Friday, February 20, 2009

Just when I think I have him figured out...

I love Fridays!! It means that Gage and I will be seeing more of Daddy AND I will get a little more sleep as he helps out with middle-of-the-night feedings! And there is always the possibility of eating out which I love. 8-) It has been very interesting how our little guy changes from day to day. Not just in his looks or size but in his temperament as well. Just when I think I have him figured out he does something different! Eating and sleeping and crying are the latest changing behaviors. I guess that makes sense because he doesn't do much else right now! 8-) Lately he has been hungry every 1 1/2-2 hours rather than 3 so I am wondering if he is going through a growth spurt. He has also been doing his funny breathing/squeaking noises as he is downing his bottle again. It used to not bother him and he would seem to get through it okay, but now I am not sure if he is not getting enough air and if that scares him, because he is starting to cry and not wanting to finish his bottle! I notice that when he calms down and drinks slowly it doesn't happen, but I don't know how to encourage that behavior! (As I am writing this it looks like there might be a correlation between him not finishing his bottles and shorter intervals between them!) It is so hard to watch your baby struggle and not know how to help him...

On a very positive note, Gage has been sleeping in his bassinet for naps for the past 2 days! And not just catnaps but 1 -2 hour naps! He used to wake up as soon as I laid him in it during the day. As I am constantly trying out different things to find what works, I have found that opening the bedroom blinds during the day (I know it sounds crazy when you are encouraging sleep!) and turning on the humidifier seem to do the trick! Also, Gage slept 5 hours straight last night! The first chunk of sleep after his last bottle of the night is always his longest. It has been creeping up from 3 to now 5! We will hope that this continues and soon will be 8.?!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you feed exclusively by bottle or do you breastfeed as well? Many bottles come with fast flow narrow nipples that often cause milk to come out too fast expecially if they are still very young or they are used to breastfeeding where milk comes out slower. You should try a wide mouth nipple ... Advent, The First Years have wide mouth nipples and Playtex carries a wider nipple as well. The milk won't come out as fast which won't be as overwhelming and for many babies it is more relaxing since babies like sucking and don't want the feeding to be over so fast. Worth a try if you aren't using one already. You should be proud of all your hard work!

Jenny said...

Yay for longer stretches of sleep! Hope it continues for you! :)