In the middle of winter, with no running water, my husband and I welcomed our new baby boy! He was marvelous and I was so thrilled to be a mom! I loved being pregnant, but I was even more excited to have this wonderful child to raise and teach all about the God whom I love and loves me so much.
Things started out very well, he seemed like a typical baby to me, but then I had never lived with a baby before. We were starting off without running water but he had regular baths and we hauled laundry to either my parents or the laundomat regularly. He was almost 3 months when we had our water put in. Praise the Lord for running water!
However by three months old things got difficult with him. There was one day in particular that I just couldn’t settle him for anything! I tried nursing, burping, rocking, swaddling, not swaddling, singing, holding, not holding, being close by, leaving him safely in his crib and he cried through it all. Not only did he cry but he pinched me hard enough to leave bruises all over my chest. So after more than three hours of that I left him in his crib to cry; thinking & hoping he would fall asleep on his own. It didn’t work. After another 2-3 hours of his constant crying I took him out, swaddled him well then put him in a hold which I now call a “sensory hold”.
The sensory hold consisted of him being swaddled snuggly, then laid on my crossed legs with one arm around him and the other arm pressing down on top of him with gentle but firm pressure. I can only say it was what God had inspired me to do because I trust that my “good ideas” are from Him. My baby boy cried for a little longer then fell asleep and slept for a long time.
After that incident I knew how to get my baby to sleep now and was so thankful! It would take about 30 minutes in the sensory hold but then he would sleep for at least an hour or two and nap 3 times a day until he turned one. The amount of relief I felt knowing that both he and I could rest was indescribable. The sensory hold was needed only until he was somewhere between 6 and 8 months old. Then he was okay to just be held regularly. I don’t think I would have made it those months of constant screaming and no sleep if it hadn’t been for the sensory hold!
2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”