I can't believe my little guy is already 1 month old! In some ways it feels like the memories of his birth are slowly fading (I NEED to write his birth story soon!), and at other times, it feels like I just met him for the first time. To say our lives have changed for the better is an understatement. I feel like I tried so long to fill a void in my heart through shopping, eating, web-surfing; now those things have so much less significance in my life now. I feel like my life is complete. Being a mommy has come naturally to me, I feel like I've been doing it my whole life.
At 1 month, Soren has been alternating between receiving breastmilk through nursing and formula bottles thickened with oatmeal cereal. He really seems to have no trouble switching back and forth from breast to bottle, he just likes to eat :-). Because of this crazy schedule and my supply somewhat dropping, I had to pump whenever he received a bottle and also after he nursed to make sure my breasts fully got drained. I have also started to take Fenugreek capsules 3 times a day and smell like maple syrup...not pleasant, but I guess it could be worse. Because Soren is on thickened feeds for half of his feedings, he has been getting really constipated and turns bright red, cries, and tries to push it out but it's only gas...VERY stinky gas might I add! The nurse recommended adding a small amount of pear juice to his bottles twice a day- this did help once, but then it didn't seem to work again. We've also done some rectal stimulation (NOT one of my favorite moments of mothering), but this only worked on one occasion as well. Now we are adding Miralax to his bottle once a day. We visited the lactation consultant this last Friday to have him get a before and after feed weight measurement, and he took 2 oz. from nursing.
When adding the thickened bottles, it brings up so many more issues including needing to pump, prepare the bottle, clean both the bottle and pump parts, and deal with a baby who is hurting from constipation...this has become so much more difficult then just nursing him. Since his lactation appt. on Friday, we have pretty much been exclusively nursing and he received only 1 bottle a day. All of his constipation issues are gone and his reflux doesn't seem to be as bad compared to the thickened bottles. On Friday Soren weighed 7 lbs. 6.9 oz. before the feed. Today at his 1 month pediatrician appt. he weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz., gaining 5 oz. in just 3 days (goal is 1 oz. per day)! This made me feel so much better as a mother, feeling like my body could help my son grow; I struggled emotionally for a while when he wasn't gaining weight. I can't say for certain why the nursing is now helping him gain weight whereas before it was lacking- my guess is that I am doing even more demand feeding with him, sometimes nursing twice in an hour, and also being on the reflux meds. for a bit more time helps the milk to stay down better. It would have been so easy to just say 'screw it' and stop breastfeeding; there were so many reasons it seemed that quitting seemed most logical... but I didn't. I don't know if my supply will continue to be enough for him (I'm only getting at most 2 oz. each pumping session), but I am working hard to try and build it up. After all that we have been through, I have fallen in love with the simplicity of nursing and the bonding my son and I get each session. I love how he puts his hand on my chest when nursing as if he feels it's a safe haven, I also love how he smacks his lips after eating as if to say "mmm, this is good stuff!". I really do love nursing now, even though it was a tough couple of weeks.
As far as sleeping goes, he's starting to develop a normal pattern. He wakes to eat at the 11ish hour, 3ish hour, 7ish hour, and again at the 11am hour. It would be nice to cut out that 3am feed, but Soren's weight-gain and protecting my milk supply is of utmost importance right now. From 11pm-3am Soren sleeps in his Rock n' Play sleeper next to our bed. After the 3am feed I have a hard time getting him to fall asleep in it, he will often make lots of noises and is kinda loud. After the 3am feed I usually then just have him sleep next to me nustled up on my arm. We both sleep soundly doing this and I have no concern about his safety-it would be nearly impossible for me to roll over on top of him. I know there are alot of nay-sayers about co-sleeping out there, but this works for us and I feel like it is also helping to build a sense of security for my son. I don't know what our plan is for transitioning him to his crib in his room, but honestly I'm in no hurry. Maybe once he sleeps through the night, but we'll see. He won't be sleeping with mama forever, no worries ;-). Soren's daytime sleeping and eating routine still varies day-to-day.
