Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school help please - out of ideas/resources for my baby

This thread brings back such memories. DS HATED being a baby! I can not say that strongly enough, there was nothing about it he liked. He was p*ssed a LOT. Whenever we held him, he had to be upright & looking out. We borrowed a jumper but that lasted about 2min until he discovered he wasn't able to walk. Then he lost it! The exersaucer we got him worked pretty well up until he crawled & then he would not tolerate that. Tummy time didn't really happen because he became hysterical. Still, he crawled at 6 mos and within about a week of crawling, he was up a full flight of stairs.

Thankfully, the toddler & preschool years have been much kinder. Each has brought it own challenges but not near the intense anger & frustration of the first 6 months. You will get through this & your DD will be happier when she is less constrained by her own body. Best wishes

My dc's were both this way, maybe not as angry, but definitely with very little sleep. If they are not sleeping well this can get really bad all around, the only ways we got the kids to sleep: let them sleep on or next to us, driving in the car worked well for naps too. Ds would never let us transfer him from the car or stroller, dd does ok with this, but will stay up all night so she can be with me. I might try again soon to get her into her little toddler bed with the lightning mcqueen sheets.
Anyway you might focus on physical exertion to get the baby to sleep more, with summer coming on a parent-child swim class might be just the thing, you will still be holding her but she will weigh a *lot* less! Hopefully after that she will crash hard for a nap!
For that matter, tub-time can be fun too, I know you say she can't sit up, but you can get in the tub with her to just chill/preserve your back. Some colorful cups are good if she's grasping stuff already (bet she is).

Also, I have to second the back-pack for kids, it worked wonders for us, not just for hiking. We used it to cook, clean, whatever needed to get done. Ds and dd both seemed much more content to 'oversee' than stay in a playpen.

Welcome!

Oh, sounds a lot like my DS (22 months today) at that age, although thankfully he was an early sitter and started getting happier when he could sit unassisted. He got happier still when he could crawl (6 months) and MUCH happier when he started walking (8.5 months). You've been given a lot of really great advice here... the other thing that was a godsend for us was going to places with older babies/toddlers, like the local indoor play centre and story time at the library. He just drank in the sight of the 'big kids', really seemed to be studying them for cues on things he could try to do. (Meanwhile he had zero interest in other babies his own age).

And just an aside, on the carseat thing - some babies hate the convertible carseats (the kind that go rearfacing now and forward facing when they're older) less than they hate the infant seat, so if your little one is still in the "baby bucket", you might want to look into a convertible seat earlier rather than later. They sit a little more upright and less cramped (and then once they're a little older, 7-8 months or so, it can be reinstalled a little *more* upright to really let them see better). My DS did better in the car once we switched, although in his case we HAD to since he was outgrowing the bucket by 5-ish months.

I actually have advice. That sounds exactly like DS6. He hated being a baby! Truly, just like yours. (second born loves being a baby) Anyway, he developed very rapidly and skipped a lot of stages. For example, he stood at 4 months and cruised at 6 month. He stacked boxes to reach things babies shouldn't touch when he was 7 months. It wasn't easy. More importantly, I think it really hurt his brain. Those basic development stages (crawling, reaching, rolling around) develop important neural pathways. I believe that children who are GT end up with so many sensory issues and quirks because they outsmarted their little bodies when they were babies by asking their cortex to do jobs that their midbrains and pons' were supposed to handle. Just a thought.

It gets better when they learn how to crawl. DD4 used to roll over to stuff when she was 2-3 months. She would stiffen her back and look for her toy and then roll over until she got there. Right before they learned to crawl was pretty rough with the girls.

DD8m would get frustrated and lunge at the other two as they went by. She would try to crawl and fall on her nose. Then one day she didn't fall forward and she was off. She also scooted for awhile before she crawled, mostly backwards.

Now she is trying to walk. She will let go of her wall or chair and lunge towards her sibs when they go by. If she falls she gets really mad and throws a fit, kicking her feet and yelling. Then she sits up and crawls as fast as she can to catch up. As soon as she gets her balance down shes going to be a much happier baby. She really wants to keep up with her sibs.

One thing I did with DD4 was I would play CDs or audio books with people talking or singing so I could put her in her crib if I had to do something where I could not hold her right then. She was a pretty happy baby but needed constant interaction. She still is like that. It is very helpful to spread out the love. Let Grandma or Aunts, friends have some turns. They also liked tv from a very young age and they liked computer games. It is easier now because they play with each other. DD4 will read sibs books while I do chores sometimes and DD2 likes to show the baby different toys and things he finds.

Your baby sound wonderful. Give your baby lots of snuggles they grow up too quick.

my 7mo. old has been getting dressed standing since 4-5mo. old she hates laying on her back except to breastfeed and sleep... try dressing her sitting in your lap or standing holding on to something.... if she can stand yet?

i heard her screaming at the top of her lungs the other day i came in the bedroom and DH had her laying down trying to dress her i said "OH NO! Honey she HATES that! you have to let her stand while you do it"