Sofia at One Month

This will have less detailed explanation than I'd prefer, but beggars can't be choosers and I'm on the begging side of time these days.

She weighs 10 lbs. 3 oz. She really hasn't grown much since she was born. She eats just enough to get by.

Sofia has reflux. She gags and chokes after every meal. She does not barf, though. But, the reflux does go up into her throat, and even sinus. Her boogers are formula boogers. Meaning, her boogers are made of the formula that comes up her throat and into her sinus area and it makes these bright white boogers that I have to suck out.

She is on Prilosec. Long story about how we arrived to our current medication destination, but currently, I take one 20 mg capsule OTC of omeprazole, poke a hole in the top, empty it onto a plate and divide it into three servings. I put 5 mL of water into a syringe and add the beads. Then, I put it in her cheek one little squirt at a time. She gets 1/3 of a capsule three times a day. This is the MARCI-kids dose.

Like little lines of coke, only it's omeprazole. And, no, I've never done coke.

She has a bit of colic. From 8-10 p.m., she cries. In fact, if her eyes are open, she's usually crying.  She is cranky as most 5 week olds are. In the next week or so, she'll start to become more human-ish (hopefully).

She also has a lot of gas. She burps and farts like a grown man. This makes her super grumpy. Gripe water (Mommy's bliss brand) seems to help a lot so she gets that a few times a day.

She is the only child I've ever had that can suck, swallow, and breathe. Meaning: she can eat. It takes a lot of coordination for these little ones to eat properly. It seems like a no brainer - until you've had a kid that can't. We've always had to thicken the formula with rice cereal so they wouldn't aspirate their food. Sofia, however, can eat liquid fairly well. She has a little trouble, but not bad enough we need to treat it.

She has MSPI (milk soy protein intolerance). She is on elemental formula. We have been using Neocate. When I called our old GI doctor the other day, she recommended Elecare. It's almost the exact same thing, but she says some babies tolerate it better. Funny thing is, I'd had the thought cross my mind a few times in the last week that maybe we should try it, too. I'd even done some research online to see what people were saying and how the two formulas differed. She gave me a bunch of cans to "sample" (8 cans - at $50 a can that's a pretty generous amount of sampling) and we started that just today. So far, she's been a much happier baby and eaten much better. We'll see if it's a fluke or if it really does make a difference for her.

Oh, and she is a tight ass. No, I'm serious. Addie had the same issue. Her little bum is too tight so she has trouble pooping. I'll include a link to the post I did about it when Addie had her diagnosis. If you're truly interested in how to treat the problem, you can read here. If not, just know that being a parent often involves doing things that are highly inappropriate and should be considered shameful on many levels.

She looks a lot like Lexi did at that age. At times, we see a lot of Addie in her, too, though. Personality wise, she reminds me of Lexi. She is sensitive to changes in temperature likes to be really warm. She is easily rattled. She is a cuddle bug. We call her the Tiny Wonder (Aunt Marti started calling her that and it's stuck), and we think she's awesome even though she's cranky and fussy right now.

Right now, I've got her on a pretty great schedule. I've had some people tell me you can't get a baby on a schedule before 6 weeks, but I beg to differ. Because I've had so much help, I've been able to protect her naps and feeds to establish some sense of order.  Right now, she eats every 3 hours. Her wake time between feeds is 50-60 minutes. Then, she takes a 80-90 minute nap. She takes a dream feed at 11 p.m., wakes to eat at 3 a.m., and sleeps again until 7 a.m. It took a lot of work to get here, some long nights, and it's still not without it's glitches, but at a month old, I'll take waking once in the night. I like knowing when I'll have time to play with the other kids, shower, do chores, go to the bathroom, or if I'm really lucky, sneak in nap. I'm too uptight to do it any other way.

This month has just flown by. I know it's in part because I've been super spoiled and had my mom and sister here to basically raise my other three kids. Allen has adjusted his schedule a bunch to help in the mornings. Allen's mom has brought us dinner and taken the kids multiple times, too.

I'm also way more realistic about what it feels like to have a baby. You're tired. You're flabby. You're uncomfortable. You are most likely carrying a baby around a lot of the time. The baby is going to cry. Your other kids are going to cry. You will probably yell more than usual. Your house will not be very clean. You will not shower every day. You will not go to the bathroom, eat lunch, check email, sneeze or fart when you want to. Rather, you will wait until the baby gives you 30 seconds, and you'll do it then.

And it's ok. The best way to make it through is to wake up every day and put one foot in front of the other. That's the only way to get them grown. As every mother knows, "The days are long, but the years are short". This time truly is fleeting, and after four kids, I finally have the wisdom to see beyond the minor inconveniences and enjoy the good things this phase of life has to offer.

Tiny Wonder.