I've been racking my brain to figure out why Noah is so much more restless than most babies. He's always "on," wanting to move, talk, grab, and bounce. This can make for lots of fun, but at other times, frustration and exhaustion. This week, I realized that he is what many pediatricians call a "spirited baby." "Spirited babies and children," as they put it, are just "more." More energy, more movement, more noise..... but oh yeah, less sleep. The leading expert in raising a "spirited child" is Dr. Sears. I borrowed his book from Sarah. (Thanks) Dr. Sears believes in "babywearing". He thinks that parents, especially those of "spirited babies" should wear their babies around, everywhere they go. So, I have taken to plopping Noah in his backpack or Baby Bjorn or on my hip. I even made my own baby wrap/baby sling after I saw the "Ella Roo" on this site: Peppermint. It's great! I made the wrap for only $6 and it took about 5 minutes. Noah loves ride around. It's quite hard to carry 20lbs. around for a long time but as long as I do, Noah seems very happy and becomes a more relaxed baby just happy to watch the world go by.
2 comments:
Lauren (I'm assuming that this post was from "The Lady in Pink" rather than Jon)--I have read this book too as Caitlin was what her doctor called a sensory active child (another way of being constantly "on"). I have many a fond memory of having Caitlin in her carrier too. I truly think that having an active child is a good sign--they are always taking in the world around. I read something online that active children are also academically and artistically advanced over their peers. Could we have little Bill Gates' or Monets on our hands?
You just described Travis as a baby to a "T". He was always on the go, and it seemed like he NEVER slept! Tyler initally seemed to be the polar opposite of this, sleeping all the time and quite happy being on his own. However, the past month with him has been a cling-fest and many sleepless nights.
It is like their little brains are soooooo very active and they just can't figure out how to shut it off so they can get some rest.
I'm checking out that sling - a friend of mine offered to make one for me (it is her business) for $36! OUCH!
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