Days vs Nights

Having a new baby is exciting and wonderful but it's also tiring, worrisome and (at times) frustrating. I spent 9 months preparing for him to be here, but no amount of reading, asking questions and preparation actually got me ready for what really happens once that cord is cut.

Colton is a very happy baby. He's expressive and doesn't demand a lot of "soothing". The only time he cries (knock on wood) is when he's hungry...but he is hungry a LOT. At first, I wasn't producing enough milk to keep him satisfied and he cried and cried and CRIED. Once we discovered that we needed to substitute formula, he has been a happy little guy. Yesterday was our first full day of no formula, as I was able to provide enough milk to keep him full, and I think we were all happy. Yay!

Now that the feeding issue is "fixed", we are looking to solve the next "problem". Colton seems to have his nights and days confused. During the day he sleeps sound for hours at a time. We weren't waking him up because, well, he was sleeping. But, that means he thinks he's supposed to be awake at night. Saturday, Colton had lots of visitors and it was a big day of being held, cuddled and rocked. He slept most of the day and ate very little (I mean, who would want to stay awake to eat when you're getting a back rub and cuddled all day). Needless to say, Saturday night was a VERY long night for daddy and me. We laid Colton down at 11:30pm and he was awake at midnight - ready to eat. I fed him 6oz between midnight and 3:30am, pretty much non-stop eating on his part. I thought he was full and I had him swaddled and sleeping. I laid him down and within 5 minutes - repeat. This time, daddy took over but the results were no different. Matt fed him 6 more oz between 3:30am and 6:30am and he was FINALLY full.Let's just say we learned something on Saturday night...

On Sunday, we started (what we hope to be) a schedule. Colton had a "holding ban" placed on him for a few hours. All day we kept the routine of sleeping 3 hours (in his cradle and not in some body's arms) and waking him to eat 4oz. He did really good with this routine, with the exception of a few fussy spells. Last night was much better sleeping for Colton and mommy (and daddy too for that matter). Colton slept 3 solid hours at a time throughout the entire night - which is a first for him - and has continued the pattern into today. 3 hours of sleep at a time (really only 2 for me since I feed, pump, wash bottles and then lay down) doesn't seem like a lot but compared to 1/2 hour to 1 hour of sleep at a time, it feels like I've slept all night!

This is a learning process for us as parents and for our little guy. I know that with patience and time, we will figure out the best routine for all of us. We're so lucky to have a flexible, happy baby to be our guinea pig. Even when I'm exhausted, I know I would rather be right here doing this than be anywhere else and it only takes one look up at me with those precious, big eyes and my heart melts. We'll get our days and nights back on track and until then, I'll enjoy every little moment with my growing little man. Speaking of my little man...his 3 hours are up and I see him stretching. Gotta go :-)

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