Carissa Dhea is now almost a month old, and it looks like those so called ‘sleepless nights’ my dad warned me about are proving to be true.
Perhaps showing off her lungs are now 100% operational, Carissa tends to cry during the night with my wife and I both clueless of why she is doing so at times, especially when refuses the bottle/formula, doesn’t entirely calm down when breastfed, and continues to cry as loud as she can, despite her mom trying her best to calm her down. It is indeed a mystery most of the times with my wife giving me that bitter smile since that is perhaps the most she could do when everything she tries doesn’t work. QUESTION #1: IS THIS COMMON IN NEW BORNS?
My wife, still very much in her so called ‘confinement’ has not been sleeping well lately, and I can say the same for myself although I must admit that I am basically helpless when Carissa starts her nightly tantrums, with me only running to make milk when my wife thinks it’s feeding time. – Yep, I’m basically Carissa’s personal water boy on the graveyard shift. QUESTION #2: ANY SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT CAN BE DONE TO HELP?
Honestly, most nights, the only thing I do is do what my wife asked me to, because I am clueless of a lot of things and the only way I figure I could lend help is via morale support. That said, when Carissa is awake, and my wife is doing her best to put her back to sleep, I’d also wake up and try my best to accompany her, with myself sometimes trying to put her to sleep as well. QUESTION #3: PERHAPS SOME SHARING ON WHAT ELSE COULD BE DONE?
Anyway, there’s a lot one could learn about the Do’s and Don’ts out there, and it’s really difficult when these modern methods contradict with the traditional methods our parents use. I’m not complaining here, but sometimes, as new parents in the modern age, we just don’t know which is the best because modern medicine practices tend to somewhat ‘disagree’ with the way things were done since yesteryear’s.
One good example is the use of powder for infants after bathing which is a very common practice among a lot of us. Well, I read in babycenter.com, such use is not encouraged as it can cause ‘respiration problems’ including serious lung damage. Ironically, most infants enjoy constant supply of powder in the 80’s and 90’s, and they still turn up well and healthy. QUESTION #4: WHICH AND WHO DO YOU FOLLOW?
Anyway, I figure that if the parents are staying in, the answer to question 4 is rather obvious, but if you are experienced in having such a dilemma, do share!
Okay, I guess that’s all from me for now. If you guys have an answer to my questions, drop a comment. It’s highly appreciated. Else, thanks for reading, and listening to what I have to say about my new journey in life as a father.
Cheers!
p/s: Last week, it was the first time someone addressed me as ‘Samak Sasa’ (Sasa’s father), and well, it didn’t feel that all weird although I’m still getting used to the new nickname. It basically answers what my nick name would be, as I mentioned here. The person doing such honour was my wife’s eldest sister aka my sister-in-law. =P
