Baby Fussing

All babies are different and have different needs. Babies thrive when held. I have never met anyone who has an older child that says they held them too much as an infant.

Your baby is 6 weeks old. His schedule should be whatever one HE gives you. You simply can't carry a 6 week old excessively. Infants want and NEED to be held...A LOT. They are created that way. If you don't want to hold him, buck up mom, he needs to be held anyway. Many baby's don't like swings. He is likely passing out when you pick him up, because the swing experience is stressful for him, and he exhausts himself from that.

My son HATED swings. He would get so worked up and stressed out.

Sorry, but I'm with your husband on this one. You can't spoil a baby. If baby cries, you pick him up. Being held is one of his needs. Sometimes babies cry because they need to beheld, they need to feel safe and loved.

I wouldn't concern yourself at all with a schedule. Your child will naturally fall into a schedule in time, and with two older siblings he simply won't have a choice. He will be fine. The schedule you have for your family will be his schedule. He will get used to the wake-up times and the meal times and you fill fit nap-time in there somewhere.

For now, just go with the flow! If he needs to be held, just hold him and love him. You won't regret it!

He's 6 weeks old.
Schedule? You'll likely get on HIS schedule.
I'm with your husband on this.
How old are your older kids?
Have you forgotten how needy newborns are?

At 6 weeks your baby needs to be picked up when he cries. You cannot spoil a 6 week old baby. He's new to this world. His nervous system as well as his digestive system, etc. is still not fully developed. I suggest your third child is more high needs than your first two. Every baby is different.

This is a period of time during which your baby is developing a sense of trust that you will take care of his needs. He may continue to need more attention than your other two. Realize he's different. Pick him up for at least another couple of months and see if he becomes less needy. By the time he's 3 mos or so you can try a different way of managing his needs.

Ferberizing or using some limited form of cry it out doesn't work until the baby is at least 3 mos and most suggest not trying it until the baby is 6-7 months.

If your husband wants to hold him, why does it bother you. Parenting is a partnership and in good partnerships each does what he does best.

Okay... with babies/infants they cry for various reasons.
BUT keep in mind, that they ALSO cry/scream when:
- they are overtired
- in order to SHUT-OUT things that are bugging them. ie: noise, irritating things, things they do not like, etc. It is the only way, they know how to "communicate." They cry/scream, in order to shut-out... external stimuli. ie: when they are over stimulated or simply... had ENOUGH.

- each baby, no matter what or no matter how the preceding kids were handled, THIS baby has different needs. They also need to bond. ie: be comforted for various reasons.
Or they are hungry.

And maybe he just does not like, the swing.
My kids, HATED it, as babies. They also HATED... baby slings.
And they HATED, high chairs.
But my son, loved his "Moses Basket" to sleep in, until he was about 3 months old. Even if he was pretty much too big for it by then.

Anyway, the key thing is:
to know the cues... of THIS baby.
Each baby is different.

But again, screaming/crying is also a baby's way to say they had enough or are over tired and they want whatever it is, to stop.
Too much stimulation, can also tire a baby out and get them intolerant.
Even a bath at this age, is an "activity" and can over stimulate a baby.
Not all babies, are "relaxed" with a bath.
My son, was that way. Baths just got him, more stimulated and especially if he was already, tired.

Go according to the cues... of this, baby.
Not a schedule.
And feed on demand.
A baby, will have their own sort of rhythm to things.
Both my kids as babies, were very different. So I did things differently, with each of them.

If your Husband wants to carry the baby, let him.
All infants/babies love to be carried. It does not mean they will be spoiled etc. "Bonding" and comforting a baby, also... impacts their development and cognition.

Your baby is 6 weeks old! Give him time to bond and be held. If he will sleep in your husband/your arms, let him. He needs to be held and comforted. If you need to get things done, get a sling or an ergo and put him in that. He will be happy being carried and you will get the things you need to get done, done. Good luck!

Also, remember the 5 S's.

Swinging,side-laying, sucking, shushing (loud shushing in their ear) and swaddling. If you want to know more about that, you can look up Dr. Harvey Karp the author of The Happiest Baby on the Block etc.

