Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Another exciting day of screaming today. We went to the hospital to get Theo's kidneys ultrasounded (is that a verb? it is now!). They are still dilated and have some fluid in them, so our next stop is to go to a pediatric urologist where they will figure out the cause. It's probably just going to be a minor procedure that isn't a big deal, but it's one more thing to deal with when it feels like we're dealing with many other things over here--like, is Theo eating enough? Will S. ever make enough milk and, if she does, will Theo figure out how to get to it? Will he ever gain weight? Why isn't he pooping? Will he ever stop screaming?

To try to answer these questions, we will head out again tomorrow to meet with yet another lactation consultant. At his weigh-in on Friday, we will decide once and for all whether this breastfeeding thing is going to be for him, and whether we will throw in the towel in bring in the bottle. This.is.hard.

But at least he's cute...


15 comments:

Amanda Hanzlik said...

he is gorgeous...

I'm so sorry that you are having to endure all of this.

S. I am so proud of you for hanging in there with the bf. Go girl!

My thoughts are with all of you.

Landlady of Fat said...

Oh dear god.... yes he is. :)

Anonymous said...

He is absolutely precious & that is a fabulous picture.

So sorry to hear about all of the issues. As far as BF, I SO understand the frustration & angst. Hang in there & do what you can, but S should NEVER feel like a failure. The top priority is Mr. Theo, right? You guys both get MAJOR gold stars for doing SO much to get the whole BF thing to work.

Dang he's cute.

beans said...

he is beautiful!! Nice work.

sorry things are so hard.

Anonymous said...

my, he's certainly cute alright. Hope things ease up on you soon - sounds really hard, but you're doing a great job for your boy.

Anonymous said...

What you are experiencing is so normal, frustrating yes, but still normal. Our son is now 5 months old and the first 9 weeks were living hell. He cried all of the time, I only produced about 6 ounces of breast milk a day, etc. Things slowly, very slowly started to get better. I kept saying how I wanted to savor every minute of the beginning but it was so draining that I kept hoping time would fly.
Good luck,
Rosany, Pam and the boys

Anonymous said...

He is beyond cute.

giggleblue said...

oh, my he is a beauty!

NotesFrom2Moms said...

GEEZE he is so cute.

Anonymous said...

Oh my, this child is beautiful.

This Mom said...

He is very, very cute.
You are both doing a great job at trying to figure out what is best for your little one, as that is really what matters. Whatever the outcome, you should feel confident in your abilities and efforts 100%.
Welcome to parenting...

Laura said...

Wow, he's adorable. And really...he's half a product of S...so he's definitely gonna be a feisty one!! Tee hee. I'm kidding...I'm so proud of both of you for sticking to your guns and I know that you will put Theo first, no matter what. And that's all that matters in the end. I'm here to support in whatever way I can, even if all I can do is sit on the other hand of a phone and tell you it's gonna be ok. Love you!

Megan said...

Oh he certainly is ADORABLE!!!!

Don't know if you've heard of it or not but someone suggested I should get the DVD of "The Happiest Baby on the Block." We only got it yesterday BUT our daughter slept FIVE straight hours last night and even let me put her in the bassinet today for another three!!! I am a total skeptic so I still don't know if it is luck or really the techniques....we'll see in a week or so.

http://www.thehappiestbaby.com/
(we found a copy on freecycle)

None said...

Oh, yeah, an ultrasound is all you need right now. So sorry you have that stress on top of everything else.

The postpartum/newborn period is a really vulnerable time. It's so hard. (I used to forget to eat b/c I was so focused on the baby. My midwife told me to eat nothing but french fries if I needed to, but eat something. It is just so hard.) Hang in there.

As for breastfeeding, someone told me that if a baby gets 4 oz of breastmilk per day, they get the immunity benefits of breastfeeding. So, if it's possible to give Theo that much (via breast, or pumped milk via a syringe, breast, or bottle), do. If that's not possible, then it's not. And what you feed your kid is not nearly as important as the love, attention, and stimulation you will give him anyway.

You are both great moms. You'll figure this out and do right by your son. Remember to try to take care of yourselves, too. Eat when you can. Sleep when you can. All that stuff. Hugs.

Lizzie said...

So very, very cute. Sending strength. Sorry parts of this are so hard.