Lani - Amelia won't take a dummy either. She took it a few times, but has gone back to spitting it out. Part of me is relieved as at least I won't have to wean her off of it later. On the other hand, she still wants to be rocked to sleep which is getting hard on my back.
BS - It may be a hindmilk issue if she isn't finishing her feeds. Have you tried holding her in the underarm hold while feeding her? I found this really helped Amelia when my milk first came in and would gush at the beginning of a feed. I was able to lean back to try to slow the flow a little, plus hold her more upright. It might help Eva as the mid=feed crying could be due to reflux. It sounds like you had a perfect Valentine's day. The time with DH could have been just what you needed right now.
AFM - Still doing the nightshift here. Our bedtime routine is going well though and Amelia sleeps really well from around 7-11pm for the last 4 nights (although last night she woke at 9:30). It makes such a difference having that time in the evening to myself...I can at least have a good meal and maybe I'll even start cooking again. But the night marathons are exhausting. She'll feed, then be smiling and chatting, then sleep for one cycle (40 mins) at most, then we feed again. It lasts until 7am. I shouldn't complain because she doesn't spend much of that time crying. I'm trying to talk to her during the day when she's awake and to ignore her at night, but its so hard when I'm so exhausted during the day....it's becoming a vicious cycle. I hoping its a growth spurt and she'll settle back down soon. I don't need her sleeping through the night, I just need her to sleep between feeds so that I can sleep.
I feel so bad about this morning though. About 5:30 I started feeling nauseous (have had an upset tummy today) and I needed to lie down. Amelia had just fed and was happy so I put her down in her bassinette to watch her butterflies. I remember listening to her cooing and squealing happily. Next thing I know she is screaming her little lungs out. It was almost 6:30! Of course I had fallen asleep. I have no idea how long she had been crying, but the poor thing was turning purple in her bassinette. I picked her up and tried to calm her. It took 15 minutes of cuddling, rocking and singing to calm her, she was so upset she wouldn't even take the breast. Eventually she fell asleep but I felt so awful. I took her back to bed with me, but was too scared to sleep for quite a while.
I've asked DH to see if he can get a couple of nights off of work. Then we can take shifts and I can hopefully, get some sleep between feeds. I want to feel able to go shopping with Mum tomorrow. Her doctor has given her something to increase her appetite and she has more energy now that she is eating. She wants to check out the Big W baby sale.
Hannah, I have tried putting her under the arm but it seems to be worse. She screams even louder as I think she has gas and that hurts her belly more...She has been calming down a bit today so I hope it gets better...this morning was awful though. She started crying at her 630am feed and would not settle down so I brought her into bed with me since DH was up and getting ready for work. He walked around with her as much as he could before he had to leave and then she fell asleep on my belly around 8, then was up at 9, then up at 1015...The 1230 (which is when I got up officially)...and after that sort of calmed down. She had a poo around 2pm this afternoon so I hope that the gas is starting to pass...I am curious Hannah, does Amelia have a problem pooing? I wonder if the reflux affects that? Her last poo before this was Friday and I had to give her a suppository because ithad been 8 days ...But then after the suppository poo she had 2 more that night by herself. and today she had one by herself again...Is anyone else having not enough poo?
I was thinking about you all day after reading this post and I wanted to ask...Have you tried putting her in her room. I had the same problems with Eva either being too noisy or waking up to feed non stop (every two hours when she was in our room) and on her second day in her bedroom she spaced her feeds to four hours...I remember reading somewhere that when the baby is close to their mother they wake more often since the smell reminds them to get up and eat...I am not sure if you are ready to put her in her room, but have you tried? Maybe just for naps? I find that Eva sleeps much longer and wakes up and entertains herself in her room since it does not smell like us...and once she is in our bed she wakes up demanding feeds more often (even in the mornings I can see the difference - the mornings when she sleeps through in her own bed she wakes up later and the difficult mornings when she gets into my bed since I'm too tired to walk the halls, she sleeps an hour max between feedings)...
Kanda, I'm thinking of you and hope you're doing ok.
Eva's crying! Off to feed and bathe!
xoxo
Last edited by BrusselsSprout; February 16th, 2010 at 05:07 AM.
Hannah & Brussels - I'm so glad we have each other on this forum! Your advice for each other is spot on. I hope both of you get a break soon.
Brussels - No experience here with infrequent pooing. Ryan is the master of the poo explosion and poos most feeds even if it's just a little bit. But he does get irritable right before a big poo. I really need a haircut, but haven't worked out how to do it with the 2 boys. I might have to make an appointment for an evening so DH can mind Craig and I'll take Ryan with me.
Hannah - Don't feel bad about Amelia crying, I'm sure she wasn't crying for long. It's heartbreaking when they get that upset, but there was no real damage done (it's not like you let that happen all the time). Hope DH can take the time off so that you can get enough sleep to help break the pattern that Amelia has gotten in to. I'm hoping to get to the Big W sale too today.
Lani - Don't worry if Jett won't take a dummy. He must like being settled in other ways and he'll learn to self-settle without a dummy. I haven't used dummies with either of the boys. I had problems BFing Craig, so I was too nervous to try a dummy in case it caused breast refusal. He refused all bottles so instead of weaning from breast feeds to formula in a bottle, I had to replace most feeds with solids (and water in a sippy cup) and the night feed with cow's milk in a sippy cup. I've already tried Ryan once with a bottle of EBM and he went well, but am still not keen to do dummies even though we're doing well with BF. I guess it's because I've survived once without them.
Beany - Glad to hear Michael has settled down after his shots. One of the injections really stings. Ryan was the same. I don't know who it's harder on, them or us!
AFM - Ryan was pulling off crying yesterday and very windy. I'm thinking it's the chocolate that DH gave me for Valentine's Day because that's the only thing I've eaten that's different to usual. Last night was our 3rd night in a row with 9-10 hours. I'd just started dressing Ryan in a grow suit to sleep and he's been sleeping better than in the short onesies. Off to have a shower and then take the boys off to Big W to check out the baby sale.
...But then after the suppository poo she had 2 more that night by herself. and today she had one by herself again...Is anyone else having not enough poo?
Hope DH can take the time off so that you can get enough sleep to help break the pattern that Amelia has gotten in to. I'm hoping to get to the Big W sale too today.
to everyone else!
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