Am I stunting my babies development?

[Nelliejo13]

Hi I'm a first time mum. My baby is 6 weeks old. All she seems to do is cry, me an my partner can't put her down or she cries. And she cries unless she's sleeping or feeding and I feel like she has no time to learn things whilst I have her tapped onto my breast. It also feels like I never really stop feeding.

I was in EXACTLY the same boat and had exactly the same worry. Don't worry- she's not missing out. I know how hard it is to have a baby who cries all the time and constantly fed. My son screamed the first two months of his life. We put him on reflux meds, cut out dairy from my diet, and got him onto a proper napping schedule. He was suddenly much better. To this day we still don't know which of those three things 'fixed' him. He still whinges all the time, is pretty hyper and drives me mad but he's also a wonderful smiley little boy now and certainly not laxkinf developmentally! Hang in there - I found the first 8 weeks the hardest so you're almost there xx

This is basically all newborns do. I overstimulated my first and made her miserable. My second is a similar age and can’t cope with any longer than 20-30 minute awake time before coming stressed. They’ll have plenty of time for stimulation. Just embrace the cuddles while you can.

Babies feed constantly for their first few months. They learn all they need to by being held, loved, and made to feel safe. You’re not failing your baby and there’s nothing more they need teaching than you’re there when they need you.