Collins is 6 weeks today!
We are taking it one day at a time and somehow we made it to 6 weeks!
I feel like life has balanced itself with having two kids. I may not shower till noon and Crew may stay in his pj's all day (somedays--not all) but we are doing great. The first two weeks were a little rough and emotional but I got through it and am so in love with this sweetheart.
We discovered, around 4 1/2 weeks that she had reflux. She never spit-up but would cry in pain. I thought she had colic but really she was having heartburn-like symptoms. Poor girl. With the help of an amazing nurse and medicine I can tell a huge difference in Collins. I am so grateful that she isn't in pain any more. What a relief. All I want to do as a mother is care for and smother her with love. It can be a challenge to know what they need when the only way they can let us know is by crying.
Crew loves her perfectly. He will call her "sweetheart" and give her kisses and pat her tummy. He gets so excited when she is awake he will say, "look Mom, Collins awake".
We are pretty much inside all day due to the time of year, and not having a car right now, but we are healthy and happy.
Nursing is a challenge, it was with Crew as well. I just don't produce enough milk. It is hard for me to come to terms with why my body doesn't make enough milk even why I try all--literally ALL-- the remedies that should create more milk. It takes up a lot of my day, nursing, bottle supplementing, and pumping. My goal is to make it to two months and then decided what to do next. I am totally fine switching solely to formula...but I honestly like nursing and I think it is important at the beginning to give it a solid try (health benefits and bonding) before I give it up. People don't talk about it too much and they should.
Overall, like I said, we are doing great!
Collins at 6 weeks:
gets hic-ups all the time
has a good case of baby acne
holds her head up extremely well
is just starting to give smiles
is still so tiny
takes 4 naps a day
sleeps regularly in 4 hour chucks at night but sometimes I get 5 or 6 hours on rare occasion
eats every 3 hours
takes a binky
4 comments:
Brittany,
Don't even feel bad for not producing enough milk. I never did either and that's just the way it is. I heard it was because I exercise too much, wasn't eating enough protein, wasn't getting enough sleep, or Vitamin D, blah, blah, blah. I don't think there is really a solid reason why some women can't produce enough. I'm just grateful that formula now days is so similar and plenty good enough. I was thrilled to make it to 3 months with my second child, but I wanted to quit it at 6 weeks believe me. The sound of the pump sucking will forever haunt me. So if you want to be done at 2 months... you be done. You will get plenty of bonding time with Collins with other ways. I know you probably know this already, but hopefully it helps that you are so not alone in this. I hear ya with the acid reflux baby. I've been there too... it's hell. Hang in there! I'm thinking of you!
It so sucks to not produce enough. I think most women don't even know that's something other women go through. Especially the ones who are milk cows. I was literally starving Owen and didn't realize it. I felt awful. Miraculously I've had enough this time for Elsie, but I'm still paranoid and constantly weighing her to make sure she's gaining. It's so stressful. This time though I decided not to worry as much and if I have to do formula - so be it! So don't feel like less of a mom or woman. You're great and your children feel your love! Also, Elsie has reflux and it was awful for a while there. So nice that modern medicine can help. Collins is a doll and I love her hair!
Hey Brittany, I don't know if you remember me but I'm Abby's friend! Anyways, I read your post and my little girl, Harper, has silent reflux too. It is a tricky thing, and probably the reason why Collins hiccups a lot (Harper did too). I even had to stop nursing because Harper couldn't do it with her reflux and my milk supply went away. They have some thicker formula that's supposed to help (but my baby didn't take it well). Anyways, it's good to get her on the right medicine to sort out the symptoms soon, so great job for catching it! We went through 3 medicines before we found one that worked. Anyways, if you ever need to talk to another mommy with a reflux baby I'm all ears! Hopefully Collins grows out of it soon. She is absolutely adorable! Congratulations on your beautiful kids!
I was in the same boat with mine. Could never produce enough and it got to be too stressful. I applaud you for your determination. Keep it up! Your kids are so cute!
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