What has been the most stressful thing to you about being a new mom?

mintea · February 2012

There is so much that is womderful but it is helpful to me to discuss the more difficult aspects with others so I don't feel awful when I am experiencing those moments of stress!

Mine have been that we keep accidentally bedsharing with LO when I fall asleep nursing--I posted about that in AP and 0-3mo.

The other has been that I am not quite sure what to do with a newborn during the day. Thus far she and I spend all our time on the couch watching TV and it feels kinda like I am in a waiting room. I tried to read her a book and lay her in the playgym yesterday but she didn't seem into it...

jewerner · February 2012

The bedsharing for me too-- I sleep deeper than SO so when LO starts to stir, he half asleep pulls him into bed with us and I wake up to a little face staring back at me and nearly have a heart attack from the panic of possibly smothering him!

Also, maybe I'm already spoiled from having such a mellow baby, but those times when he really is crying over NOTHING. hes clean, fed, burped.... what do you neeeeeeeed, child!?!! Thats easily the worst.

Oh, and today I drove with him for the first time and I think everyone on the road knew it and drove purposely worse.

JenJH923 · February 2012

Definitely bedsharing for me too! I had a c-section so the first night home I put Charlie in his bassinet and when I woke up to go get him it was impossible to get out of bed. I brought him into bed with us that night and its been over a week and he is still in there. Last night I put him in his bassinet for the first time and I got up 40 million times to put his pacifier back in his mouth. I finally just brought him to bed with me and he slept like a log. I know he needs to go in his bassinet, but sleep is so precious and if he will sleep next to me in bed that's how we get by right now!

SeptemberBride'08 · February 2012

The worry. I sleep on the couch and she's in her rock and play. She sleeps sooooo much better in it than flat on her back. I think it's helping her digest at night being at an angle. But learning how to sleep when she sleeps is hard but now that I can BF her better and I know her timing between feedings things seem better.

mkarns · February 2012

Ditto on the worry. I either feel like I'm holding him too much, or I have him in the swing too much. Is he sleeping to much? Is he awake too much? Is he eating enough? Has he not had enough to eat today? If it's not one thing it's the other.

NEVER does this cross my mind: "He seems great." LOL

December192009 · February 2012

Even if she's not "into" the book, still read to her! Just listening to the sound of your voice and the cadence of language will be so helpful in her own language acquisition. One other thing I used to do with my boys was put on some music and sing while I cleaned, cooked, or just shook a rattle to the beat.

the most stressful thing to me about bringing a new baby home has always been feeling like Im giving everyone (baby, sibling, and DH) enough time and attention. I'm so nervous about this while bringing home #3!

halo_tx · February 2012

Ditto PP- its the constant worrying! I feel like I'm always worrying about LO- is she eating enough/ too much, sleeping enough, why isn't she awake more, am I interacting with her enough, etc. My biggest worry is of her not breathing- constantly checking to make sure her swaddle isn't covering her face and staying awake when nursing at night so I don't accidentally let her fall asleep in our bed- we sleep with a big comforter and have a 75 lb lab who is In the habit of getting in our bed in the middle of the night. Thankfully DD sleeps well in her co-sleeper. I'm just so exhausted waking up every 2-3 hours all night!

I hope that soon I'll start to feel a little more confident about being a mom!

pennyandandy · February 2012

I worry some, too, like, is he eating enough or too much and things like that, but I think the single worst thing so far had to be the first night home when my milk came in. I was crying, he was screaming, DH didn't know how to help, and my MIL was here, which made everything 18 million times worse. It was horrific. Everything has been up hill since then, so I think that really put things in perspective for me.

kristin172429 · February 2012

I have been oddly calm as a new mom, but I think our chill baby has definitely helped with that. Plus DH is super helpful and supportive and home with us right now. The thing that did stress me out and probably will a little bit until our next doctor's appointment is his jaundice. He was only ever on the medium risk curve, but they keep doing blood draws on his tiny little feet to check his billirubin (sp?) levels and he was pretty yellow for a few days.

The hospital and our doctors kept trying to push us to supplement with formula because he wasn't flushing out his system fast enough. Luckily, I figured out that part of our issue was a latch problem - he was only shallow drinking, so even if he was there for 40 minutes (20 each side), he just wasn't getting enough milk. Thank goodness my supply seems to be keeping up with him because we do 10 minutes each side and then I pump any milk left behind and we give him at least 2 oz. after that. If I do a full pump without time at the breast, he'll suck down about 4 oz! That seems like a lot for a week old, but he seems to be thriving right now.

I don't know how his little belly holds it all, but his "output" (i.e. number of dirty diapers) has certainly increased! He poops like a pro. His color is really improved and they will check his weight again tomorrow. Fingers-crossed we get the all clear - especially because I have to wake him up for his early morning feedings when he seems to want to sleep right through. Oh, how I would love to sleep longer than 2.5 hours at a time!!!

mixedqt21 · February 2012

Definitely when LO starts screaming for reasons I can't understand. And her feedings are so irratic! She can sleep for 3 hours and only want an ounce, then nap for an hour and want 4. I am definitely guilty of falling asleep with LO in the bed. She hasn't been sleeping well in her bassinet and one or 2 nights I was beyond exhausted and knew that neither me or FI would function through the night without getting some sleep. I feel like I have a pretty good way of propping her and I into a position so neither of us move (I'm a pretty light sleeper), but I know that nothing is fail-safe. Plus there are times that FI lets me sleep a bit and takes her and he has fallen asleep with her and that scares the crap outta me when I wake up.

I wonder about stimulation during the day also. I usually talk and try to sing to her when she is awake, but for the most part she just sits in my arms or the boppy just staring at me lol. The days that we don't sleep well are definitely the most stressful, but I like to think it is getting better. I feel like I have a better grip on getting out of the house with LO and that is helping with my sanity so I don't feel locked up.

eewhite5 · February 2012

I have stressed the most about her jaundice. She got so bad so fast in the beginning and had to be admitted into the hospital. That seems like so long ago already. She is doing really well now so I worry less about that. She had so much blood drawn and we were going to the lab and the doctor daily for a while. She was given the all goo though and her eyes are finally not yellow anymore.

BF was also really hard for me and I worried all the time about it. I made it through 3 weeks of it and then I decided it was better for us to FF her. She has been doing great on it and I am really feeling better about feedings now. So even though I fully planned on BFing and I was really sad that it was making me sad, it has been SO much better since we made the change.

For me, each week older she is, the more relaxed I get. Although I am sure I will always worry about her for the rest of my life.

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