Sam's Milk Drinking:
We seem to be over the memory of the milk-vomit, hooray! Yesterday both Sam and Anna drank two full cups of whole milk by 4 pm (14 oz total each) and I'm thrilled! I know that it takes time for little ones to get used to the change and the taste but I also know that my husband still can't eat cocktail sauce due to a vommiting incident many years ago, and I can't eat strawberrries on a salad for the same reason. I'm glad that Sam's memory of similar things seems to have faded faster.
Anna's Sleep:
A few days after our trip we seem to be back on track. After several nights of multiple night wakings and being awake for hours at a time in the dead of night, last night I didn't wake up at all... which either means she slept straight through or that I'm becoming desensitized and slept through her crying. I'm going with the first one. We decided not to travel with the little ones for Easter. Next traveling trip is probably going to be at the end of May for their great-grandma's 90th birthday party and a wedding, so that will give me time to work up the nerve to go out of town again.
Napping:
For the meantime we've found a temporary solution to Anna being ready for one nap while Sam clearly is not. Over break I experimented with one nap and it had its good points, but was overall disasterous. They still want to start their nap at about 9:30, which is way too early for one nap! They did sleep for 3 1/2 hours (glorious!) but that still meant they were awake from 1 pm until 7 pm. Too long, especially for Sam! So this is what we're doing that is working okay for now to keep them both on two naps a day: We don't let them nap longer than 1 1/2 hours or later than 11 am for their first nap. That helps ensure that they will be able to take another nap in the afternoon... typically for an hour. For the first nap they can both be laid down at the same time, but for the second nap (at home at least) Sam has to be asleep before we put Anna in her crib in the same room if we want her to ever fall asleep. At daycare they are in different rooms so that isn't a problem there. For now it works. And that's all that matters.
Showing posts with label milk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label milk. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Houston, We (May) Have a Problem
We started introducing whole milk a week after Sam and Anna's birthday. Truth be told, I was a little nervous to take this step because in Sam and Anna's short history, we've had too much trouble with what they drink and I didn't want history to repeat itself. We had also just weaned Sam and Anna's last reflux med dose the week before successfully and so I was worried that the whole milk would cause a big time reflux flare. I also wanted to talk to our pedi to see if she had any specific recommendations for approaching this because of the GERD background and Sam and Anna's past bottle refusal period. We gave Sam and Anna milk during their meals for three days, but held onto their morning and bedtime bottles of formula until our 1 year well child pedi appointment. Sam and Anna did great. No problems at all- they drank it like it was no big deal.
We didn't get any tips that I didn't already know from our pedi, so since the first few times of whole milk sippies went well, we went semi-cold turkey only 3 days after we first introduced it and dropped the last two bottles. We never mixed formula and whole milk as I know some people do... I was and am a little against offering whole milk in a bottle. (Not that I wouldn't try it if giving it straight at first wasn't working.) I think it is easier for a child to probably drop bottles/formula if the two are only associated together, and the option of whole milk in a bottle doesn't exist. I knew that Sam and Anna wouldn't have attachment issues from losing their bottles, and they seemed to like the milk enough to drink ounces of it at a time, so I thought we were good to go. Friday night we gave them a sippy of whole milk before bed as a "nightcap." I was so pleased that it seemed to be so easy to switch from formula to whole milk for them.
That night a few hours into bedtime, Sam vomited all over himself and his crib. The next day was a big change because he refused most of the whole milk we offered. We were pretty sure that the whole milk HAD triggered a reflux flare and laying down exasperated the problem. (He showed no other signs of possibly being sick.) He hardly drank anything that day and the next.
Two nights later (Sunday night), Anna vomited all over herself and her crib at about 2 am- so badly that she got a bath in the middle of the night, and this momma took a shower because of holding a vomited soaked baby before climbing back into bed (I got up 1 1/2 hours later at 5 am for work the next day). We were even more sure that whole milk was causing stomach issues for both babies, and decided that maybe holding onto a bedtime bottle of formula for a little bit might help their tummies adjust to whole milk.
But then I got sick in the middle of the night Monday night... and we realized that Sam and Anna probably had gotten the flu, not-so-conveniently timed to coicide with the transition to completely on whole milk. This was a good thing for the whole milk issue we thought we had, because it should have been only a temporary problem, but there have still been lingering effects.
