I can't believe it's been 14 whole weeks since we bundled up our little lady and brought her home. At the same time it's as if she's always been a part of our lives. Now that our food issues are under control she is as jiggly and happy and charming as any babe ever was. She is awake for most of the day, which means I now officially have 2 children (realistically I know we're just getting started, of course). I'm struggling with a few things including how to effectively parent children at very different developmental levels at the same time (their needs are so different, help!). And also, this insomnia/fatigue cycle I can't seem to shake (normal? postpartum thyroid issues?). I'm hoping soon I will get to the bottom of it.
I'm discovering that even though it's the second time around I still have so much to learn. Below is just one of the many things...
The sour hour vs. food allergies Last night I read about what some call the witching hour or the sour hour. It's a bout of fussiness that starts around 7pm for babies around 2 weeks old. As moms we alternate between feeding & rocking, neither of which seem to help, because what baby actually needs is quiet time and perhaps a little cuddle. The book mentioned that the sour hour comes from over-stimulation (i.e. the normal stimulation a baby receives that accumulates through the day and leads to a grand crying finale), so nursing and rocking actually make it worse by causing distension and more stimulation. This turns the sour hour into "the sour evening". When Alexandria started this around 3 weeks, always at 7pm when we'd sit down for dinner, I would take her to the bedroom, dim the lights and talk in a low tone, just the two of us. I noticed that it worked right away and after a few minutes she might want to nurse or be rocked into a deep peaceful sleep for the night.
Sometimes however the crying turned into shrieking and was accompanied by green poop and that's when I knew something else was going on. Doctor's say Celiac's disease, i.e. a true gluten-intolerance, and other food allergies are rare but I can't help but notice the shift in her the two times I tried to sneak in a bit of wheat after weeks of abstinence. She screams at the top of her lungs and the green poop lasts for a few diapers. Once a couple of days pass and her poop is that EBF mustard yellow again she is happy as a clam. I suppose we will have to get her tested for Celiac's to know for sure.
Anyway...just wanted to put that out there for any of you who may be struggling with it this very moment!
P.S. Alexandria is wearing little lief from my shop!
