Hello friends, we need a little parenting advice in our house... We've encountered two new problems and are willing to try anything:
Problem 1: Dylan will no longer take a bottle. He used to be a rockstar when it came to bottles...he'd take them no problem and drain them. Then, all of a sudden, this Sunday he absolutely refused his bottle. He screamed and screamed until Shane pulled me out of Primary to nurse him. He took it later that day from a friend of ours, but since then we've been trying a bottle every evening and it's a battle to get him to drink it (Shane's battle...I have to leave the room because I'm pretty sure my presence only makes it worse). I partially think the reason it's so hard is related to problem 2, though, so I'd like to figure that one out first...
Problem 2: Dylan has become an evening screamer. I understand that children are "fussier" in the evenings, but this isn't fussy, this is screaming. You see, Dylan will get a little sleepy around 4:30 or so, so I put him down for a nap. Before he goes down, he's a happy little boy, but starts fussing a little because he's tired. It's usually a short nap (30-40 minutes) like all his naps. After he wakes up, he's a raging screamer. He just cries and cries and cries no matter how you jiggle him, whether he has his pacifier, or whether or not I'm holding him. The only way to calm him down is for me to nurse him (even when he just ate) until he falls asleep (which is sometimes over an hour). Seriously?? I don't think this is normal...
Part of me thinks his stomach is hurting him because his diapers have been quite runny and mucus-y lately (sorry for the nasty details). Plus, even if we get him a little calm, it only lasts for a few minutes and then he's back at it. The only change in my diet (I'm quite a creature of habit) was my new Vitamin D is in a gel capsule instead of a dry pill, and it contains soybean oil. So I'm going to hold off on the Vitamin D for a week or so and see if anything improves.
Unfortunately for Shane, I've had two evening things for church this week so he's been left to feed Dylan (slowly by quickly switching out the bottle for his binky until he realizes he's eating and starts screaming) and rock the little screamer. Hopefully we figure this out soon since I'm supposedly going back to work part time in 3 weeks and he needs to be able to take a bottle (and not scream all day for whoever is watching him).
Any suggestions?? All will be greatly appreciated...
{*UPDATE: 2 comments already...thanks girls! I am planning to go buy a faster flow nipple tomorrow because I watched the "eating" (i.e. 3 ounces sipped over a 1.5 hour period) when I got home tonight and noticed that Dylan will suck once or twice and then start crying so maybe he's not getting the food as fast as he wants it. A good first step... Also, I do think he's still tired when he wakes up, as he is with all of his naps, but usually he'll go back to sleep if I rock him, which doesn't work at night. We're still trying to figure out why he wakes up at 40 minutes like clockwork. Oh, and I'm going to have Grandma try and give him a bottle at an earlier feeding tomorrow when he's normally happy to see if the problems exist independently. Any other thoughts?? Keep them coming!}
5 comments:
1- i think that happens to a lot of babies. but they do grow out of it.
but also, does he need a faster flow nipple?
2-maybe he wakes up from something but still wants to be sleeping-thus the screaming. L sometimes will act that way too. you aren't alone!
Oh Jess I am so sorry!! Things like this can be so stressful when you're a parent. The only hunch I have is maybe a soy allergy...but that is far-fetched. However, our ped says 30% of kids are allergic to soy. The only thing that makes me think that is the runny poop. Also, around 3 months, both of our babies wanted different bottle nipples, so it could be that too, but doesn't explain the constant screaming. Good luck Jess. You'll figure it out.
I'm assuming you're giving him breastmilk? If you're supplimenting with formula, different babies have a hard time with different formulas.
And I'm thinking he's just tired all the time. Have you tried letting him cry it out? I read your blog regularly and just can't remember... Crying it out helped Lexi at the same age, and she's slept great since then. She was just stubborn, and needed to cry it out to get used to napping. I know it's so hard and doesn't work for some kids, but it's worth a shot. Lexi would cry at longest for an hour and a half, but after 3 days slept like a champ.
I'm sorry! Dylan's a little cutie, we love looking at the blog!
Hey Jess, sup yo. :) Anyways, my only thought is that maybe you start trying to hold him off from his 4:30 nap, and that way he sleeps better later on, thus avoiding the screaming after waking up after the 4:30 nap. If he is just sorta tired and fussy at 4:30, maybe try doing something different, like play time, bath time, going for a walk...just something different that holds him off from that nap. Maybe he's not quite tired yet, so when he falls asleep and then wakes up he is really angry because now he is tired. Just my thoughts, because sometimes when I take a nap in the afternoon I wake up super grumpy :) It doesn't seem like it would be a virus or something because it only happens in the evenings. Just my two cents. Good luck!
Hey Jessica, have you tried a Soothie bottle? The nipple is the same as his binki so it might work... They make some that simulate nursing too. Bernadette uses them for Hayden. He took that bottle best since the nipple is the same shape as his binki. If you need more info, let me know. I hope that helps!!!
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