But on to better topics... Emery is going through a very annoying stage right now. I need some advice from my dear friends on this one. She's decided, in the last week, that she won't be fed unless she's laying down. And I don't mean laying down on my lap, no, I mean laying down on a surface like the bed or the floor. If I try to feed her while holding her she screams and cries and refuses the bottle.
So of course, my next course of action was to not feed her... if she's refusing the bottle then she must not want it and I'm not going to force her to eat, she won't starve! But she cries from hunger. So at first I started feeding her while she was laying down and then picked her up halfway through and she would fuss but eventually she would take the bottle. But now she won't even do that. She cries and cries when I pick her up and completely refuses the bottle.
I'm upset about this because I know that the more she is held and touched, the better it is for her development. But she has fought me on this since she was born! She has already refused to breastfeed which broke my heart, but at least I could cuddle her close to me while I fed her before. Now she won't even let me do that!
She will let me pick her up and hold her when she's not eating, and in fact she prefers to be held when she's not eating... some of the time. If I try to hold her too much she'll cry until I put her down. She's just so darn independent!
Now my worry is that this isn't just a stage... that it's a habit forming. If I knew that it was just a stage then I wouldn't worry too much and I'd just wait for it to pass. But I don't want her to get in the habit of doing this. For one thing it's terribly inconvenient. It's not comfortable at all to hold the bottle up for her while she lays on the floor. But more importantly, I think it's important for her emotional development that she's held while she eats. The most I can do right now is lay on the floor next to her and talk to her while she eats. Ridiculous!
I did have to get a baby with such a strong personality... such firm ideas about what she wants. I wonder where she got that from? (Hmmm...) I'm going to be in for it when she's 2... or when she's 15... oh my goodness... I don't want to think about it!
2 comments:
Oh friend...first off it does take time to reconnect with the hubby after a baby AND after time apart. You both lived in two different worlds for the last three months...hang in there and talk about it with him. Secondly, I think it is probably just a phase with Emery and the bottle thing. I would continue to try to pick her up as often as possible...what a quirky little girl!!
aww Lindsay.. I'm so sorry. I was also going to suggest laying down next to her, but you are already doing it. I hope it's just a stage.
As far as reconnecting with your DH, I'd say have a date once a week. For us it worked better in the afternoon because of daycare. So, we'd go out for lunch and go watch a movie or go to a Starbucks and talk. Just time for us to be alone and reconnect. It's important and necessary. Call me or email me if you ever need to talk. ((HUGS))
Post a Comment