I generally try not to post unflattering pictures of people, even teeny tiny people who are too little to protest it yet, but this picture so perfectly sums up my feelings on this week that it needs posting.
Blech to this week. I hate this week. What a horrid week it was. I spent my 30th birthday nursing a cold. How pathetic is that? Mike has also been fighting a cold, and now our sweet little baby is now getting snuffly (don’t worry, grandmas – I’m monitoring his temperature and symptoms and will have him into a doctor ASAP if he spikes a fever or has troubles breathing). Also, it was super cold here this week and we actually got snow and it was miserable outside and all around terrible. Blech to this week. I am scheduling a make-up birthday for sometime in June.
On the plus side, 4 o’clock baby seems to be going away, which is amazing as it is supposed to peak at 6 weeks and he just turned 6 weeks old on Friday. I have some theories on why this is:
1. I started swaddling him for naps like we do for bed and being pretty vigilant about making sure he goes down for a couple of proper naps per day. Before, I was just letting him crash when he crashed (usually in my arms after nursing) and putting him in his bassinet. He’d generally wake up within 40 minutes – not enough sleep for a little boy!
2. I’ve cut caffeine out of my diet. I’m not convinced this has anything to do with it, but it was an easy one for me to cut, so I decided to give it a try. If 4 O’Clock Baby is still mostly gone in another week or so, I might slowly start reintroducing it and see what happens.
3. We’ve started supplementing his evening feed with formula. Even though I’m on drugs to help make more milk, and I’m nursing on demand, and even pumping for a few minutes after each feed to try to stimulate more milk production (when I’m able), I still don’t seem to be able to keep his belly full at night. So we’ve started giving him 2-3 ounces after his last feed before bed, and he settles right down to sleep after and sleeps for 4-5 hours (instead of 2-3) and everyone is happier and better rested. I’ve cried my tears on this one – I really, really wanted him to be an exclusively breastfed baby – but the difference with just a few ounces of formula at night is so huge that it would be stupid of me to refuse to give it to him just for the sake of saying he’s exclusively breastfed. I figure even getting 90% breast milk in his belly is better than 0%, and even if he was all formula fed, getting quality formula from a loving parent as needed is hardly the worst thing to ever happen to a baby. I really have made a solid effort on the breastfeeding front, so I am just going to continue to feed him boob milk all day and night with the supplements for the evening feeds and let it go. I can only do what I am physically capable of doing. Anyway, everyone is getting more sleep (including baby D), and I think that might be helping his mood.
4. This stupid cold meant I was spending more time in bed and on the couch, which means little Derek got a lot of holding and cuddling this week. That makes it sound like he spent the other weeks lying naked on the kitchen floor with only a discarded beer can for company and affection, which is totally not true. Before cold, he was spending probably 75% of his awake hours being cuddled, fed, played with, etc. (and only 25% shivering on the floor with Senor Kokanee Can). With stupid awful head cold, it’s now more like 95%. I probably spent 3ish hours of each day laying in bed cuddling/nursing baby D and reading or playing on my iPad. My house looks terrible, but I did read a lot while nursing, and my Words With Friends scores have never been better. Priorities people.
5. The Bath! I really, really, really wanted to sit in a warm bath and let the moisture help with my congestion earlier this week, but the baby was awake, and I couldn’t just leave him, so I brought him into the tub with me. He LOVED it. Now whenever he gets a bit cranky, we get in the tub together, and he’s instantly happier. Highly recommend trying it if you have a colicky baby.
6. You know how they have adjusted ages for premature babies when they’re looking at milestones and whatnot? Derek was technically a week late, but more like 11 days late based on an early scan we had, and I have a theory that he’s actually a bit ahead on some stuff because of it. I don’t mean for that to sound as douchey and “My kid is so amazing and way ahead of lesser brats” as it does, but he does seem to be hitting his growth spurts and other developmental stuff a week or so earlier than books and whatnot suggest, so I think his 4 O’Clock Babyness may have peaked at 5 weeks instead of 6. At least, I am telling myself this.
This was a very rambly post and probably boring for the non-parents (actually, boring for the parents too, who am I kidding). Hopefully colds will be done and we can do some fun stuff again next week!
