Yesterday Kat had her 1 month checkup with the fabulous Dr. Das. She is now 9lbs 11oz, but hasn't gotten any longer... she's just getting wider! LOL Actually she was a bit tall at birth so she's just growing into it now. Her height is 50th percentile, her weight and head circumference are 75th percentile. Our little bit is growing!
He checked her for reflux, and said she definitely has it, but he doesn't want to give any medicines for it now since it's not very severe. Since she's gaining weight, it means she's keeping enough of her food down to thrive. Basically we just need to try to feed her upright and do more frequent smaller feedings until her digestive system matures a bit more. That should happen in a month-ish, or does for most babies!
We talked to the Doctor about her never ever wanting to sleep on her back, and that it sometimes seems to cause her pain. So he took her from us and laid her on her tummy on the examining table. Curious creature that she is she had to lift herself up and start looking all around. He said that she's got great muscle strength and motor function already, and that she would be completely fine to sleep on her tummy. We quizzed him about the monitor idea, and he basically said it would just be for piece of mind, but that they tend to scare new parents more than reassure them due to false alarms. I couldn't believe he gave the all clear for her to tummy sleep! It's so beaten into you as a new mom that you immediately equate tummy sleeping with doom... He reassured us that, yes- it's preferable for babies to sleep on the tummy until they have good neck and upper body control, but that after that they are perfectly fine to tummy sleep if it's more comfortable for them. He said that her getting restful sleep while she's growing and developing and being comfortable and not in pain from reflux is more important right now. He said she's more than strong enough to move herself if she manages to get her face down in the bedding. Basically we just need to make sure she's always on firm surfaces with nothing around her head. That's no problem, we've been SIDS rules nazis so far, so all her sleep areas are firm mattress types with nothing else in them!
Granted, I've watched her nap on her tummy for hours during the day (I would never look away for more than a minute! LOL... but she always slept so well that way) and I've seen her rise from a deep deep sleep, push herself up and turn her head all the way to the other side and fall right back into deep sleep. But still!!!! I was SO nervous last night... but I trusted the doctor and put in in the bassinet next to our bed after I rocked her to sleep on her tummy.... and she slept from 10:30-5:00am peacefully!! Wow!! I fed her quickly, she went back into the bassinet happily and only woke 2 more times to eat before we got out of bed at 9am...
I.... slept... alll.... night..... IN MY OWN BED!! NEXT TO MY HUSBAND!!!! OMGawd!
She's in a better mood this morning than usual, and Tim and I are feeling actually human. I was worried all night, but she makes so many little noises in her sleep that if I woke up worried, all I needed to do was wait a second and I'd hear her sigh or grunt or coo.... and I could go right back to sleep. I may survive motherhood after all! No more upright couch sleeping for me! I will continue to be nervous for a long time yet I'm sure, but the Doctor seems to know what he's talking about! She's a strong, healthy little piglet, and she's so much happier now that she got some good sleep!
Oh- also, she only took 1 oz of formula all night, the rest was breastfed... so another small triumph for me.... granted right now Daddy is feeding her a formula bottle because she's hungry and Momma is all out of the Moo Milk... but we went all night almost completely breastfed! I'm currently taking Fenugreek to boost my supply (which is slowly coming back after being so sick) and it really does seem to be helping!!
So I'm feeling better, got to sleep in a bed, Kat is happy, Tim is happy... and we're going to spend the day playing with Kat, housecleaning a little, and gaming....
Things are looking up!
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3 comments:
Good Job Momma and congrats on the sleep...oh what a precious thing!!!! :)
congratulations! Whoo hoo for sleep! I'm so happy for you that you have such a wonderful doctor, it makes a world of difference.
I'm 100% opposed to the SIDS Back to Sleep Campaign. Ask your pediatrician what the negative effects are such as Plagiocephaly, Torticollis, Social Skills delays, Motor Skills delays, etc. If you do follow the SIDS Back to Sleep campaign and don't give your child lots of Tummy Time, etc. your child could end up with Plagiocephaly and Torticollis. Considering the SIDS Statistics are totally unreliable I personally don't see the point of the SIDS Back to Sleep campaign.
Prior to 1992 over 70% of U.S. babies slept on their stomachs. Now, less than 10% of U.S. babies sleep on their stomachs. Babies that sleep on their stomachs sleep much longer, much deeper, and wake up far less often than babies that sleep on their backs. Therefore, in the good old days saying someone "Slept like a baby" actually meant they had a long and deep sleep in which they didn't wake up often.
But, remember that babies who sleep on their bakcs don't get Slow Wave Sleep (Stage 3 NREM Sleep and Stage 4 NREM sleep combined). Babies that sleep on their stomach get tons of Slow Wave Sleep (SWS). SWS is when all the things you've learned during the day are permanently stored in your brain. Babies who sleep on their backs don't get SWS. SWS is very important to Learning and Development. Also, babies that sleep on their backs have far higher rates of Flat Head Syndrome (Plagiocephaly), Wry Neck (Torticollis), and Sleep Apnea. Make sure you take the proper cautions to prevent these things or check for them.
If you read the Bowman and Hargrove articles on SIDS Statistics you will also find that much of the data people talk about isn't supported by fact because the statistics are unreliable.
Best of Luck!
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