Pieces of the puzzle
Jake is coming along in leaps and bounds. After a weight loss from 4045 g to 3500 g in the first week, we had him weighed on day 13 and he was 4110 g!! He had also grown 2 cm in 2 weeks, so at least we know he's doing fine in the growth stakes. It also means he's obviously getting enough nourishment, which is a relief after the shaky start we made.
He has also discovered breastfeeding. Three days ago, I tried to get him to latch on in the early morning and he suddenly did so perfectly, without so much as a whimper, as if he'd been breastfeeding from day 1. He completely drank me dry and fell into a deep sleep, only to wake up again a few hours later and do the same thing. I was amazed! For the last 3 days he has been exclusively breastfeeding and when R hands me the baby, he latches on before I've even got the rest of his body in my arms, he's that keen. It's as if he has suddenly clicked - oh, so that's what those things are for! It's both wonderful and exhausting, because now R can't help out anymore, beyond handing Jake to me. I'm not complaining though - I'm just so pleased he's figured it out.
The night before last, I had fed Jake for ages, R changed his nappy and the little man was yawning like crazy. Perfect recipe for a contentedly sleeping baby, right? Wrong. He dropped off to sleep, we put him in his crib and his eyes snapped open, as if we had just given him a caffeine injection. He started crying, so we gave him a finger to suck on, which often calms him. After half an hour of finger-sucking, we were getting rather fed up, but Jake's eyes were wide open and he didn't look like he was going to go to sleep anytime soon. This started in the early evening and by 1 am, we were still walking around, cradling a screaming baby. We were both ready to throttle him and I was in floods of tears from frustration. There is a 24-hour helpline we can use, so I called them and got the answer "Babies sometimes do this." Their advice was to try and distract him in some way, by giving him a finger to suck on (check), walking around with him (check), speaking to him in soothing tones (check) or taking a drive with him. I didn't really feel like a drive in the middle of the night, so I lay down in bed with him, gave him a finger (for the nth time that night) and 5 minutes later he was asleep. Why hadn't he done that hours before? Complete mystery.
One thing is that Jake hasn't pooed for about a week now, but he does incredibly smelly farts, during which he crunches up into a ball. This could have been the problem that night, but apparently breastfed babies often don't poo more often than once or twice a week, or sometimes as little as once a fortnight. Formula milk can make them constipated, but breast milk is so light and easy to digest that there is very little waste for them to get rid of. Seeing Jake has had both over the last week, it could be that he is a bit constipated, so we are very much looking forward to his next poo-filled nappy!
Last night I fed Jake and put him in his crib when he'd fallen asleep. Once he was there, his eyes snapped open and he was wide awake. Again. I gave him a finger to suck on, but after 20 minutes, the eyes were still wide open and I sure as hell wasn't going to sit there with my finger in his mouth for the next few hours! So I got his dummy and gave it to him. He sucked on it a couple of times and then it fell out of his mouth and he started screaming again. When I tried to give him the dummy again, he opened his mouth wide (like they do for breastfeeding) and couldn't grab hold of the dummy. I've never heard of a baby who can't suck on a dummy! Finally, R took him into bed with him, gave him a finger to suck on and let him fall asleep that way.
When Jake woke later on for a feed, I fed him lying down and we both fell asleep until he woke up for his next feed. The same thing happened that time, but after that feed, we put him in his crib and he slept till 10 am! Ahhh, bliss. So we're not there by a long shot, but we have had a relatively peaceful night. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he settles more easily after he has finally pooed. Or if we manage to teach him to suck on a dummy. Or both! Babies are such a mystery. Every time you have found another piece of the puzzle, you realise the puzzle has a lot more pieces than you originally thought.
He has also discovered breastfeeding. Three days ago, I tried to get him to latch on in the early morning and he suddenly did so perfectly, without so much as a whimper, as if he'd been breastfeeding from day 1. He completely drank me dry and fell into a deep sleep, only to wake up again a few hours later and do the same thing. I was amazed! For the last 3 days he has been exclusively breastfeeding and when R hands me the baby, he latches on before I've even got the rest of his body in my arms, he's that keen. It's as if he has suddenly clicked - oh, so that's what those things are for! It's both wonderful and exhausting, because now R can't help out anymore, beyond handing Jake to me. I'm not complaining though - I'm just so pleased he's figured it out.
The night before last, I had fed Jake for ages, R changed his nappy and the little man was yawning like crazy. Perfect recipe for a contentedly sleeping baby, right? Wrong. He dropped off to sleep, we put him in his crib and his eyes snapped open, as if we had just given him a caffeine injection. He started crying, so we gave him a finger to suck on, which often calms him. After half an hour of finger-sucking, we were getting rather fed up, but Jake's eyes were wide open and he didn't look like he was going to go to sleep anytime soon. This started in the early evening and by 1 am, we were still walking around, cradling a screaming baby. We were both ready to throttle him and I was in floods of tears from frustration. There is a 24-hour helpline we can use, so I called them and got the answer "Babies sometimes do this." Their advice was to try and distract him in some way, by giving him a finger to suck on (check), walking around with him (check), speaking to him in soothing tones (check) or taking a drive with him. I didn't really feel like a drive in the middle of the night, so I lay down in bed with him, gave him a finger (for the nth time that night) and 5 minutes later he was asleep. Why hadn't he done that hours before? Complete mystery.
One thing is that Jake hasn't pooed for about a week now, but he does incredibly smelly farts, during which he crunches up into a ball. This could have been the problem that night, but apparently breastfed babies often don't poo more often than once or twice a week, or sometimes as little as once a fortnight. Formula milk can make them constipated, but breast milk is so light and easy to digest that there is very little waste for them to get rid of. Seeing Jake has had both over the last week, it could be that he is a bit constipated, so we are very much looking forward to his next poo-filled nappy!
Last night I fed Jake and put him in his crib when he'd fallen asleep. Once he was there, his eyes snapped open and he was wide awake. Again. I gave him a finger to suck on, but after 20 minutes, the eyes were still wide open and I sure as hell wasn't going to sit there with my finger in his mouth for the next few hours! So I got his dummy and gave it to him. He sucked on it a couple of times and then it fell out of his mouth and he started screaming again. When I tried to give him the dummy again, he opened his mouth wide (like they do for breastfeeding) and couldn't grab hold of the dummy. I've never heard of a baby who can't suck on a dummy! Finally, R took him into bed with him, gave him a finger to suck on and let him fall asleep that way.
When Jake woke later on for a feed, I fed him lying down and we both fell asleep until he woke up for his next feed. The same thing happened that time, but after that feed, we put him in his crib and he slept till 10 am! Ahhh, bliss. So we're not there by a long shot, but we have had a relatively peaceful night. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he settles more easily after he has finally pooed. Or if we manage to teach him to suck on a dummy. Or both! Babies are such a mystery. Every time you have found another piece of the puzzle, you realise the puzzle has a lot more pieces than you originally thought.
posted by MrsJ at
5:14 pm
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