@pacifica[name_f][/name_f] totally get what you mean. [name_f][/name_f] my baby is only 20 days old. So young, so little still, but it feels like I always have him all this time.
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Aannd I know how it feels like having so many things go against my hopes too. While my labor started naturally, it was rather long and ended up in an unplanned c-section too. I actually cried before going to the O.R., lol. We feed R both breastmilk and formula. He lost too much weight during his first week so we had no choice but to supplement. Sometimes I feel guilty and sad I don’t produce enough milk for him (at least so far), but then again, it’s not something we can easily control.
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[name_f]Do[/name_f] you use bedside bassinet? So he’ll be in his own bed but right next to you? That was our original plan, though we also haven’t gotten there yet. R sleeps in his own crib, but my husband and I pretty much sleep in shifts now so one of us is always awake to take care of him. Might not be sustainable long term, but that’s what we do now.
Yeah he has both a bedside bassinet and a crib but he won’t sleep in either yet [name_f][/name_f] [name_f][/name_f].
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We’re trying to put him in there throughout the day as exposure therapy but he doesn’t usually make it more than a minute or two before he either cries or starts wriggling around a ton and fussing.
@pacifica[name_f][/name_f] I definitely know what you mean, [name_f]Posie[/name_f] just turned 2 months a few days ago and it’s so wild to think about. With her spending a month in the NICU we originally started as combo feeding breastmilk & formula, but my milk supply never stabilized (went well for about 2.5/3 weeks and then dipped so low I mentally was over it) so we had to go 100% formula which was not the original plan at all. It helped with her reflux for a while but we’re now having some issues with that as well… luckily we have a peds appointment next week so we’ll see if we can maybe get her on some reflux medicine (especially since her reflux is causing congestion, discomfort, gas, etc.)
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Is [name_m]Casper[/name_m] a swaddle houdini? [name_f]Posie[/name_f] definitely is, so we double swaddle at night (arms down tight to her sides in a swaddle sack first and then swaddle with a blanket) and that has helped her not wiggle & startle awake as easily. We’re gonna put the LoveToDream Swaddle Up to the test next to see if that works, but I don’t have high hopes
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Some ideas that have helped us: put a heating pad on the bassinet mattress 10-15 minutes before bed (then remove), toss blanket in the dryer for a few minutes before swaddling, giving/offering an extra ounce of formula at bedtime feed, gas drops!! (this helped us a lot even for daytime naps/fussiness). We switched to a smart bassinet (Posie HATED the [name_f]Halo[/name_f] bassinet we had) which helped us IMMENSELY. But if you don’t have one, they make little vibration pads that you can put under the mattress and it’s supposed to help soothe baby; we have friends who swore it was the only thing they could do to get their baby to sleep any stretch of time in the bassinet/crib.
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But we’re pretty much in the same boat… she does contact naps pretty much all day, and when she wakes in the middle of the night one of us ends up co-sleeping in the recliner with her for the next 3-4 hour sleep stretch. It was definitely not our plan and we wanted to follow safe sleep 100% but at the end of the day we can’t pour from an empty cup and we need sleep too [name_f][/name_f]Currently working on longer night time stretches (most we’ve done in the bassinet is 4 hours); now that she’s still gaining well, we’re trying to just soothe/comfort back to sleep if she wakes & put back in bassinet; so far when we do that she’s been able to give us another hour before waking and wanting to stay awake for feeding.
He definitely is a swaddle Houdini! [name_m]Little[/name_m] man can’t stand not having his arms free to wave around, so he always manages to get them out of the blanket somehow. I haven’t tried double-swaddling him though, and I feel like he had a harder time getting loose when they did that for him in the hospital, so it’s worth a shot!
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[name_m]Casper[/name_m] really likes his formula but I do think it’s probably giving him some gas or reflux, so we’ll see what his doctor thinks next time. I also want her to look at his tongue (probable tongue tie) and his belly button because I’m thinking he might have a hernia there? [name_f][/name_f] I hope not, I wish we could just leave him alone medically, because it seems like he’s had so many little issues since birth.
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In happier news, he got to go on his first hike in his stroller recently, and slept through the entire thing. So far it seems like fresh air and car rides put him to sleep, which is good info to know.
[name_f][/name_f] my baby is only 20 days old. So young, so little still, but it feels like I always have him all this time.
[name_f][/name_f] [name_f][/name_f].
[name_f][/name_f] I hope not, I wish we could just leave him alone medically, because it seems like he’s had so many little issues since birth.