Crying baby - trying to do things

[elliej83]

I'm not sure if this is a daft question but my 8 week old loves being held in the day. If I put him down he starts to cry. There are some tasks like getting dressed, washing bottles etc that are just impossible to do holding a baby. What does everyone else do? I feel terrible leaving him to cry or hearing him cry x

If you need to get dressed. Him crying for 5 minutes whilst you talk to him and he can see you will do no harm.
Same goes for bottle. Stick him in a bouncer so he can see you and talk to him.

Have you got a sling?

At that age I got up and first thing I did was get dressed (which in my mental state quite difficult to do). Then had a stretchy wrap sling like a Close Caboo or a Moby and plonked baby in there whilst I dealt with the other kids. It's the only way to keep everyone happy.

DS was the same, I used sling & a swing so I could do stuff.

Don't feel bad. You have to put him down. Try a sling - that allows you to have your hands free (some jobs are still hard). Then put him down or in a bouncer when you have to, keep talking to him in a bright breezy voice (even though his crying will stress you out).

Slowly get him used to not being held all the time - put him on the floor and lie on the floor with him, playing with him and talking to him, gradually moving a little bit further away.

For things like having a shower, etc but him in a bouncer in the same room as you.

It's ok if he cries for a few minutes.

I have a 7 month old and I still shower before bed.

When getting dressed put him in a bouncy chair in front of a mirror.

Thanks this is really helpful :) xx

My little one started getting more upset around this time and wouldn't let me do things, it took a few days of getting used to but I placed her in the bouncer to watch me etc and as long as I kept talking to her she was reassured even now @ 3months she's the same.

My eight week old is exactly the same. I couldn't get on with a sling as I never felt comfortable enough that my baby was safe to actually get anything done. My dp bought me a carrier to try instead a couple of days ago... Life saved! Wish I had tried it sooner! Try a sling they can be wonder fuel if they work for you. (might be a sling library you can rent one from locally to try?) But if they don't a carrier is relatively cheap (mine was£20 from Smyth's) and might work if a sling doesn't.