on sleeping through the night...

So a lot of my friends think I'm crazy for trying to keep Little Man on a schedule... They ridicule my "Babywise" philosophies, goodnaturedly of course.

Honestly there are days when I'm trying to maintain his routine (while packing boxes, organizing our final church dinners, attending christmas weddings and December graduations, and spending days househunting in a new city) that I think I must be crazy too!

But when Little Man sleeps through the night two nights in a row at 8 weeks old, naps an hour and a half at a time, and sets himself on a four-hour eating schedule without any outside interference... I'm reminded of how great the payoff is.

Some folks might think I just got lucky and won the easy-baby lottery. But I don't agree.

If you ask me, it's all in the training.

© Sarah K. Asaftei, 2009 unless otherwise sourced. Use allowed by express written permission only.

(Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.)

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update on baby schedules...

So some of you wanted to know how the "mommy's schedule instead of baby's" has been going.

I'd have to say it's a good thing. And we've done pretty well at keeping it despite the packing boxes and hunting for a new house.

Little Man sets the schedule, I just help him keep it. That means when he moves from a 2-hour feeding schedule to 3, I make sure his schedule gets reset and he keeps eating on time. He's kind of like clockwork: he knows exactly when it's time to eat and is usually happy right up until then.

Right now he's eating every 3.5 to 4 hours, napping in between and waking up only once at night (around 4 AM).

And he's twelve pounds of chunky monkey, so I think our feeding issues are over.

© Sarah K. Asaftei, 2009 unless otherwise sourced. Use allowed by express written permission only.

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chunkopotamus...

So the day before yesterday we visited the doctor to see just how far we've come.

Little Man was born 7lbs 12oz. Dropped to 6lbs 15oz at two weeks. Didn't start gaining back until 3 weeks. Had us all worried to bits.

And he was really the tiniest, skinniest baby I'd ever seen. People wondered if he was preemie.

Hmmmmm... Not anymore!

This particular chunkopotamus (as christened by Auntie Chacho) now weighs in at 10 pounds, 6.5 ounces.

He also grew another 1.25 inches in length, and a full inch in head circumference - catapulting him from the 19th percentile in weight to the 59th.

As the other lady in the newborn waiting room said, "He's giNORmous!" I guess in comparison to her 3-week old, he was.

Just wait a couple more weeks, lady. It's amazing what 14 days can bring!!

© Sarah K. Asaftei, 2009 unless otherwise sourced. Use allowed by express written permission only.

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baby, you SUCK! (and that's an order)

If you read this blog regularly, you'll have picked up on the fact that when Little Man arrived we had major feeding issues.

I desperately wanted to breastfeed and Little Man would have none of it. We had one complication after another, until (when he'd lost MORE weight at 2 weeks even with 10 feedings a day) the doctor ordered supplementation with bottles.

I still wanted to avoid formula, so we got orthotic bottle nipples (thanks for the hint on that Lisa!!), and an electric double-sided pump.

Not to replace breast feeding mind you, just to add to it.

Until he got an incredibly nasty case of thrush. And passed it over to me.

With both of us on antifungals, the bottle just worked better. Safer. Quicker. Less painful. You get the idea.

So I worried that after 2 weeks of exclusive bottle feeding, he'd never go back. Until two days ago...

I figured it couldn't hurt to experiment right? Just see if he'd go back? Maybe even like it?

He latched like he'd never left. And like he'd actually been good at breastfeeding in the first place!

Now you'd think those early days of stressing never even happened.

© Sarah K. Asaftei, 2009 unless otherwise sourced. Use allowed by express written permission only.

(Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.)

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on schedules and routines...

So far we know the Little Man likes a routine, since he responded well to me having one even before he was born. For the first couple weeks I've just monitored his natural rhythms.

Now I'm basing a parent-directed routine on those rhythms, and hoping I can stick to it. It's posted on the frig, loaded into my iPhone's daily calendar and everything. Of course that doesn't mean we won't ever deviate, but it gives us a general guideline.

Most of all, I want to make sure that he gets enough feedings a day, with enough time between eating for adequate waketime and naptime. And that he gets a chance to naturally regulate his metabolism by having a daily rhythm where things happen generally at the same time every day.

Yup, it's extra work right now, but I think it'll pay off. Will have to let you know in a few weeks on that!

© Sarah K. Asaftei, 2009 unless otherwise sourced. Use allowed by express written permission only.

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things I learned from the lactation consultant...

1:: amniotic fluid has the same smell as your breastmilk

2:: nipple shields are the awesomest invention ever - first try and Little Man popped right on, no fuss

3:: I can do this breastfeeding thing - really I can

4:: Little Man has gained an ounce and a half since yesterday

5:: leaning forward and hunching over for the traditional feeding hold causes tension in the fourth vertebrae where all the nipple and milk gland nerves are located

6:: my instincts are good - most of the suggestions the consultant gave were things I was already trying to do

Copyright by Sarah K Asaftei, 2009 unless otherwise sourced. All rights reserved. Use by express written permission only.

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champ sleeper, bum feeder

When it comes to sleeping, I'd say we're blessed. Little Man will sleep for 6 or 7 hours at a time if I left him to his own devices. When he's knocked out, you can dress and undress him, carry him around, play music and talk - and he'll never make a peep.

Sometimes he sleeps so long and so soundly that I check him repeatedly just to make sure he's alive and breathing! The second night, in the hospital, I jerked awake in the middle of the night just because things were so quiet. Hauled myself out of bed, C-section and all, to hobble over and make sure he was okay.

And he barks in his sleep. Like a little doggy.

After he yaps, he's quiet for a moment, and then he'll make this sucking noise and breathe normally again. I find myself waking up to his little yips and then waiting all stiff and anxious until he smacks his lips and breathes again.
Feeding on the other hand, has been a challenge. He's a lazy little bum. At first it was tough to get him to latch at all. After we got the latch down, he would only eat from the right side.

Left boob? NO WAY, MOMMY!

So after a couple days we worked through that. Now he takes both sides fine. But he's still lazy to latch. He'll just sit there with these big beautiful eyes, locked on but not sucking.

So tomorrow we have an appointment with the lactation consultant at our pediatrician's clinic. Maybe we can figure some things out....

© Sarah K. Asaftei, 2009 unless otherwise sourced. Use allowed by express written permission only.

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