Living with a not so newborn: The self soothing baby

So.
I've come to discover that my son is a little attached to me.
It's not a bad thing.. But it can be a bad thing for him later on in his life.
I don't want him to be too attached to me and be labelled a 'mama's boy'
I want my son to be independent.. Yes he can come to his mama for moral support, advice whatever... But not to be so attached to me that he's not able to function if i'm not around.
So this week I'm trying to wean him out of me always holding him.. If that means he has to cry it out.. Then so be it.
As long as he's been fed and his butt is clean there should be no other reason to cry for such a long period of time.

Also. The MAIN thing I want Jeremiah to master is being able to sleep without me holding him or rocking him to sleep.
It's already improving.. He has to cry a bit.. And then.. Wait for it... He puts his two fingers in his mouth and sucks it until he falls asleep.
I read a lot about babies who self soothe.. And it's a good practice for them because that means they can be very independent. And it's even better for me and my arms lol.
Right now he's asleep next to me after about 15-20 minutes of fussing before he soothed himself to sleep.
I just hope and pray he grows out of it and doesn't continue to suck his fingers when he's like 20. -__-

God forbid. Lol

But I pray before the week ends his fighting sleep will cease and when he's sleepy.. He'll just soothe himself and sleep.. And then gradually just fall asleep with so much ease.
But i'm glad he's found something that he finds comforting and isn't expecting me to rock him to sleep.

Please God let this boy come out of fighting sleep and let him be able to sleep peacefully.. And may that result in him sleeping through the night with no interruptions.
Amen :)

Living with a not so newborn: Milestones & Memories

It's Saturday morning.. Approximately 7:26am(after just settling Jeremiah back to sleep) and I'm lying here reminiscing and going through videos and photos of when he was born and so on..

Time goes so bloody fast! I have a short video of when J was one week old... And looking at him now at 15 weeks.. He has changed so much lawd Jesus!
But all I can do is praise God. Thank you Jesus for sustaining my boy up until now.. I pray for your constant protection over his life. Amen.

So. Every month babies reach development milestones, i.e holding their head up, smiling, responding to familiar voices, rolling, holding things, laughing...
Jeremiah smiles a lot, he can hold his head up, he's so active i'm not sure if he's trying to roll lol. But every baby is different and will reach milestones whenever-- but it is just so interesting to see. Just observing your own child and looking at them fascinated with the world around them. It's so nice to see.

I've also now started giving J formula milk because at my recent health visitor check his weight was short by a couple of ounces.. And it was like that the time before.. So just to get his weight up to scratch I top him up with a bottle of milk at night. It has been a struggle.. This boy enjoys his breast like no tomorrow.
I didn't want to.. But he will gain the weight with the extra milk and plus it will make weaning a lot easier too.. So it's a blessing in disguise.

Next thing I know Jeremiah will be 1 year old.. Walking.. Eating solid foods and being independent.

Time is surely flying.

Living with a newborn: You won't always get it right

Motherhood and taking care of a little one is a learning process.
Especially with being a new mom.. I've even surprised my own self with how I'm adjusting and how I'm taking care of Jeremiah.
I'm not saying that I didn't believe that I could-- but I didn't think I would be handling it so well.
I even underestimated myself!

But as I am on this new journey of motherhood; mistakes are allowed-- otherwise how do we learn?
A current example I can give.. I'm currently treating Jeremiah's extremely dry skin. I bought a product to bath him with that had really good reviews and what I thought would be good for his skin..
Turns out it wasn't good.. And it triggered his skin to be really dry.. It looks a little like eczema, but with moisturizing it everyday with shea butter it is improving a lot.
I know his skin is a result of the really cold weather too but I didn't help with using the product.. I should of stuck to just plain warm water.
But within this mistake it's also made me find out that his skin is a little sensitive so I need to be mindful when buying creams and baths. But who knows? He may even grow out of it.
The point is even though you make a mistake there is a reason for it.
So I haven't beaten myself up about it; but I've added it to my knowledge of my child so I know what to do and what to prevent so his skin doesn't get worse.
No one is perfect and I'm also learning to not be too hard on myself-- when you have a child you just want them to be perfect... Make sure nothing is wrong with them.. Make sure they're happy..
But I am enjoying this new journey of motherhood.. I always thank God for my son and pray that God will help me to raise him to be the great boy that he is.

Living with a newborn: Being a mother

I'm seeing everyday that being a mother changes you so much. You become more alert, put your child before yourself, become more organized, and begin to plan a lot more. The fact that you have another life to think about besides yourself automatically pushes you to be more responsible if you weren't before.

How people perceive you also changes-- in a good way; which means there is a small pressure to make sure at all times you carry yourself well because your child is also watching you. Despite how small they are.. When you observe them you can see they have some type of understanding even though they can't talk yet!

