High needs baby..

ok, so it seems that since the jaundice went away, little Mister Matthew has become SUPER high needs. He needs to be up in arms all the time or he freaks out, and not just any arms, but mommys arms. He hates the swing, hates the bouncy, hates the sling, hates the moby, he just wants to be pressed right against my skin or on the boob. I am cool with baby wearing 24/7, but the trouble is he won't LET me wear him, so I can't get anything at all done during the day. It's not gas, or colic, because he is quite the minute he is in my arms, he just needs the security.

Anyone who has been here, done that? Anyone have any ideas how to get him used to the sling (I NEED my arms darn it! LOL)? Any book reccomendations would be great about how to deal with a high needs baby.

Thanks guys!

I have no advice/ideas for you but I wish you the best of luck.

Thanks!

My daughter's placenta never formed correctly, and she was born so high needs. It was really hard, but I had to put her in the swing for five minutes, even if she cried. After a few weeks, eventaully she learned that mommy had stuff to do too. We still cuddled plenty. Sometimes now as a toddler she is still really clingy. But sometimes I guess you have to be the mean mommy and just let them fuss. I learned this the hard way too with tummy time- Once shewas old enough she screamed on her stomach. I didn't put her there hardly ever, and she ended up with a flat head that required a helmet because of the placenta issues. Long story short- This next baby is getting plenty of supervised tummy time!! Hope that helps.

Carrie

Thanks for the post! One of my older kids had a flat head because of sever torticolis, he still has a bit of a flat spot, but lucky for us with his head full of hair you can hardly notice it! 

I just can't let him cry yet LOL it breaks my heart to hear it and makes me more frustrated them before. Maybe when he is a little bigger I will let him fuss for a bit, but right now he is so tiny and sad looking when he cries. I know, I am a total sucker :)

I am so sorry....the only good thing is at least you feel like someone wants to cuddle with you all the time :) and when he is 18, he won't let us do that...lol

Anyway, I don't have specific experiences to give you advice but I did watch the DVD on "The Happiest Baby in the World". Some people may think it is hokey but there were some things that I did use with Nathan when he was tiny....like shushing....I think he has a book too but there may be some great tips in there....are you still swaddling him? I used the swaddle blankets up until he was about 6 months...I think that really helped....

Hugs to you!!!

Ok, you are offically my favorite person on the earth today! LOL I got the DVD from the library and we tried it out last night, little man slept for FIVE hours solid, on his own in the bouncy seat. Maybe its a fluke and it might never happen again, but darn I feel almost HUMAN today! 

Thank you so much for the advice, I really enjoyed the DVD and felt like it was a plan I could work with, and it went better then I could have imagined!

Great news about the jaundice going away, but sorry to hear about the neediness.

How does Mr. Matthew respond to swaddling? I know parents of infants who swear by "Happiest Baby on the Block" and the 5 S's. Obviously, I've yet to test any of this myself...

Best of luck Courtney!

--Paula

Hey Paula, thanks for the post! I can now vouch for the Happiest Baby! He slept for five hours last night ON HIS OWN! I want to kiss the author! LOL So my advice would be, if you have not already invested in the books and DVD, DO IT! LOL It is such a gentle way to calm baby, and I really felt like I was meeting his needs but still getting the time that I needed to be a well rested, better mommy!

How was the book? I have the DVD but haven't looked at the book, did it have additional info that was helpful or might apply to babies over 3 months?