It's been a challenging week to say the least. On the nursing front, I was becoming concerned that my supply was dropping, and maybe it is, but I feel a little better this weekend. Noah has been eating a little bit better, and refusing the nipple less than last weekend. I have some formula that Enfamil sent me long before he was born, but I'm holding out on using it. I would love to breastfeed exclusively until 6 months, and introduce rice cereal just before that mark. However, a month and a half is a long time in baby land, so we'll see. I just have to tell myself that no matter what happens, I have done the absolute best that I can.
The other big issue that has arisen is the looming death of the swaddle. My little Houdini has become too strong for his Swaddle Me, so I often wake up to his cries when he has freed himself. He seems to have no idea how to control his arms and keep them from smacking his face or launching his pacifier out of his mouth. For so long I thought we were so smart for using the swaddle because it helped him sleep and he could soothe himself. Now I wish we had never used it. It's so insanely hard to wean him from it! I've tried the one arm out trick which he is doing ok with, but it seems to make it easier for him to get his other arm free. As of this moment, he has been sleeping in just a sleepsack for almost an hour, so I'm holding out hope that we're making progress. Baby steps... no pun intended! I also want to get rid of the swaddle because my little man finally rolled over back to front last weekend! I'm so proud, but the thought of him rolling onto his tummy while confined in the swaddle scares me a bit!
This was how I found Noah yesterday morning, looking quite proud and amused. He almost completely defeated his swaddle, except for one leg. Silly little monkey. He cracks me up!
If you're trying to transition out of the swaddle you might want to try a Woombie. It's a stretch pod that you zip them up in, but they can more their arms around inside of it. You can buy the Convertible Woombie which has arm holes, that way you can give him one arm free for a bit then both and then you can unzip it and he'll be over it completely. My daughter also grew out of her Swaddle Me long ago and we tried to drop it cold turkey and it was the worst two nights of our lives. We've been in the Woombie for a while and I just bought the Convertible for when we're ready for the transition. Just a suggestion!
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Good luck! - Esperanza @ esperanzasays.wordpress.com
You make me very glad we never really were able to swaddle. One thing that reduces flailing a little is putting them on their side or on an angle in a sleep positioner.
ReplyDeleteYou're doing great with the nursing!
Cute little man!!! What kind of pump are you using?
ReplyDeleteWe went through the flailing stage with Charlotte, too. I think that was just before 4 months. We had a few days of lousy napping when I dropped the daytime swaddle (it was too hot to swaddle her), and a few nights of one-arm-out wrapping. She adjusted really quickly, much to our surprise. And she started scooting all over the crib, getting stuck in various corners, so we were rescuing her for that reason instead of the semi-unwrapped swaddle.
ReplyDeleteBreastfeeding is a constant challenge, especially when it comes to finding time to pump. I can't remember if you've mentioned it in a previous post or not, but have you tried Mothers Milk tea and fenugreek? I took them when I felt my initial supply was slow to build and they helped a lot. I still drink a cup or two of the tea every day just to keep things flowing. And I've added manual expressing to the end of my pumping routine to further empty each breast, which is supposed to encourage increased milk production. There's a useful video you can access through the LLL web site. Good luck!!