5 Ways to Create a 4th Trimester

Sorry for missing yesterday. I've been busy researching and reading.

SweetPea has not been feeling her mega mellow self this past week. I took her to her pediatrician this morning and he and I discussed her symptoms.

The end of the conversation sent me home with the verdict that she is still gaining weight (weighing in at 9 lbs 9 oz) but has reflux which is causing mild malabsorption (which really seems very slight as she is gaining) resulting in colicky behavior and baby eczema.

The game plan? Monitor her, rub rather than pat her back and try to keep her tilted up during and after feedings. Keep her eczema away from fragrances and dyes, keep it moisturized with lanolin and give her baths daily when she has been very sweaty.

Since her poo doesn't have blood in it, it's too soon to be certain she is having an allergic reaction. Being that I'm not keen on making my baby suffer until she bleeds, I would rather be proactive. The only way to know for sure is to cut soy and dairy from my diet for 2-4 weeks and see if the issues disappear. So today is day one of my soy/dairy free diet.

I'm hopeful that this will not be the case and it will turn out to just be a phase of her getting used to her body's functions.

I hope this because I read reports of recent studies that suggest that colic occurs because newborns miss the stimulus of the womb. Compared to other mammals, human babies are born much earlier in their developmental process. This can make them freak out when their bodies are doing routine stuff like passing food through their intestines. This adjustment time is known as the 4th trimester.

The suggestions to aid a baby who is anxious during this time are the 5 Ss. These maneuvers calm a colicky baby by replicating the comfort of the womb.
1- swaddle
2- side or stomach position
3- shush sounds
4- sway
5- suck

Aside from the fact that I am not currently shushing, all are in play as I write this post.
:)

I'm thinking this is my last feeding for tonight so I will close my post here.

Tomorrow I will fill you in on what MDH and Zman did all day while SweetPea and I were dealing with all this fun stuff!