Wednesday, January 5, 2011

an update from the trenches

First off, let me just report that I have, at long last, had a Major Success today:

I have gotten my child in that damn Moby wrap.

I know they make it look all crunchy-granola easy on the instructions website, but that thing is nearly impossible.  I've tried it twenty times since she was born, and all I got was a screaming baby strapped to my chest for twenty seconds, and a mother who was convinced that she was cutting off all circulation in said baby's legs.  So we switched to a different kind of wrap style, and it may be working.  For the moment.  She's sleeping in it, which gives me TWO WHOLE HANDS to do stuff!  Like write on the blog!  (Not laundry, or dishwasher-emptying, or bed-making.  No.  Nothing like that.  More important stuff.)

My next goal is to master the art of eating cupcakes while baby sleeps in the Moby wrap, but that is doctoral Moby work.  I suspect my child's first solid foods may be the crumbs she inhales while in this thing.  C'est la vie.

Apart from the Mobytrauma, life is good in this house.  I hesitate to write this out loud lest 1.) many readers hate me and 2.) my child then decides to change her mind altogether, but (I'll whisper it to you) she is sleeping through the night.  At eight weeks.  Holy shit, people.  That is all I could ever have asked for as a Christmas gift, and more.  By "sleeping through the night," I mean, "from 11:30pm or so until 5 or 6am," but that is pure gold.  Daytime naps are a bit more hit-and-miss.

On the breastfeeding front, things are improving.  Slowly.  She's gained weight and has been almost entirely off the formula for awhile.  The nipples are still remarkably red, but not nearly as sore.  However, we seem to have begun the Era of Boob Wrestling, in which baby latches onto boob as if it will save her life, and then moves her head around like a freaking bobblehead doll while eating.  Not so great.  Weight gain tells us she's getting enough milk, so I don't think it's that, but dude: that hurts.  If you have tips on this one, I'd love to hear them.

We survived the No Good Very Bad Baby's First Vaccination Day on Monday (although I did learn that I will definitely need to take those days off work, as it leads to Epic Fussiness).  No fun for mama or baby.  But the nurse was as quick as possible, I nursed her right afterward, and we made it.

Christmas with baby?  Great.  Traveling a should-have-been-four-hours-but-reckless-stupid-trucker-who-can't-drive-in-snow-induced-six-hour-drive?  Not so great.  You know how you have these visions of How Things Will Be When I Have a Baby?  Visions which are usually intensified by years of infertility?  My Christmas vision: sitting in church with my child, singing "Silent Night" by candlelight, giving thanks for the Best Gift Ever.   My Christmas reality: running out of church with screaming child who needs to nurse, breastfeeding through most of the hymns I love, and then child being held by Grandma while I sang "Silent Night," thinking, "huh.  This is not quite what I pictured."  But it was good nonetheless.

I have some more posts running through my head, but I may be pushing our Mobytime a bit.  Excuse me while I go pick cupcake crumbs off my kid's head.  Hopefully I'll be back sooner next time.

9 comments:

  1. I'm glad to hear that things are going well with the sleeping and better with the feeding. I think you'll find that the vaccinations get easier for all involved as the babe gets older....I remember the Chicklette being uber-fussy after the first round, but the subsequent ones have been much better. I now drop her off at daycare afterwards with not one ounch of guilt.

    Glad to had a nice, if not exactly what you imagined, holiday.

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  2. The Moby and I had a rather love-hate relationship and now Paisley just doesn't have any part of it. I LOVE how you describe the Era of Boob Wrestling. I don't, however, have any wonderful advice to offer since my little gal still does it sometimes.

    Lastly, congrats on the sleeping through the night!!! That is an amazing feat at 8 weeks. We're still trying to get there at 4 months. :)

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  3. I so envy you for the sleep thing. My son slept only once for 5 hs, and I am happy now if I get 3hs stretches. 4mo sleep regression and waking up every hour can do that to some. I hope you don't ever have to deal with that.

    About nursing the bobblehead: I found it helps if I pick a very quiet place, with dim lights if possible and not much sound. If I nurse in public, now that he is almost 5 mo and notices a whole lot more, he wants to see everything and jerks his head around while clamping the gums on the nipple - fun, fun, fun. I have a bit of overproduction, and this is an entire other fish to fry. Under these conditions, the best place for us is lying down in bed, milk comes in less forceful, the head has less place to jerk and it is more relaxing for both of us. Hope it helps.

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  4. LMAO - funny post.
    No advice on the BF since my two refuse to do it. Don't that make a girl feel special.

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  5. I have to say your posts on pumping and the Moby just made my day. I'm a new mom to 4 week old twins, and I can definitely relate. I've had many moments (and spilling episodes) with pumping at the wrong time, including through Christmas package deliveries! Still working on the Moby as well. Thanks for the wonderful posts...I'll be sure to keep checking in!

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  6. How did you get the Moby to work? I have had the same fears and problems with it too!
    That breast feeding thing - we call it fighting the boob - is funny and a total surprise. Sometimes I shush while feeding, sometimes take a break and burp her, sometimes switch boobs. Usually one of those calms her down! Nice post!

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  7. Congrats on finallyg etting that Mobywrap degree! :) I didn't even put one on my registry, I KNOW it's hopeless. (and by that, I mean I'M hopeless) I'm so glad the holidays were good for y'all, even if they weren't exactly what you pictured. And WOW - all thru the night at 8 weeks?!? I wann be just like you! ;)

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  8. I prefer the Sleepi, but also have a Moby. Once you've got the right position you can do almost anything with a baby in the Moby, but I don't recommend unloading the dishwasher -- the top rack is fine, but the bottom rack involves either precarious bending or strenuous squatting. Taking clothes out of a top-loading washer is also out. Otherwise it's your ticket to freedom, unless you have a Moby refuser like one of my twins was!

    Good luck with the BF. No advice to offer since we never mastered it ourselves.

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  9. That's all great news! Glad you are figuring things out with the moby and the breastfeeding. Every "fun" stage we've gone through with nursing has not lasted too long until now that she's 7 months old.... hopefully the bobblehead will cease shortly. I don't recall my girl ever doing that particular fun.

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