How many hours per day total do you hold your baby?

[hellywelly]

As much as he will let me - I do give him freedom time in the play gym, swing bouncer etc - also I do let him nap on his own during the day - but in between all of that we have cuddle time straight after feeding - we are going to parents for the day today and he will be cuddled all day long because I refuse to put him in his car seat. I have been told off by family members before about the amount of times i pick harry up to cuddle him - I was gob smacked! - You go with your gut and your motherly intuition its your bubba and your the mummy - no one can tell you what to do xxx

 

[mum2b2009]

hold that baby till your arms drop off! babies dont stay babies for long x

 

[fieldmouse]

How ridiculous. At that new age we were pretty much holding our lo all the time! She had some sleep time in her Moses basket but her favourite place to be was snuggled on our chests. There is no way that will 'spoil' a newborn! Maybe if you get to 6+ months and you are always (and I mean ALWAYS) holding them, it's not so good as they should probably be wanting time to sit/roll/explore by then. Our little girl had naturally had less time in our arms as each month goes by but that has been us responding to her being more active, although she still loves cuddles I really can't believe medical professionals are telling you that, even more so given your lo is in hospital and those few hours are all you can hold her for. I reckon at a week there were some days when our lo was held 24 hours!! She didn't get the bald patch at the back of her head until 2 months old! You do what feels right and enjoy those precious cuddles.

 

[mummyvikki]

When my 2 were in scbu and out of the incubators i held them both from the min i got there till i went home or they looked uncomfortable..Do not listen to them,Your lo need's to know and feel you as like you say you cannot be there at night.Hold your lo for longer now haha your baby you do as you please x

 

[_jellybean_]

Thank you so much. I'm going to go with my instincts and keep holding him. I just love him so much. I never thought it was even possible to love anyone this much. I appreciate all of the replies.

Every morning I wake up missing him. I leave the hospital missing him. I think about him all of the time. I just love to sit there holding him, staring at his little face. I broke down yesterday because I thought I was being a bad mommy because I was holding him too much...but I feel like he loves it too.

It's also good to be reminded that he doesn't stay a baby for long. Thank you all again.

 

[_jellybean_]

https://content.usatoday.com/commun...-ways-best-in-childrearing---like-neolithic/1

Thank you! My DH was doubting our instincts too, so I will let him read this.

 

[_jellybean_]

https://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/kangaroocare.asp


One of the first things to happen is that maintenance of the baby's body temperature begins to depend on the mother, requiring the baby to use fewer calories to stay warm. Mothers naturally modulate the warmth of their breasts to keep their infants at the optimal temperature where babies sleep best, have the best oxygen saturation levels, the least caloric expenditure, and so forth. Maternal breast temperature can rise rapidly, then fall off as baby is warmed. As the baby starts to cool, the breasts heat up again—as much as 2 degrees C in two minutes!

Being next to morn also helps the baby regulate his or her respiratory and heart rates. Babies experience significantly less bradycardia and often, none at all. The respiratory rate of kangarooed infants becomes more stable. The depth of each breath becomes more even, and apnea decreases four-fold and often disappears altogether. If apneic episodes do occur, the length of each episode decreases. In my own experience with a baby in NICU for bradycardia and apnea, I found that both problems disappeared completely when I was home kangarooing my baby.

During kangaroo care, a premature baby's overall growth rate increases. This is in part due to the baby's ability to sleep, thus conserving energy and putting caloric expenditure toward growth. According to Dr. Ludington, during the last six weeks of pregnancy, babies sleep twenty to twenty-two hours per day. In a typical NICU, however, they spend less than two hours total in deep, quiet sleep. Most of that comes in ten or twenty second snatches. With kangaroo care, the infant typically snuggles into the breast and is deeply asleep within just a few minutes. These babies gain weight faster than their non-kangarooed counterparts, and it is interesting to note that they usually do not lose any of their birthweight.

Thank you so much

 

[Maid Marian]

https://content.usatoday.com/commun...-ways-best-in-childrearing---like-neolithic/1

Thank you! My DH was doubting our instincts too, so I will let him read this.

