Motherhood Is...{12}

Confusing

As if being a first time Mommy wasn't hard enough. I've hit a few moments in my second-time-mommyhood that has me baffled. I feel like sometimes I'm worrying about totally different things than what I worried about with Eden. When Eden cried, she got a paci. When Eden slept, she was on her back. When Eden was going to bed, she was swaddled. Eden didn't eat more often than every 2 hours - no snacking allowed. None of these are big deals, but I've been stressing myself out about these things. Do we pacify Hunter? Do we let him sleep on his belly even though "back is best?" Do we swaddle him for bedtime? Do we feed him when he cries and roots even though he just ate?

I'm not against giving Hunter a paci, but he doesn't always seem to want one. I've tried a few times when he's grunting at night and he's gagged on it. There are other times that he takes it just fine. I know when we got rid of it with Eden she was fine, but the stress of when to take it and how to take it is still fresh in my mind, so I'm not sure I want to give him a paci when he's pretty easy going for the most part. Tummy sleeping is a bit more serious than the paci. They say letting babies sleep on their back is best for them to prevent SIDS in the first year. Oh my goodness, the kid loves sleeping on his belly and sleeps much longer when he's on his belly than when he's on his back. I've seen him pick his head up and move it side to side, so I'm not as worried about it. I've also talked to other parents who let their kids sleep on their bellies - so that's what he does, sleep on his belly. We've also stopped swaddling him. Of course sleeping on his belly doesn't allow for being swaddled, but he plain didn't like it! Kind of a relief because Eden was swaddled {and it was a must} until she was about 4 months old. Getting rid of the swaddle was just about as hard as getting rid of the paci! Snacking seems to be a big deal with Hunter. Eden only ate every 2 hours and that was that. Hunter would eat every hour on the hour if given the opportunity. My boobs hurt because of it and I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to keep it up. He's going to have to slow down eventually, right?!

So yes, motherhood is confusing. Just when you think you've figured it out, things change!