Author Topic: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?  (Read 3204 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline SilverOrchid

  • Proud momma of two little belles!
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1372
  • Reputation: +17/-5
  • California Conservative-Yes, we exist!
Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« on: November 14, 2009, 05:03:11 PM »
My baby girl is now 3 months old and VERY attached to Mommy. She screams bloody murder whenever I put her down to either attend to my other daughter, do some cleaning or attend some basic needs. Some people have told me I hold her too much, she is "spoiled". Some has told me there is no way you can spoil a baby. I feel bad when I put her down but I have to do other things too. I don't expect a 3 month old to understand this but I really am intersted in seeing what the parents of CC think. Should I start cutting the cord or enjoy this time before she learns to talk?
« Last Edit: November 14, 2009, 05:19:19 PM by SilverOrchid »



Offline Chris

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1476
  • Reputation: +522/-16
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #1 on: November 14, 2009, 05:05:16 PM »
We called those "titty babies".  Hold them too much, and they don't deal with being left alone very well.

I don't have an answer for you, but I did drop an empty cardboard box over the last one while he was sitting on the floor crying.  He seemed to enjoy it after awhile.
This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

Offline Chris

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1476
  • Reputation: +522/-16
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #2 on: November 14, 2009, 05:07:43 PM »
Three months is a little young.  This kid was a little older.
This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

Offline bijou

  • Topic Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8937
  • Reputation: +336/-26
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #3 on: November 14, 2009, 05:17:55 PM »
Sorry SO I have no idea, but I am sure someone knowledgeable will be along soon (I'm not including Chris in that  :-) ).



Offline Chris

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1476
  • Reputation: +522/-16
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #4 on: November 14, 2009, 05:20:21 PM »
 :rotf:

My sister used to do a lot of babysitting.
This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

Offline thundley4

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 40571
  • Reputation: +2224/-127
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #5 on: November 14, 2009, 05:24:19 PM »
:rotf:

My sister used to do a lot of babysitting.

So, we know where the card board box idea came from.  You did get over the isolation, right?  :evillaugh:

Offline Lord Undies

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11388
  • Reputation: +639/-250
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #6 on: November 14, 2009, 05:27:06 PM »
Babies thrive on structure and schedules.  Schedule a time to hold and play with baby.  Schedule a time when she will be on her on to occupy herself.  Stick to it.

"Oil is to boil the wee one who is spoiled" ~ MOTHER GOOSE SPENCER 

Offline BlueStateSaint

  • Here I come to save the day, because I'm a
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 32553
  • Reputation: +1560/-191
  • RIP FDNY Lt. Rich Nappi d. 4/16/12
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #7 on: November 14, 2009, 05:47:45 PM »
Babies thrive on structure and schedules.  Schedule a time to hold and play with baby.  Schedule a time when she will be on her on to occupy herself.  Stick to it.

Yup.  As the father of a 2-year-old, I can attest to the veracity of this.
"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty." - Thomas Jefferson

"All you have to do is look straight and see the road, and when you see it, don't sit looking at it - walk!" -Ayn Rand
 
"Those that trust God with their safety must yet use proper means for their safety, otherwise they tempt Him, and do not trust Him.  God will provide, but so must we also." - Matthew Henry, Commentary on 2 Chronicles 32, from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible

"These anti-gun fools are more dangerous to liberty than street criminals or foreign spies."--Theodore Haas, Dachau Survivor

Chase her.
Chase her even when she's yours.
That's the only way you'll be assured to never lose her.

Offline Flame

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4361
  • Reputation: +166/-34
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #8 on: November 14, 2009, 06:24:14 PM »
Not ure what the other repsonses are, but thought I'd throuw my 2 cents in.

Yes, you can spoil a baby, but that is subjective.   IMO, babies need to learn how to self-soothe, and they will at some point.  Some take a longer time than others, and it depends on how much you are willing to deal with.   

Three months though, is still pretty young, so I wouldn't worry too much.  If you can, use a sling or something similar that lets you be hands free (or at least on hand free!) and go about your day.  Try to give her more "away from mommy time" as you can, and she'll be ok.

Spoiling is subjective...if it doesn't bother you, don't let what other people say bother you.