Never doubt your parenting instincts - you know what's best for your baby, it's inside you to be a mother, hun, just go with it, and ignore what anyone else tries to force you to do! They don't know your baby like you do.

 

[2ndtimeluckyX]

The nurses told us this too! We ignored them. When our lo was the same age as yours we held her allllllll day long near enough and we did that for weaks! She was breast fed so I had to hold her as she fed constantly in the first few days.
Our lo is not spoilt. She sits happily on her own now if I put her down and she also sttn, I don't even rock her to sleep she settles herself.
I don't think that holding them a lot spoils them, I think it reassures them and makes them feel safe and happy
do whatever you want with YOUR baby! X

 

[GingerNut]

I was told the same by SCBU nurses. To be honest I got the impression it was because it made life easier for them if DD was used to being left in her fishbowl rather than being held, so when I wasn't around they didn't have to hold her. I could be wrong though.

I did listen to them that time (only till we got home, then she was in my arms whenever I was awake!), but this time if they say it, they'll get a decidedly different answer!

 

[darkangel1981]

Newborn, alot...... like most of the time lol i loved it though, at the time it didn't seem so great but when i looked back i realised that i enjoyed it alot even though i was exhausted.

Now LO doesn't like to be held as much, he like to lie on the floor and wriggle !

 

[babyhopes2010]

at that age all day.now its a good 7hours lol

 

[2ndtimeluckyX]

The nurses told us this too! We ignored them. When our lo was the same age as yours we held her allllllll day long near enough and we did that for weaks! She was breast fed so I had to hold her as she fed constantly in the first few days.
Our lo is not spoilt. She sits happily on her own now if I put her down and she also sttn, I don't even rock her to sleep she settles herself.
I don't think that holding them a lot spoils them, I think it reassures them and makes them feel safe and happy
do whatever you want with YOUR baby! X

 

[SillyMoo1983]

I cuddle her as much as I possibly can! I know soon she'll be crawling off and not wanting to be held onto by me so I make the most of every cuddle. She is a little snuggle bum

Cuddle your baby as much as you can. They love it, you love it. You cannot spoil a 1 week old baby. It's excellent for bonding. It's the best feeling in the world when your baby falls asleep on you, they must be so comfy and content. There's always time for hugs

 

[puddycats]

If someone tells me I hold my baby too much I'd reply exactly MY BABY N I'LL HOLD HIM AS MUCH AS I WANT, I don't take advise from ppl who see my baby every now n then, I'm with him 24/7 I know wats best. Hold ur baby wen Eva u want n tell them do one xx

 

[DMS]

i hold my LO ALL the time

 

[purapura]

I hold my almost 6 month old as much as he want or allow me! Some days he want to be on my arms the whole day and sometimes he will do anything for me to let him go.
At your LO's aga I was holding LO non stop! He became indipended very quick, and by 3-4 weeks he preferred to spend around 30 minuts 3/4 times a day on the floor by himself.

Hold your LO as much as you want/ LO needs!

 

[mummy2lola]

I think they need some retraining.babys of that age cannot b spoilt and need hugs just as much as they need feeding and changing.at that age we probably held Lola about 10 hours a day.now it can still range from 2-10 hrs and u know what,if they think I'm spoiling her,so what? She's my baby and I'll "spoil" her as much as I want xx

 

[summer rain]

I have found this a common attitude with SCBU nurses, I was told me holding my son would 'interrupt' his treatment, he was jaundiced and have since read the BF and jaundice policy of that hospital and it is the complete opposite to what they were saying, and I noticed when the SCBU nurses took babies out to feed them they held them at arms length and didn't give them eye contact, it was really sad xx

 

[Weezie123]

Hold your baby and ignore their ignorance. I never put my baby down for more than 10 mins until he was 6 months unless someone else was holding him or he was asleep then i popped him in the pram if i needed to go out but took the sling as when he woke he would want to be near me straight away and i co sleep. At 6 and a half months my baby is curious about everything's, smiles all the time and is happy to play alone for short periods if I am nearby.

You cannot spoil anyone baby or adult with love.

You know that in your heart, don't let them make you doubt it.

Plus it's your baby so none of their business.