Thursday, July 10, 2008

Update

First and foremost... Wow. I have some of the greatest friends and family (and blog stalkers!). Thanks to everyone who posted, called or emailed me. All of your words of encouragement and advice was welcome and appreciated!

I left out a few key pieces of info when it comes to Chase's sleeping issues. I think it is a combo of gas problems and sleep training. I know my kid is gassy but I think if he were sleep trained a little better he might be able to get through the light sleep stages without waking.

When it comes to treating the gas problem, here are a few things we have tried... Mylicon (does absolutely nothing for him), gripe water... 3 different kinds; Little Tummy's, Baby's Bliss and Wellements (held promise to soothe him but does nothing... and don't let those prices fool you, they are a LOT more expensive in the stores!), I went completely off dairy for 3 weeks (no change in Chase), holding him upright for 30 minutes after being nursed or eating (doesn't matter, he still burps) and moving feeding times (nursing and solid food) around so it isn't so close to sleeping (didn't matter). We used to do leg exercises to help relieve him but now that he is stronger, it's pretty much impossible. Plus he basically does the exercise himself with all the crawling and standing he does.

There is a possibility it could be my diet. Maybe the foods I eat don't agree with him... that would explain the problem of gas persisting from day one. We are thinking about switching to formula to see if that makes a difference but have hesitated because of the cost. I know, I know, don't worry about the money. Easy for you to say ;~) No seriously, if that were the problem, we would switch in a heartbeat and suck it up. We just don't know if that is the cure and making a leap like that without some real evidence is hard. Keep in mind, we are moving back in with Adam's parents... that should give you some indication of the financial ;~) We are trying a few more things before we make the jump. Ironic considering this post but that was a one time thing and this is at least for the next 4 months!

Any time I google sleep issues, the name Marc Weissbluth comes up... Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. Well right there in his title... I want both those things. Also, just before I posted about having all these troubles, Kare Kare at Adam's office saw a Dateline special about this guy and his book. It seemed a little too coincidental so we bought the book (with a 30% off coupon mind you!) and I have started reading it. No big revelations yet but I am only 10 pages in! Hopefully he will be able to provide some insight and ideas to help us out! That being said, I really should be using this time to read, not blog! Night all ;~)

6 comments:

Di said...

Hey Jess - good luck!!! Another book I recommend is Good Night, Sleep Tight! The sleep lady is based out of Annapolis and our ped wrote the forward! It's a great book to start training from any age (birth - 5 years). Basically, IMO, sleep training is crucial for years to come - especially for the little ones as they need solid rest for development, etc.

Here's the Amazon linke... also just another suggestion, rent it from the library so that way you don't have to shell out money on a book that may or may not be helpful to you. If you find it's helpful, then purchase it :) I did that with a TON of sleep books and found that a lot of them start to overlap.

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Night-Sleep-Tight-Helping/dp/1593150253

The Townleys said...

Okay, no advice here. BUT I will tell you that if price is an issue, we just switched Anna over to generic Target formula (which turns out to be exactly the same as the name brand). It's $11 instead of $28 for the same amount and she really hasn't even noticed. If you decide to try the formula, I'd go there. Good Luck!

Johnnie Avocado said...

Yeah,
Unfortunately every child is differently. So I can only speak to my experience, but when we switched to formula, it's so heavy, It knocked Frodo out for the count.

Don't take this wrong, but some of you know my brother Puffin, and he taught me early on "Crying babies, sleep well". Now that's a mean way to word it, but I think there is truth in the fact that the kids learn cause and effect. It was tough, but you quickly learn authentic cries from the I want attention cries.

Frodo sleeps like a charm now. But that could be stupid luck and have nothing to do with what we did.

I truly believe that your gut will lead you right. Mom's diet is very crucial. Does he have an allergy? Ciliacs?

LoveLladro said...

di - i will check that book out... i tried to go to the library for healthy sleep habits but they have one copy at another location and it takes days to get it sent over... unfortch i don't have days... i could be clinically insane by then.

danielle - thanks for the tip... i just might do that. i switched to the target diapers because they are so much cheaper and work just fine!

johnnie - i am only a few steps away from formula... chase isn't allergic to anything that we know of but i guess the formula would show if it was something in my diet. i am starting to agree with puffin and most of the world... it's just hard because i don't know when he will stop... he can go on for hours...

The Barrick Times said...

Hey! You don't know me but I check your blog all the time from Diane's! I dont' have kids, but I know my sister's kids had trouble when she ate broccoli and asparagus. Her babies were really gassy when she ate those. Not sure if you're a veggie girl, or if there's any medical proof to that, but I thought I would contribute! Good luck!
-Melissa

KaraB said...

Hi, Jess...

Yet another blog stalker! :-) I'm Rose's friend, Kara, and my daughter Claire is about two weeks younger than Chase.

I agree about the Target formula. It was originally recommended to me by my pediatrician, who I'm obsessed with, and it is HALF the cost of Enfamil. Before I bought it, I did a side by side comparison, and it's exactly the same. And they have various types. Claire takes lactose free, but they also have soy, what equates to Enfamil's Gentlease, and the regular stuff.

Thanks for publishing this blog...it makes me feel not so alone because I nod my head through most of these! And I'd like to put Claire in what I know will be a long queue of lucky girls to have a date w/Chase. He's TOO adorable!!