Trial & Error

If any of you have seen my Facebook status, you know that it currently relates how I'm learning that parenting is a process of trial and error. And while we've received well-intended advice and well-wishing, very little has applied to our son and worked. Part of that has to do with his size. He's easily close, if not over, 12 pounds. Very little fits, especially not his newborn shoes! It has taken us 6 weeks to realize that our poor baby is starving. I'm not getting him what he needs fast enough. If I can pump and give it to him in a bottle, he can go a few hours. If I solely nurse, he's hungry again with an hour to an hour and a half. My mom and I believe it's because he's working so hard to get what he can when he eats (and yes, I do everything to keep him awake and eating constantly while he nurses) that he wears himself out and can't stay awake. So then I can literally time it--he's ready to eat again shortly. But pumping is taking me a great deal of time right now, especially with him nursing often. This process repeats day and night, which means very little sleep. We started supplementing at night (which I hated, but had no choice). I'm calling his pediatrician tomorrow about starting to incorporate rice cereal. Everything I have read says he's too young, but I can't have my baby starving. I will continue to nurse and pump because that time with Hayden is so precious to me. There's something about being the only one who can feed him (even though I gripe sometimes when he's ready to eat around the clock!).

Oh, and please take this kindly: before you start leaving advice and wondering how we knew he was hungry, it took me doing 2 days (Thurs. and Fri.) of curriculum work in Vancleave at the county office to come to this conclusion. I left bottles I had pumped that my mom and the sitter gave him while I was gone. I texted all day asking how much he had been eating, but surprise! He was going 3+ hours between feedings! When I got home, he was the happiest, content baby. I could hold him without him immediately diving to my chest and me feeling like Bessie the milkcow. He cooed more, played, and was just happier. Fast forward to Saturday: I solely nurse, he's fussy, eating all day, and unhappy. This continued for a few days. At night, we started supplementing and started sleeping 3+ hours instead of waking to eat every 1-1 1/2 hours. Blessed sleep. So there you go. Oh, and we've discovered no more pizza or homemade tacos for me! It kills him! Bummer.