Although there has been no more vomit soaked babies or cribs since last weekend, Sam no longer likes to drink whole milk at home. He will drink it at daycare, but not at home. We think he has an association with drinking it here and throwing up that is making him resistant to it now. We have tested several factors (cups, locations in our home, etc.) with the same result. When we went out to eat for dinner the other night, he happily drank it for us at the restaurant- milk from the same carton; same sippy cup. So the only constant is that he will not drink much at home. (We're talking like maybe 1-2 oz total in a day at home, even if he's home all day.)
We've upped his intake of other dairy foods like cheese and yogurt and are banking on the idea that over time as the flu incident is farther from his memory, he'll gradually forget about it and happily drink whole milk again at home. I'm also trying to remember that at this point, milk is not as important as it was, and is now only a complement to a meal rather than a meal itself. He will be fine if he only drinks a little, as long as he gets a lot of other dairy and calcium rich foods. He is a pretty good eater besides this.
Thankfully, so is Anna. And Anna seems to have no association with throwing up and drinking milk as she's been drinking whole milk great for us at home or at daycare. I'm so glad that for her at least, this truly has been an easy change.
We didn't get any tips that I didn't already know from our pedi, so since the first few times of whole milk sippies went well, we went semi-cold turkey only 3 days after we first introduced it and dropped the last two bottles. We never mixed formula and whole milk as I know some people do... I was and am a little against offering whole milk in a bottle. (Not that I wouldn't try it if giving it straight at first wasn't working.) I think it is easier for a child to probably drop bottles/formula if the two are only associated together, and the option of whole milk in a bottle doesn't exist. I knew that Sam and Anna wouldn't have attachment issues from losing their bottles, and they seemed to like the milk enough to drink ounces of it at a time, so I thought we were good to go. Friday night we gave them a sippy of whole milk before bed as a "nightcap." I was so pleased that it seemed to be so easy to switch from formula to whole milk for them.
That night a few hours into bedtime, Sam vomited all over himself and his crib. The next day was a big change because he refused most of the whole milk we offered. We were pretty sure that the whole milk HAD triggered a reflux flare and laying down exasperated the problem. (He showed no other signs of possibly being sick.) He hardly drank anything that day and the next.
Two nights later (Sunday night), Anna vomited all over herself and her crib at about 2 am- so badly that she got a bath in the middle of the night, and this momma took a shower because of holding a vomited soaked baby before climbing back into bed (I got up 1 1/2 hours later at 5 am for work the next day). We were even more sure that whole milk was causing stomach issues for both babies, and decided that maybe holding onto a bedtime bottle of formula for a little bit might help their tummies adjust to whole milk.
But then I got sick in the middle of the night Monday night... and we realized that Sam and Anna probably had gotten the flu, not-so-conveniently timed to coicide with the transition to completely on whole milk. This was a good thing for the whole milk issue we thought we had, because it should have been only a temporary problem, but there have still been lingering effects.
Although there has been no more vomit soaked babies or cribs since last weekend, Sam no longer likes to drink whole milk at home. He will drink it at daycare, but not at home. We think he has an association with drinking it here and throwing up that is making him resistant to it now. We have tested several factors (cups, locations in our home, etc.) with the same result. When we went out to eat for dinner the other night, he happily drank it for us at the restaurant- milk from the same carton; same sippy cup. So the only constant is that he will not drink much at home. (We're talking like maybe 1-2 oz total in a day at home, even if he's home all day.)
We've upped his intake of other dairy foods like cheese and yogurt and are banking on the idea that over time as the flu incident is farther from his memory, he'll gradually forget about it and happily drink whole milk again at home. I'm also trying to remember that at this point, milk is not as important as it was, and is now only a complement to a meal rather than a meal itself. He will be fine if he only drinks a little, as long as he gets a lot of other dairy and calcium rich foods. He is a pretty good eater besides this.
Thankfully, so is Anna. And Anna seems to have no association with throwing up and drinking milk as she's been drinking whole milk great for us at home or at daycare. I'm so glad that for her at least, this truly has been an easy change.
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