As a mother you even put pressure on yourself to make sure your child gets the best, or even more than what you had when you were little.
With my son in particular all I want is the best.. I want him to be happy, and he has everything that he needs.
God will help me.

Being a mother is definitely a challenge because there are people who have been mothers longer than myself who have tons of advice to give-- which is always appreciated. It can be intimidating at times because it can make you feel as if you're doing something wrong.. Or what you're doing isn't good enough..

But you are the person that knows your child best and as long as your child is content, and healthy what else is there to ask for?

Living with a newborn: Sleeping Breakthrough

Praise God, Hallelujah!

I have made a startling discovery with Jeremiah and his daily battles with sleep.
It's currently 5:32 in the morning-- around 4:45 after a feed he woke up-- but what he has been doing lately is rubbing his eyes and face vigourously... To the point where he wakes himself up... Now finding out that is his way to self soothe.
Self soothing for babies is very important so that they can learn to sleep by themselves and not depend on us to rock or swaddle them to sleep.

Now. When he woke up I picked him up and rocked him to the point where he was drowsy. Put him back in the crib. This is where the battle begun. I didn't pick him up again.. I sat at the edge of the bed.. And blew in his face (Jeremiah does this crying thing where no sound comes out.. And his face goes red..) and once I do that he calms down. He started to rub his face and eyes again.. I just watched.
Then.. He placed one of his arms behind the crib bale on the walls of the crib.. And put his cheek on it-- he rubbed his cheek on it a bit and then gradually dozed off.

So my revelation is that a lot of the time he wakes up in the night.. I may not need to feed him (which I have been doing) but just a simple thing of just getting him back to sleep.
I may need to invest in a comforter or sleep toy if he continues-- i'm going to see how this week goes. Also I need to invest in more mitts and sleepsuits with the integrated mitts-- the way he rubs his face is so aggressive to the point his skin goes a little red!
Oh this child of mine.. If this is how I can get a full night's sleep.. We thank God lol

He fights sleep like he's in a boxing match!
But I guess that's boy babies for you.

Living with a newborn: As a parent, all you want is the best

Sometimes it still shocks me that I am a mother. Motherhood comes with so many responsibilities-- but gradually you take them on with your stride.
Just yesterday my mind went as far as when I go back to work, what will I be able to do in regards to childcare. Am I going to have to put him in nursery? Hire a nanny? Get him to a childminder? All of these things require money-- but I know when the time comes God will make a way. He has to.

When you have a child all you want is the best.. And I really want my son to have the best. I always pray when he gets older he will feel open enough to talk to me about his problems and his worries, concerns whatever. That's something all kids need-- the opportunity to have the platform to speak to their parents without feeling scared or judged.
Unfortunately... In the african culture.. A lot of the adults are very one way and are rash and brash so it makes the children very closed and this is when they go and seek advice elsewhere.
It's not everyone.. But the vast majority.

I don't want that.

I can sit down and think about so many things.. And now that I have a child.. It's been doubled. Once you have a child.. You sacrifice a lot.. It's not about JUST you anymore.

I always pray that I will be a good mother to my son-- God has permitted him to come in my life.. So God has to help me to raise him to become who he's meant to become.

So help me God. x

Living with a newborn: 3 months today

Praise God!

My son is 3 months today. It is currently 6am and he is here awake by my side. I have no idea when these early wake up calls will end.. He likes to be up from 5am to play.
I've begun to wean him off rocking him to sleep. He must learn to go to sleep on his own which he is learning slowly but surely.. Otherwise I'll be rocking him off to sleep until God knows when.
He's been going through another growth spurt and starting with his cooing sounds. The effects of the injections he had at 2 months have faded.. And he will have his next set in a couple of weeks.

He's growing everyday and everyone keeps commenting on how much he has grown. I'm seeing more of his personality everyday and he makes me laugh all the time. He is smiling so much more and I am happy for it. I thank God he has kept him and can on pray he will continue.

I hate injections. Having to watch those big needles go in his little legs. Absolute torture! But it had to be done. I need to watch it all over again in a couple of weeks *cries*
As a result my boy has a little cold.. Due to the very cold weather mixed with the side effects of the injections. So daily I unblock his nose and he has a tiny cough that is fading. I went as far as to go to the GP
. and even the GP said he was fine.. My boy has to just ride it out.

He's a strong little boy to be honest-- despite a little cough he's still smiley and in good spirits.

Oh yes! Jeremiah is doing this funny thing and staring at his hands-- it's around this age that they begin to recognise their hands and other body parts-- so I find when I breastfeed he will grip my fingers or try and even hold my breast.. Yes. Lol. But it's a lovely thing to see your child developing before your eyes.

More to come x