Week 16: Through the ringer

SLEEP - Getting Natalie to sleep is a crapshoot. Swaddling only works if she's ready for it, which might be when she's drowsy already after eating, or when she's done with playing and starting to fuss. Or she might not go for it at all. Bouncing on the ball is really unreliable these days. Most days she takes at least 2 short (~30 minute) naps. She still has the maddening habit of napping beautifully when my mom is around, but not otherwise. Swaddling followed by strolling or just putting her in the carseat works sometimes. Yesterday my mom got her from fussing to sleeping by swaddling, then laying Natalie across her lap and patting/rubbing her back and butt. Natalie had her fingers in her mouth and the prone position seemed to help keep them there.

She had a fit the other morning and cried for maybe 30 minutes while Rob was watching her. I scooped her up and put her in the sling facing me in a hug hold with her legs out, which she initially protested with loud crying, but once we walked outside she stopped crying. I walked her around the block in the chilly wind (with a hat, baby legs and socks on her, of course), and by the time I got home she was asleep.

Nighttime sleeping is better than last week, at least. I stopped co-sleeping with her because while she was sleeping well, I was lucky to get 2 hours total, and that just isn't enough. I tried splitting up the night between her crib and my bed for a while, but it's still too disruptive, so she's back in her crib now, or sometimes in her carseat. I am close enough to catch her before she starts crying and fully wakes up, so I think it's good enough.

FEEDING - I've eliminated several more possible allergens from my diet--wheat as of 11/14, followed by soy, corn, wheat, tomatoes, peanuts, chocolate as of 11/16 (in addition to dairy, that I've been avoiding since 10/28). I think it's too soon to tell whether or not this measure is helping Natalie, but yesterday was an encouragingly calm day. Dairy, soy, wheat or corn are in almost all prepared foods, so I'm pretty much sticking with single-ingredient items; fresh fruits/vegetables, potatoes, rice, quinoa and meats. I'm keeping spices to a minimum and using simple vinaigrettes on salads. While preparing meals is more labor-intensive, on the bright side I am losing weight. I'm under 10 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight. Another plus is that this diet will keep me from eating in restaurants, for the most part--it's just too hard to be sure I know what I'm eating unless I buy it in the grocery store and prepare it at home. Natalie's gas /reflux episodes have been infrequent and short.

Her nursing habits haven't changed much, except that she seems to be spacing out feedings more during the day.

SOOTHING - She has gone from only wanting to face out to enjoying facing-in holds again (yay!) Pacifiers are hit or miss, but sometimes they really help. She's still maybe 50/50 on car rides. Bouncing on the ball isn't doing much for her lately. She likes the Moby wrap, but it's stimulating. The sling is mostly still effective. She's responding better to simply being held and jiggled or swayed lately, especially if swaddled. She's starting to respond favorably to tummy positions for soothing now.

However, this week she definitely started teething--the pain part, anyway. She screams and gums her fingers. Rob had to keep pressure on her lower gums with his finger while rocking her to sleep on at least two nights. She responded well (albeit, a delayed response) to infant Tylenol and baby Orajel, and to a teething ring stuck in the freezer or fridge first.

PLAYING - She prefers her tummy now and even rolls from back to tummy, but gets worn out and fusses if on her tummy too long. Sometimes rolling her to her back helps. She is enjoying practicing sitting up by being pulled to sitting, and is content for 5-10 minutes at a time in the Bumbo chair (with toys). She's still mouthing everything, and is getting better at grabbing toys and bring her hands together to keep a grip on objects. She seems to be enjoying bathtime now, and uses her legs and feet to splash the water.

She's very social (when happy, of course) and seems to enjoy being in the presence of adults conversing.

OTHER NOTES - I'm still looking for a new pediatrician. I went to meet Dr. Benhammou this week, but wasn't impressed. Natalie's weight at the visit (11/17) was 15 lbs 12 oz with clothes and a daiper on.

She's still on Zegerid, 2.5mL twice a day.

Our approach for week 15

I'll try to make this a brief summary:

SLEEP - Biggest challenge right now. Went back to shift approach (Rob--early shift, Mary--late shift) and Mary is trying co-sleeping.

Last night was the first attempt, and it went well. Natalie fed at 1:30 AM, Mary spent until 2:30 feeding and rocking/burping/sitting with her upright on shoulder to make sure she was in deep sleep, then moved her to the bed. She nursed at 4 and 6, both times side-lying, and awoke for the day at 7:30 when Rob came in to greet us.

