Birth through 6 Weeks Reference

I've been meaning to write down somewhere about the nursing and sleeping patterns of Ben for his first weeks of life. This post is mainly for me to refer back to when I have a baby again so anyone who actually reads my blog may feel free to skip this post.

Ben came out being a marathon nurser but it didn't last more then a day or so. He went from marathoner to a snacker. He would nurse a lot but not for very long (5-7 min on each side) because he kept falling asleep. It drove me crazy but after a week or so I managed to get him to stay awake and nursing at least 10 minutes on each side. What worked best for him was stripping him down and rubbing his bare back. Also nudging his chin helped. He is still usually good about nursing for a good amount of time (which I worry about too much).

The problem we have now is that he is still nursing every 2 hours and when he's done eating often he wants to eat again like 10 minutes later. This is where I don't agree with nursing on demand. I will nurse him every 2 hours if he "demands" it but not every 10 minutes. I can't be nursing constantly. Plus the fact is he probably isn't getting any milk. He's probably just nursing for comfort. Either comfort of having mommy close by or comfort from his seemingly painful bowel movements which I think may be related to my dairy rich diet... Still figuring that one out.

This time around I have introduced my child to the pacifier. It usually works but sometimes it requires a combo of a pacifier and rocking or walking. It's funny because he didn't start out being a fussy baby and I thought he was going to be my golden child. But once he started waking up I discovered he was a fussy child (I think around week 3). It seems that now he's usually sleeping, eating or fussing.

Ben's sleeping schedule is still not a schedule at all. He started off being a good sleeper taking 3-4 hour stretches at night but now it's a crap shoot. Sometimes he takes a good big stretch (4-5 hours) around 8/9pm before he starts waking up every 2 hours. Other times he does the stretch and then seems to be wide awake and snorting (he's always so congested) for the rest of the night. And yet other times he is up every 3 hours. There is just no consistency with him but I am trying. For the last few nights I have fed him at 7pm and then I make him wait until 9pm (instead of 8ish when he wants to eat again). This seems to at least ensure that he takes at least a 4 hour break from food.

There is no consistency during the day either. Sometimes he sleeps all day and sometimes he's awake all day and sometimes it's a good mix. I feel like Steven had a good schedule by 6 weeks but maybe I am just remembering wrong. All I know is the Baby Wise thing just doesn't work for Ben. If he has just had a full meal and he wants to sleep during the day, there is no waking that kid up. He's out. Plus sometimes I need him to sleep so I can get things done or spend time with Steven. When I figure out how to get this kid on a schedule morning and night I will definitely try to document that.

Some tips and things to remember for next time:

1) Do not write down when he nurses and how long on each side because that will only stress you out. All your babies have gained weight just fine and the worrying has never been justified.

2) Wear a bracelet to keep track of which side to start on.

3) Swaddling definitely helps your babies sleep for those first few weeks.

4) Maybe invest in sometime besides a pack and play because for some reason both of your kids seem to wake up the minute they are put in that thing and then you take them into your bed which is a no-no and a hard habit to break!

5) It's Ok at 4 weeks if they don't have a bowel movement for a week (doctor says so). Ben went a whole week before he finally exploded. As long as he is not pooping pellets the doctor says there is no reason to worry.

6) It's hard to stay awake at night when nursing. Sit in a chair NOT in bed if you really want to stay awake. Always have somewhere to rest your elbows.

7) Be happy if they sleep for most of the first month of their life- it's totally ok.

8) Getting your milk in is painful and leaky and happened around day 4. And also you will be sore during those first few weeks- even when he is latching on correctly.

9) Your supposed to introduce the bottle around 4-6 weeks. When I pump I've gotten 2-4 ounces. Amount of stress during pumping definitely affects how much I get...

I think that was everything I wanted to remember for next time....I will hopefully take time to post again once I have gotten this kid on a schedule and nights have gotten better which hopefully will not be too far in the future!