In the interest of being able to leave my son with anyone while he's awake for longer than the unpredictable space between his naps I am experimenting.
I have always used nursing as kind of a sleep trigger for him because it's easy and it works. I doubt anyone presented with a nursing baby who fell asleep (or very nearly) in their arms would be able to resist just putting them down to sleep. It seems natural because it is- I'm positive this is what more primitive societies do and no one hassles them about setting up bad habits or dependencies or anything. Max and I greatly enjoy nursing and it nearly always soothes whatever might be bothering him- I wish we all could be so lucky to have something so dependably calming.
However, the problem arises of girlfriends asking me to join them for things or what have you during the day and not knowing when Max's naps will occur exactly and being pretty certain that I will not be able to be there to put him down. So, I have been attempting to put more time and activity between nursing and being put down in his crib. So far the longest he's gone is maybe 5 or 6 minute- I know that sounds paltry, but in babyland, 5 minutes is a pretty long time.
(Keep in mind this is just for daytime stuff. Nighttime he frequently will play for a little while and/or listen to Jack read before being put in his crib and it works just fine. Daytime naps have always been more challenging and sensitive for my little fellow).
I'm pretty optimistic about how things are going- he seems to be adjusting reasonably quickly and the thought of having someone else be able to put him down to sleep is pretty exciting for me. I know that I'm pretty indulgent when it comes to my son- but I'm not going to stop anytime soon. This is my little pseudo-triumph of the moment, just thought I'd share. :)
On a related note- I now have to be concerned for his little teeth though and that throws another wrench into things. Sometimes I rub his teeth with with some clean fabric or something after he feeds but I don't really know what to do yet for two teeny little teeth. Our 9 month appt is coming up on the 2nd though- hopefully I won't do any damage before then. :)
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you can get baby 'pseudo' toothpaste at the store...you can usually find it in a package that comes with a little thing to slip over your finger...kind of like what you can use for dog and cat toof-brushing. the paste is non-toxic and doesn't contain any flouride so it's safe if bebe swallows it. it's good to clean their teeth with it at least once a day and it also preps them for when they get older and move up to a big-kid toofbrush.
ReplyDeletealternately, you could offer him a sip of room-temp water after nursing to rinse his mouth a bit. ♥
I think he'll be fine, and we're ready to babysit whenever you are!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm trying to get Jack to want to go out somewhere- he's the one with the money but he never has the ideas.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Thanks Kake- that sounds like something I could probably do- and I guessed as much, but a parenting book by a doctor that Selah and I have really liked so far said that it wasn't really worth it until they had a few more teeth so I'd been wondering- but I think it's going to bother me if I don't do something.
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