Dear Friends and Family,
As first time parents, the mouse household is a little bit of the blind leading the deaf nowadays. We've read a lot of books. We've talked through a lot of ideas. We've surfed the web for the collective communal wisdom. And, we've analyzed as only two engineers can. And, then, as humans, we caved.
Is it colic? acid reflux? high need? fussiness? spoiled? The list of possible causes is a mile long. The list of possible "fixes" even longer. The two symptoms we are trying to solve for: poor weight gain and fussiness (recognizing the two aren't necessarily related).
I won't bore you with the detailed map, but here's the laundry list.
Potential Causes: not feeding often enough, not feeding enough at each feeding, not sleeping enough, sleeping too much, colic, acid reflux, diaper, hunger, hot, cold, tired, overstimulated, needs comfort, gas
Potential Fixes: more persistent feeding, more frequent top offs, wake for feeding, swaddle, belly sleep, probiotics, gripe water, hold vertical for 20 minutes, more frequent feedings, less persistent feeding, angled sleep, more aggressive burping, smaller bottles, change my diet, angled eating, baby sling, baby hammock
We hit a brick wall on Wednesday with a day of non-stop crying combined with my Dad being here. So, we did a lot of research Wednesday night and a lot of thinking Thursday morning. And, decided on an experiment Thursday morning.
Yesterday, we did the twenty minute vertical hold after each feeding, the aggressive burping (it can take Pioneer up to 10 minutes to burp after a breastfeeding), and the belly sleeping. Her fussiness decreased dramatically - we had one two hour spell at night, but the day went swimmingly. I think we missed an evening nap opportunity sometime after five o'clock that triggered the evening fussiness.
Today, we'll try the same set of changes and see how it goes. If we get three good days, I'll consider it a potential solve. On the weight gain front, we'll see if the two are correlated - if reducing the fussiness gives her a chance to sleep and eat and gain some weight.
Cheers!
mouse
As first time parents, the mouse household is a little bit of the blind leading the deaf nowadays. We've read a lot of books. We've talked through a lot of ideas. We've surfed the web for the collective communal wisdom. And, we've analyzed as only two engineers can. And, then, as humans, we caved.
Is it colic? acid reflux? high need? fussiness? spoiled? The list of possible causes is a mile long. The list of possible "fixes" even longer. The two symptoms we are trying to solve for: poor weight gain and fussiness (recognizing the two aren't necessarily related).
I won't bore you with the detailed map, but here's the laundry list.
Potential Causes: not feeding often enough, not feeding enough at each feeding, not sleeping enough, sleeping too much, colic, acid reflux, diaper, hunger, hot, cold, tired, overstimulated, needs comfort, gas
Potential Fixes: more persistent feeding, more frequent top offs, wake for feeding, swaddle, belly sleep, probiotics, gripe water, hold vertical for 20 minutes, more frequent feedings, less persistent feeding, angled sleep, more aggressive burping, smaller bottles, change my diet, angled eating, baby sling, baby hammock
We hit a brick wall on Wednesday with a day of non-stop crying combined with my Dad being here. So, we did a lot of research Wednesday night and a lot of thinking Thursday morning. And, decided on an experiment Thursday morning.
Yesterday, we did the twenty minute vertical hold after each feeding, the aggressive burping (it can take Pioneer up to 10 minutes to burp after a breastfeeding), and the belly sleeping. Her fussiness decreased dramatically - we had one two hour spell at night, but the day went swimmingly. I think we missed an evening nap opportunity sometime after five o'clock that triggered the evening fussiness.
Today, we'll try the same set of changes and see how it goes. If we get three good days, I'll consider it a potential solve. On the weight gain front, we'll see if the two are correlated - if reducing the fussiness gives her a chance to sleep and eat and gain some weight.
Cheers!
mouse
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2 comments:
i simply love the engineer duo trying to "fix" a baby. you two are the picture of positive thinking. ;) let us know how the experiment works out. i may have you start machinating on a few issues of my own... xoxoxo
btw, keep an eye on amusing dooce.com; her new daughter is about a month behind yours and is on the bili lights phase...she's just too damned funny when she gets going.
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