November 10-November 16, 2010 (20w-20w6d old)
Breastfeeding:
It's been awhile since I've given an update on this. I guess because it's going so well. Tyler and I have become pros and haven't experienced any latching problems or any pain in quite awhile. I believe that it just takes time for both mom and baby to learn the process and for the breast/nipple tissue to adjust. I can tell you there's a big change in the elasticity of the nipple tissue that allows this to be pain-free, but it definitely did not happen overnight. If you are new to nursing and it's painful, don't give up, I promise you the pain does go away.
I'm still dealing with low milk supply, but I make enough to feed Ty (have you seen how chunky he's getting???) and to make 1-2 supplemental bottles a night. I do have to stay on top of it and make sure I don't go past 3-4 hrs without emptying and I have to pump around midnight as that is the only time Ty is out for a complete nursing session. I still have never made enough to freeze any.
I'm still dealing with low milk supply, but I make enough to feed Ty (have you seen how chunky he's getting???) and to make 1-2 supplemental bottles a night. I do have to stay on top of it and make sure I don't go past 3-4 hrs without emptying and I have to pump around midnight as that is the only time Ty is out for a complete nursing session. I still have never made enough to freeze any.
I read something helpful regarding low milk supply and wanted to share for anyone else dealing with this. Many times a baby will nurse and then get frustrated when the flow starts to slow down. Due to frustration, they won't stay on and end up leaving up to 25% in the boob. It's really important to fully empty the boob so it tells the body to start making more. The other issue is that baby misses the high calorie high fat hind milk, so he ends up hungry again before you have time to replenish. The solution I read is to give baby a small supplemental bottle prior to nursing and then nurse. This takes the hunger edge off and then they nurse more calmer and will stayed attached when the flow slows down and will finish. This fully empties the breast and calls for more supply.
Baby Wise:
This week we're working on reordering our pattern. Baby Wise uses an eat-activity-sleep pattern. We've gotten in a rut of eat, sleep, eat, activity. This has resulted in Tyler needing to nurse in order to get to sleep. He also falls asleep in the middle of nursing which means he doesn't get a full feeding. It has resulted in him wanting to nurse every 1 to 2 hrs because he's still hungry when he wakes up. We're working on making him wake up and finish nursing and then go play. We need him to sleep because he's tired from activity not from the comfort of nursing.
The book talks about getting baby to sleep by comforting themselves and to get rid of sleep props. Sleep props would be nursing, a paci, rocking, a swing, anything that baby requires to get to sleep. If they require these to get to sleep, then they will require it again every time they wake up.
We're taking baby steps in removing Ty's sleep props one at a time as he has lots of them. This will allow him the ability to learn to develop his own skills to get to sleep. We're starting with removing nursing to get to sleep. This is an adjustment for both of us, it started out rough but is getting better each time we put him down for a nap.
He's not liking being put in his crib for naps. He screams bloody murder, it breaks my heart and I find myself picking him right up. He definitely gets his way with crying. I have to work on this.
He's starting to develop a preference for our bed over his crib or co-sleeper. For the most part, he sleeps in his crib at night, but I do have a tendency to bring him down to our bed when he wakes for his middle of the night feeding. I can't help it, I love him being next to me and I get a little more sleep because he can help himself to the milk bar anytime he wants. This will be a tough one for me to break, but I know if I don't break the cycle now, it will be a nightmare way down the road.
Tyler Update:
- One night this week I got to witness him getting himself a middle of the night snack. It's hilarious. With eyes closed and laying on his side facing me, both arms reach straight out feeling for the boob. As soon as he makes booby contact, he scoots himself towards me and latches on. Other times when he's not hungry, he feels for my face and snuggles up to me. Love it!
- He talks really loud while gurgling. It's so cute.
Video: Tyler's loud gurgle
- When he combines his gurgling with fussiness, he sounds like an elephant.
Video: Tyler's elephant impression
- We had a America's Funniest Videos moment this week. My mom, stepdad and I were all on their bed and I was laying on my back playing airplane with Ty trying to make him laugh for them. All of a sudden he spit up all over me. It covered my entire face, went in my mouth, in my ear and was all over my hair. I ran to the bathroom so fast while my parents were gagging and laughing at the same time. Note to self... no more airplane right after nursing!
- He discovered leaves today at our fall photo shoot. He grabbed a handful and stared at them in amazement, then tried to eat them.
- He wants to grab everything he can get his hands on. He reaches for stuff and then drops it on the floor.
- He grabs his toes every time I take his diaper off.
- When we put a wet wash cloth over him during this bath, he grabs it and slurps the water out of it.
- Everything goes into this child's mouth! Plastic is good, but cloth is his favorite.
Show and Tell:
Video: Fun Dad
Found that toe again!
Loves that thumb!
The boy loves sleeping on his peeps.
Tyler says hi and thank you for stopping by!
He IS getting chunky! What a cutie!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny what the books and "experts" say....my boys never had a problem going from my bed to their own crib and they both slept with me for an entire year. I also rocked Brayden to sleep every single nap and every night time for 2 whole years and he never needed rocking to get back to sleep...her just learned on his own quickly....no screaming or c.i.o needed. I think mom's can drive themselves crazy and they never had all these books when our parents had us....you just kind of learn as a parent what works best for you. It's amazing when you look back and realize, gosh we all made it and we are all in one piece.
ReplyDeleteToo funny about the spit up thing...that has happened to me with both boys several times....it's funny because once you're a mom, you don't gag about your own baby puking in your face/mouth but if someone else's child did that to me, I'd lose it...LOL
Sooooooo when are we going to see that new hair cut of yours???
I can relate on so many levels... Colton is still in the "4th trimester" for one more week, but I thought I should try having him nap in his co-sleeper, instead of the swing, bouncy or on me! Well, I let him fuss, which turned to crying, which turned to wailing and I had to go get him out. Took about all of the 5 S's to get him calmed down... Now he's happily asleep in his swing. I guess I am going to have to take it slow!! Thanks to Cathy for reminding us that each kid is different, and we won't kill them by either letting them cry or by picking them up!! Happy medium, eventually, right??
ReplyDeleteLove the new pics and videos. It cracks me up to see him interacting with his Daddy... Can't wait til Colton can have some "man time". He sees him on the webcam, so he still recognizes his voice. :0)
Yep, I want to see the new haircut, too!! I've been contemplating cutting mine too, but not too drastic. Seems like it's always in a pony tail these days-- I have to keep it long enough for a tail, not a nub! ha ha.
Love ya!
The Other Jill
Very informative about the breast-feeding, thanks for sharing. Would another alternative to make sure you are emptying out completely be to pump that last bit? It seems to me that would work too, but what do I know?
ReplyDeleteHe's such a cutie - I love seeing all the happy baby pictures!
Just to encourage you, if you choose to continue to let him sleep in bed with you...my son was slept in our bed for a year (I wanted to and loved it, it made nursing so much easier!) After he was around a year he got to be a bit too restless, and we transitioned him to his crib. It took a couple months of slowly transitioning, but after that he had absolutely no issues with moving to his own rom at about 16 months, and now at 2 1/2, he is a champ sleeper- 12 hours straight and I raaaarely get up for him. He's amazing! So they don't always form a bad habit..so if you love to sleep with him and it works for you guys, I say do it, you only get those night cuddles for so long :)
ReplyDelete