sometimes dad knows best too

Well, I'm a bit hesitant to post this because I've jinxed myself before.  But we have so far had 4 nights of Sydney sleeping through the night!  I've gone 3 months with her waking 2-5x/night and me averaging 4 hours of sleep a night.  I had glimmers of hope along the way with little fixes here and there.  Each "fix" I'd post about all happy that my sleeper was about to return...not.so.much.  But now...now... she's sleeping 7:30pm - 5am.  I call that SUCCESS.  Yes, 5am is early.  But I'll take it!

So, how did it happen?  Some great insight on my part maybe?  No.  Daddy dearest had the key to success.

Tad commented that he noticed Sydney seemed to do better the later she went to bed.  I never made this correlation.  Heck, I've been too tired to notice when I need to brush my own hair.  Anyway, I wasn't convinced this insight meant she needed a later bed time because she is always rubbin' her eyes before I finally get her down.  So I started thinking and I began to wonder if maybe the later bed time was doing the trick only because it gave her more time to digest her dinner and thus causing less aggravation for her reflux.  So I decided to start feeding her dinner early at 4:30 pm, 3 hours before bed time.  Guess what, THAT NIGHT she started sleeping through the night!  HALLELUJAH!  

While it stinks she has to eat so early and later watch us while we eat dinner as a family at 6, I'm happy we have a key to help her sleep.  I'm also happy to know I finally have an understanding of her problem.  I should have suspected that this was entirely food related because our problems began when she started solids at 6 mo.  But she also started teething at that time so I just wasn't sure.  And then I started to wonder if we had a habit on our hands.  And then I got REALLY tired, making it impossible for me to really evaluate the situation well at all.  Poor baby girl has been given many doses of motrin in hopes that she'd sleep through the night in case it was her teeth bothering her.  Well, her doctor informed me last week that motrin has been known to aggravate reflux.  Lovely.  I can't believe how long it took me to figure this situation out and here I only made it worse along the way.  I suppose hindsight is always 20/20.

The great news is the Doctor ok'd the cancellation of some additional testing he ordered for Sydney.  He feels that this is a good solution to her problems and hopefully she'll outgrow the reflux and not always have to suck on teethers and avoid dairy while we indulge in front of her.

return of the reflux

You may have noticed that I've been MIA these days.  Bottom line is:  I'm exhausted.  Utterly, totally, and completely.  It seems all heck is breaking loose in this household over the last 2 months.  I've been busy planning a return to the work-force and interviewing child-care candidates.  Meanwhile, Samuel is giving me a run for my money where it seems disciplining him is a full time job and then some.  And Sydney, well, she has 4 teeth coming in and her reflux has been kicking it in high-gear.  Until the last few days, she's been sleeping less than when she was a newborn!  Anyone who knows me really well knows that I require A LOT of sleep.  I mean, a lot.  10 hours would be ideal.  I know, I know, who gets 10 hours sleep unless you are a teenager?  Well, I'll settle for 7.  But I'm getting about 4 - and it's interrupted sleep at that.  At a time where Sam needs me on my toes the most I'm lucky if I can get out of bed.

Back to the reflux... Sydney no longer physically "spits up" like she used to. But I know the reflux is still an issue because she has sharp cries of pain that is much different than simply a baby needing attention. She also clears her throat, has an occasional horse voice, and is often congested - all signs of reflux. You don't have to "spit up" to have a problem with reflux.  What's referred to as "silent reflux" can be a problem too.  But reflux doesn't even have to be a problem.  Almost ALL babies have reflux. It becomes a problem if it's either causing pain or if it's causing a failure to thrive. Sydney is NOT failing to thrive by any means. In fact, she eats more when her reflux is bothering her (out of comfort). But she is clearly in pain, and it's affecting her sleep a great deal.  So it's a problem.

It's been difficult to talk to too many people about what we are going through with Sydney's reflux. I think people assume my concern is that she "spits up", but that is far from the case. I could care less if she pukes over everything I own. I just hate to see her in pain. It doesn't help that apparently reflux is a common diagnosis these days so when you say your baby has reflux I think people aren't sure if you mean your baby spits up (duh, all babies do), your baby is in pain, or your baby is failing to thrive. It seems reflux is the new colic.  Many babies that were once described as being colicky are now better understood to have reflux.  

To help control the reflux, Sydney does best when sleeping at an angle.  But since she's such a mover and a shaker, she rolls down the bed. Therefore, I've invested in the following sleep wrap designed to hold her in place while the bed is at an angle, based on a recommendation from my friend Jennifer W.  So far I think it's making a real positive difference.  I don't really like the fact that having the mattress upright at an angle causes her neck to kink to the side, but her chiropractor didn't seem concerned.  Yes, my daughter has a chiropractor.  I'm willing to try it all to get more sleep.

We've also moved on to a more aggressive medication and I'm more serious about eliminating dairy from my diet (I'm still nursing). Often reflux is aggravated (though not caused) by sensitivities; both Sydney's doctor and I believe she has a sensitivity to milk-products.  Occasionally she has blood in her stools, further evidence of allergies.

All in all, I'm starting to "see the light", which is why I can hop back into blog land.  We're not yet back to sleeping through the night, but we're doing much better.  I feel the reflux is more under control now.  I'm not sure if it's the sleep wrap, the new meds, my diet, the chiropractor, or her age that is helping, but I guess I'll continue with our current plan because something is working.  Now, if I could only do something about these 4 teeth coming in for poor baby girl!

Tricia

P.S.  turns out you can save a good chunk of cash and make a sleep wrap.  Why didn't I think of that???