Offline DixieBelle

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12143
  • Reputation: +512/-49
  • Still looking for my pony.....
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #9 on: November 14, 2009, 06:39:23 PM »
^yeah that. Some kids are needier than others. Now that you have more than one, I'm sure you see a lot of differences.

Enjoy the time with your daughter but try to strike a balance by using a sling like Flame mentioned or a bouncy chair where she can still see you. You may have to wean her from being held by doing it slowly. Putting her down for longer and longer increments until she doesn't scream (for very long).

Is the older daughter able to entertain her? Sometimes that distraction helps. Eventually she'll figure out everything is going to be okay and mommy DOES come back. Hang in there!!!
I can see November 2 from my house!!!

Spread my work ethic, not my wealth.

Forget change, bring back common sense.
-------------------------------------------------

No, my friends, there’s only one really progressive idea. And that is the idea of legally limiting the power of the government. That one genuinely liberal, genuinely progressive idea — the Why in 1776, the How in 1787 — is what needs to be conserved. We need to conserve that fundamentally liberal idea. That is why we are conservatives. --Bill Whittle

Offline MrsSmith

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5977
  • Reputation: +466/-54
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #10 on: November 14, 2009, 07:35:07 PM »
I would look for alternatives to constantly holding her, like a swing.  And I would use a pacifier, though I know not all parents like them.  I would try different distractions...my granddaughter fell in love with the movie "Baby's Day Out," so we play that to keep her entertained for long enough to get a job done. But a 3 month old just isn't old enough to understand why she is left to cry...and babies don't stay little very long.  It can be very frustrating when they're going through a difficult phase, but before you know it, they're teenagers and you are the LAST person they want to spend any time with.  Cherish her now!   
.
.


Antifa - the only fascists in America today.

Offline SilverOrchid

  • Proud momma of two little belles!
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1372
  • Reputation: +17/-5
  • California Conservative-Yes, we exist!
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #11 on: November 14, 2009, 08:07:42 PM »
Thank you so much everyone!  We do use a binky but once in awhile she likes to spit it out and look at me like "Well......aren't you going to get that?" Her swing got stolen (long unhappy story) so we are looking into a bouncy chair or something.

Now, I don't feel like I am doing something wrong. My oldest was SO not like this. She is little Miss Independant.  She was never a big cuddler.



Offline Hawkgirl

  • Alpha Female
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4291
  • Reputation: +186/-73
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #12 on: November 14, 2009, 09:36:16 PM »
My daughter is 4 months old and she also whines when I put her down....She definetly likes the arms.  Saying that, I started putting her in the bouncy or in her bumbo seat for short periods at a time...and I let her whine.  When I am taking a shower, doing house chores, or just talking on the phone, I set her down.  She is getting better...and I do let her see me while I'm walking around the house....when she starts to REALLY cry, then I pick her up. 

I hold her a lot...and babies need that...but you still have to attend to life every now and then. :-) 

Offline mamacags

  • Smells like teen spirit
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4281
  • Reputation: +444/-113
  • Little Miss Cranky Pants
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #13 on: November 14, 2009, 10:09:20 PM »
My nephew got so spoiled being held that they ended up having to hold him while he slept for naps and at night.  If they didn't he screamed and as we all know you can't let a baby cry. :whatever:  I think as long as she can see you, isn't hungry/wet/hurt/sick she will be fine to scream a little.
All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.
Winston Churchill

Offline Toastedturningtidelegs

  • Holy Crap! Look at my
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3759
  • Reputation: +218/-69
  • OBAMA PHONE!
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #14 on: November 14, 2009, 10:18:42 PM »
Not at 3 months! If she still does that by 12 months you got problems! :-)
Call me "Asshole" One more time!

Offline rich_t

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7942
  • Reputation: +386/-429
  • TANSTAAFL
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #15 on: November 15, 2009, 06:28:54 AM »
Yes, you can spoil a child by holding it too much.  Even one as young as 3 months.

Ween her is stages as mentioned above.  Put her down, but make sure she can still see you.  Then if that seems to work, out her down where she can't see you for longer priods of time.

