The past few days have been frustrating. My mom and my mother-in-law say we aren’t going through anything that any other first-time parents don’t do through…but, it’s different when it happens to you! That’s all. That’s my sleep-deprived revelation.
I was able to find a lactation consultant who came to our apartment on Monday and said that Squeaker looked like a very happy baby, very social, just not particularly interested in eating. (Really? This is my daughter? Food is my life.) When she finally got down to business, she put on a good show. The consultant confirmed what I had feared: this was not just Squeaker’s eccentric personality, that something (likely reflux) was hurting her. That and she’s only been gaining five grams a day when she should be gaining around 22.
Concerned, we took her to the doctor again yesterday. This doctor was better (more thorough in her explanations) than the other two, but her bedside manner was lacking. I would think that if one goes into the pediatric profession, one would like children, but apparently that is not a requirement.
Actually, the only pediatrician I have liked so far is the one who saw us while I was still in the hospital. The other five (yes, five) seemed like they learned medicine from a children’s movie–circle of life, spoonful of sugar, and all that.
Squeaker’s about half a kilo (roughly a pound) underweight, and I’m still not sure what equation the doctor used to figure that out. We left with medications for her reflux and a pill to increase my milk supply. I later found out that that particular pill was an antipsychotic used in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and, oh yeh, Chile, to increase milk production. Because we all like our milk with a side of sanity.
Seriously, though. I’m not sure if it’s cultural or if this happens everywhere, but I have never (in my short three months as a mother) had so many people accuse me of being the problem. Baby cries before latching? Must be traumatized by lack of milk or some crap. Is it just easier to point the finger at the mother than try to get the answer from an infant who cannot spontaneously learn to talk?
Based on the advice of some friends, and because I’m kind of a hippie, I decided to try and give up gluten and milk products and see if that helps calm her down some, too. So, now I’m dealing with a colicky baby and I’m hungry to boot. I’m so much fun these days, y’all!
What I look like after only five hours of sleep and a restricted diet when a very crabby Squeaker falls asleep unexpectedly in her baby carrier. It’s a cross between joy and bewilderment.
And that’s about as much as I can coherently…
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Oh dear. I think getting rid of gluten and dairy is probably a good idea, if not hard! I think way more people are sensitive to gluten then we can imagine.
Anyway of skyping the pediatrician that you liked in the hospital?
sweet potatoes, brown rice, oatmeal, beans, and all the corn tortillas (are tortillas part of the Chilean cuisine?) you can inhale will help fill you up. Some babies respond better to goat’s milk than either breast milk or formula. Try adding or taking one thing away at a time so that you can see the results. When your subject can’t talk, observation combined with trial and error are your only means.
My mom had a terrible first 6mths with me. I think it started because the nurses told her she had to feed me at certain times. I was really hungry, ate way to fast, then threw up, then was really hungry again for the next feed…it just went on and on. They put me in hospital one weekend, but to give my mom a rest. My mom was young, and worse, had no family around her, she had just left the UK with my dad to start a new life in Canada. Now when she thinks back she says maybe it was the cows milk, she was drinking ALOT of that.
It might be something you are eating, but don’t let people make you feel it is your fault. (I know, hard not to feel guilty, we are supposed to be perfect mothers.) Try eliminating one food at a time, or is it better to have really boring, plain diet for a few days then bring in the rest of the foods?
When I was young I was tested for allergies for my migraines, so didn’t eat certain foods whiles growing up. When I was 20 I went to a chiropractor who told me basically our bodies need a bit of everything and the body needs to learn to cope with all the different foods, and when the body was aligned things work properly. So I went back to eating everything. And I was okay. Still suffered from migraines, but not my grass allergy.
Now I am back to cutting out foods. All alcohol, coffee most of the time, and MSG when it doesn’t sneak in, (which includes natural glutamate in mushrooms, tomato sauces, and parmasan cheese). I still suffer from migraines, (because food isn’t the only trigger) but not as bad as before.
So what is the point of this? I really, really don’t like having to be so worried about everything I eat. I wish I could go to a restaurant and order anything on the menu. I have friends in the US whose young children have all sorts of allergies, and serous ones. I don’t know how it started or why.
I guess what I am trying to say, is if squeaker has an allergy you have to know about it, but try to allow her body to be strong against everything she encounters. It is no fun being an adult with diet restrictions, worse with kids.
Sorry I went on a bit, but I think living in Chile it is even harder to live with food allergies. After my daughters operation she became lactose intolerant for a few months and it was really hard for people around her, (family, friends, school) to understand.
Hope it gets better.
I’ve only just caught up with three months worth of your posts, hun. First of all, a belated Congrats on your gorgeous one. Seriously I’ve seen more pics on FB and you and your hubbie sure do know how to create a beauty!
Second of all – I’m sorry you’ve had problems with feeding. And, even though I’m not a mother, the best piece of advice I can give you is to always trust your instinct and don’t let doctors bring you down if you *know* something’s wrong. I had Pyloric Stenosis when I was a baby (a tumor growth over the stomach) and when my mother took me to the doctor, they were all laughing at her saying it was just “First time mother worries”. She put her foot down though and insisted something was wrong – Thank Christ!
**hugs** Sending you guys love. xx