Yeah, so I can only leave a tough girl entry at the top of my blog for, well, a couple of hours, before I feel weird. Truth is, though I am confident in my decision to let Zoralee nurse as long as she and I are both happy and healthy about it, I have wondered if I should be drawing bolder lines from nursing to the quandries I face.
Namely, is there a chance Zoralee's not getting everything she needs nutritionally, and that's why she's a fusser? She's a good food eater, as far as variety - she'll eat practically anything we set before her - but she rarely eats a lot at once. So, is she holding off on food, knowing she can fill up on milk, and then the milk is lacking??? But her energy levels are over-the-top adequate, other than when she's teething or has a cold. So, is the fussing a habit unrelated to nutrition?
Second namely, is there a chance nursing is keeping me so doggone tired? Am I not getting enough nutritionally?
Third namely, is Zoralee's poor sleep quality related to nursing? Of everything about her first year and a half, I will say that sleeping has been the biggest trial. I know a lot of it is my fault, and I'm trying to improve. Be consistent with routines. Get her to bed earlier. Yada yada. If she goes to bed by 9 p.m. (which I understand to be late for a toddler), she'll wake up twice, sometimes three times before 7:30 a.m. And those are full wakeups that require my attention. She rustles around another time or two, but generally fusses a bit and falls back asleep. We transitioned out of co-sleeping a month ago, and the main way that has helped is to allow me to sleep deeper. Both of us are light sleepers, so even if she has a great night, it's no guarantee I will. Very frustrating.
Even as I'm writing, I am working out that I don't think nursing is the problem. I think getting proper sleep is. Because whenever we do both have a great night, we have plenty of energy and are happy, and she's less fussy.
And on that, I really should get to bed. And I shall. After I catch up on one single blog, or two. I give myself 8 minutes, starting now.
4 comments:
Okay so I had similar probs with Chloe and here is what I did. I got some Nancy's whole milk yogurt and put a bit of sugar in it and fed that to her before bedtime. It has lots of fat in it which helped her to stay asleep longer. Eating whatever you put in front of her is awesome, just make sure lots of healthy fats are top priority. Second thing...the longer we nurse the less disciplined we get on drinking enough water and eating enough calories. Make sure you are eating enough and make sure you are still taking prenatal vitamins. Nature Made Super B vitamins saved me while nursing as well.
I just read your latest two posts and they made me smile. :)
Every Thanksgiving when we record what the boys say they are most thankful for, BJ does the voice for our latest baby and it is always "mommy's milk." :)
Sleeping through the night. What a wonderful fantasy!
No naps past 3 and stuffing the kiddos with protein helped us.
But alas, leg cramps, dreams, potty breaks, drinks of water, people snoring, asthma, allergies, coyotes, loud neighbors, heat, and cold plague our nights now.
Also a "Yippee" to Nature Made prenatals in the AM, super B complex at 3PM, coffee, and falling asleep because the children fell asleep on you.
Thanks for the tips, gals. Having friends like you makes the world go 'round. And the kid sleep tighter, hopefully! My mom said the same thing, and we've been a whole family of food-pushers before bed. Good point, Shelsea - aging doesn't solve everything.
I have GOT to be a better vitamin-taker.
xoo
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