Every baby is different. The swing may not be comfortable. At that age, there is a reason for crying, even if we can't figure it out. Just because things "worked out fine" with the first two doesn't mean they will work the same way with this child. Deep breath.

Don't yell at your husband for caring for the baby - what's up with that? Is it because he's not doing it "your" way? That's not fair. Check out "happiest baby on the block". And remember, this baby is NOT the other babies. It is a new child, an individual, and not a carbon copy. Some babies NEED to be carried/held more. If the new baby doesn't "fit" how the first two were, try to figure out how he works.

Try swaddling, and you can get swaddlers at target that are very easy to wrap and cozy for the baby.

Every baby is different.
I'm with your husband on this one.
What works for one baby does not work for another.
He may fuss in the swing b/c he doesn't like it.
Let your hubby pick him up (be glad he's helping!)!
He may want to be held b/c he's hungry, has an upset belly etc.
Don't put him in the swing.
Find a diff medium for him.Try these till you find what works for your baby:
-put him down on one of those blankets that has a mobile thing attached
to it
-put im in a bouncy chair
-put him in one of those round walkers w/the little things for them to play
with attached
-put him in jumpy swing that attached overhead to the doorway jam

Babies need to be held. I spent months holding my babies when they were newborns.. like 4 or 5 months. No slings, no packs, just my arms. Honestly I didnt' get anything done, and I had babies with GERD, but still, they needed to be held, so I held them. You baby wants you or daddy. He needs it because he is so little. Remember this will not last for very long, but sleep training and a schedule are too early for him. Good luck mama!

Every single one of my kids fell asleep in a different way. The trick was finding out which way worked best for which kid during which stage of development. However, we tried to err on the side of holding a crying baby and not letting them cry alone.
One more thing, #3 breaks all the rules if #2 already didn't :D

My babies would start to hum when they were sleepy, and if I timed it just right and put them down when they were humming they might just fuss for a minute and go to sleep. If I didn't time it just right they would scream and I would have to rock them or nurse them to sleep.

Some babies don't like swings.
My daughter did not like being tossed in the air (most babies seem to love this--when done by a known and trusted caretaker). Not even when she was 1. She HATED it. It was like trying to toss a cat who was clinging to you. She was petrified. She didn't like the feeling of weightlessness. And possibly the height, either.
So... we didn't toss her. Son absolutely LOVED it. He also liked roller coasters at an early age. Guess what? Daughter took a long time to warm up to anything even resembling a roller coaster. I'm talking, like age 8 or so... and then it was iffy.

Stop putting him in the swing. He doesn't like it.

Now, if there are other times he is fussing, I don't see the harm in picking him up if you are available to do so. He is not even 6 weeks old. If you have checked him for everything (hunger, diaper, pinched anything, noise, gas, fever, etc) and he still is screaming and won't calm down... talk to your dr. Maybe he has reflux or something going on that you can't SEE.
But if he is just a little fussy and you know he isn't needing to eat, be diapered, etc, and you are busy, he can wait a moment. No harm done. But I wouldn't ignore just to ignore on principle. He is not 6 weeks old even.

At 6 months, yes, you can let him cry for a few minutes. But at 6 weeks? Just pick him up. Maybe you might need to consider a sling for Dad to wear him some?

I just did whatever needed to be done to get some sleep. Each kid was different, arms, swing, breast, paci, car seat, what's the difference? Do what works and go the f*c* to sleep LOL! (I hope you get that reference!!!) Sleep training was never an issue past 12 months, but before then each baby had their own needs/wants, as did the family, nothing mattered more than sleep, to me, anyway. I can't function without it, neither could my husband/older kids.

Hey there, L.. Okay, I'm too lazy to write another post on this because I just finished writing one. Please go to this thread, read the original poster's remarks (including about the husband) and then read my response.

Now, this husband is the opposite of your husband, but my advice specifically about how to put babies to sleep is for both of you.

If your husband won't listen to you, talk to your ped and ask her or him to explain it to your husband. He might be enjoying this right now, but he is just making it very hard in the coming months to get that baby to sleep.

(ETA - I forgot about your remark concerning the swing. Some babies just don't like the swing. Don't put him in the swing to sleep. You need to teach him to lay down in the crib to sleep, not use the swing.)

http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/8187337654908747777

Good luck!
Dawn