What do you do?

[Chel]

I just have a heap of questions I'd love to get some feedback on. I've got a 2 week old bub and starting to get a feel for this motherhood business, and just starting to wondering how other mothers deal with the day-to-day responsibilities and choices we have to make.

How often does your baby feed? My little man is breastfed and at the moment feeds 2 hourly around the clock... I'm starting to get a bit tired!

How much housework do you get done in a day? I'm really trying to stay on top of things but I cant believe how long everything takes now! And then, also, with 2 hourly feeds, I need to take time out for myself (like right now) but then if I do this, I dont get everything done and before I know it my hubby is home and I feel like I've done nothing!

If baby is asleep and then he's obviously done a poo... would you change him or leave him till he wakes up?

How many changes of clothes does you baby go through in a 24 hour period? At the moment Jasper manages to throw up, wee, poo or just feel a bit damp for no obvious reason, needing to be changed about 4-10 times a day.

How long should a newborn be awake for at a time? While normally he's only awake for an hour or less, sometimes he gets really upset and wont settle back to sleep properly for up to 4 hours! Is this too long? Can he make himself sick if he doesn't sleep?

How involved is baby's daddy I feel like my hubby only really spends time with his son when he's clean, happy, dressed and fed... and when any of those change he hands him back! Then if he's trying to settle Jasper and Jasper is crying and crying and so he's passed back to me and almost immediately stops crying, my hubby seems to offended and cant work out why baby just responds better to me... but... of course... I'm the one who's with him all day and all night... I'm worried that he doesn't really know his daddy well enough to settle for him.... and I dont want to be the 'favourite'.

Does your baby know how to settle himself to sleep? Jasper practically only falls asleep in my arms. If I put him down while he's still even just half awake he'll fully wake himself up and start crying - he needs to be in a deep sleep before I pop him into his own bed. Also, who lets baby sleep in bed with them? Jasper tends to wake up unsettled at about 5:30am every morning and wont go back down into his own bed, no matter how long I try (I've spent hours settling him to sleep and gently putting him down to have him wake up 5 minutes later crying!!!) Should I just toughen up with him? But he's just so little and I dont want him to think I dont love him!

How often do you bath bub? Jasper doesn't like the bath much at all and can be really difficult to bath so I dont really like bathing him, I just give him a bit of a wipe down with a damp cloth at night and then probably only bath him every 3rd day.

... hmm.... that'll do for now... I think I probably have more questions, but thats enough for now!

 

[Vickie]

I'll try to answer what I can



How often does your baby feed? At that age Hannah ate every 3-4 hours but she is bottle fed and that does make a difference. Every 2 hours for a BF baby sounds about right to me

How much housework do you get done in a day? Do yourself a favor and forget the housework. It doesn't have to be done. And your hubby can (and should) help you out with it when he is home You need to focus your energy on yourself and your baby

If baby is asleep and then he's obviously done a poo... would you change him or leave him till he wakes up? I would change Hannah if it was a poo

How many changes of clothes does you baby go through in a 24 hour period? At that age 3-4 outfits, depending on the day

How long should a newborn be awake for at a time? An hour or less for Hannah at that age, any longer and she would get overly tired and it was near impossible to get her to sleep. If you ever have days of him screaming for no apparent reason being overly tired is a likely culprit!

How involved is baby's daddy Stan is a very involved daddy. He works from home half days and helps me out when he can. After work he takes Hannah while I work on dinner, dishes, shower and some bnb time for myself He also does her night time baths and is usually the one who puts her to bed and gets up with her at night

Does your baby know how to settle himself to sleep? at that age no, babies have to learn how to settle themselves and they don't learn it until 3-4 months of age. At this age you will likely have to hold him until he's in a deep sleep and than try to put him down. (unless you are lucky enough to have one of those babies who will go down on their own--I wasn't )

How often do you bath bub? At that age we bathed Hannah approximately every 3rd day with a sponge bath in between to wipe her down. It does get better, and they do start to like their baths more a bit later on. I did find that it's best to bathe Hannah when she's not too tired, and not hungry or she will scream through her bath. Now we bath her every other day as she gets dirty more quickly Just make sure to keep his creases clean and neck folds etc. as the milk likes to pool there

 

[Samantha675]

How often does your baby feed? At that age, I swear Bren was on the breast way more often then every 2 hours. Now at 6 months, he nurses 4-6 a day 2-3 at night for about 5-10 minutes a go. It rocks!!!

How much housework do you get done in a day? I do what I can. As Bren is getting older I can get more done. Some days when he has not slept well the night before, I just don't care. When Bren was a newborn, I hardly got anything done.

If baby is asleep and then he's obviously done a poo... would you change him or leave him till he wakes up? Never wake a sleeping baby!!!

How many changes of clothes does you baby go through in a 24 hour period? 2-6 depends on how his reflux is that day.

How long should a newborn be awake for at a time? Bren would go about 1-2 hours.

How involved is baby's daddy? Somedays he is great others, he isn't. He does try his best. He will do diapers, and change him, bath him, feed him, drive him around if he won't go to sleeps. He does take over in the evenings so I can get some extra sleep.


Does your baby know how to settle himself to sleep? Bren is just not a self-settler. It takes a baby a while to learn to self-settle, some more than others.

Also, who lets baby sleep in bed with them? We co-slept till Bren was 3 months, then the ugly reflux monster reared its head and put an end to it. He now sleeps in a hammock crib next to the bed. As soon as his reflux is gone, he is back in!!! I can't wait. I love sleeping next to my little guy.

Remember at 2 weeks, he has not figured out that he is a seperate person.

How often do you bath bub? Some times every day, but we can skip a couple of days. If we do everyday, I only wash him every other day, on the off days I just let him play in the water.

 

[Chel]

I have another question...

My step mum critised the amount of time I spend holding Jasper, because he'll get too attached or something?!?!

I hold him any time of the day or night that he's awake, as he's either beautiful and bright eyed and seems to just want to hang out with me (like right now he's propped up on my lap having a good look around) or he's crying and needs comfort!

How long do you spend holding/playing with your bubba in a day?