Myths Revisited and Some Thoughts on Baby Books in General

1. The Sleep Myth
Liam has been waking up once a night for the last week or so. Saturday we rearranged the apartment so Liam can have his own room. I have had to quit sleeping with him because he wakes me up... now that he can roll it's better just to let him have his space to resettle. We no longer have a living room, but we're all sleeping better. Maybe the "through the night" bit will be achieved soon. Paul keeps trying to get me to do the "cry it out method." The longest I've ever let him cry is about eight minutes and I felt evil and had to go rescue my baby. I really don't know how to do it! -- Food really doesn't seem to have an effect on his sleep.

2. The Myth About #2s...
So this week Liam did not do any business at all on Thursday or Friday... and it was just once on Saturday... and he hasn't gone again yet and it's Monday afternoon!! Is it the food? Maybe... or maybe it's just his stage of development. Maybe his little intestines matured. Who knows? I hope he isn't constipated.

3. The Nursing Myth
Liam still seems to want to nurse all the time. I'm trying to get him to go to four hours apart, but I'm having little success. Any other new-ish Moms out there get tons and tons of conflicting advice about nursing??

That leads me to the thoughts on Baby Books in general. They stink!! Babies don't come with instruction books in the womb, and the ones you can buy in the store all say something different, and often opposite.

The following are fake quotations from real baby books. They summaries of how I read them... I won't give titles so no one has any need of defending books they may or may not like.

One says, roughly:"Feed baby every time he fusses. If its too soon to feed baby put him an a carrier and go for a walk. Feed and wear baby as much as possible or he will be psychologically damaged and feel abandoned. Sleep with your baby and never leave him to cry alone."

The other one says something like this: "Feed baby on a schedule. You are in charge and you better make sure baby knows it. Don't pick up baby too often and always put baby in his crib for naps and night while he is still awake. Crying is good for baby, it helps him get out his tensions."

Let's just say I have been going off that first book for the first six months... just to find that my "happy baby who never cries," loses his mind when I put him in the play pen and go take a shower. Or yells at me when I tell him "no" about grabbing my cell phone while I'm talking on it. Or keeps me up all night by tossing and turning in his bed at the foot of ours or up in our bed where I would often take him for a feeding then sleeping portion of the night.

So then Paul brought home the second book last week... When I try to follow its advice, the baby cries more and I panic and automatically want to nurse him or put him in my carrier. What a mess...

Then there's all the advice from the pediatrician, both grandmas, my own grandma, ah the list goes on forever...

Being Mommy is hard sometimes. If only babies came with instruction books? Maybe that's what's inside the placenta? Food for thought... just kidding. ;)

Oh... there's the laundry... better go get it before we have wrinkly-winklys.