where does your babe spend his time?

[mommariffic]

My 3 week old hates being carried

We have a Moby wrap, Bjorn and Ergo and he hates them all! He screams and screams and would rather be in my lap [like now, I have my legs crossed and he's curled up in them sleeping/gazing at me/nursing] OR in his newborn boppy seat swaddled OR being held and carried around "manually.."

I have yet to find a wrap that I like for summer that can support his head either [we have a P-wrap and it's lovely but he flops around..]

So for now, we couch it/lap it.

Do any of your babes hate carriers? I'm assuming he'll snap out of it once he's not just about brand new, and I'm happy to hold him now but it does mean less time for DD.

And, another question: what do your other kids do while the baby nurses? DS will nurse/eat all day if I let him, but without a carrier I need to sit and do it. I read and we have been putting on movies but I feel a tinge of guilt I can't be on the go with DD

Also: are there any carriers that your newborns LOVE?

[lolar2]

Do you have a stroller or baby carriage?

[Knitting Mama]

I have a gauze wrap that I used with Cecilia from about 2 weeks old, and it's still what we use now. I used this video to learn how to wrap her upright but so that she was still properly supported. I love my gauze wrap because a) it's supremely lightweight and breathable, and here in the desert that's a must! And b) I feel like the non-stretchy material is actually better for tiny babies; once you get it wrapped properly, their heads aren't going anywhere, there's no give to let their heads move around.

[lolar2]

Oh, re my above post, I forgot to say that DS liked his Ergo with an infant insert best at that age, but that doesn't really help you since yours doesn't like your Ergo; and he also liked his stroller, which is why I suggested it.

[mommariffic]

We do have a car seat/stroller and he will hang out in there when we go out for a bit, which is nice. I don't like to have him in it that long though

Going to watch some videos, thanks I think this will help! Maybe I can figure out how to make the wrap more secure

[dahlialia]

Both of my DDs were happy in a ring sling, where I could get them in the same position they naturally liked, their tummy on my chest, their legs frogged up.

How old is your DD? Can you get her some new books, sticker books, colouring books, and try to let go of the guilt? It'll only be a matter of weeks before DS isn't nursing ALL day long. It doesn't last forever, although it can sure feel like it!! There are probably some active games you can play with her while sitting too, like Simon Says.

[Xavismom]

My DS wasnt too thrilled about being worn until he hit about 6 mo, so dont give up yet He loves it now, and will ride around in our ringsling all day.

DS spends most of his time either being held/worn or playing on a big blanket I keep spread out in our living room.

[carmel23]

Originally Posted by dahlialia

Both of my DDs were happy in a ring sling, where I could get them in the same position they naturally liked, their tummy on my chest, their legs frogged up.

How old is your DD? Can you get her some new books, sticker books, colouring books, and try to let go of the guilt? It'll only be a matter of weeks before DS isn't nursing ALL day long. It doesn't last forever, although it can sure feel like it!! There are probably some active games you can play with her while sitting too, like Simon Says.

This is what worked for us: the froggy position belly to belly in the sling, with maybe a little blankie folded up behind him for support. Although my latest guy didn't need the support, but that worked well for my daughter.

Can you get outside and just hang in the garden? Maybe get a bag of sand and some sand toys (send DH out to get these things, and you've bought yourself some more time ), a little water play... playing in the mud? I can set the kids up to do this and then just sit. And get a few hours of spacing out.

Play dough, water color...

they grow so quickly, and soon y'all will be hanging out just fine.

[Tway]

DD didn't like the Baby Bjorn much until she was... erm... I can't even remember. Two months old? Such a blur already!

Anyway... DD spent the majority of her first 3 months of life in my arms or on my lap. I'm talking most of the day, until DH came home or my Mom/sister/a friend came over for a bit. I was going a bit insane but felt she needed to feel human touch as much as possible.

She's 9 months now, and DH still carries her "manually" a lot when we go for walks. She's a curious kid and she wants to be up where the action is.

[katelove]

J only likes to be upright so our slings aren't much good to us at the moment.

