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Originally Posted by Nillarilla  Ooowie, My boobs are so swollen and my nipples are cracked and bleeding ugh!!!
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ME. TOO!!! Actually they are slowly getting better now. But still. Shudder.
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Originally Posted by Vegan Princess Anyone have any tips on being able to put baby down? We set up the swing yesterday and that is a huge help. I am trying to work on her being content to be set down while awake but some times she just wants to be held for hours on end. I feel like this a rookie mom trap?
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Have you read "Happiest Baby on The Block" by Harvey Karp, MD? I highly recommend it. You DO want to hold your newborn a lot, and not put her down too much. This is just a stage-- lasts about three months-- and it's important that you meet her newborn needs during these months so she can securely move on to the slightly older-baby stage. The first three months of a baby's life is like the "fourth trimester" because a baby still needs a very womb-like existence in order to thrive physically and neurologically, and to feel emotionally secure. The way to mimic the womb environment is to keep them bundled up tightly (swaddling) hold them a lot, (babies are used to constant movement in the womb so laying still tends to wake them up), and when you can't hold them, it is best to have them in a moving and slightly upright position-- like a swing or one of those bouncy seats or baby papasans that vibrates. When you do lay her down on a flat surface like a bassinet, make sure she is tightly and securely swaddled with her arms bound down. She is more likely to sleep better lying down when she is bundled up snugly like this. Responding to their hunger needs immediately and on demand is important, too, but that's more obvious, I guess. Another important point is not stimulating them too much, just keeping everything as low-key as possible. He has more good tips in the book.
By about three months your baby will be more like an infant and less like a fetus (
), and then you should be able to lay her down to sleep in a bassinet and so forth (although every baby is different! One of mine could lay down to sleep and the other one never would! But he has always been a "high-needs" child and he turned out to have Asperger's so that might be why-- anyway--) She'll be more interested in playing and interacting by three months, too. But don't worry about holding her too much or "building good sleep habits" or whatever at this point, really. You can help her develop good sleep habits by just allowing her to be a newborn for now.
: I love being physically fit!
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