My DD is nearly 6 weeks old. She is gorgeous and doing well, but I am a first time mum and have been feeling anxious and finding it all hard work. After she was born, I had baby blues, but have been feeling much better recently, largely thanks to my DH who has been off work since she was born and helped me to cope with her colicky crying. However, DH has to return to work in the New Year and I am worried about how I will cope on my own with DD. She does not like to be put down when awake and I don't like to leave her to cry. I have tried the obvious eg carrying her into the room with me, talking to her, baby rocking chairs etc. Do you think it is ok to leave her to cry whilst I go to the toilet, eat lunch etc?
Also, DD sleeps reasonably well at night, but does not do more than cat nap in my arms for a few minutes at a time during the day. She will go to sleep in the car, but this does not enable me to get much done. All the books say that babies this age sleep for 16 -18 hours a day. I'm lucky if DD manages 8 hours at night and a couple of hours of catnapping/snoozing during the day. Is this the norm for other parents?
Finally, does it ever start to get easier? Will I ever feel that I've got this parenthood thing cracked? Does anyone have any tips or advice they would be willing to share?
Thank you and Happy Christmas