6 Weeks

Wow! How have 6 weeks gone by so quickly? I'm going to have to go with blaming Christmas on this one.

LT is doing great now that she's gotten the bili issues out of her system. Literally. Did I mention that poop is how the bits leave the body? Anyway, moving on...

Once again, my milk production levels have not been able to keep up with demand, but this time around I refuse to endure the crazy pumping/formula/nursing schedule I kept with LO. Looking back at that, it was insane, but I had time. I don't have time or mental energy to keep it up now. LT is getting some formula - Gerber gentle premix in the tetrapak boxes (I tried a sample of powdered enfamil and it was soundly rejected) - at night before I go to bed and occasionally some during the day if demand is extra high (but only after nursing until my nipples are sore*). I do have a pump so when it works out, I try to fit a session in after LT's bedtime bottle but before I get to bed myself. I'm also trying to load up on oatmeal and fenugreek to help boost production, but I'm not sure I'm consistent enough with either for full effectiveness.

Thanks to the bedtime formula bottle LT generally gives me anywhere from a 4.5 to 6 hour stretch of sleep, but a return to sleep after she wakes is not guaranteed. This stretch is helping to keep me from sleep deprived mood issues, but every so often the lack of additional sleep catches up with me and I crash on the sofa with LT on my chest post-feed while LO watches TV.

Not exactly sure how much LT currently weighs or how long she is (8lb 6oz & 21+" at the 1 month visit), but she's on the verge of being too big for many of the newborn size sleepers, and when the stock of newborn diapers runs out in the next few days she'll move into the size 1's. Wah!

LT is 100% still in the 4th trimester sleep/eat/awake for a bit/sleep/and so forth cycle. When she wakes up though, she's a total grumpuss until she's fed. She's also happiest when toasty warm - being held, or swaddled with a hat on her head and a blanket over the swaddle. She's not a huge fan of the car seat until the car is moving and we've had varied results with the swing, bouncer, rock & play, and pack & play. She also puts up an initial fuss to the Infantino mei tei carrier (new for this go round) but mostly falls asleep once she gets all warmed up. That helps with meeting both her need of being held and my desires to actually get some things done.

LO ranges from trying to be helpful, especially when LT is fussing, to being frustrated at the division of my attention between the two of them. I can absolutely understand the latter, it must feel awful going from getting all the attention to getting much much less, especially when it's because of things outside your control. In addition this month we moved LO from 3 to 5 half days of preschool so she's also lost those two mornings of time we previously spent together. I'm trying to come up with fun activities we can do a couple afternoons each week, with LT tagging along, so LO doesn't feel completely rejected, but LT's feeding/attention needs sometimes do get in the way. I'm also trying not to make it a habit to rely on LO's willingness to be helpful - she's not a third parent after all!

Anyway, that's where we are now. Send milk thoughts!





*Related: I've managed to get the sticky parts of the nursing pads stuck to my nipples more times than I want to admit. Double ouch!