Vent: *Shudder* It goes against all my mummy instincts!
I am an early childhood teacher and work in a Long Day Care centre (though only 4hrs a day at the moment). We have a new little baby, who is just 14wks old. He comes 4 days a week, with his older brother (who is turning 3 in a few weeks). His mum has told us that he has reflux. She has also asked us not to hold him when we feed him, to put him into the rocked, in a semi sitting position, as she doesn't want to have to hold him at home if he gets used to it at childcare. So whilst feeding him one day (I was nursing him, I just couldn't eed him in the rocker :(. I noticed he clicks his tongue on the teat and struggles to swallow at times. I had a look at his bottles and they are really fast flowing, so I asked one of the girls if mum had said anything about them. She said that mum had told her that he is a guts and gulps his food and likes the teats. They look like the ones that just came with the bottle. After I fed him he power spewed half his bottle over my shoulder. She also just leaves him in his cot to cry to sleep.No wrapping or patting or comforting. (I hate listening to him cry and the first time I did it I went back in to him in about a minute and picked him up and rocked him to sleep!) He would only sleep for 40mins like that. He would pull his dummy out of his mouth when he startled if there was a noise, or if he was coming out of a sleep cycle. Even at home, he would only sleep 40mins at a time. I wrapped him one day (I wasn't aware we weren't supposed to, I just assumed we did because he was so little. He slept for 1 3/4 hours. So one of the full time girls asked if they could try wrapping him to see if he would sleep better that way, thankfully she said wrapping was ok. Now he sleeps between 1-3hours. Like a tiny baby should! (Not that I was lucky enough to have one of those babies myself, lol!!)
Then last week mum decided it was time to make baby have 4hrly feeds. And to give him more milk each feed. So now we have to not feed him til 4hrs is up, instead of 3hrly. Plus an extra 60mls of milk, when he wasn't even finishing what he used to have. Just like that. No trying intervals or giving him 10mins xtra each day and 10mls extra milk or anything like that, just from 3 to 4hrly feeds. Then the next day after she said that, she told us she's started him on solids. OMG I could just cry. I was supposed to feed him his food today but I just couldn't.I put it off and off, and did everything I could not to do it. I even changed a pooey nappy instead of doing it, lol. I just can not feed a 3 1/2mth old food. One of the other girls ended up doing it.
All of this just goes against every parenting instinct in me. He's such a gorgeous little boy and I am so sorry for him when he's puking up his bottles because he's tummy can't handle the amount of milk in it all at once. I can't stand listening to him cry himslef to sleep. And giving him food and watching him gag and splutter on it, it's just too much! I just want to hold him and kiss him and buy him some better bottles and tell her about gentle parenting!! I know that all parents are different and this most likely works for their family. She has different ideals and knowledge from me, but I could just cry for this little man!