So here it is, Lately I have been finding myself more and more saying "she's not normally like this, and I have been wanting to pull my hair out trying to figure out how I can comfort my baby girl, because at times it's as if there is no right answer and she's all Leave me the Heck alone Ma....
Jada is four weeks old today and this past week she has been fussier than normal, wanting to eat off of her schedule so much so that I forgot what her schedule was and stopped keeping track of the times I would feed her and just gave it too her when I saw her rooting for it... When we first brought her home her fussy time was from 10 to 2 AM, then it changed from 9 to midnight, and we are still at the 9 to midnight time for the most part but this past week its seems to be starting around 630, or 7:00.
So I decided it was time for me to pay better attention because I needed to come up with some sort of conclusion, try something new, then if it doesn't work well we will toss it out the window. ( not my baby girl, the Idea)
the symptoms I have been seeing frequently this past week has been a slow down in the poopy diaper depO.... only one poopy diaper a day, now when she makes it is a pretty explosive one but its as if she works all day at getting that one poopy to come out. she was having any where from 3 to 5 good poopy diapers. Now during the day she will grunt and make animal noises and I can see her face getting red, and she will fuss and has gas that accompanies this, but no poop... then typically really early in the morning around 6 am it will make its way out. also there are times during the day and evening when nothing seems to calm her down, and she has started to get some baby bumps on her face, just a little ( which I know is normal) but she hasn't had any till recently.
also new, this past week she has been spitting up, the fist three weeks she never did this, I know babies spit up, but this is new for her, yesterday specifically she spit up after just about every feeding. so after putting things together, I figure maybe it is what I am eating, and well looking at my food journal .....FRIGIN CHEESE is the number one culprit. every morning before my hubby goes to work he makes us a breakfast smoothie with a bunch of yummy good stuff like fruit flax meal, wheat germ and well Yogurt, then for lunch I typically have fresh cold veggies maybe and apple and a Cheese and avocado sandwich or cheese and olive sandwich, or if I don't have a sandwich sometimes I have almonds fruit, veggies, and a CHESE STICK... So you see, some how cheese is always making its was on my plate... I don't drink cow's milk, we drink SILK soy-milk,
So my idea, well I am going to eliminate Dairy from my diet and see if we have some change.
It can take anywhere from 2 - 3 weeks for milk protein to leave your body ( says some internet website) so I am will be giving this a whirl for the next 35 days. thats 5 weeks, an hopefully we see some improvement, because seriously there is nothing worse than hearing your baby scream crying and you are holding her in your arms singing to her and rocking her, and patting her on her back and nothing seems to work, it's like sticking a knife in a mommas chest and saying you have no idea what you are doing.
so this is where I am going to start. if any of you mommies have other suggestions please feel free to mention them.
8 comments:
I'm sorry, I know fussy babies can be really frustrating :( Good thing you were keeping a food diary, because I think that is a great place to start as you try to figure out what's causing Jada so much stress. As you were doing research, did you read anything about certain vegetables? I have heard some moms say that things like dark green vegetables (broccoli, for example) can cause gas problems in their babies. I'm not positive, but I know you eat a lot of veggies and maybe some are reacting negatively w/ her? Something to check out, maybe? Anyway, I'm sorry, I hope the diary thing helps! Good thing you bought The Kind Diet book! :)
Oh, also - I don't think I've told you this, but on the Baby Whisperer website there are message boards where you can search for certain topics and read what other moms have to say. I've found it to be really helpful at times.
She sounds just like Carter. He pooped more frequently at first, but is down to 1 poopie diaper a day. It doesn't worry me if he poops only once a day, as long as its not too hard. He's battled with constipation since he was about 4 weeks old. He also started spitting up at about 3 or 4 weeks and became extremely fussy. After trying every formula under the sun and consulting with the doctor, I've just determined he will spit up and as long as he's growing, I'm just going to deal with it. Also to deal with the fussiness, I swaddle him frequently, because it seems to be the only thing that helps. You may also try some Gripe Water. It's all natural and I give it to Carter several times a day to help with the gas and it seems to help him poop as well. The doctor also recommended a teaspoon of Dark Karo syrup in 4 ounces of water to help with the pooping. The water is really what helps them poop and be less fussy. I hope some of that will help you. I know what it's like to have a fussy baby and it's very stressful. Good luck to you! P.S. Kaley is right, certain veggies upset the baby's tummy. Broccoli and Onions being the worst.
Sorry to hear that dairy is causing Jada some tummy troubles. I had to give up dairy while breastfeeding. Also, babies that have problems with dairy a lot of times have difficulties with soy. Just a heads up because I know you drink soy milk. And I also agree with the veggie comment. Basically anything that would cause you to be gassy can do the same thing to her. Hope all this helps and Jada is back to herself in no time :)
Max was an extremely fussy baby...I know how you feel. He actually has colic though, and he was also fussy from the 8ish-12ish time at night. We tried EVERYTHING...he was on a million different formulas even, and the doctor finally just admitted it was colic. There were nights I would just sit there and cry with him because I'd feel so helpless. He also spit up A LOT...he though he had acid reflux, but it turns out he didn't. I think spitting up is just another common symptom of colic. The colic calmed down when he was around 3 months old, just like everyone told us it would. Then he turned into the happiest baby ever....and now we're in the terrible two's stage already :) Anyway, it WILL get better and I KNOW how frustrating it is. Let me know if you have any questions - you have my support mama!
thanks Ladies for all the ideas... and support! I will def look into some of the suggestions, and you are all right about the broccoli, I have been avoiding that as the pediatrician recommended that to me when jada was fist born. also Allison, thanks for the Soy tip, my doula also read my blog yesterday and recommended I switch to Almond milk( which taste super yummy) and I did some more reading and found that out to be true, that soy can cause gas. so thanks again mommies!
Fussy babies are no fun, not only does it make things much more stressful, but isn't it the worst thing in the world to see your little one in all the pain!!?? Giyana was a "gassy" baby as well...She would have explosive diapers and would grunt and sometimes cry and cry! Our doctor told me that some babies are just fussy and even though they don't start out that way that its something they can develop after the first month. The reason I tell you this is because I really thought about changing my diet, my doctor told me that it would be very hard to figure out what one thing was making her gassy and that food allergies are actually pretty uncommon. This may be different then what your doctor said, ANYWAYs to my point, Giyana eventually got better and the gas slowly went away. Even if you try to take out milk, which I think is very selfless of you as a mommy (so good job!) :) the gas may still be there, and sometimes babies are JUST that way, so try not to feel discouraged!! And good luck! I didn't read all of your other comments but while you are trying to figure it all out, Giyana loved it when I put her over my knee and kinda like swayed back and forth, with pressure over her lower tummy. I hope some of this helps!! No matter what it WILL get easier!!!
We went through this with Elijah, too. It could also just be a phase she's going through, that regardless of how carefully you eat she's going to just spit it back up. When E started this phase it was when he wanted to nurse CONSTANTLY, I swear, it was pointless to even bother putting a shirt on for a couple weeks (I did, but it felt pointless!), so he was actually getting more down than he could handle. He'd overfill himself then spit up!
As long as she's still pooping at least once a day (though some newbies may skip a day and make an extra special present for mom and dad the next), and you're getting plenty of wet diapers out of her, I wouldn't give her water or anything because their tiny little bodies can't process huge quantities by themselves yet and it can cause a dangerous electrolyte imbalance. Also have to be careful with gripe water since the main ingredient is essentially baking soda... :-).
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