Friday, November 14, 2008

I hope it's just a growth spurt

It's been a bad week at our house! It started on Tuesday when Jack had a bright green poop! Doesn't sound too crazy, but for any of you who have exclusively breastfed babies you know that this isn't normal at all! I talked to my sister-in-law who used to be involved with La Leche League and found out that it was more than likely a hind milk/fore milk imbalance - too much fore milk, not enough hind milk, so I spent the next 24 hours making sure Jack nursed long enough on one side to ensure he was getting the hind milk and not just fore milk.
To complicate this more, Jack is just a very finicky eater! He will not eat if something is touching his head - so this means it's very difficult to nurse him discretely. Secondly, he likes it quiet in the room - if any of you have a 4 year old you know this is impossible! He also hates when I talk when he's eating. In addition to all of this, he hates to nurse when he's tired.
So within a day his poop was back to looking like mustard which is a good thing :-) But now it appears as though he is going through a growth spurt. He's eating more frequently and waking more at night. He has always been a great sleeper! Since he was born he has only gotten up once through the night - I can probably count on one hand how many times he has woke up more than that in a night! Well, not the same for the past two nights - he has been up 2 and 3 times a night and has a hard time going back to sleep - so he has ended up in bed with us which means mom doesn't sleep good!
So I'm exhausted and ready to pull my hair out - why can't all babies be the same? Olivia was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks, nursed great and was on a schedule by the time she was 3 months! Jack isn't following in her footsteps! Goes to show that their all different.
Well, he's screaming again - he's ready to go to the titty bar!

8 comments:

Aimee said...

I remember it so well when my kids would get up like that in the middle of the night for, as my husband called it, hooter juice. Not fun!!

Try to remind Jack that you are NOT an All-Night Boobie Buffet! :) (also the words of my hubby! :))

Seriously though, I hope it gets better for you and you get your sleep!

On Stage said...

Claudia was the same way with nursing! She eas such as busy body that she wouldn't stay latched on... kept checking to see if she was missing anything. William was the one who woke up every two hours to be fed. I was a walking zombie for months. I know how you feel. Can you pump and have the hubby get up at night? Or no bottles yet?

Still Sane said...

Mikey was the same way. He would never eat if there was distraction. (Is still that way!!) He got up every 2 hours for months. Ella also was sleeping through at 6 weeks, so it was a big shock. Mikey did not sleep through the night, until the day he slept in his big boy bed. Needless to say, he was 18 months old.

Leenie said...

None of my kids slept thru the night until at least 6 months. Aidan had horrible colic, Abbey had to have neb treatments every 3 hours most nights and Aaron was just a nosey stinker.

I feel your pain sister. Let me know if there is anything I can do. I know how hard it is.

mommy to an angel said...

I have pumped some and have a little supply in the freezer so that I can go out or Brian and I could get a sitter and actually have a date, but to give him a bottle on a regular basis is probably not going to happen! I have to work at pumping really hard to get anything and Jack hates bottles - I know if I pumped more I would get more and if I gave him a bottle more often he would probably do better, but honestly - who has the time? I takes me about an hour (broken up into 4 sessions) to pump 2 ounces! That's not worth it to me!!

On Stage said...

I know that "breast is best"... however, my sister used to formula feed at night(husband fed the baby) and nursed during the day. It saved her sanity!

Pumpming sucks (get it?, Sucks?)seriously... I always had a hard time too. It's not worth the effort.

mommy to an angel said...

I'm definitely not against formula, but Jack throws up all the time and only poops every other day - I can't imagine how he would be on formula! Honestly I'd rather get up through the night then for him to have more intestine issues.....ask me again in 3 months though :-)

On Stage said...

Claudia pooed about every 4-5 days when she was nursed. Our doctor said it was completely normal for breastfed babies to poop less frequently as they got older because their bodies were using most of the nutrients. Her daughter pooped once a week!

I'm not pushing formula, but similac makes one especially for babies w/ digestive issues. My niece had to use it. Worked for her.

At this point in my life, I'm not sure I'd be able to get up several times during the night. If I was in that position, Brian would be nominated as the night time caregiver.