So, BabyHabe is just over two weeks old, and all we're basically doing is keeping her alive. She wakes up, I nurse her, I pump, hubs changes her, she cries, we put her in the swing/hold her/do tummy time/take her for a walk, she falls asleep, then it starts all over again, every 2-3 hours.
Is this all that happens? I feel like we should be doing "more"... We maybe hold her for about 30 minutes a day... Otherwise she's in her swing or rock and play sleeper.
hostess / eggplant / 11068 posts
When I was pregnant, a coworker said to me, "It's not fun until after 3 months. The first three months is spent just keeping the baby alive."
And that's exactly what it felt like!
When LO was about a month old, I started to TRY to "play" with her...Lay her down, stretch her legs, raise her arms up, etc.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
Yep, sounds like you are doing all the right stuff! We held DS a little more at first because he had a hard time sleeping during the day on his own.
I tried doing more *playing* around a month - would read him a book, show him toys, help him exercise, use his playmat/do tummy time, etc. I found that a lightswitch went off at 8 weeks when he started smiling and engaging and becoming really curious and more *active*. He's now almost 11 weeks and you start to see real differences every day, though he still spends a lot of time sleeping and eating ; )
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
They call the first 3 months the 4 trimester, and yeah... keeping her alive sounds like progress. You are lucky she will sleep that well not in your arms-- I know some babies who spent half the day in their parents' arms, but otherwise the same routine.
grapefruit / 4800 posts
For the most part. But you'll start noticing responses from her more and more. At 2 weeks was the first time I saw her really responding to a specific sound. Whenever I went 'Aaaaaahhh' she'd purse her lips like she was trying to make a sound. My husband found a song she responded to and would dance around with her a bit and she would always stop crying when she heard that song. She's always liked her feet played with. We stared at each other a lot and I'd make faces at her, we went on lots of walks, most of the time she just slept but she'd usually try to stay awake and look at the scenery for a bit.
grapefruit / 4400 posts
Ok, for the reassuring words, ladies! I feel like we're pawning her off on the swing or bassinet... When she's in those, we hardly have to pay any attention to her, so I feel like we should be acknowledging her more. Not like this is easy or anything! I've already had two breakdowns (both in the past two days)!
Looking forward to the 3 month mark... Lol.
pomegranate / 3414 posts
That sounds about right, if you want to have her in the swing/rock-n-play less you could put her in a carrier and have her with you during those "down" times.
bananas / 9227 posts
You're lucky she lets you put her down. My LO is a month old and the best way to wake her is to simply put her down 
grapefruit / 4400 posts
@purrpletulips: I tried putting her in the Moby and she HATES it. Lol... I've read that I should keep trying, but she doesn't seem to like it at all- in an upright hold or cradle hold. We might get a SSC spoon, but the Moby has been miserable so far.
pomegranate / 3414 posts
@habesbabe: keep trying the Moby but getting a different type of carrier might work as well. Check to see if there are any babywearing clubs/groups in your area or stores that offer carrier loans because carriers can get expensive quickly. While my DD didn't mind the Moby, we didn't use it for long but used our SSC all the time.
persimmon / 1194 posts
@Crumbs: Same here LO is also a month old and won't let us out her down.
grapefruit / 4110 posts
At 15 months I still feel like my biggest goal is just to keep my son alive. We go day by day. So I think you are doing a great job.
If you want to spend some more time with her I think you should. They are only little for a short time. I know they mostly eat and sleep but you could definitely hold her instead of putting her down. She should start lengthening one wake time so you could focus on that one.
grapefruit / 4400 posts
@brownie: I try to snuggle/hold her, but she's really cranky! She only likes to be held right after nursing, and then she starts to freak out and only the swing calms her down. I tried again to hold her this morning and she kept kicking me lol
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
Both my kids were fine sitting in a bouncy chair or swing so yes, sounds exactly the same as us 
Trust me, you will be spending lots of time and energy entertaining them when they get older, so just appreciate the downtime you have when you can put them down and all they do is eat and sleep!! I always say they can barely even see you at this point, so don't bother trying to play or read books. Just keep em alive and growing!
grapefruit / 4110 posts
@HabesBabe: It isn't bad that she likes the swing. My son wanted to constantly be held. I would have loved for him to go in the swing and do something.
You are doing a great job! She may have a very short threshold before overstimulation and that will change. Then one day you will have to entertain them all day cause they won't take naps and you will look back at these days longingly.
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
You are pouring infinite amounts of love into her life while you do the "keeping her alive" stuff... and that's all babies really need
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
@HabesBabe: I feel the same way with my 7 week old. I do the requisite tummy time and play a bit but right now? She's pretty boring. Sleep, eat, poop, change, "play", etc. I can't wait till she can interact with us!!
GOLD / pomelo / 5167 posts
Well until she's 2-3 months, you can't do much. I put Sienna on the play mat for about 15 mins (or until she gets fed up) and shes 11 weeks old.
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
My LO had reflux so it was more like trying to keep us all sane the first few months. She would cry and cry and cry and I didn't know how to soothe her so I would take her on walks and drives and bounce her, etc. and try not to go crazy.
Consider yourself lucky that life is a little boring right now!
coconut / 8279 posts
Sounds about right! In the time that you can put her down, do the things that you can like laundry, dishes, organize, etc. In a flash your LO with be 7 months old like my DS and I can't just put him anywhere, he's crawling, standing, grabbing, throwing, lol. My house is a mess and also, now if I fall asleep nursing him, I have to worry about him waking up and crawling off the bed or couch.
cantaloupe / 6146 posts
We hold DS alllllll the time, but we don't have a rock n play or anything, and we got the swing when he was 5 weeks old.... mostly he's in the crib or my arms, or laying next to me on the floor--but yes, I just keep him clean and keep him alive.
GOLD / cherry / 182 posts
@HabesBabe: I talked to my baby constantly and took him for walks outside. Some of my best memories from maternity leave were just laying on a futon when the late autumn rays of sun shone on us in the late afternoon and holding him. It's just that simple - enjoy your babe's small body against your skin and the fact that your babe doesn't squirm so much that it is difficult to hold him/her!
kiwi / 525 posts
You know what? I think it's an evolutionary thing that babies do effectively nothing for the first 6-8 weeks. Although they're sleeping in relatively short bursts, they're not demanding much of your time, really. This is your time to rest and recover from labour/pregnancy. Enjoy it! My girls are 11 weeks now and looking back at the short time they've been in the world so far I realised the first few weeks were relatively easy -which is great cos I had a C section to get over. I know it can feel really non-interactive- we felt like a pair of body slaves, nothing but change/feed/burp/sleep, no smiles, nothing- but it really doesn't last long! You'll really begin to enjoy it once you start getting the smiles.
olive / 74 posts
You could check out "the happiest baby on the block" fr ways to soothe her so then you can have less fussy times in your arms. We looooove the swing, but I felt similarly and wanted to be able to snuggle with ds without screaming.
squash / 13199 posts
we werent able to put baby down much in the beginning she would cry unless we held her, but it was pretty much the same routine of eat, sleep change her, clean her. as she gets a bit older and gets adjusted to being out of the womb she becomes more responsive and more fun to be around. sadly thats when a lot of us have to go back work. So not fair
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