Bajingo Moms and Babies in the Summer Sun - 2012 - Page 5

[birdie.lee]

.
Edited by birdie.lee - 5/13/13 at 11:50am

[Ramzubo]

Birdie: Bro does this sometimes. If I see his forehead starting to scrunch up with worry then I try to get him to focus on one thing. I'm all hey look Brody it's a X, isn't this a nice X. Usually anything works; a painting or mirror on the wall works well and I gave him a rubber spatula one time that he loved. If he's interested in something then he relaxes and after a while he's more comfortable with his surroundings. It also helps to give him a toy he likes but hasn't played with for a while. We went to a party at dh's co-worker's home a couple of weeks ago and he carried his toy alligator around most of the afternoon.

[birdie.lee]

.
Edited by birdie.lee - 5/13/13 at 11:50am

[Calycanth]

 Birdie 

[iixivboots]

Birdie, glad to know you think the supplements are working and enjoy your tech-break :) We'll miss you but we understand! Oh yeah and I looked at more recipes on that blog and they look great. We're going to try some.

Can't believe Lyle is a month old.  It seems like forever and like no time all at once. I have to take him to the pediatrician tomorrow alone, and it's the first time I've been anywhere alone or driven since his birth.

[RosieL]

Hi Birdie - Hope the MDC break goes well fo ryou.

Boots - good luck at the Peds! I know I was really nervous the first time (It was his one month visit too). But afterwards I felt like I gained one experience credit..."Went out with baby alone and returned in one piece. Included one diaper change and one nursing!"

[iixivboots]

Ladies, talk to me about elimination diet for "colic" or fussing or whatever. We're getting desperate. We have a fussy period of around 11p-2a (or 10-3, or whatever he pleases) and it seems to be getting worse. For awhile it was maybe every other night, or three or four times per week. Now it's been like four days in a row and I'm going crazy.

What were your experiences? I started with cow's milk (which I usually never drink anyway) but that hasn't done anything. I feel I may die without cheese.

I might try nuts next, I have been eating a ton of them for quick protein.

[Ramzubo]

Boots : I went totally dairy free and it was so tough without my cheese but it made a huge difference! I wished I'd have just sucked it up and cut it out earlier. I also had to cut out coffee. After I eliminated those two he really was less "colicy". If I gave in and had some dairy or coffee he would be back to fussing. I know it's not fun cutting the food out but it was so much better than having a constantly crying baby.

[Tear78]

Originally Posted by Ramzubo 

Boots : I went totally dairy free and it was so tough without my cheese but it made a huge difference! I wished I'd have just sucked it up and cut it out earlier. I also had to cut out coffee. After I eliminated those two he really was less "colicy". If I gave in and had some dairy or coffee he would be back to fussing. I know it's not fun cutting the food out but it was so much better than having a constantly crying baby.

I also regretted not cutting it out earlier, but I just was in denial. I didn't want to. But once I did, I really was ok with it. I still drink almond milk because I like it, even though I'm back on dairy. It was totally worth it to have better sleep. Good luck!

[iixivboots]

We had one night off of fussing and DH noted we did not have any dairy with dinner. So today is my first dairy-free day. I read something that said it's okay if baked/cooked (like in the cupcake I just ate) or did you avoid it all together?

This is getting intense. I am reading about colic and people are saying it lasts until three months old, I am not going to make it, especially since I am going back to work full time at two months.

[Tear78]

boots, I'm glad the dairy seems to make a difference. If you want, you could cut out all dairy for a week and then try introducing baked dairy to see if it makes a difference. I never tried that. Also, don't listen to people who say colic lasts three months. Dr. Sears was writing that colic is just a word doctors use for "we don't know what's wrong." The fact that you're trying to cut out dairy might be something that most people out there don't try. Also, they may be talking about babies with reflux, which tends to resolve around then. If we hadn't figured out that DD had reflux, she would have been colicky the first three months, too. Hang in there!

[Calycanth]

Tear, how is your pregnancy going?

Boots, I hope going dairy-free makes a difference!   That would be so hard. I pretty much live on cheese and yogurt.

DH is at a conference in Colorado this week, so I am parenting alone until Friday. Cara has been a really good girl so far, but it's hard to find time to take a shower or make food! Thank goodness I'm only working Wednesday and Thursday this week.

[LivingSky]

boots - When we went dairy free, it had to be everything, hidden dairy included. Kayden would get gassy and fussy if any type of dairy/lactose was in my food, baked or otherwise. If he had a bad night after I went dairy free, I could always trace it back and find the spot where the dairy had snuck in. Add me to the list of moms who wish they'd done it earlier though! It made such a huge difference. And right around when K turned one and started eating a lot more solids, the dairy stopped bothering him completely. It just took a while for his gut to mature enough to handle it. I did find that going dairy free was quite easy as long as I wasn't eating out - I just was very careful when I shopped to not buy anything with dairy in it, then it was no problem. Once I got used to where the hidden dairy usually is, it was fine. We also have stayed with Soy milk and almond milk for drinking and baking, because we like it now!

And seriously, why the heck is there lactose in Lay's Salt And Vinegar chips???

[iixivboots]

Still on board with no dairy, but we haven't seen much change. I thought i read on the LLL forums it could take a few weeks.Was that your experience?

Or should I start eliminating other stuff? There's a few threads on the LLL forum I could've written, "Overactive Letdown or Dairy?" and the people said the fussiness was more likely OAL, which I do think I have but why would it only bother him in the evenings? Makes no sense. He's been nursing for much shorter periods (like 5-9 minutes per side instead of 12-15) but the boobs seem just as soft when he's done.

[LilyTiger]

Hey everyone!  I haven't really posted here because there have been too many threads to keep up with and I only have two hands for about an hour a day.  But I just wanted to pop in and say hello! 

