Hello ladies, I have been under the blythe assumption that this thread was for mums of wee ones with medical issues, having not the foggiest what the term 'high needs baby' was... Until I came across it somewhere else, whilst trying to understand ds. The little chap is 16 weeks old, has silent reflux and has busted all my naive ideas of motherhood into sad little smithereens!
For example, that babies go down for naps / can amuse themselves on a babygym or bouncy chair / do not constantly need held / etc etc etc. Like my nephew and niece do or all those other b*stards' children on Facebook do!!! He's also sleeping very very badly at the mo, maybe 4 month growth spurt or start of teething - the longest he went between feeds last night was just under 2 hours. We're lucky if he goes down before 12.30am most nights - DH takes him for the start of the night, but DS has been cluster feeding so I've not been able to use that to catch up on sleep recently. i haven't been co-sleeping with him, cos of his reflux - if he lies flat after a feed he pukes it back up again. Tried wedging the matress of his side-car cot but he won't sleep in it cos he likes to sleep with his arms flung out to either side!
I feel pretty much at the end of my tether, last night was the worst I've felt in a while. I feel like I've tried nearly everything but nothing helps or only helps for a while - I also sometimes get the 'rod for my own back' thoughts (only way I can get him to sleep during the day / some nights is to sing while holding him and bouncing on the birthng ball, so every time I read something about how at this age he should be self soothing I feel like a failure!). Reading this thread helps a bit - none of the other mums around here have a scooby (again I feel like a failure or weird that my son isn't calm o sleeping in his car seat like the other babies) - as does reading that some of the babies on here are bounding over these sort of hurdles as they get bigger.
Sorry, just needed a vent! DH had to work today, so i've had o just man up and cope, thankfully DS gave me an easy eough time today!
Mackenzie I have a jumperoo. DS's favourite thing is not gazing adoringly into my face and cooing (Like he does for DH, humph) but sitting upright on my knee buncing, so I caved in and bought one. He does seem to like it and he's a big boy so his feet do reach the ground already / has good head control but it's pretty over-stimulating, as we found to our cost after an evening session in it (whoops, aaaaargh, go to sleeeeeeeep!). My sister lent us a swing as well, which he likes and will now chill out in for a while most days.