Saturday, February 12, 2011

Hello Bloggers!

I have created this new blog specifically for mommies who also have high maintenance babies. 

As I struggled this weekend with the constant whining, crying, fussing, and then a switch back to smiles, I seriously thought I was the only mommy with a baby so incredibly high maintenance.  But I thought, there has GOT to be other mommies with babies ALWAYS in need of something (more sleep, more attention, more food, etc.). 

Here, I will share my struggles with my high maintenance baby as well as my joys.  Hopefully this will help someone else out there know that you are not the only mommy with a high maintenance baby.  And maybe I can hear from some mommies out there too so that I can know I'm not the only one also! 

Here's a little info about my high maintenance baby.  I had a wonderful pregnancy.  I wasn't working full time, only a few odd jobs here and there.  My labor and delivery went great also.  The only struggle was during delivery when I had to push for 2 hours.  But other than that everything was wonderful.  He even took to breastfeeding great.

We brought our little bundle home and soon found out that life with this bundle wasn't going to be easy.  He cried almost all of the time.  It seemed when he wasn't sleeping he was crying (even when he was nursing).  I called his pediatrician and he said that all of the symptoms sound like he has acid reflux.  So he prescribed some medicine and things got better... for a while.  He still seemed to struggle with nursing.  I was getting fed up with the mess that we were when he was nursing.  He would make so many grunts and noises.  The doctor said nursing should be the happiest time of his life.  That certainly wasn't the case with our son.  We began to assume he had a milk protein sensitivity.  So the doctor told me to take dairy out of my diet to see if it helped; and it did... for a while. 

It just seems like there is always something new that we are learning about him.  It is exhausting and very taxing on my emotions. 

I have so many friends who have babies that just sit, lay, or do anything quietly and peacefully.  It's hard, sometimes, to accept my high maintenance baby for who God made him to be. 

There is how my struggle began.  I will create follow-up blogs on the struggles that have come about as he is growing older.  (He is currently 7 months old).

Please follow me and tell me about your experiences as well.

4 comments:

  1. Hello! My name is Julie and my first baby, my son, is almost 9 months. He definitely seems to fit the high needs profile. He cries unless I am sitting next to him on the floor with his toys. At night he has to sleep in bed with me and he still wakes up every two hours. His stomach is so sensitive that new foods are always a challenge even though he loves them. I have been dairy-free for months and it is killing me but does seem to help his belly. The sleep deprivation is the worst and I wanted to know if you have any helpful tips or advice. I read most of your posts- skimmed some since I don't get a whole lot of uninterrupted time. I would love to hear from you! Thanks!

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  2. Hey Julie! I would love to chat more about our high needs babies! Feel free to email me at heather_b143@yahoo.com.
    My little boy is now 11 months old! I can hardly believe it! Things got much better for us when he learned to crawl. However, he is still very needy, especially when he's teething (which seems to be all of the time).

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  3. I have never followed a blog before, but this is right up my alley!

    This sounds just like my Zoey! I was expecting to go home with a happy baby and I have struggled for 6 months now and 2 days to help my baby be the happiest little girl she can possibly be. She is either really happy or really cranky. There isn't much happy medium there. We have switched to soy formula, she (like yours) has always been an active and fussy eater even when nursing, she was prescribed Zantac for "reflux", she screams when things are not exactly the way she wants them. If I notice that she is sleepy and put her down 5 minuted before she is ready, all hell breaks loose. She has to be swaddles to sleep STILL, and she tenses up her body in excitement when she is happy. She loves to sleep in the swing, but it barely moves now because she is growing out of it...wondering how that is all going to play out. She hears everything and is sensitive to any type of stimulation. We rarely get called for a "second date" when someone offers to babysit because she wears them out. I don't want her to be a burden, so I rarely leave her with others. She's the "fussy baby".

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  4. Hi Sunny! It always amazes me when I hear from high needs mommies because what they describe for their little ones is my son to a T. Isn't it interesting how you feel like you're the only one for so long and then you find out that there are other babies the same as your own? It's such a relief. Please feel free to contact me through email at heather_b143@yahoo.com if you want to chat a little more! Or just follow along on the blog.

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