Friday, August 04, 2006

Me & Liam

For the time being I think I will stick it out with nursing Liam until he is at least a year old. I didn't get bitten today, just smacked around a little. But I guess I can handle smacking and squirming for a bit longer if this truly is my only baby.

I really appreciated all the advice and encouragement I got in my comments in the previous post. I got some perspective I didn't have last night.

And let me tell you, last night was a rough one. Liam had more than one soy formula bottle yesterday and I fear his tummy is intolerant of anything other than breast milk. Literally. No solids or formula for a bit longer... He was up for about 3 hours last night... midnight to 3am. It was a lovely morning (scratch my eyeballs out lovely)... I am glad he finally went back to sleep so we could sleep... I am just so tired (9-months-of-no-good-sleep-dog-tired and kinda ill over it)... I felt like that first month of his life where I am so desparate for sleep that putting my baby on ebay sounds like a tempting idea. Sounds bad, but I know enough moms have felt this way, that I don't feel guilty saying it. We moms all feel desperate now and then.

Anyway, I hope I can keep up with his need... I think I might be getting slapped by my child because the flow isn't fast enough and or just plain isn't enough. Even on days where Liam has no soy formula or solid foods, he is up to eat multiple times a night. Obviously my milk ain't stickin' to his ribs. What's a mom to do but feed the need?

Photo taken 7/28/06 (scroll down to see the photo of that cute little tooth of his in my previous post)

18 comments:

Kim's Life said...

I can understand. Many times Ebay was looking pretty good for me. There really is no set rule for children. They are all different. You just do what you feel is right for both of you. :)

Katie said...

I'm glad you've come to a decision you're comfortable with. What does his pediatrician say about his sensitive stomach? It seems like he might sleep longer if he was able to keep some solid food down. Poor guy. Poor Mama, too.

Juliet said...

Hang in there! You know that you are doing the very best thing for Liam.

Anonymous said...

I tried, eBay doesn't have a category for any of the following:

colicky babies

babies who bite mommies during feeding

babies that "pretend" cry

teenages that threaten to kill their parents

eBay is overrated.

Millie said...

Gina, you are so pretty! Wow!

I'm sorry to hear he won't tolerate anything but breast milk... that certainly makes life more "interesting," doesn't it? Hopefully that will change soon!

So you're thinking of Liam being your one and only?

Gabriela said...

I'm with the play-doh picker-you are so pretty! What a cute picture.

My three kids refused to take a bottle-EVER so I felt like I could never leave. But, they are babies for such a short period and then it will be over. It won't last forever. :)

Ashley said...

we'll support each other through these last 3 months of nursing! bruised, pinched, battered and bit moms united :) as for the selling on ebay thing--i totally understand! i wouldn't give anything in the world for my child but the 3rd time she woke up last night, i couldn't go in her room b/c i was afraid i'd be mean. not beat her or anything but not be sweet and kind and caring (i.e. "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GO TO SLEEP!!!!).

we had a REALLY bad night last night (friday). not that it really makes you feel any better to hear about other people's screaming kids but little bit screamed forEVER last night. she doesn't nurse at night anymore (not since about 7 months old) so i know she's not hungry--she just wants comfort. as soon as i go in there she stops crying and lays her head on my chest. and then when i try and lay her back down--screaming bloody murder. once i got her settled i couldn't sleep so i finally got up at 3:30am and just went to work (and of course she slept the rest of the night for her daddy). i think something has scared her b/c she screamed when i tried to put her down for her nap a little bit ago too and that's VERY unusual. i'm going to try some lullabies next time. another perk to formula--some friends have said it will make them sleep through the night b/c it takes longer to digest. but i also heard that about solid foods and here we are 3 months later and still not rested. *sigh*

What's so funny? said...

He's so cute now! You look reasonably rested. Or maybe I need to know what undereye makeup you use to cover the bags. I have pink, blue, purple, all kinds of shades under MY eyes from sleeplessness...
I read back a post and hope that before you cut your pretty, long locks you find a GREAT pic and find an even better hairdresser first! I had long hair pre-baby and went very short and I love it.