Piper was four weeks as of Monday, which is totally insane.  I can't believe how quickly (and how slowly in some ways) this has all gone.  We're finally getting into a routine, figuring out babywearing (which has been a lifesaver so far), and troubleshooting breastfeeding issues.  I think we're doing pretty well, at least until the next growth spurt hits.  I've been using a sling for babywearing and she really likes it, but I'm debating trying the moby now that the weather is a little cooler, since I think she won't slide as much and I'll be able to do more bending over without worrying about her smacking into something.  Cloth diapering is going well too, though she's in a disposable overnight since we can't seem to find a cloth alternative that can handle our negligent approach to nighttime diaper changes. 

She's pretty fun overall. I was expecting newborns to be pretty blob-like for the first few months, but she's awake and alert pretty much the whole day and makes all sorts of hilarious faces.  In the last few days she's really started scanning people's faces, which is really cool.  She spent about 10 minutes just staring at DH last night, which he totally loved.  I find I love the mornings because I sort of miss her at night.  And her little eyes open in the morning and just stare up at me.  So cute.  Of course, that is apart from my trying to sneak out of bed before she wakes up so I can at least pee before she cries to be fed.  That part isn't great.  But overall, things are good.

Oh, and Boots, could the OAL just annoy him more in the evenings because he's just more sensitive in the evenings?  Piper is MUCH fussier in the evenings and basically has to be nursed semi-constantly until she falls asleep.  I've read around and it seems like a very normal newborn stage.  Lyle's evening fussiness could just be exacerbated by OAL.  I wouldn't eliminate any other foods until you see what dairy does, but I'm no expert on this stuff. 

[RosieL]

I wish I had logged it properly, but Odin had inconsolable nights where he nursed constantly then cried, frustrated at the boob, then would go back and nurse more. This went away periodically right around the times we expected growth spurts. I think dairy-free can't hurt, but it also my be a growth phase.

Does anyone else's baby sleep face-down? Not just on stomach but face straight into the mattress? It freaks me out. I wish he would at lease turn his head slightly so I could be confident of his breathing. I never fretted about him in his crib until he started rolling.

Anyone hear from Hykue? I miss her and wonder how the summer went on the farm/homestead.

[CA Country Girl]

Boots- about the shorter nursing- I would say he is probably just getting more efficient.  I hope you find a way to help with the fussy night- whether it is dairy or something else.

Lily- we have an alert little munchkin too-it isn't very stereotypically newborn.  People are always commenting on how aware she seems to be.

AFM- My LO has been sleeping longer stretches in her co-sleeper.  She gave us 7 hours one time a few days ago!  But I woke up twice during that time anyway to check on her.  She is doing very well with the baby sitters when I am working.  She has found her feet and even cooed at the toys I hung in her ar seat today, and she's laughing!  She's growing so fast.

Sorry for the brevity- need to prep for tomorrow's lectures. 

Hugs to all

[lilacvioletiris]

Calpurnia had her little one a month ago and I was searching this thread so I thought I would post the link over her if anyone wants to congratulate her.

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1360571/myer-elizabeth-is-here/40

[andaluza]

Hi ladies! It feels so great to be able to post here! M is 3 weeks and 1 day old now. 

Boots, I have eliminated dairy, but I'm not sure if I need to. I've been at it about a week and am waiting 2 more weeks to pass any final judgment. M is not colicky at all in the sense that he does not cry inconsolably ever or have any issues at the breast.  He is just wide-eyed and moves his arms and legs much of the night, and is more eager to eat much more frequently, whereas most of the day he has tended to be calmer and becomes more sleepy after bf. At night he may get sleepy at the breast, but trying to burp him, change his diaper, or move him to the co-sleeper tends to rouse him and the arm and leg waving begin again. He does have nights when this doesn't happen, though, so I am trying the dairy elimination and just paying attention to my diet in correlation to how the night goes. 

Lily, so glad that things are going well. I agree that what I expected of a newborn is not what I am experiencing. It sounds like Piper is doing very well!

Rosie, that's interesting about the face-down sleeping. I don't know how I'd react to that. As it is I keep a night light on and when I wake up I scan M's body to watch him breathe.

CaCountry, great to hear about how well your childcare arrangements are going.

My mom has freaked me out because she is convinced that he is already too mobile for the AR co-sleeper we use. I have no idea. He tends to stay on his back and turn his head from side to side at night, but during his active times he occasionally rolls onto his side to sleep. Apparently she saw him throw his arm over the lowered side of the co-sleeper (which we move around the house during the day if he's napping), so now we keep the sides up.

I am completely head over heels in love with our baby M, as is dh, and now my parents who are here helping. So far things have been really great, just trying to figure out the nighttime situation. I have the feeling that M has normal newborn nighttime issues, not anything that I need to be concerned about, but I do have to admit it's much better when he sleeps.

I am very grateful that bf has gone well, but I just got a breast pump so that dh can try a morning feeding eventually, or someone can feed him if I need to go out. I am having trouble with pumping, although I've only tried it twice. I got the Ameda purely yours pump and have only tried pumping after feeding. It seemed to go better today when I had the baby beside me and was talking to him while I did it. I also think I need to be more patient and play around with the settings to trigger let-down. When I nurse him and then hand pump I get seemingly good results (milk still squirts out), but the flow seems very slow with the pump (around 1 oz each side after 15 minutes). It seems like I've got a good supply because he gained 1 lb 4 oz in 10 days according to the pediatrician and keeps gaining according to the scale at home. I'm going to need to pump when I go back to work in Jan, so eventually I need to find out what works for me.

[RosieL]

"around 1 oz each side after 15 minutes" That's a really good amount at this stage, and some mamas never get more than that. You're doing great!