Breastfeeding post, read on if interested!
Before Eden got sick, I had been feeling pretty good about the sleep situation. She was sleeping solidly for 5+ hours straight most nights, would wake up, I'd nurse for 10-20 minutes, then put her down easily and she'd be down for another 2-3 hours. And if she had an off night every now and then, Michael and I would tag team, and we could catch up on sleep on the weekends. It seemed doable, if not ideal.
But then...
1. Eden's cold unfortunately caused her to forget how to sleep, however. Since her cold, it takes us a lot longer to be put to sleep and we're doing all the things that all the sleep books say you shouldn't do - PUTTING her to sleep by rocking, setting her down, then jiggling her in the crib until she is actually asleep. She is waking up every 20 minutes-2 hours and resisting being put back to sleep each time. It is even more difficult because I am sick. And she doesn't sleep well during the day, so she's overtired, which makes her sleepier! She's still too young for real sleep training (and Michael and I agree that her personality probably won't do well with cry methods) but we're trying to follow certain techniques as best we can now that she's better. Everyone seems to agree that routine and consistency is best and unluckily for Eden, she has two of the least routine-oriented parents ever. We're trying, Eden!!!
2. The cold also caused her eating problems. She went on what they call in breastfeeding circles a "nursing strike," meaning she refused to nurse. She would thrash her head and wail every time I tried. She did better with a bottle, though her appetite wasn't awesome during the worst of it. The nursing strike behavior upset me more than I anticipated, and I was really worried she was going to stop nursing altogether (actually the breastfeeding groups etc. tend to well-intentionedly fuel these types of fears from birth - they talk about babies getting bottles at daycare and then not wanting to go back, etc.).
She has seemed to nurse fine as her congestion has subsided, but the stars seemed to really align in a way that made my milk supply take a huge hit:
(a) obviously she nursed much less during that time, lowering my supply. I knew I had to pump to keep up my supply, but I didn't want to not have enough milk when she was hungry just in case she wanted to nurse. It was quite harrowing.
(b) I myself got Eden's sickness, and that lowers your supply
(c) I had my first few days away from her, and pumping doesn't keep up your supply the same way nursing does. I am not pumping enough to match what she's eating at day care each day.
(d) Weightwatchers to some extent.
So what do they say to do to boost your milk supply? Well, in addition to taking certain supplements (I am currently taking fenugreek, lecithin, blessed thistle, brewer's yeast, mother's milk tea, and this disgusting liquid concoction including goat's rue), nurse more often. When is the only time I can really do that? At night! Meanwhile the sleep books say NOT to nurse more at night because then she'll get used to it as a sleep crutch. And forget about the whole cosleeping/nursing thing, I have never been able to sleep and nurse at the same time.
So there you have it - it's a giant question mark that will shadow the next few weeks and possibly months until I either figure it out or go insane. Luckily I have a large stash of frozen milk that (assuming she'll eat it) will last awhile before we have to consider other options. In the meantime, I really hope she's just still getting over her cold and her sleep will get better soon!
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