The baby, not me.....yes, I was so proud of my baby's soft skin, looking so perfect when she was born. My baby couldn't possibly get baby acne, right? Well, she's got a small case of it....comes in patches, then goes away, then another set comes on. I am wondering if it's in reaction to anything I am doing, so will have to watch it.
Tummy troubles galore starting from week 3. On Tuesday we hit week 7, so that is about for the last month. At first she started arching her back, pulling her legs, fussing a lot because she was so uncomfortable, had LOTS of stinky gas....pee-euw!..in addition, she didn't have a poopy diaper for about a week! I called the Dr. 3 times during then to make sure it was ok. Dr. said it was. In addition, she had been spitting up sooooo much. It started to become every single time I fed her, and sometimes it came up so strong it would come out her nose, poor thing. With all that, I thought maybe she had reflux.
Took her in to the Dr. and Dr. agreed and gave her 1 RX, didn't work....tried another....didn't work...tried a THIRD and it didn't work. In the meantime, with the RX's really bombing out, I've been trying different formulas to see if that would help also.
In the last month we have tried going on 5 formulas now....she started on the simi for spitup, then I tried simi for gas and fussiness, then I tried enfa AR which is supposed to help w/ spit up since they put a bit of rice in it, then the Dr. recommended the specialty formula for cow milk sensitivity (not allergy). This stuff seemed to be okay, but man does it smell.....but tummy and spit up issues continued......so just last night I researched online and found a lot of people had success w/ the soy formula. So, got that today and we tried it in 2 bottles now. It seems to have impacted the spitup as she only spit up once afterwards and was able to burp w/out her formula coming out w/ it!!
Crossing my fingers it helps.......
I also started reading some baby books---the whisperer book, the what to expect first year book.....some good information in the whisperer book. She talks about what type of baby you have, how to comfort/communicate w/ that type...what different cries mean, etc.. The one thing she said that is sticking w/ me is that your baby is an individual and you need to respect her space i.e. tell her everything you are doing. For example, if you are changing her diaper, rather than quickly undress, move her legs around, etc..which might be alarming and confusing to baby, you simply need to explain what you are doing to her and walk her through it. It sounds silly, but her philosophies are pretty interesting.....she is also an advocate of a structured routine...I don't want to say schedule, because it can be somewhat flexible....but it talks about eating, then play, then sleep, repeat....it will then get your child to sleep through night. I actually found this helpful because I was thinking that after feeding she should go right to sleep and was wondering why she wasn't. Seems she was smarter than I and was already following the book.
I also learned that there are things that my baby can do now, even this early...I haven't been doing too much in terms of stimulation. I just assumed since she's so little she should be sleeping all the time. Well, she should, but she can also do way more than I knew....for example, I got a stuffed animal out w/ stripes on it. I showed it to her and she really stared at it intently.....then I moved it and she tracked it w/ her eyes. Then I took her hand and told her how soft it was, etc...It was actually really neat to be interacting w/ her like that. It just hadn't occurred to me....
I can say, though, that it's really easy to put a lot of pressure on yourself about what you are/are not doing....there are so many books and advice out there...what do you follow? I'm at least reading some recommended books...step one....then trying some of those things out. Heck, we don't come wired w/ knowing how to do all this stuff!
I've been super focused on her tummy issues that I haven't really done a whole lot else.....oh, my nanny started 2 weeks ago. So far, everything is going well. She has come in, on time....done some extra things around the house (she asked me to buy a mop. I certainly didn't expect that she would do heavy cleaning). I need to pull together our agreement about what she does when she's here so that we are both on the same page....but right now since it's only 4 hours M, W, TH from 10-2, it's fine for now. Honestly, what I do mostly when she comes is hibernate in my room and sleep. It is just so nice to sleep w/out having to have the baby listening ear out. I can completely relax.
I am really really glad I have the nanny right now. It helps to give me some space and breaks. I actually could see her coming even more during next 5 weeks I have left for maternity leave. The thing I am not sure about is that it is really expensive when I start back full time. I knew it would be, but I reasoned that daycares were about 3-400 cheaper per month, so for the convenience of not having to drag her to a daycare, the germs, etc.. it is so worth it. That is until a friend of mine recently came over and shared that a daycare she uses quite close to me is less than HALF of what I will be paying the nanny for full time. OH WOW. When you look at it that way, that is a significant difference.
So, I plan to just go and check out the daycare and see what it is like. Get a vibe for it. I also am thinking about networking to see if another family close by wants to do a nanny share....that may be a good solution i.e. can still have nanny here, but costs go down.....will see.
Wow...lots of things on my mind, I guess...I know this is a bit of a "debrief" post and I haven't really gone into my feelings. What I will say is that the one thing I am obsessed w/ and think about a lot is that my baby is starting to look more and more like the donor. She has his eyes and nose, I think. I don't know why this is sticking me so much.....and it's bothering me. Maybe it's the unfamiliarity of her being more like someone I really don't know well......maybe it was the expectation I had that I hoped she looked like me.....not sure. And yes, I do know that she is only 7 weeks old almost and she will for sure keep changing.....but I can't help it for now.
I am thankful for the followers that I have and those that comment. I read every single one. I am also thankful that I don' t have a lot of followers. I would feel a lot of pressure to keep things interesting, keep lots of posts coming......so for those that read this, thank you. I appreciate your support.
It is now 1:49am and I need to sign off. I had caffeine today....oh boy.
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