How many hours a day do you hold your LO?

daisygirl2010 · March 2011

I'm just curious if the amount of time my LO needs to be held is "normal". I feel like I can barely put her down at all. I would guess that I hold her about 18-20 hours out of the day (waking & sleeping time). I LOVE holding her - but I can't get anything else done! It's hard to eat, sleep, shower, anything! I have to go back to working 4 hours a day next week (working from home) and I just don't know how I'm going to do it! I've tried the bouncer chair, swing, car seat...she just doesn't last very long in any of them (though the car seat is the best we've found).

Input or suggestions gladly accepted!

staryeyes · March 2011

One of my favorite lines from "Happiest Baby on the Block" about holding your newborn is "Even if you're holding your baby 12 hours a day, that's only half the time that your uncomplaining uterus carried her for the last 9 months" Stick out tongue Some perspective...

My LO isn't particularly needy about being held like my last little guy, but I highly suggest a Moby Wrap to have your LO snuggled in listening to your heartbeat and you can have your arms free to work half days. Also, HBOTB suggests putting the swing on one of the highest settings. Don't put a crying baby in a swing or you'll get a swinging crying baby. But if she's content/sleeping putting her in while it swings pretty vigorously is what the book suggests and works best for my LO too.

Jenniferk08 · March 2011

Mj was not a fan at first. what I started to do was put him in the seat for a few minutes and talk/play with him while in it. He now loves his swing and I can get things done. He has fun watching me doing regular things.

MiniMadness · March 2011

Jenniferk08:
Mj was not a fan at first. what I started to do was put him in the seat for a few minutes and talk/play with him while in it. He now loves his swing and I can get things done. He has fun watching me doing regular things.

This. They get to a really fun point when they like to watch you do things and that becomes their entertainment.

daniellepanda · March 2011

My lo loves his swing, bouncy seat & car seat and stroller so unless I am feeding or burping him he spends a lot of time in those so I can get things done. Of coarse I love to snuggle/nap with him and hold him a few hours & playing but he is not a big cryer unless he is hungry so he doesnt 'need' to be held much to be content.

myszko · March 2011

My LO lets me put her down a decent amount. Have you tried a high contrast toy for him to look at?? DD will sit and look at and swat at this little bug toy for almost an hour. Also, you might try different types of music. My LO will quiet down pretty much immediately if i play John Mayer

i agree with the baby wearing as well. Although DD isn't a fan of the moby wrap, it feels so nice and secure and I wish she loved it!

njh514 · March 2011

How many hours? all of them! :-)

Not really, but I do hold her a ton. I use my wrap a whole lot so I feel like I have a bit of time to do what I want, but I just dont' think you can hold a baby too much. My grandma and my husband's grandmas may disagree, but they got to raise their kids and now I'm raising mine. If they knew how much I hold her they'd probably be seriously concerned that I was raising a monster.

bethiec · March 2011

My LO is usually napping a lot during the day, but the past 2 days she just wanted to be awake or touched all the time (not fussy). She spent several hours in my baby k'tan sleeping. She loves it most of the time. I vacuumed, did laundry and dishes, played on the computer, walked the dogs! yay for the carrier

How many hours a day do you hold your LO?

Re: How many hours a day do you hold your LO?

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