All the time.
Tuesday was a typical day in that I held her or wore her in a sling all day except for about two five-minute stretches. I try repeatedly throughout the day to set her down, whether awake or hard asleep, and she starts screaming right away or within a couple of minutes. Whimpering? Fussing? No, screaming as hard as a newborn can scream till she goes hoarse. Oh, but it stops soon? No, at times I've been desperate to finish cooking dinner or I've been stuck driving and she'll keep screaming like that for 15 minutes till I can get to her. (And who can forget the six-hour car drive from Kentucky in which three-month-old John never stopped screaming?) Whatever debate we can have about the merits of crying it out, I would think purposefully letting a six-week-old scream her heart out longer than that would be really sad.
With a husband who travels a lot for business, it is very hard for me to wear the baby from waking till I go to sleep at night while meeting the needs of the two- and four-year-olds.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Margaret doesn't yet like her small portable swing nor her bouncy seat. So on Wednesday I piled all the kids in the car and ventured to the children's consignment store where I saw this swing (swings side to side, clean, it works--check check check!) and bought it immediately. What I wondered is if Margaret likes a side-to-side swing like an old-fashioned cradle more than the head-to-toe swing that is how almost all baby swings work nowadays.
The answer is, yes, she does! Why on earth has the old-fashioned cradle been abandoned? Amid the blur, you will see Margaret fast asleep in the swing, where she stayed for 45 whole minutes so I could make lunch for the kids and make a batch of homemade granola with them. Just a 45-minute break out of my 17-hour day was enough to make a new woman out of me.
As an extra gift from God, later in the afternoon I actually managed to transfer sleeping Margaret off of me and she stayed asleep for an entire hour and a half so I was able to (dump the big kids in front of the television and) sew a (simple) dress for Mary (photos to come after I finish the bloomers)--something fun and indulgent for me. Having to hold Margaret "only" the rest of the day made me feel positively refreshed in comparison, really!
These cradle swings are marvelous. Neither of my kids liked to be put down as infants, and the only way I could get them to nap (besides on me) was in their cradle swing. And Jamie, when he wasn't sleeping with us, would only sleep at night in the swing. We completely burned the motor out after using it with both kids...
ReplyDeleteI am storing this away as a tip!! Ben loved his swing, or bouncy seat, or floor...as you know he is ridiculous. Anna hated the swing (I bet she would love it now though!!) and I often had days like you where I had to hold her all day or she would be screaming. Next baby I am going to try a swing like that!! It makes so much sense. The head/toe back and forth can be scary I think...give that weird feeling in their tummy like going over a big hill. Side to side seems to much more soothing!! And Margaret is still so tiny, I bet as she gets bigger the more time she will happily spend there.
ReplyDeleteMy hat is off to you for parenting 3 high-needs (for contact) babies in a row! My first was as you describe, but the next five were easy as pie... I'm glad Margaret likes the swing!
ReplyDeleteLucky you to have found the perfect
ReplyDeleteswing! certainly better than having to decide between wearing Margaret or listening to her screams.