We did discover though that she is much happier in the Moby with her legs hanging out rather than tucked in under her so we do that all the time now. She also doesn't like to have her head tucked under the rails so it is often a one-handed carry as we have to support her head with one hand.

We have a couple of Gypsy Mama gauze wraps for our hot climate but sometimes she is too hot in those as well and we lay her on the lounge next to us. She *loves* to lay on her own and kick her legs and wave her arms. She goes totally wild sometimes, grinning away the whole time. I had planned to wear her a lot more than I do but she just prefers it this way so Iam going with the flow

[CrunchyMamaToBe]

My DD seemed to hate being wrapped/slung at first, too. She would only tolerate it when we were walking outdoors. And, as others have mentioned, she really preferred (still prefers!) to be upright, tummy to tummy, with legs tucked up. Example. <--- She was six weeks in that photo. Not that you can see her, really, but you get the idea.

So, yeah, in the early weeks, I spent a lot of time with her in my arms/lap or up over my shoulder (in 'burp position'). I also spent a lot of time nursing on the floor simultaneously playing cars or trains with my son. The baby was happy enough to be in a bouncer seat for a little while at a time.

[ann_of_loxley]

Have you tried a ring sling?
He may like being held in a sling more like this:
http://site.theslingstation.com/Imag...ng_newborn.jpg
Or maybe he would perfer this position?:
http://www.tumbebe.co.uk/shop/shopim...-lavender2.jpg

A ring sling was all I could manage to use with DS2 for the first few weeks. UNTIL I learned how to put the wrap on in a way that he prefered...and that was holding him against me and then wrapping it around him. Once he got used to that, I could put the wrap on and pop him in and out as needed instead with no fuss. And eventually, I could also put him on my back when he was a few months old with no fuss either!

[Quinalla]

My DD didn't like carriers until she was old enough to be upright and facing out, she wanted to see what was going on. Now she likes them as long as I don't stand still for too long.

[St. Margaret]

DD liked to be upright with her legs out. Took me months to figure that out! So she was 4 months maybe by then, but looking back she was ready for that much sooner, I was just trying different carriers and all. I'd try different positions just in case, but yeah, before you know it, he'll likely be ready to ride!

[Knitting Mama]

Originally Posted by Quinalla

My DD didn't like carriers until she was old enough to be upright and facing out, she wanted to see what was going on. Now she likes them as long as I don't stand still for too long.

Cecilia was always upright, but around 2.5 months I began turning her forward facing when she would fuss a lot in the wrap. What a difference! This kid apparently is at her happiest when she can see the world. Some people around me were worried she would get overstimulated, but she smiles and "talks" to everything she sees, and then when she gets tired, she drifts off to sleep very peacefully. She also hates me being too still, like your LO.

[Noah's mommy]

My little one (2 weeks old) loves the Beco and will fall asleep within minutes of being put in. Saves my sanity and lets me go to the park with my others for a bit.

BUT-it is winter here so I don't have the heat factor-I'd imagine the Beco is quite hot in the summer!

[St. Margaret]

Actually, I find the Beco one of the best for hot days. It's so slender, way more airflow than like an Ergo. Well, I do have the old style, so I don't know about them all! And of course a nice linen RS might be lightest/coolest for when it's really hot. But I do wear DD in it at Disneyland when it's HOT and we do just fine, she even naps in it.

With a stretchy wrap, you can squeeze the fabric together and face baby out easily, and with a mei tai, you can snap on some or just tie it so that it's scrunched up. DD did like forward facing occassionally, but it was mostly the legs being out she wanted, even tho people tell you they want to be froggied that young. When she got bigger I even managed to jerry rig the Beco to let her face out one day when she was NOT having it otherwise . But it looked silly.

[Mizelenius]

I've used a variety of carriers since my 1st DC. My 3rd child did NOT like them. I still used them (because I had to) but they were not the comfort as they were for my other children.

The one pretty fail-safe way of using them (not always) was being out and walking. Not walking around in the house . . .but out. That's the only way she was pretty happy. She screamed a lot until she was 2. (Believe it or not, weaning her at that age made her much happier.) Now she is my most laid-back kid.