Mum question:My beautiful six month daughter and I have a great bond, shes a calm, intelligent baby and Ive always let my instincts guide me. Until this last week, weve had no routine whatsoever, Ive always just responded to her needs and read her for what we should be doing. Im so happy and proud to say Ive exclusively breastfed her despite some major challenges in the beginning. Im still demand feeding her. Weve always coslept or room shared at the least but shes a real fidgeter at night which would wake me up and I think my husbands sleep apnea machine was rousing her unnecessarily. Ill admit I was also starting to panic that not having any structure to our day was somehow damaging her, silly probably... This last week weve tried moving her cot (which was previously a sidecar to our bed) to her own room and setting up a rough routine. We still respond to her immediately and I watch the video monitor like crazy. I never ever want her to feel abandoned. So far, she seems to be taking to it really well: weve followed her as a guide and she seems to have found a great pattern. She also seems to like the bedtime rituals we now do and likes the predictability. She is sleeping more soundly at night too, doing four or five hour stretches in between the night feeds - as opposed to every two hours. Day time naps can still be a struggle but I figure its one thing at a time. I guess Im hoping for some reassurance from you and other mums that a flexible and responsive routine is ok, and more than anything, her sleeping down the other end of house wont leave her feeling like we arent responsive to her needs. My husband reassures me that its not like were in the wild and separation from us is a survival issue, shes still in a secure and safe house, just at the other end from us. But I worry that she cant smell me and has shut down and I also miss her like crazy. Is this just something I need to mourn and process because shes actually doing so well or has she learned not to expect us to respond? Thank you so much in advance.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 22:30:00 +0000
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