An e-mail to Amy

Here are a few things that are frustrating me today.

Don't lay your baby on his tummy to sleep or they might get SIDS and die.  They get a flat head if you lay them on their back too much so be sure and carry them around as much as possible. Don't carry them around all the time or they won't be able to go to sleep apart from you.  Don't put them in a baby carrier if the carrier is hurting your incision.  Be sure and give them as much tummy time as possible.  Do not leave them unattended during tummy time.  Do not leave your toddler, preschooler, school aged child unattended at any time.  Don't take your eyes off of them. But don't take your eyes off your 8 week old in case he suffocates himself in the not-too-loose sheets on his crib mattress that doesn't have any toys or blankets on it.  Co-sleeping makes your infant feel secure and prevents SIDS and a flat head.  Letting your baby learn how to self-soothe and put themselves to sleep in their own bed makes them feel secure.  Don't give your baby a full feeding in the middle of the night... just a snack and then put them back to sleep.  Be sure and empty your breast fully so you don't get mastitis.  Don't turn on the lights during the middle of the night feeding so you don't wake your baby up.  Be sure you can SEE that your baby is latched on properly so that you don't have cracked or sore nipples.  (even in the middle of the night) Vaccines can cause autism.  There is a pertussis epidemic in Washington so be sure and vaccinate.  Your body and hormones go through a myriad of changes after giving birth - this is completely normal.  Sad, irritable feelings after giving birth are abnormal and are considered post-partum depression and need to be addressed.

And let's not forget:

Use positive, encouraging words with your toddler/preschooler so that they don't have feelings of jealousy toward your newborn.  DO NOT let your toddler/preschooler put anything over baby's head, give them anything they could choke on or squish their cheeks together as hard as possible.  (this last one is purely hypothetical, of course)  Give your children fun, entertaining activities to keep them occupied while you are nursing.  Don't let your child watch t.v. - it will rot their brain.
   
Ohhhh... and this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Not altogether surprising, Tobin has some reflux so I'm going to go off dairy and see if that helps.  This is probably why he is crying a little more than normal and having a hard time being on his back to sleep.  I don't eat that much so it shouldn't be that hard - except for in the coffee that I shouldn't be drinking anyways.  But really, if I didn't have the coffee my children might be totally unattended...

P.S.  (and I totally forgot to tell Amy this...)  Thanks to my naturopath's clarification, I now know that the correct pronunciation for my new baby carrier is "My Tie."  Because heck, it certainly wouldn't be "May Tie" like I just read in the user manual. 

Good thing I have strawberry rhubarb crisp to cheer me  up (without the ice cream tonight):