Soren is still currently wearing newborn size clothing. Some of his sleepers might be getting a tad bit short, but everything else still fits great. We have some newborn shoes and they are still gigantic on him, they look like clown shoes.
Over this last month I have really figured out Soren's grunts/noises/cries and what he might need. He really does not cry much, only if he's constipated or doesn't get his paci or food in a timely manner. He LOVES his paci! He also seems to sleep better if we swaddle him, especially with the Aden & Anais muslin swaddle blanket...we LOVE that blankie! He seems to tolerate the swing but doesn't like it as much as I had hoped...I think it's too stimulating for him so it wakes him up rather than puts him to sleep. He loves being held by mommy, I seem to have the special touch... or food ;-). He also seems to do really well in his carseat and car rides, which is relieving.
Soren is getting much stronger and better head control. I think because he's nursing and pulls off, I often make him try to get back on without much assistance, so he's using alot of muscles to do so. He is now starting to focus more on objects, and I love when he is able to focus on me when I talk to him. He still crosses his eyes (funniest thing ever) and looks all around. He initially hated tummy time but now doesn't seem to mind it as much. If you put him upright on your chest, he will lift his head up and try to (wobbly) turn his head. He's also still trying to coordinate getting his fingers in his mouth, a couple times he gets his thumb in there, other times it's his fist or two fingers. If you don't get his paci to him quickly, he starts trying to suck on his hand but gets frustrated and even more mad.
As far as Soren's reflux and aspiration go, they both seemed to be doing better. It's been about 2 weeks since he aspirated while nursing, but still occasionally aspirates when he's spitting up. He still spits up a ton, sometimes projectile. I don't hear as much gurgling as before and he doesn't seem to be in pain. Most times he spits up, it also comes out his nose and this bothers him. Because of the reflux and aspiration issues, he is at high risk for colds, ear infections, and RSV. His pediatrician is currently working with filling out paperwork to get him qualified for the RSV vaccine. If he qualifies (which most likely he will), the company will come out to our house once a month and administer the vaccine to him for the 5 months of RSV season. We got a big lecture today at his 1 month appt. about how important it will be to protect him from getting colds. She wants us to keep him away from children and also be mindful of letting others hold him who regularly come into contact with children. Daycare is a big no-no if we can at all avoid it, luckily putting him in daycare wasn't in our plans. She even said if we're out in public and we walk past children to try and shield him, as sneezes can pass germs 10 feet away... looks like we'll be using the Moby and Baby Bjorn alot this Winter! I don't find it difficult to 'share' him with others, but hearing how crucial protecting him is, makes me nervous for others to hold him and to take him out in public now. I just don't want my baby to get sick and end up in the hospital :-(. Good thing is, we're breastfeeding so hopefully that will help protect him at least a little bit. It's going to be hard for me to say 'no' when others ask to hold him, but it looks like Mother Bear needs to come out of her den.
Well, I think that's about all I can think of for his 1 month update. Here's some pictures:
See what I mean about the paci...
Ahhhh...much better.
More pics:
Where's those fingers?
There they are
Soren's 'safe haven'
love the pictures, love the updates! you're doing a great job with Soren! Don't worry a TON about how much you're pumping--the baby can often can get more milk than the machine. i took Fenugreek for awhile with Eli and yeah you totally smell like syrup! And with Carter we did the same sleep routine--he started in his cradle or in the middle of the bed but after the middleofthenight feeding then he slept right in my arm. there was no way i could roll over on him and it gave us both so much better sleep. (cuz by #3 there were no mommy naps anymore!) For all the kids we'd do 2hr feeds in the evening leading up to bedtime and 3 hr feeds during the day (more is better for your little guy though!)
ReplyDeleteYou can also try drinking the mothers milk tea, it tastes like black licorice but it's worth a try. They also say drinking a dark beer before bed.
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