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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Tethered to Baby


It's been a week since I have been "left alone with the baby." The grandparents are gone; Rich has returned to work. It's just me and Lia at home during the day. I have to say it took some time to adjust to this pace. I am still adjusting... trying to figure out what works for both of us.

A few things that we have sorted out...

* Nursing 101 - had a rough start at the hospital and the first few days at home. The class I took did nothing to prepare me for the problems I encountered. The pain from the c-section plus my milk coming in late hindered our initial efforts. It took some trial and errors before we found our groove. We have tried a combination of on-breast, pumping, scheduled feedings, on demand feedings. I now nurse her on-demand during the day and feed her formula at night. I don't care what people say, breastfeeding is a royal pain. I am only doing it for two reasons: to give my baby a nutritional headstart, and to (hopefully) shed some pregnancy pounds (desperately needed!).

* Lia loves tummy time. She can nap for a few hours on her tummy. It's her next favorite thing after being held. I know it's potentially unsafe for SIDS but I only do it if I'm in the same room with her. In fact, the sure way to wake her up is to put her on her back. Give her 10 minutes and she'll start fussing.

One potential real problem...

* Yes we co-sleep a bit. She loves it and it doesn't keep me up. But I know... it could be a very hard habit to break in the coming months.

Our typical day...

.. Wake up at 8:30 - feed.
.. Feed again in about 30 minutes. She is usually famished in the morning.
.. I brush my teeth.
.. Feed.
.. I eat breakfast.
.. Feed.
.. I put her in the crib and I go shower.
.. She wakes up and cries in the middle of my shower.
.. Of course I finish my shower but go tend to her before I can even get dressed.
.. Feed.
.. Some tummy time.
.. Feed.
.. Lunch.
.. Feed.

So you get the idea. Lia is fed at least a dozen times during the day. Imagine my relief when 9pm comes around and she finally gets the bottle!

1 comment:

The Missus Complains said...

I thought breast feeding was a pain too and by 4 months V was on the bottle full time as I could not produce enough milk for her.

We let he sleep with us for up to 4 months and then sleep trained her. Now she goes to sleep like a charm. Take care, things will get easier with time.