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percivalSo, after 5.5 months of motherhood, how's parenting going? Well, I now need to fit around the baby more than I used to. When she was smaller, I could pop her in the sling, and as long as we made pit stops to feed and change nappies, she'd be fine. These days, she needs time during the day where she can be down, on her tummy, exploring. This makes trips out somewhat more challenging, since I need to find a place where she can have some floor time. Baby cinema is great for that. I'm also instating more of a bedtime routine - massage, fluoride pill, quiet time with Daddy, last feed, down.
As for parenting paradigms, I found that our parenting style (mine and that of my husband, who refused to read pregnancy books and now refuses to read baby books) is closer to attachment parenting than to the Gina Ford school of tough routines. The main reason for this is probably that I've been feeding my daughter on demand. This way, I worked with her needs. I've also been wearing and carrying her a lot. However, I don't pick her up at the first peep - I tend to see whether she can manage to solve her problem on her own first. A lot of the time it's arms that are tired from holding the upper body of a 7.5 kg baby off the floor, or a toy that's rolled out of the reach of a not-yet-crawler.
Her personality is an interesting mix. She's bright and bubbly. When we're out and about, everything is more interesting than Mummy - the other babies at Baby Yoga, people passing by on the street, the view out of the bus windows. She smiles a lot, coos and goos. She can play on her own for a good 10-15 minutes, but has a low frustration tolerance. If her favourite tummy time rattle roll rolls out of reach, she gets really upset really quickly.
Because our daughter is a rather mellow baby overall, and easily calmed, I don't tend to get angry at her when she cries. She's been waking more at night now, but I can deal with it better than I thought because I can see a logic behind the wakings. Baby sleep cycles are 60 minutes, and if she surfaces from deep sleep when she feels bad (hungry, or is in a bad position), she knows that something's wrong, but is not awake enough to do something about it. Hence groaning, fussing and howling, but she can be settled easily by some breast time. Sometimes, a cuddle or holding hands will work, too.
It will be interesting to see whether I'll be the same with another baby, but we won't try that until she's quite a bit older :)
Speaking of the second, Julie of "A Little Pregnant" is currently considering whether she should have a second child. This is a rather difficult decision for her, because her child is the result of a very long ART journey. I spent a lot of time reading through her entry and the comments on it. Ultimately, I want to try for another because I'm confident that we have enough space and love to give life to and raise one more little human being.
And I want to have a new baby again. I'm only too conscious that as our daughter outgrows each stage of development, this might be the last time I get to be with a baby as small as this. But I hope that one day, we'll get the opportunity to see another little person blossom in our family.
As for parenting paradigms, I found that our parenting style (mine and that of my husband, who refused to read pregnancy books and now refuses to read baby books) is closer to attachment parenting than to the Gina Ford school of tough routines. The main reason for this is probably that I've been feeding my daughter on demand. This way, I worked with her needs. I've also been wearing and carrying her a lot. However, I don't pick her up at the first peep - I tend to see whether she can manage to solve her problem on her own first. A lot of the time it's arms that are tired from holding the upper body of a 7.5 kg baby off the floor, or a toy that's rolled out of the reach of a not-yet-crawler.
Her personality is an interesting mix. She's bright and bubbly. When we're out and about, everything is more interesting than Mummy - the other babies at Baby Yoga, people passing by on the street, the view out of the bus windows. She smiles a lot, coos and goos. She can play on her own for a good 10-15 minutes, but has a low frustration tolerance. If her favourite tummy time rattle roll rolls out of reach, she gets really upset really quickly.
Because our daughter is a rather mellow baby overall, and easily calmed, I don't tend to get angry at her when she cries. She's been waking more at night now, but I can deal with it better than I thought because I can see a logic behind the wakings. Baby sleep cycles are 60 minutes, and if she surfaces from deep sleep when she feels bad (hungry, or is in a bad position), she knows that something's wrong, but is not awake enough to do something about it. Hence groaning, fussing and howling, but she can be settled easily by some breast time. Sometimes, a cuddle or holding hands will work, too.
It will be interesting to see whether I'll be the same with another baby, but we won't try that until she's quite a bit older :)
Speaking of the second, Julie of "A Little Pregnant" is currently considering whether she should have a second child. This is a rather difficult decision for her, because her child is the result of a very long ART journey. I spent a lot of time reading through her entry and the comments on it. Ultimately, I want to try for another because I'm confident that we have enough space and love to give life to and raise one more little human being.
And I want to have a new baby again. I'm only too conscious that as our daughter outgrows each stage of development, this might be the last time I get to be with a baby as small as this. But I hope that one day, we'll get the opportunity to see another little person blossom in our family.
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Date: 2006-02-04 01:12 am (UTC)I'm cherishing this time with Sam as it slips away all too fast. I know this is my last and I regret not doing so with Alex.
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Date: 2006-02-05 04:00 am (UTC)