Friday, November 6, 2009

Hopeful Relief

So the last two weeks have been pretty much miserable for me, for all of us. Leon has been getting up 3, 4, 5 or even 6 times a night. He refuses to go back to bed unless I feed him. Nothing else will work. We can't hold him or rock him or bounce him back to sleep - he has to eat or he is unconsolable. It is like having a newborn again. And most days he has been a lot less happy than normal. Oh, and he won't take his pacifier! GRRRR...

We tried letting him cry it out. He cried for almost two hours. I hated every moment of it, but I was desperate. After a couple of nights of this I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. I called the doctor, spoke to the nurse, and scheduled an appointment. Yesterday we went in. I found out that he has a ton of fluid in his ears (Doc said it probably caused by the snotty noise he's had for the last 3-4 weeks) and he has gained LESS than 1 pound in three months (14 lbs 7 oz @ 6 months and 15 lb 6 oz @ 9 months). No wonder he wants to eat, right? The poor kid is starving! I don't know what is up with that...maybe my milk supply is diminishing? Anyway, the doc gave us a prescription for an antibotic. We also decided that for my piece of mind and relief to wean him onto formula. We have a checkup in three weeks to check how everything is going. Man, I hope all this works. I'm so exhausted and I have so much to do (so many photos to edit, my house is pretty gross, we're getting ready to work on the kitchen). Getting some sleep and getting Leon to sleep has become an obsession I'm so tired of.

I wanted to breastfeed until Leon was 1, but to be honest I am relieved. I'm hanging on my a thread and really could use a break. I love being a mommy, but it really can be hard at moments. At first, I felt like the world's worst mom for wanting to stop but the Doc made sure to let me know that it is okay and I shouldn't feel quilty about it at all. I needed to hear that.

I tried giving Leon formula yesterday. Of course he didn't like it. I've read it takes time for them to acquire a taste for it. And it takes time to wean the right way. I'm trying to be patient. Wish me luck. Heck, pray...I am.

Kyle's also been studing like a mad man for his actuary exam coming up on Monday. I'm sooooooooo beyond ready to have my husband back.

4 comments:

Christina Allen said...

One of the things that helped Lily get used to the taste of formula was mixing a bit in with her solid food- applesauce, oatmeal, whatever. She got to where she liked it enough to take it in a bottle within about a week.

candy's clothes closet said...

Oh Kelly... I'm sorry things have been so tough lately. I promise things will get better! You will get to sleep through the night someday! I remember thinking I would never get a good night of sleep ever again. Look at me now...I put the girls on the bus and go back to bed. Your time is coming. Sending you prayers and hugs! love ya

Kris said...

I think at about 9 months my milk starts to dry up too b/c with all three kids at 9 months they stopped gaining as much weight as before. I weaned Tyler at 9 months and started giving Harrison added formula along with nursing to help boost his weight up. You might try mixing half formula with half breast milk and slowly moving to all formula. Too bad it took 3 kids to figure that out! ha! Maybe with the next one I'll have a heads up and nip it in the bud before they start going hay-wire with wanting a bunch of tests to see if something is wrong with him (or her)! Good luck! And I know how you feel not having your hubby around!

Michelle said...

Hey Kelly! I just found your blog. I feel like I haven't talked to you in forever--since I'm never in the mother's lounge anymore! :) I'm sorry things have been so rough! I hope you're doing a little better now... Matthew did that not gaining weight thing too--you may remember my panic about it. But he's fine now. :) I mixed formula with his cereal to give him extra calories. And (don't tell!) I started him on cow's milk at about 10 1/2 months. He liked it much better than formula, I don't know why. Good luck!