1 m - How often is your LO quiet & content vs. crying and being fussy?

k.martell

I feel like a sh*tty mom.  During the day LO wakes up, gets fed, change of diaper, then offer other breast.  I'll put her in her boppy or play mat and talk to her and she goes through cycles of cooing then crying with in 3 to 5 minutes.  I try shhing her, swaddling and side laying in my arms if she really starts to lose her mind, lots of Happiest Baby on the Block techniques.  She'll calm down, and the cycle will repeat.  Finally I'll swaddle and place her in her swing until she passes out.  In a good period, she's content with watching the world from her bouncer of glider for 10 - 15 minutes or so.

I feel like I'm not interacting with her as much as I should, but I don't understand why she's not happy & content for longer than 3-5 minutes.  I feel like a crappy mom, I just feed, change and put her to sleep.  I   Is this normal for 1 month olds?  Is there anything different I should do? 

SigmundsGirl

Our days sound very similar, The only difference is my guy only sleeps for about 15 minutes when put down. He'll sleep longer if I hold him. I've tried the Happiest Baby stuff and Babywise.

I'm still waiting for this to get easier.

k.martell

SigmundsGirl:

Our days sound very similar, The only difference is my guy only sleeps for about 15 minutes when put down. He'll sleep longer if I hold him. I've tried the Happiest Baby stuff and Babywise.

I'm still waiting for this to get easier.

Yeah, I forgot to mention the 15 minute cap naps.  As soon as I fall asleep, she's awake  

Thank god, I'm relived to know I'm not alone.   Crap, I think the latest cat nap is over....

nicki0916

We went through a week or two phase with a lot of crying.  DD only wanted to be held.  I don't think babies this young have a very long attention span, so I don't think it is abnormal for them to only tolerate the bouncers or play mat for a few minutes.  With DD, I started doing floor-time activities for very short increments and kept it fun.  We would end an activity before she lost interest so that each activity ended on a positive note.  I did not want her to associated being put down with being bored, so we gradually built up to longer periods, keeping each activity positive.  I would try to interact with her as much as possible during this time to provide positive reinforcement.  Now, at 11 weeks old, she has learned that the play mat/bouncer/ etc are fun even without mommy right there,and I can get some stuff done without her in my arms all day.

Sorry for the drawn out answer!  I used to do behavior therapy for children with Autism and PDD, and this is how we taught them to appropriately play with toys.  It is all about pairing the activity with reinforcement. 

HTH!

k.martell

nicki0916:

I did not want her to associated being put down with being bored

This is my fear, that she'll associate the bouncer, glider, swing with mom being frustrated and having the toy baby sit her so to speak.

seashell28

My liitle girl is 4 weeks old today and the majority of the time I feed, change, cuddle and put to sleep. At night she sleeps for an hour and a half at a time but it takes a while because she gets verey frustrated with passing gas and pooping. I spend most of the nights getting her calm after thouse bouts so that's the nighttime routine. During the day She gets 2 long naps in it seems so when she is awake we do tummy time, i talk to her and dance with her and put her in her swing with bright coloured toys and play music. sometimes i feel like I'm not doing enough reading, playtime either but honestly at this stage talking, singing, cuddling her is about all there is time for and I want to make sure she gets her sleep. Now I just have to stop doing all the housework while she sleeps and get myself some sleep too! Oy! I have hope all will get better as time goes on too.

bakershaker

I follow the Baby Whisperer, and according to Tracey Hogg..a baby before 6 weeks only has a awake time of about 30-50 mins..that's from eyes open to eyes shut! They wake..feed them, change them and snuggle with them, chat with them and then watch for signs of sleepiness...at the first yawn..swaddle and put back to bed..before the ovrtired bug hits and then it's impossible to calm them down for a sleep.

 I know what you mean though...it's so boring that all they do is sleep. But after 6 weeks they can start staying up for about 1hour or a little more..so that's lots more interaction time:)

ahill1889

My 3 week (almost 4 week) old daughter all week has been crying like crazy, and only calms down for a minute or two at a time.  My husband finally gave her a pacifier last night and she took it for a little while.  I know how fristrating it is when your kid is crying and there's nothing you can really do about it.  A couple days ago she was crying so much I almost started crying until my husband kicked me out of the house for a bit.  About the only thing I can say is it's supposed to get better.