need advice..
jlim311
member
My baby is 7 weeks old and has a hard time napping. We had to install dark blinds and nap him in his swing after rocking him. Even that can be hit or miss. The issue is that our mother in law has agreed to watch him but we need to bring him to her place. She refuses to watch him at our place (even though we live 5 minutes away). I know its inconvenient for her to come here, but I think right now at his age, it would be best if he was watched at our place where he has his needs met (dark room, swing, video camera) etc. If we bring him there, b/c he's young and has no schedule, I would have to wake him up to bring him there and possibly wake him up again to take him home. Plus she has no dark room, and we would need to be two of everything. I am very thankful she is willing to watch our baby when I return to work but I just feel like he would DEFINITELY not nap there and then everyday I will be dealing with a major meltdown in the evening b/c he's tired. I already tried everything in the books to get him to nap better, but hes just too young right now and needs to be soothed a certain way and she cant provide that. She wants to keep him in a pack n play in her living room with the tv (so she can watch it) plus the kitchen is right there so hes sensitive to noise during the day since at best he cat naps and that's only light sleep. He def wont sleep in a pack n play right now and hes too young to be trained to. Ive tried so many times and its just not working. Hes best soothed in his swing. My husband doesn't think its a big deal to be moving him back and forth bc he wants the free labor and obviously he wants family to watch the baby rather than a stranger at our home. We also have to buy two of everything..including a swing and a monitor etc.
I just wish she would do whats best for the baby right now and watch him here and when hes older and has moer of a schedule and becomes a better sleeper we can possibly start bringing him there. But she said no.
My husband is mad at me, my relationship with my MIL is in jeopardy and I just feel torn as to what to do.
Any advice?
Re: need advice..
He does not sleep well in light. He used to when he was a newborn and slept through everything but now that he's more aware of his surroundings he refuses to sleep and makes himself cranky by being distracted from what's around him. That's why we slowly had to do things like install dark blinds, use a white noise machine, use his swing since he hates sleeping on a flat surface and just keep it quiet as well as having to rock him for 30 minutes. With all this at best I can get cat naps and one long 2 hour nap at the end of the day (which is around the time I would be picking him up at her house which would mean I have to wait till he wakes up). Rocking to sleep is a challenge too bc he's always wanting to look around..keeping him awake..hence we had to darken the room. There's no way he will sleep in her bright living room with the tv on and with her in the kitchen all the time doing things. Trust me we tried in our own living room to try and get him used to it but it doesn't work. We actually brought him to her house today and bc he had no naps he had a meltdown and was inconsolable there but once we brought him home he passed out within 5 minutes in our room. It was too stimulating at her place that he couldn't wind down.
Welcome to parenthood. Where everything is constantly changing & you have to adapt.
OP, your baby is going to go through 100 different stages & change 1,000 different ways. What works today, won't work tomorrow. For instance, what's going to happen when your baby outgrows his swing? Our DS slept in his swing all the time & when he outgrew it we had to change game plans.
As PP said, you have some strict expectations & you need to hire a nanny. What's your MIL going to do all day at your house while your DS naps anyway? Stare at the walls?
I agree with PP's. If you want someone to deal with your strict guidelines you need to hire a nanny, or figure out a way to stay home.
That One Gal From Alaska