turned a developmental corner and expressed herself in ways other than crying, but for me it was an indication that it's ok to feed your baby outside of what others deem to be appropriate, KWIM?

But feeding aside, I really think there are babies who need to cry more than others. You are doing a fabulous job.

[onthefly]

Read Barb's post. Then read it again.
Then click on the link in my signature - You're doing it RIGHT.

[Melbournemumma]

Hi.

I feel for you. I used to find that when I was completely exhausted I would lay down and feed my ds. Then we could both sleep.

[Peta]

You are doing a great job. Being a mummy is hardwork (harder than my dayjob I find!) Just keep doing whatever works for your family. Take on board advice & hints, but at the end of the day if you believe in your heart something you are doing is working best, then keep at it. Something else I found really useful was a book called The Wonder Weeks. It explains all the "milestones" in a babies development and I have found it to be very accurate in timing to when my DD has a "fussy" period. Just know that you are always doing the very best for your daughter & in her eyes you are her favourite mummy in the whole world.

[ohnoauntflo]

thank you all. all comments have helpes me be more patient and look at things in a positive view. Really ... it's great you guys respond out of good will. I feel like it's all genuine advice and i really really do appreciate them. Thank you very very much.

I am going to start a new thread/question about gym ball weaning. Hope anyone with ideas can help me out. I'm willing to give it a go. I haven't yet posted the question but will get to it soon if I have time god willing.

Thanks again

[bec293]

I only just found this thread, and I'm wondering how the gym ball weaning is going? My baby is the same, he's almost 5 months old now and the best thing to get him to sleep since he was a newborn is bouncing on the fit ball. I still do it, but I recently got a bouncing hammock as a day sleeping bed for him. It has a similar bouncing motion to a fitball. It hangs in the lounge room just near the kitchen so I can be doing anything while he is asleep, as soon as I see it moving I just bounce it again and resettle him. I also wear him a lot and co-sleep too so I don't think he's going to have a problem adjusting to a bed later (apparently he can use the hammock until he's about 3 years old).

[trishalishous]

it sounds like youre doing great!
DD was the same, we just go with the flow.