2 Mommies and a Baby
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Friday, March 09, 2007
poor starving child
He’s been crying all day for almost 3 days.
Lois couldn’t take a shower because he would cry 2 minutes after she put him down. She couldn’t go to the grocery store or out to lunch.
Nursing seemed to be the only thing that calmed him down. So, to avoid creating any comforting habits, we did an experiment yesterday and tried to bottle feed as much as possible.
Apparently, we’ve been starving him.
It wasn’t comfort that he needed, it was food!
At one point last night, he took 5 ½ ounces in one feeding. After that, he was a happy guy for 2 ½ hours, until he was hungry again.
Sure beats breast feeding every 45 minutes!
Now, I know I will have some critics, but we are not overly into the breast feeding thing. For one, we want to know how much he is eating. Secondly, bottle feeding allows me to participate in the eating time as well.
A newborn needs about 19 ounces a day (correct?) and he’s probably not been getting that based on what her supply seems to be!
I think this experiment was predicated by Lois pumping on a regular basis and still only getting 1 – 1.5 ounces per pump session. She’s trying to pump frequently, listening to everyone’s advice about pumping even after you think you are done, etc.
Right now, she’s just not keeping up with this little piglet!
A friend at work recommended Motherlove More Milk Plus which I ordered from amazon.com to try it out. Hopefully, it will increase Lois’ milk supply.
I am taking Lois out for our anniversary next week and we were nervous about leaving him with someone if he was going to be inconsolable without his Momma’s boob!
I think in one day, we are already doing much better – we’ll see how Lois is doing when I call her in a little while!
As for the previous post I wrote about sleeping. I guess I was wrong. He is just not a sleeper. (Maybe because he’s always hungry – hopefully this will change soon now that we are feeding him!)
Yesterday, he was awake from 7:30 am – 2:30 pm with only 2 15-minute naps in the middle.
Then last night, he was awake from 6 pm until maybe 11 pm. He did sleep for about 10-15 minutes in the middle in his swing (which apparently only puts him to sleep when it’s on HIGH – he wakes right up if you turn it down or off).
He wasn’t really upset last night, he was just chilling out, staying awake for a very long time, staring at the lamp while making faces.
I spoke to a friend at work who has an 18 year old son. She told me that some of the traits a baby has in the womb and as a newborn will stay with him forever.
Andrew was always active in the womb, always awake and moving arms and legs around now and will probably be a high energy kid. It’s like he doesn’t want to miss anything. Sleep is just getting in the way of his alert time as far as he is concerned!
UPDATE:
I just called Lois and Andrew is sleeping. She nursed him for 30 minutes, then gave him a few ounces by bottle. He was content for a little while and then fell asleep. She made dinner for Salina’s birthday tonight, she cleaned the kitchen, shredded cheese for nachos this weekend and is even contemplating taking a shower before he wakes up!
Lois couldn’t take a shower because he would cry 2 minutes after she put him down. She couldn’t go to the grocery store or out to lunch.
Nursing seemed to be the only thing that calmed him down. So, to avoid creating any comforting habits, we did an experiment yesterday and tried to bottle feed as much as possible.
Apparently, we’ve been starving him.
It wasn’t comfort that he needed, it was food!
At one point last night, he took 5 ½ ounces in one feeding. After that, he was a happy guy for 2 ½ hours, until he was hungry again.
Sure beats breast feeding every 45 minutes!
Now, I know I will have some critics, but we are not overly into the breast feeding thing. For one, we want to know how much he is eating. Secondly, bottle feeding allows me to participate in the eating time as well.
A newborn needs about 19 ounces a day (correct?) and he’s probably not been getting that based on what her supply seems to be!
I think this experiment was predicated by Lois pumping on a regular basis and still only getting 1 – 1.5 ounces per pump session. She’s trying to pump frequently, listening to everyone’s advice about pumping even after you think you are done, etc.
Right now, she’s just not keeping up with this little piglet!
A friend at work recommended Motherlove More Milk Plus which I ordered from amazon.com to try it out. Hopefully, it will increase Lois’ milk supply.
I am taking Lois out for our anniversary next week and we were nervous about leaving him with someone if he was going to be inconsolable without his Momma’s boob!
