Author Topic: New to the boards..and completely overwhelmed and exhausted!  (Read 1215 times)

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Offline rayhay_3

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New to the boards..and completely overwhelmed and exhausted!
« on: August 17, 2005, 17:51:57 pm »
Hi Everyone!
My name is Robyn and I live in Canada (Saskatchewan). I have a 10 week old son named Zack who is refusing to stay asleep. To get Zack asleep I have to bf him. Zack will sleep for an hour or so and then awaken. The only thing that will put him back to sleep is the breast! Zack is a big boy (almost 17 pounds) so I am worried that all the milk he is getting is going to make him overweight! I have alot of milk. Zack refuses to take a soother or a bottle as well. Zack hates to sleep being put in his bed...I am at my wits end! Is it too soon to do the put down technique? Any help with this and any suggestions would be great. I feel so guilty when he cries..I am really looking for some support!
Thanks,
Robyn and Zack

Offline twiceamama

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hi
« Reply #1 on: August 17, 2005, 18:11:04 pm »
Welcome to the boards! :D
So sorry to hear your struggle! Please know that at least, you are not alone! Do you have Tracy´s books? If you don´t please get them, you´ll find them a Godsend!
And at his age, you want to do only the shush/pat, not pu/pd, it´s too stimulating for him now.
PLEASE go to the Pick Up/Put Down board and the EASY board because putting him on EASY is definetly the way to go... Good thing he´s so young! You´ll get him  on track if you´re consistent and things will improve!!

LOTS of HUGS

Please keep me posted!
Just learning to be a mom!

Aixa, mom to
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Offline Erin (redstarfalling)

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New to the boards..and completely overwhelmed and exhausted!
« Reply #2 on: August 18, 2005, 01:18:41 am »
You poor thing!  It can be so rough, can't it?  One thing I'll say is that it's not possible for babies to get overweight on breastmilk!  So not to worry if he seems really big and is eating lots - he just needs it for all that growing and developing. Don't feel guilty when he cries - babies CRY!  No matter what we do, even if we seem to be attending to their every need, they'll cry - it's how they communicate.  Try to look at it as he has a need and he's trying to express it, whether it's "I'm tired, I'm frustrated, I'm hungry, I'm overstimulated" - it's just his way of letting you know. (Sometimes the hard part is interpreting it, mind you... :roll: ).

You probably need to try breaking the association between breastfeeding and going to sleep - it sounds like he's really stuck on that, so when he comes up to a lighter sleep stage, he expects to have your breast still around.  There are some great posts on this forum to help with that.  Basically, you'd need to gradually remove your breast before he falls asleep and replace that soothing with something else (shh/patt at his age).  That's where I'd start!  HTH
Erin
Mother to Megan and Samantha