We had to do that with our first child 24 years ago.
"The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of 'liberalism,' they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened." --Norman Thomas, 1944

Offline MrsSmith

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5977
  • Reputation: +466/-54
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #16 on: November 15, 2009, 07:01:23 AM »
Thank you so much everyone!  We do use a binky but once in awhile she likes to spit it out and look at me like "Well......aren't you going to get that?" Her swing got stolen (long unhappy story) so we are looking into a bouncy chair or something.

Now, I don't feel like I am doing something wrong. My oldest was SO not like this. She is little Miss Independant.  She was never a big cuddler.
#2 is always the opposite of #1.  It may not be a hard-and-fast rule, but I have never seen it fail so far. 

My #1 was always fussy, always busy, never slept, couldn't be quiet or still for even seconds.  My #2 was the easiest baby ever, cried only when she needed something, slept all night @ 2 months...but then was a toddler that was afraid to walk, frightened of grass (Seriously), and wouldn't even open a door for herself until she was like 4 years old.   :lmao:
.
.


Antifa - the only fascists in America today.

Offline RGSG99

  • Homeschooling and loving it!
  • Just Off Probation
  • *
  • Posts: 140
  • Reputation: +18/-4
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #17 on: November 15, 2009, 07:12:08 AM »
Buy a baby sling.  You can still get other things done because your hands will be free and your baby will feel safe because she is close to you.  Win/win!!!!  For the record, I held my babies when they cried and they didn't turn out spoiled.
The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.
– H.L. Mencken

Offline franksolich

  • Scourge of the Primitives
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 58722
  • Reputation: +3102/-173
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #18 on: November 15, 2009, 07:36:46 AM »
Oh, I dunno.

There's nobody around any more to confirm or discomfirm what I know about my own family, but it appears the parents raised the older siblings on Dr. Benjamin Spock, which of course included "cuddle time."

They all ended up Democrats and avid consumers of pharmaceuticals.

By the time my younger brother and I came around--there was a gap between them and us--the parents were old and tired; it seems they were mostly concerned with simply protecting us (roof over the head, clothes on the body, food in the stomach) rather than cuddling us.  (Dr. Spock had been tossed into the trash a long time before.)

When looking at my siblings, and how everybody turned out, I don't think Dr. Spock knew excresence about raising children.
apres moi, le deluge

Milo Yiannopoulos "It has been obvious since 2016 that Trump carries an anointing of some kind. My American friends, are you so blind to reason, and deaf to Heaven? Can he do all this, and cannot get a crown? This man is your King. Coronate him, and watch every devil shriek, and every demon howl."

Offline Wineslob

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 14480
  • Reputation: +816/-193
  • Sucking the life out of Liberty
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #19 on: November 16, 2009, 10:39:13 AM »
Quote
We called those "titty babies".


I guess I never grew out of that stage.      :lmao:
“The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced, if the nation doesn't want to go bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”

        -- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 55 BC (106-43 BC)

The unobtainable is unknown at Zombo.com



"Practice random violence and senseless acts of brutality"

If you want a gender neutral bathroom, go pee in the forest.

Offline Chris_

  • Little Lebowski Urban Achiever
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 46845
  • Reputation: +2028/-266
Re: Is it possible to spoil a baby by holding her too much?
« Reply #20 on: November 16, 2009, 01:32:32 PM »
My baby girl is now 3 months old and VERY attached to Mommy. She screams bloody murder whenever I put her down to either attend to my other daughter, do some cleaning or attend some basic needs. Some people have told me I hold her too much, she is "spoiled". Some has told me there is no way you can spoil a baby. I feel bad when I put her down but I have to do other things too. I don't expect a 3 month old to understand this but I really am intersted in seeing what the parents of CC think. Should I start cutting the cord or enjoy this time before she learns to talk?

No, it is not possible.  Babies this age do not know how to manipulate, they are acting on instinct and need.  Your baby needs you to hold her.  So hold her, that's my advice.  You can try and influence her to take interest in other things besides your arms by giving her toys to play with/things to look at while in a snuggle pack or something.
If you want to worship an orange pile of garbage with a reckless disregard for everything, get on down to Arbys & try our loaded curly fries.