I think in one day, we are already doing much better – we’ll see how Lois is doing when I call her in a little while!
As for the previous post I wrote about sleeping. I guess I was wrong. He is just not a sleeper. (Maybe because he’s always hungry – hopefully this will change soon now that we are feeding him!)
Yesterday, he was awake from 7:30 am – 2:30 pm with only 2 15-minute naps in the middle.
Then last night, he was awake from 6 pm until maybe 11 pm. He did sleep for about 10-15 minutes in the middle in his swing (which apparently only puts him to sleep when it’s on HIGH – he wakes right up if you turn it down or off).
He wasn’t really upset last night, he was just chilling out, staying awake for a very long time, staring at the lamp while making faces.
I spoke to a friend at work who has an 18 year old son. She told me that some of the traits a baby has in the womb and as a newborn will stay with him forever.
Andrew was always active in the womb, always awake and moving arms and legs around now and will probably be a high energy kid. It’s like he doesn’t want to miss anything. Sleep is just getting in the way of his alert time as far as he is concerned!
UPDATE:
I just called Lois and Andrew is sleeping. She nursed him for 30 minutes, then gave him a few ounces by bottle. He was content for a little while and then fell asleep. She made dinner for Salina’s birthday tonight, she cleaned the kitchen, shredded cheese for nachos this weekend and is even contemplating taking a shower before he wakes up!
8 Comments:
Good luck. I think you guys are doing great.
Try to keep up with breastfeeding for two more weeks. Six weeks of breastfeeding is supposed to give him most of the "good stuff" that babies need. Then if it's still not working for you, perhaps you switch to formula.
I know how hard and inconvenient it is to breastfeed. If it's not working for you and making you upset more than happy, then maybe it's just not the way to go.
As for pumping, you get more milk when you are FULL. Not after you have fed the baby. Try to pump after it's been two hours since his last feeding and BEFORE you feed him again. Then feed him after. He will get more out of your breasts than a pump can.
As for how many ounces a newborn needs, every child is different. I've always just fed my babies when they were hungry and stopped when they were done. As long as they were gaining weight, I didn't worry about how many ounces they were eating.
Good luck.
p.s. He will cry when you go out to dinner, so pick someone who can handle it to watch him. Feed him before you leave and try to be gone no longer than the time he usually goes between feedings. :)
It's working. He needs more food. Then he'll sleep better. I'm glad we're learning from you.
K - I'm totally nervous about the activity level in the womb. Sounds like Riley and Andrew are a lot alike. If she's as active outside the womb as she is in the womb we're in so much trouble. As I think you may be as well. Good news is maybe I'll lose a little weight chasing after a crazy kid that never stops!
I almost forgot!
Happy Birthday Andrew!!! A day late, but not forgotten. A month old yesterday!!!
Oh no poor kid! We liked being able to know how many ounces Cam ate too, so you're not alone there. We were not breastfeeding fanatics. I stopped after 2 weeks because I just couldn't do it, I had to go back to work. We liked using bottles so Sum could feed too.
Glad you figured out the problem. It is nice to have the bottle as an option.
Our Riley eats well over 20 ounces a day--around 24 most days.
The alert time seems normal. Glad it's during the day! Riley is awake around 11-12 hours a day, mostly during the daytime. She doesn't usually nap for more than 30 minutes at a time during the day, sometimes longer. She is usually up for 1 & 1/2 to 3 hours at a time in the daytime.
i remember when my kid was 1 month old all he did was nurse nurse and nurse...hope you still keep up with the breastfeeding. its really hard during the first months cause the baby is always hungry but it gets better as they get older coz they can go longer without feeding.. he's now 6 1/2 mos. just my 2 cents :)
maybe because of the frequent pumping Drew isn't getting enough when he nurses.. perhaps you can also try to stop pumping for a while..
anyways good luck.. your doing great..
btw, i stumbled across your blog a few days ago. nice blog! i like your stories.
I think you have made the right choice in supplementing with a bottle if needed. I am a full supporter of breast feeding and realize its many benefits. But at the same time if the child is not getting enough volume should you hold out on bottle feeding until 6 weeks or longer? I don't agree with that. You will have a healthy and happy baby no matter what you decide, so just make sure you don't feel guilty or pressured by anyone else.
Katie
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