- The babies that were colicky in the first few months had more night wakings post-colic than other babies. He definitely fit the colicky infant, so I'm positive he fits this category.
- Babies with allergies or nose breathing problems woke more than other babies. From day one he has been a major sneezer. He often woke himself up sneezing. Most people told me it couldn't be allergies, but he hasn't grown out of it really. His nose often seems stuffed as well. So, while I'm not positive he fits this category, it's very possible.
- Babies with excema scratch themselves more during light sleep and even REM sleep. They can awake themselves because of the itchy/scratchiness. I'm not positive what he has is excema, but it runs in Matt's family. Before I started using Cortaid on his forehead, he would wake up with big scratches all over that side of his face. Just as with #2, I'm not positive, but it's possible.
Additionally, I have come to terms with the fact that I may just have to cut some things out of my diet. I hoped he'd just get used to my diet eventually, but I am to the point of giving in. Too much spit up. And unfortunately his tummy hates some of my most favorite foods. Here's his NO list:
- Broccoli--probably our most eaten veggie
- Beans (NOOOOO!!! How can I give this up?!)
- Cabbage--love
- Peppers--give or take
- Onions--I use these in soooo many things
- Most green veggies--I mean, really?!
- Chocolate--I don't eat it much anyway
- Extra spicy foods--I'm from AZ! (Jess, that was for you. ;o)
8 comments:
Okay, as you know, this whole food thing is a part of my past and future. The one thing that MOST people find is that babies do outgrow it, usually between 4 and 6 months but not always. One of my sister's had the most sensitive tummy and she nursed almost exclusively (with my mom on the super restricted diet) until she was nearly 18 months old! That's parental dedication, if you ask me. However, whenever she ate solids or formula, or mom ate something "bad" the result was so unhappy that you really couldn't bear to watch. I was old enough to remember this baby's first year and it was bad news.
Anyway, good luck figuring everything out. Little Dean sure sound like he's got a lot of negatives in the sleep-through-the-night department... and I'm sure it's none to easy on you either!
Thanks!!
Oh man, that's rough!
Do you think he's getting enough to eat? Anna was atypical in the beginning and wouldn't stay awake to eat so we had to give her a bottle. She went through a phase where she wouldn't sleep unless she had an ounce of formula after nursing. It filled her little tummy up so she would then sleep peacefully...for at least a four to six hour stretch.
If you feel comfortable with it, maybe you could try giving him a little formula to see if it helps. He most likely wouldn't need more than an ounce or two.
It sounds like Dean's sensitive to foods that a lot of babies are. I know some lactation specialists that suggest cutting out all of the cabbage/broccoli family while nursing because so many infants have problems with them.
We love broccoli at our house, too, but it goes out the window when I'm nursing. I had to give up peanuts and dairy products too (because of extreme food sensitivities) and I wish I had given up beans. The plus to this? I lost weight like crazy even though I felt like I was eating all the time!
We have also had very eczema-y babies. Aquaphor (by the same people that do Eucerin) was a revelation to us. When we put it on regularly right before bedtime, their skin is almost better by morning.
Also, I know you mentioned his cradle cap problems and using Selsun Blue on it - that's pretty strong medicine for baby skin - it's very possible that it could be irritating more than helping and causing more excema. You've probably already read up on gentler ways of dealing with cradle cap, but what worked for us best was combing gently before and after daily baths, and massaging the baby shampoo into the scalp for a minute.
Hope this advice from a mom that's been there might help you a bit! =)
Amyjane- good luck with your new little one. Hopefully she won't be as sensitive as your son.
jess-I LOVE YOU!!!
Erin-I would be very, very surprised if he wasn't getting enough to eat. Plus, Dr. Weissbluth said night wakings aren't linked to hunger and that solid foods don't make them sleep longer. I know, I know...there's a lot of anecdotal info. that suggests otherwise, so I can't completely rule it out. But I would be very surprised if he isn't getting enough to eat.
Sposita, thanks so much for the comment! I will totally try the auquafor.
When he wakes up he cries anywhere from 1 min to 20 min. It's not as bad as I make it out to be. I may just be a new mom making something of nothing. Looking for answers for common/normal occurrences. I'm not SUPER worried about any of these things, just wondering and trying to educate myself a little better.
oh, my heart goes out to you. greens, dairy products, and beans were SO MUCH of a problem with 3 of my babies that I gave them all up. I just found things that didn't affect them as much, and stuck with those few routine meals until they outgrew the spitting up (9 months for 2 babies, 13 months for my worst). one of my babies used to cry BEFORE she nursed if I ate too much pepper (a lactation specialist claimed my baby could smell the pepper in my milk). that convinced me to give up spicy foods. but the other thing that i found that really hurt my babies' tummies was VITAMINS! ugh. especially prenatal vitamins that were high in iron.
have you tried the food diary? if it really helps with fussing/ spitting up/ sleeping through the night, I'll bet that you'll think it's worth it to skip a few of your favorite foods for a few months. but try one food at a time. one of my friends had a baby who ONLY spit up because of dairy products, but she had to cut out every tiny bit of dairy products for it to work (read the labels etc.). but her baby was so fussy before she cut them out that it was worth it to her.
mom will love me to tell you that even on my worst baby, i could have vanilla isagenix shakes. i lived off of them for about 6 months.
the bad news, i always have a mouthful of cavities after nursing my babies. i swear it is because of the lack of calcium from no dairy products/ vitamins.
good luck.
BTW, in my experience, the worst "spitters" are also the ones who spit up the longest. normal babies who have normal spit up patterns outgrow it by about 4 months, but the really bad ones usually have it about a year or so. so not fair!
i just read the part again about your diest and thought i would give a few things that have been fine with all babies:
chicken, most other meat
tortillas (and bread was ok for most)
avacado
olives
most fruit (except with extreme spitters)
most non-chocolate, non-dairy desserts
Also, another big one for me that caused fussiness was nuts.
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