Friday, November 14, 2014

surviving the 4th trimester

Phoebe is now 14 weeks old. It's gone pretty fast! I'm still getting used to having this tiny person around yet now I can't imagine life without her. She's currently lying on her play mat, kicking her legs and batting at the toys hanging above her head. Though she's getting a bit frustrated and it may be time to pick her up soon.

Good things
My sweet, smiley, generally laid back baby.
Baby smiles are awesome and amazing.
Baby wearing. I love my stretchy wrap! I knew I wanted one having seen my sister Hannah carry Amelia in one (and had a go myself) but didn't anticipate quite how useful and amazing it would be. It sends Phoebe to sleep (mostly. A bit less now as she's getting bigger, but still calms her down). It means I can leave the flat in one go rather than running up and down two flights of stairs with a buggy and a baby. It's easy to get the bus wearing her and wander around town. I probably wouldn't wear it all day and it does take a little while to put on and when it's off, it's quite a big piece of fabric, but I do love it.
Phoebe sleeps well at night, generally sleeping from 10 or 11 to some time between about 4.30 and 6.30. I was pretty sleep deprived in the first few weeks, but now I feel like I get more or less enough.

Less good things
Breastfeeding. I expected to love this and sometimes I do (lying down at night feeding my baby to sleep is so sweet and intimate). But we've had so many problems due to a bad latch caused by tongue tie. Problems in the first few days meant my milk took a long time to come in. We ended up supplementing with formula to get her weight gain up, which I get unhappy about sometimes. I'm trying to let it go and remember that the baby must be fed and she's getting mostly breastmilk, so a little formula here and there to make sure she's got enough calories is fine. Her tongue tie was divided for the second time on Monday and I'm desperately hoping things will improve. Right now I have awfully sore and shredded nipples. :(
Phoebe is a terrible napper. She will sleep in the sling, but attempts at getting her to sleep in her Moses basket have so far failed. I suspect this is mostly my fault. We've never really had a predictable schedule. She also seems to go from happy baby to howling overtired monster in an instant. Although perhaps I don't respond quickly enough to her early grumpy cues? I'm usually frantically trying to achieve something (like eating breakfast) and sometimes don't do anything until she starts howling.

I do love being a mum. I get overwhelmed by it too. I'm going to post this in it's somewhat unfinished state because otherwise it won't get posted at all. Life is a bit like that right now.