Gina said...

Good advice, Sharon... now to find the photo of the dream hair...

This photo is of us on "vacation" last week. I didn't get that much added rest, but the humidity did much for my skin and "glow". I highly recommend humid climates for radiant skin... now back to Utah... blah.

Stephanie Appleton said...

My third one was a biter, and I just want to encourage you that they can learn to stop. As for hitting you maybe if you give him something soft to hold that would help!:)

All of my kids (four)started sleeping through the night at different ages. I can't figure any rhyme or reason to go with starting solids. I did find with two of them letting them fuss some worked. I think they were just restless sleepers and me getting up everytime they fussed was only making it worse. With those two I would only get up if they were trully howling. I had to turn the monitor off for the one. (her bedroom was right beside mine)

But as was said before every child is different and you have to trust yourself to know what is best!

Sorry for the long first time comment.
I came here from 5 minutes for mom

Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...

Gray was a biter a few months ago and once his teeth were in he just stopped! (BUT while he was doing it, I saw no end in sight!) I know how you feel- about the biting, being tired, etc. YOU ARE RIGHT. MOST moms feel desperate more often than not!

Tori :) said...

Cute pic!! Those little teeth DO hurt! Liv cut her 1st 2 teeth in the last couple of week and her biting my finger hurts. I can't imagine her biting my boob... Good luck!

Susan (5 Minutes For Mom) said...

I too agree... you are so pretty and I love your hair. I have straight hair and it's so hard to imagine those with curly hair wanting to straighten it. But I know you'll look great either way.

That is tough that Liam is having a hard time with solids. Mommy life is tough and when you have something extra like that to contend with, it can definitely make you desperate.

But, I can relate to being mauled during nursing. I am still nursing my 15 month little girl, and I plan to continue for a few more months. For me, I can hardly bear the thought of weaning her because I think it's going to be difficult and sad for us both.

Sometimes I laugh at how much she bashes around my opposite breast during nursing. She thinks it's her play toy. Ouch. She has bitten me a few times and even laughed about it... but luckily it's not very often that she purposely chomps down.

She also still wakes during the night for feedings, and I think it's because the breast milk digests so quickly. She's a cosleeper though, so that makes the night feedings really easy. I can't imagine getting her up and nursing and then putting her back down... that is much more exhausting.

Hang in there. It goes so fast...

Talk soon,
Susan

Glass Half Full said...

Cute photo!!!

Take your time with Liam -- life is too short anyway!

Mall Worker said...

I'm glad that you made a decison that happy with!

Angel Baby said...

warning- long comment!

That is a great photo of you two- I didn't realize how much he really looks like you! (And you are so beautiful!)

I really believe we have similar experiences with breastfeeding. Annabelle refused almost all solids until she was 11 months. I thought I was going to die. (And when I did succeed in getting them in her, we were up ALL night, it was hellish.) Now, at 15 months she still nurses twice a night. I was dead on my feet until 13 months when she started to sleep more and we finally got a real handle on her allergies. (She did the night waking 1-4am about three or four times a week until 13/14 months.)

It's a LOT, but breastfeeding him exclusively until a year is okay and he'll be healthy. Once I started to accept Annabelle for who she was I found the strength to go forward. I mean, at six months two bites of banana had her vomiting and refluxing all night long. Today she ate a whole one all by herself and it was great! Eventually she will grow out of her sensitivities and be able to eat everything. Liam will too...

(And my understanding of the slapping and stuff is just him being an active toddler, not being upset with your milk supply. He's probably just nursing and having a blast!)

Nettie said...

What a cute picture! I am sorry to hear of the feeding difficulties Liam is having. Parenting seems to always be one new challenge after another, doesn't it?

I hope you get it all figured out soon, and get some extra naps for you in in the meantime!

Gina said...

Ah, naps. What are those? Can I buy those somewhere?