Yesterday I started a series on Q&A that have recently made their way to my inbox, beginning with the topic of first trimester woes. Today we’re talking about fussy newborns. Moms, most of you have been there, or are there now. If you have some wisdom and advice to share with Deanna, please leave a comment below!

Deanna asks:

Even though this is my 4th child I can’t remember anything these days about babies. Haha my mind is mush!

I can’t remember when I can just let baby cry it out? She’s not hungry, her diaper is dry and her naps last less than 30 mins at a time all of a sudden. It’s like she has been taking several power naps instead of good long ones. I’m getting SO irritated because as soon as I sit down to do school work with my six-year-old, she fusses for something. As soon as I start to hang up clothes out of the dryer either she or my 18-month-old needs me. I think in my head that maybe I should just stay awake after bedtime & get caught up on housework, but that doesn’t happen of course because after nursing the baby I’m exhausted and decide to go to bed. How do you do it? Besides having help from your oldest daughter how do you do it? I’m so cranky these days because I cannot finish anything I have started. I’m thinking with my first two kids I let them fuss. But I think I jump to every whine from this baby because in my mind if I can get her quiet, then the faster I can go back to what I was doing.

Help please!!

I hear you, friend! My little guy is just over 3 months old, and wants to be held ALL the time. I love it, but at the same time it makes it very hard to get anything done. One of my lifesavers is my Moby Wrap. I wear it during morning school almost every day because all he wants is to be held. I also wear it while doing some housework. I can’t do everything in it, but it really helps a lot. I probably could let him cry a bit more than I do, but I don’t mind wearing him in the Moby. We’re both happy, him because I’m holding him, and me because I can get things done, and I do love to snuggle my baby!

Other times I’ll use a baby swing, or if I am cooking I’ll often put him in his infant car seat and bring him with me in the kitchen. Other times I’ll lay him down on a blanket and let an older (trustworthy) sibling play with him. A few of my older children are allowed to pick him up, but most have to ask me first.

At night, he’s just recently started sleeping really well, waking up once or twice to nurse and going right back to sleep. For the longest time he would make little noises all night. Since he sleeps in a bassinet in our room, and since I’m a very light sleeper, I would wake up with every little sound. I finally started using white noise. At first I would let the bathroom vent run all night, but then my husband put an app on my i-Pod Touch that plays various types of white noise. My favorite is a rainstorm. The white noise would drown out his little noises so that I could sleep, but I still would wake up when he actually cried. When he cried, I would only go to him if a) he was due to nurse, or b) he didn’t comfort himself back to sleep. If he continued for more than five minutes or so, or if he increased in the intensity of his crying, I’d help him by either giving him a pacifier, and if that didn’t do it, then I would assume he needed to nurse.

We’ve only been able to stop using the white noise in the past month or so. I highly recommend doing something like this, because if you can manage to get some amount of consecutive sleep, you’re so much better able to deal with life during the daytime!

Also, remember that you are still recovering from childbirth, so please take it easy! The house might get a little messy, you might not be able to do quite as much school, and meals might not be as good as you usually make. Remember that this time is short and you WILL be able to do more as your little one grows bigger, and as you gain more strength back. Don’t be overwhelmed and worry that things aren’t up to your usual standard. It will be okay. Just focus on resting and bonding with your sweet little baby, and cherishing this special time with your other children too. The time never lasts as long as we’d like!

Moms, please share your advice too! Up for tomorrow, temper tantrums!