Liliana Marie is one week old today!!!

[marchmommy]

Haevn't really had time to pst on her birth, but she was born march 11th at 8:04 pm, 6 lbs, 12 ozs healthy as can be. But.....she is NOT taking breast milk, pediatrician has her on soy, but I am hurting as a result!!! What can I do besides cabbage leaves to dry up the milk and return me to normal????? Also, she fusses for hours at night, last night it went on for 11 hours straight!!!! I know she's a newborn, but diaper is dry, she is fed, burped, not too hot or cold, what is wrong??? Sorry for all the questions, but this is my first time!!!!!

[Ilovelife]

First off, CONGRATULATIONS!!! What a beautiful name!

Secondly, Those first few weeks are certainly difficult. Give yourself and your baby a break and give the whole relationship some time.

I have no advice on drying up your milk, except to say be certain that is your decision before doing so. Your babe is just a week old, and if you were to decide at a later date that you wish/wished you nursed it will be tough to do. So while your pediatrician is making recommendations, just be clear on what YOU want to do and follow your gut. You might want to talk with a lactation consultant about things to try to get her to take breast milk. Your ped. should be able to recommend someone or you can call La Leche League. There are things to try (different ways of latching, changing your diet, etc. depending on what the specific problem is). The website kellymom.com has a lot of wonderful information about breastfeeding as well. Of course, switching to formula and drying up your milk supply is an option and perfectly within your mommy rights to do Just trying to make sure you have information before you make a long-lasting decision.

As for the fussing at night, it's really pretty normal at this point. That doesn't make it any easier, though. Try to nap during the day (I know, everyone says that and it's a lot easier to say than to do, but it DOES help). When she's fussy at night, she could be hungry. It's not uncommon for newborns to have certain periods of the day where they want to eat nonstop. Also maybe try cuddling her, rocking, swaddling, walking, bouncing....

Eventually you will both fall into a rhythm where you know what she needs and some sort of routine will work itself out. It just takes time and a lot of patience. Good luck!

[Metasequoia]

Congrats! What a beautiful name you chose!

The only thing I can think about the nighttime fussing is that maybe she is having a reaction to the soy formula. Are you sure you want to give up bfing? Perhaps you could try it for a couple of days & see if her nighttime fussiness improves.

Can I ask why the ped has her on soy?

[honeybee]

Congrats! To echo the pps, peds are very often not well informed about bf. Determining that a baby "can't" medically bf at one week is very premature. Now, if you choose not to bf, that is a different story. I just don't want you to think that you "can't" based on bad info from your ped.

As for the baby's fussiness, most newborns are at some point. My 4-day-old seems to be either nursing, sleeping on me (he won't sleep for long anywhere else!), or crying. I believe the crying is due to gas and getting his digestive system sorted out. But, cosleeping and keeping him close to me (working on getting proficient with the sling) keeps him content (even if sleeping!) most of the time.

Good luck!

[RedOakMomma]

Congratulations on the birth of your baby girl!

If she's quite fussy, it may just be a phase she's going through. Do you have an exercise ball or birthing ball? Sitting on that, holding baby, and bouncing can sometimes work wonders.

If breastfeeding is a challenge, perhaps you could pump breastmilk and feed it to her in a bottle? If she's bottle feeding, it would at least give you a chance to get some rest--and if she's fussy because she's reacting to formula, the breastmilk might help.

s to you... Adjusting to baby #1 is always a challenge, but it will get easier day by day. A month or two from now, you'll be amazed at how much easier it is. Good luck!