Whew! After reading all of your stories, I think I've got it pretty good. My baby was born 6/30/2000 and was a perfect angel in the hospital. The nurses bragged on her because she never cried in the Nursery even when they gave her a shot. She was happy all the time and very, very alert right from the minute she was born. She also latched on to breastfeed right away and was on a good schedule.
As soon as we got home with her however, she became a high-needs baby in 2 ways. She wanted to nurse constantly. She would suck and sleep, suck and sleep and if I put her down she would cry. I got a bladder infection because I couldn't go to the bathroom. After about 2 weeks (I'm not very patient), I called the pediatrician and asked if it would hurt her if I supplemented formula during the day so someone else could hold her every once in a while. I think she just needed more to eat than my breast milk was giving her. As soon as we put her on the formula she went for 2-3 hours between feedings and I started to feel things looking up.
The other way she is high-needs and still is, is her sleeping habits. At first I thought I would get her to sleep and lay her down in her bassinett co- sleeper attached to my bed. She would go to sleep okay but as soon as I laid her down, her eyes would open. So I would have to pick her up and get her to sleep again, only to have her eyes open again as soon as I laid her down. So I just held her during all of her naps which was basically all day because she slept most of the day. The first few weeks I had to sleep sitting up on the couch with her cuddled upright against me (swaddled). Then I started nursing her laying down in the bed and she slept 6 hours before waking up to nurse again. Then for some reason I was able to lay her down on my bed when she went to sleep at about 7 pm and she would be okay until she woke up at around 2 am to nurse. This has been a great help. I get her to sleep at 7 pm, hold her for about an hour to make sure she's good and asleep and then lay her down in her sleep wedge on my bed. That's when I get with it and do all my laundry, housework, etc. I put a baby monitor right beside her. I'm getting a gate for my bed this week because she will start rolling soon.
She's 3 months this Saturday. The only problem is still her napping. She will nap for 3 hours during the day if I lay in the bed with her or hold her in my arms but if I put her down, her eyes still open. I can hold her for 2 hours and I know she is in the deep sleep stage but as soon as I gently put her down, she wakes up. I've tried everything. I've just resolved myself to holding her most of the day.
We are kind of in a routine now anyway. We wake up at about 7 am, she kicks in her crib for a while (she loves to lay and kick) looking at her Sparkling Symphony Mirror with lights and music, then we go downstairs for a bottle. Then she sits in her swing for 20-30 minutes before she whines. Then she lays under her Kick Start Gym for 15 minutes before she whines. At that point she's ready for a nap. Then we get back in the bed for the better part of the day.
Needless to say, I'm getting a lot of rest, but not much done around the house. I can't cook until hubby comes home which is late. Luckily my Mother is totally in love with baby and can't stay away for more than 2 days. She holds her a lot of the time when she comes over and that's when I get things done. If anyone has suggestions for putting baby down to nap without her waking up, please e-mail me at tracieclaiborne@yahoo.com. I'll try anything. My friends all think I'm spoiling her by holding her. One of my friends said "if my baby is fed and has a dry diaper, I just let him cry while I get things done". I can't do it. I'm afraid I'll warp her and it breaks my heart to hear her cry. She is very happy when she is awake and laughs and smiles all the time already. I guess she should be happy because I hold her and kiss her all day long. Well that's my story, sorry it was so long.