Troubleshooting/Gas Update

There are millions of baby books out there suggesting ideas on how to transform demon spawn babies into angels. While some of the ideas are legit, I'm convinced that others were written so that authors can laugh knowing that somewhere a desperate mom is trying one of them.

Think I'm kidding? I wish.

Today, I almost hyperventilated (not really), but I could have! Whispering "shh shh shhh" for 7-10 minutes is ridiculous. I understand that the concept is due to the nature of a baby's sleep cycle, but come on! In the ten minutes I stood in Avery's room all I thought of was how I could skip this step in the future...I imagined recording myself, uploading it to my ipod, and pressing play once Avery's eyes closed.

As if that concept wasn't difficult enough, Meg told me that I was supposed to pat Avery's back in a tick-tock pattern while "shh shh shh-ing." Oh, ok!

I asked Meg..."So, just to clarify I am supposed to pat her back while she was lying on it?" I figured it would be easy to roll the little burrito over (just a little bit) and pat her back. Not so much!

We can't forget "wake to sleep." The idea is to help babies transition into a deep sleep by bringing them back to REM so that they don't awaken with a quick jolt (Avery is notorious for this!)

Again, I figured it would be a piece of cake. I went in and gently touched Avery's hair and whispered her name. I saw her hand flinch and she started sucking her pacifier, so I thought I did well.

I must've missed the part where I was supposed to disappear into thin air because Avery's eyes opened and she just stared at me. I went into damage control and started "shh shh shh-ing." That was, until I heard the sound of poop. TALK ABOUT A DISASTER!

So, yea. I'm convinced that babies should come equipped with a manual and a reset button. The title of the manual should read, "First and only child."

Update on the gas situation:

Last night I went to the store to purchase the Ready made Gentlease formula (I read online that it helped a woman who had a daughter suffering from the same symptoms as Avery). It worked for the first couple bottles. Avery was burping loud, clear burps and hardly spit up. BUT this morning Avery refused to drink the bottle because it was too cold (she's used to room temperature water).

Avery still hadn't pooped when she woke up, so we put a call into the Doctor on call. By the time the doctor called back (several hours later) Avery had pooped. Still, Meg talked briefly to her about our concerns. She seemed to think that Avery's problems could still stem from the rotavirus vaccine. She said to imagine when you are sick for a few days and are running to the bathroom constantly...when you finally feel better, you might not be able to go for a few days. Made sense. Regarding the coughing and spit up, she said that it could be reflux, but unless it's severe they probably wouldn't do anything about it. She also said that we could switch formulas several times only to have her outgrow it by the time we find one that works (if she even has reflux)

I purchased an Avent bottle this afternoon. The flow seems a little fast (Avery used to take 25-30 minutes and this is only taking about 15 minutes) BUT Avery's been burping and hardly spitting up. Even better, she's pooped after both feedings (could be a coincidence but I'll take it!)

We're going to keep an eye on everything and schedule a doctor's appointment for later in the week. We're also going to try and keep Avery home for the week so that she can readjust and focus on getting back to healthy sleep habits! (the gas issue seemed under control today, but Avery's naps were all thrown off)

The only other suggestion I found interesting was regarding water bottles. We use a Brita, but apparently our tap water contains iron. Add that to the iron that is already in formula and it's no wonder why babies have tummyaches! (I don't know if the Brita removes iron or not. I'd have to do some research).

I'll keep you posted...