The reason they're so darn cute

So we don't strangle them at 2 am when they won't stop screaming.

Instead we cuddle, change, rock, feed, bounce, burp, cuddle, rinse & repeat until they finally pass out.  Do I know that sometimes babies just cry because they need to cry?  Yes.  This isn't that sort of situation.

Little man has developed a severe gassiness issue that has him screaming bloody murder through the late afternoon-evening, and none too comfy the rest of the time.  Poor little guy whimpers in his sleep, when he does sleep.  Mornings & early afternoons aren't too bad, but once he gets rolling around 4 or 5, he won't go down to nap, he'll only sleep if I leave him at the breast, and then only for 15 - 20 minutes at a time.  Screams and curls up, thrashes all over the place, fights at the breast & yet is obviously ravenous... Makes for long evenings, lemme tell ya.  And then somewhere between 10pm and midnight, it just shuts off like somebody threw a switch, and he passes out until morning.

Having tried the "He's not getting enough" route for a week & a half and getting nowhere (ie, nurse, nurse, nurse, and when in doubt, nurse some more), researching like crazy, and passing out from sheer exhaustion one too many times, I'm starting to think we're actually dealing with an over-supply problem.  Apparently too much foremilk doesn't just make for green poos (yeah, when did you ever think you'd see THAT in print), the excessive amounts of lactose not balanced by the fatty hindmilk cause stomach discomfort and intestinal gas for baby.

Ouchie. :(

Having hit the La Leche League website and quite a few other places, I'm trying "block-feeding" for the next several days to see if that makes a difference.  Means that from the time he gets up for the first feed in the morning, the day gets divided into four-hour blocks.  Each block, he gets fed from one breast only.  Every time he goes to the breast during a given block, he goes back to the same breast.  From what I've read, this results in successively lower volume - higher fat content feedings during each block.

Yes, we've been to the doctor.  No, the medicines don't help.  They actually make it worse, because they're so thick & syrupy that he swallows more air in the process of taking them, which then has to be burped, & that syrupy stuff makes that harder too.   = Shrieking baby.  Not good.

What does help is a very small dose of mint tea.  Small, as in a quarter to half a teaspoon.  It settles his stomach, calms down or even preempts the screaming entirely, and seems to make it easier for him to burp, meaning less air gets into his stomach & guts in the first place.  It's gotten to where he recognizes the dropper and knows he's supposed to get that before the breast, since it makes him feel better, so he scowls and yells at me if I forget.  Yes, I know about the menthol in mint and babies, but I watch him like a hawk and he doesn't seem to be sensitive to it, so I'm going with what works.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand passing on my obsession with herbal teas.  Yay!

On the flip side, about a week ago he started to noticeably smile.  And I mean GRIN, people.  Experts be damned, it's not just gas, he specifically reacts to our voices and faces.  It's cute as heck, and as soon as I get him to hold it long enough, I'll take pictures, I swear.

Thrush... not a cute woodland bird.

You may have been wondering where I got off to this last week or so... well, baby boy and I were having a minor issue.  Thrush.  

 

This kind.                     Not this kind.

Oh, don't I wish we were talking about a pretty little bird with a sweet flute-like song.  

Don't.  I.  Wish.

As you may imagine, this resulted in some general consternation all around.  When I first noticed those patchy white spots on the inside of JJ's lips, I thought it was just milk.  Then I discovered that it did not easily wipe off, and was concerned.  By the next morning... OUCHIE, like someone was running a red hot wire through milk ducts.  Not good!

Did I immediately call our pediatrician?  No.  (Do not under any circumstances hesitate to do so, this is just me, folks.)  While John was calling the pediatrician, being a child of the internet age, I jumped on my computer and inquired of the ladies on the baby boards just what the trouble might be.  Thrush was mentioned, along with possible latching and related supply issues.  Did a little more research, found a few pictures... yup, thrush.  The suggestions ranged from OMG CALL YOUR DOCTOR NOOOOWWWWW!!!!! to "Make an appointment" to "in the meanwhile, try xyz."  

Well, I chose options b and c.  We'd already made an appointment for Monday morning (this was Saturday), and I nagged John into taking me out to find some of the aforementioned xyz.  In our case, we chose the Gentian Violet, for several reasons.  A) It was available over the counter, meaning it was something we could try over the weekend instead of either waiting for Monday or going to Urgent Care.  B) The information I was able to find suggested that if we were lucky and had caught the infection in its very early stages, the Gentian Violet alone just might turn the trick.  C) It's cheap.  Yes, I'm a horrible mother for considering money when my child's health is involved.  I know.  But if I can fix a problem with a $1.50 bottle from Walgreens instead of a $300 urgent care bill we can't pay, prescriptions we can't afford to fill, and the resultant frustration, I'll take that in a heartbeat.

So we got home after trying Walmart (didn't have it, even though the website said the specific store did indeed have it in stock... I suspect the end of shift contributed mightily to this occurrence), GNC (the very nice boy at the counter had never heard of it, but went online in his back room and found out where we *could* get it), and Walgreens (where the very nice GNC employee sent us, and the Walgreens pharmicist found ONE bottle left in the entire store.  *Whew*).  

I go back to my lovely laptop (Oh, interwebz, how do I love thee, let me count the ways...), and pull up the previously located information on how to use this itty bitty bottle of purple stuff.  Turns out I have to paint it all over the taps on the milk bar, and the first time all over the inside of baby boy's lips, cheeks, & half-way back on his tongue.  

Oh, yeah.  This is gonna be all kindsa fun.

I did mine first, and listened to John make jokes about purple pasties while it dried.  *scowl*  Then we did JJ's application.  Oh, he was NOT a happy camper, not in the slightest, no sirree Bob.  When we were finished, we had a screaming fit to be tied baby who looked like he'd been eating grape koolade straight from the jar.  When he was done actually eating, he stood as a warning to those in the mad scientist community who might ever consider crossing a certain fast food clown with his purple burger-gobbling pal.

Three days later, he still looked like he'd gotten into Mommy's theatre make-up.

But it worked, and thankfully it only took 3 days, I tasted that mess and it is NASTY.

So, we're back, and recovering from the latching issues I suspect resulted from the taps at the milk bar tasting of the sourest Sour Apple candy ever. 

Without the candy.