up till now my 6 month old, skylie, has been sleeping beautifully in our bed...but lately she sleeps till 4ish and wakes up and crys ands crys till we get out of bed..i dont know what to do? feeding her doesnt help, cuddling, paci, nothing has worked~~ any advice? if i give her a toy, she will sometimes entertain herself for a bit, but goes back to being restless and upset. oh,,,also when i put her down she nuzzles up to me, which is so sweetbut lately grabs my face and hair, its really strange. we cant get any closer our faces are practically touching, has anyone else gone through this face grabbing thing?
Maybe she's just getting too much sleep? Going to bed too early, or taking a long nap during the day? Sometimes babies just get bored, and don't know what they want. She's probably used to napping and going to bed at certain times, so she does, but she's outgrown the need for that much sleep and does it out of habit instead of necessity. I'd try changing her routein a bit. The face-grabbing thing is probably just a fascination right now (she gets a reaction), and she doesn't really realize she's hurting you. Testing boundaries maybe? My kids both did this for awhile, until they were about 1, and at that age they don't really know their own strength (this is probably what teaches it to them).
Yeah, I was thinking, also, that she may be sleeping too much. Too early of time to go to bed, or maybe too long of a nap. When does she go to bed for the night, and how many and how long are her naps? As for the face grabbing, they do this. If you don't like it, gently say "Ow, that hurts mama." and place her little chubby hand where she CAN grab. I would rather be grabbed on the arm than on my face, so I would put my babies hands there. But babies are FACINATED by faces, especially mama's, and they LOVE to touch, so they will do this. Keep her nails short, and redirect her if she is doing it too much. And for the getting RIGHT in your face thing.......normal, too. Your baby adores you, she wants to be as close as possible. ALL my kids did this. (I got puked in my mouth more times than I care to think about. LOL!) My kids would open their eyes really wide when they did this, I would think, "This baby is trying to see into my soul." And I think they did.
maggie sugar~ she only takes catnaps during the day....20 mins to an hour a few times...but guess what!? the early waking has fixed itself!...for now at least....i also started putting her down a little later... the face grabbing....well, when it hurts i say just that "ow, that hurts mama" so i guess i'm on the right track. i usually move it to my cheek, bc sometimes she gets this death grip with with one finger inside my nostril and the rest on the tip og my nose. when she starts to fall asleep. it eases up and gets soft and gentle, i love that! theres nothin sweeter when i feel her little hand softly petting her mommy cheek. thanks for the thoughtful advice, it always feels good to know others can relate!
Yay!!!! Babies are inconsistant creatures. It really sounds like you are enjoying your baby a lot. I love the soft petting, too. My babies would pet my face, and my leg, and my boob, and anywhere. They are physical creatures, too. I am sure you know that (I can tell! ) Their world is based on touch, smell and taste right now. And of course, learning to use their vision and hearing, too. I don't know why they get nutty and kinda violent sometimes, I think they just don't know they are hurting you. Gently let her know it hurts, like you have been doing. Babies loved to put their fingers into your mouth and nose and eyes sometimes. "EYEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" as you hide your eyes in fear! Take good care of that sweet baby. Keep up the GOOD WORK, mama Rainbow!
I used to work as a nanny for a VERY young couple that my fiance and I knew. I was their nanny from when their daughter Haley was 9 months old until she was 22 months old (she'll be 3 in July). And even though she wasn't biologically mine her parents would leave her with my fiance and I 24/7 and we had a really STRONG bond. I watched her at our place. They would bring her at 6 AM every M-F and I would put her in bed with Zach and I, and she would always lay facing me, nuzzling my breasts (all babies do this to me! Why is that? Zach thinks it's because I am well-endowed LOL) and touching my face. Also, she loved our cats and they loved her a lot too. They were so gentle with her. God I miss her so much it makes me cry. Is that weird?
Babies love getting attention, they want us when they want us not when we want them to.(like when we are resting) They love to explore, when they grab us or pinch us it's their way of getting a hand on using their fingers. Don't worry when they start pushing us away, like 1st day of school, their 1st. boyfriend, we will cherish those times that we could hold them and adore their cute little selves.
Babies do this to me, too. They like nurturing womyn. In days of old, all babies got the breast, and often a womyn's sister or neighbor or even her mother would nurse her baby if she had to be away. Babies nuzzling is a normal thing they do. Some womyn get nuzzled more than others. I have a hard time bottle feeding people's babies, because they want my boobs! When I was pregnant with one of my kids, a friend brought over a baby she was babysitting (this poor child must have been so confused) and I tried to feed her her bottle, and I had to hand her back to my friend, because she wouldn't stop nuzzling, and she started to get MAD that I wasn't nursing her. It was kinda sad. The crying is normal, vng. I have cried for babies I did day care or doula work for. I used to dream about one baby, after I had to leave caring for her, when the summer ended and I went back to school. I used to wake up calling her name, with my face wet. Man, I needed a baby.........
Virginia is 2 now, and she still has to pet me or rub my clothes with her fingers when she gets tired. It's just about the sweetest thing that there is.