FEEDING - Side-lying nursing at night is the only change. Still nursing exclusively with an occasional bottle of pumped milk for daddy to give Natalie when mom's away. Still on a no-dairy, no-eggs diet (since 10/28). Recording diet and a brief summary of the day every day, with a score of 1 to 5, in an effort to bring to light any dietary problems. Will continue this until 11/28, when we give her a previously-expressed bottle of mother's milk to see if she reacts to dairy/egg proteins in it. Still nursing on-demand, burping frequently, attempting to nurse as much as Natalie wants, but no more.

SOOTHING - Using the Sling E Zee and Moby Wrap, bouncing on the exercise ball, strolling in the Graco stroller. Swaddling has lost effectiveness as a soothing technique, as she is big enough to break out of the swaddle, but it is still effective to keep her asleep once she is already asleep. Mary attended an infant massage class this week; will try incorporating massage as a soothing technique. Still shushing and using movement to soothe. Rob uses pacifier at night. Mary has used pacifier to help keep Natalie asleep during the day, but otherwise Natalie doesn't respond well to it.

PLAY - Still using rings, Infantino lamb, dolly, mirrors. Have used toy bar in carseat, but she's not very interested in it and seems to get frustrated with it. She has mastered the animal toy bar on her bouncy chair and it doesn't seem to hold her interest as long as it used to. Lots of tummy time, which she seems to be enjoying more lately. Tummy time seems to help her pass gas, too. Purchased Bumbo seat this week; she's been in it a few times for 1-2 minutes. Pulling to sit, encouraging turning over (back to side and belly to back). Reading to her daily. Rob is wonderfully creative in his play with her.

OTHER NOTES - She is still drooling a lot and might be starting to teethe. Painful night gas episodes may be reducing now (fingers crossed!) Still on 2.5 mL Zegerid twice daily, although I forget to give it to her sometimes. Mylicon and Gripe Water available in case of severe gas, but we haven't had to use them yet this week. Working on getting Natalie to sleep for the first time at night without extended fussing.

P.S.

She's so talkative and animated now, I've started calling her Chatty Natty. I thought that was clever, but I don't hear anyone else using it yet. ;)

Early to bed, early to rise...

...makes a mom surly and bleary-eyed. Just kidding, sort of.

This week Natalie has been going to bed in the 7-9PM time frame (fairly normal for her), but getting up bright and early, anywhere from 4:30-6AM, digging her heels in and refusing to go back to sleep.

I've been sharing the fun with Rob, and he's been a very good sport about being roused at 6AM to take over babytending for a while why I attempt to nap until 7ish, when she's usually hungry again.

The inlaws came to visit this week, and fortunately Natters had a really good week, aside from the early rising and several bouts of painful gas (that thankfully didn't last too long--we were able to crunch her knees up into her abdomen and jostle her around until she farted it out 15-30 minutes later.)

She likes her carseat/stroller again! Hooray! It's a good thing, too, because the somniferous effects of the exercise ball are starting to wear thin. My mom and dad came over last night, and my mom was able to swaddle, then stroll Natalie to sleep at 7PM.

She naps at least a little bit (15-30 minutes) every day, and some days she actually takes longer naps, too. As of now, she's been snoozing for about 40 minutes. Fingers crossed...

Tasting the world

Natalie is in a wonderful phase in which she masters a new skill almost every day. Lately she's able to grab and hold on to things--at first by accident, and now quite purposefully. Often I'll pick her up and she will still have in her grasp a toy or her swaddling blanket.

New noises abound, too--squeals, raspy throat sighs, giggles, half-talk-half-fuss moans.

I reluctantly admit things are getting easier. My hesitation is for fear that I will jinx these golden days.

I'm on a no-dairy, no-eggs diet, since 10/28, which isn't long enough ago to account for Natalie's good mood. I don't know what it is, and in a way I'm getting accustomed to not knowing. At any point, there are too many factors in play. Even if we treat her in a completely constant way (assuming that were possible), she is growing and changing daily.

She's fascinated by the dolly with the rattle in it that a few weeks ago she barely noticed. She has almost completely mastered the toy bar with pull-rings on her bouncy chair. The carseat is no longer entertaining for her, but a place of cruel confinement, even with the toys and front-view mirror we provided, and often even with an accompanying parent in the backseat.

Halloween was fun. I finished her Pebbles costume that day--fashioned on my sewing machine out of several squares of felt from Michael's. That was the first good day of now three in a row.