Babies: 0 - 3 Months
overwhelmed by my newborn
I have been home for 7 days with my newborn, I feel so scared with the unpredicatable cries and trying to figure her eating schedule. I was orginally breastfeeding then it wasnt working so i made a hard decision to put her formula. Now that has also made me feel like a failure. Is this normal? I thought I would be madly in love yet I feel helpless.
PLease give me postive advice.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: overwhelmed by my newborn
Oh dear! I know how you feel, but I promise you it gets better! In the beginning its exhausting, stressful, hard, difficult, and... well... many times, not so much fun, but I promise it will get easier!
Hang in there because everyday is different. One day at a time. Soon, you will see little changes your LO one makes on a daily basis and those little milestones are what grows your love for them.
Also,... if you can, find someone to relieve you for a few hours, or a day, so you can do something for you. There is nothing wrong with that.
Hang in there, and if you start to feel overwhelmed, ask for help!
I know exactly how you are feeling. I was feeling the same way and also decided to put my baby on formula...even though I thought I'd love nursing. But now he is breastfed and formula fed and it's working out great for me. I no longer feel like a failure, because I am still breastfeeding every now and then (: I get breaks to sleep and my nipples get breaks from the constant feeding/pumping sessions and my baby is gaining weight like he needs to be!
I was worried that just my breast milk wasn't enough for my LO because he seemed to ALWAYS be hungry and would eat for up to 2 hours at a time sometimes. Don't feel bad, everything will work out just the way it's supposed to! There's nothing wrong with formula fed babies!!
We have ALL been there. I remember thinking that I would never forget how horrible the first two weeks were. Funny thing is you do forget. I cried uncontrollably for those first two weeks and never thought I would get the hang of it. Be gentle on yourself.
I promise in no time you will be posting positive notes to new mothers on this board going through the same thing. And like PP said, once those smiles start your heart will never be the same!
Normal, normal, normal. Things will be better next week. And then they'll be even better the next week. And so on and so on.
Everyone I talked to talked about falling madly in love with their baby from the start and I felt bad that I didn't feel that way about my LO. I didn't hate him, but I didn't get warm fuzzies. I didn't have PPD either. It's just an overwhelming job and I was just trying to survive. Things improved at the 2 week mark. Then at the 6 week mark I thought, "Yeah, I love this little guy." By the 9 week mark I thought, "OMG, he's so cute I just love him so much." You will get there. Don't feel bad in the mean time.
I was a mess our first week home. Lack of sleep was driving me bonkers. I know we were both crying our first night home.
Hang in there, momma.
E went through a phase where he slept the best on my shoulder. He also did well napping in his swing- under my supervision.
You will learn what your LO prefers.
This exactly! I've heard lots of women say that you forget the pain of birth eventually - I haven't - but I HAVE forgotten the exhaustion, frustration, hopelessness, and anxiety of those first few weeks - though I remember that those days were a struggle. For us the crying/emotions peaked at 3 weeks and it's been getting easier everyday. Take a few moments everyday to breathe and calm your mind - it helps to keep it all in perspective. And remember, you're the best mom your LO could possibly have!